The annual gathering of the Church of the Lutheran Brethren brought congregational representatives from across the United States and Canada together in Fergus Falls, Minnesota for three days of discussion and decision. In this issue we are presenting highlights from the most important part of our gathering: the worship services. Under the theme "I Am With You Always," delegates and visitors gathered for praise, prayer and presentation of the Word of God.
To introduce you to the speakers and a bit of the motivation behind their message, we asked each preacher to share a bit about their preparation. It is impossible, in these pages, to present the messages which stirred our hearts and delivered grace to the hearers. We encourage you to obtain copies of the sermons after reading these introductions (see below for DVD), written by the preachers themselves. For now, enjoy these journeys!
SUNDAY EVENING
We Look to the Lord
CLB President Joel Egge
Because I had been invited to speak several months before the Convention, I had time to reflect on the Convention theme, I Am With You, Always. I read the context because my assignment was to set the table for the following messages that would develop this marvelous promise. A powerful contrast in the text captured me; the disciples' weakness contrasted with Jesus' authority. Then the question dawned on me, How did/does the Holy Spirit lead the readers to this powerful finish? With that question in mind, I read the entire Gospel several times. I wanted to correctly understand the disciples' awe and doubt, the Messiah's mission and authority, Jesus' gracious authorization of people like the eleven and His promise to be with us, which is emphasized throughout Scripture.
I struggled with an outline but began writing without one because the Convention was getting close. Having committed a narrative (of sorts) to paper, an organizing outline came to (was given) me while cutting grass three days prior to the Convention and I rewrote the message. I, myself, relied on the promise, I am with you, always, during the birth pangs of preparation and delivery. I was a worshipping doubter. Jesus was the great deliverer authorizing me to tell fellow disciples He will be with us to the very end of the age.
MONDAY MORNING
He Himself is the Resource
Missionary Paul Szobody
When I was asked to do a seminar and preach at annual convention, my natural reaction was to say "sorry, but...". We were on assignment at the Yale Divinity School library to do research in preparation for our studies in France. We only had two months at Yale and an enormous amount of material to work through. But (my wife and I thought in consultation) this church body has been so good to us in sending and supporting our family in mission that we concluded: "We owe it; how can we say ‘no'?" So, funny thing: as I labored in the stacks at Yale from day to day my mind was flooded here and there with thoughts. I grabbed pieces of paper and, at times, spent hours composing trains of thought that rushed into my heart. I took walks and prayed. In the end, I had a folder full of notes to sort out and spent days shaping it all into a message. More than once I had a keen sense (and I remarked so to my wife): this is from the Lord. I'm not sure I've ever ministered before where I had a deeper sense that I was touching the core of human existence as we know it to be, as well as the mystery of the faith in God incarnate among us.
MONDAY EVENING
He is With Us Now
Pastor Brad Hoganson
A "sermon journey" sounds so...peaceful. However, mine was less of a journey and more of a "Stop and Go Traffic During Rush Hour with a Church Van of Junior High Students!" I tend to sit with my Bible and a notepad; writing thoughts, underlining, circling ideas, drawing arrows to connecting ideas and scripture cross references...it looks like the work of a mad man! This process is not neat and clean but I love how the living and active Word of God comes to life on the pages.
My thoughts were, "If I really believe that Jesus is with me here and now, shouldn't that change everything?" I should be less fearful. I should be more motivated. I should worship more and doubt less. I'm so much like the disciples...a worship-doubter. Yet it was to that band of worship-doubters that Jesus gave His promise "I am with you." Gospel.
Jesus is with us today. Today. We say in our vision statement that we sense God's stirring...we are hearing His voice. Regardless of the structure or the outcome of a vote, (it was odd preaching before the vote on our constitutional amendments) we are hearing God's voice TODAY...Jesus promises to be with us.
I wish I could preach it over again.
TUESDAY MORNING 
He is With Us in Mission
Pastor Bob Heggestad
As I initially began my sermon preparation I was focusing on the "you" of "God is with you in mission." Who is the you? Me? My church? My synod? And - who am I? Who are we? As I studied, I was convinced of the truth that my mission defines who I am, and our mission defines who we are as a church, and who we are as a synod. May we truly sense that God is with us as He guides and directs us and then shapes and defines us in mission!
TUESDAY EVENING
He is Our Unity
Pastor Rick Bridston
Had I been thinking rationally, I probably would have refused this assignment. But the Lord knew what He was doing and I was not thinking straight! To be asked to speak on spiritual unity on the day of one of the most decisive and divisive actions taken by any CLB convention in many years was daunting, to say the least. But there I was, trapped! I began thinking of texts and was drawn to John 17, and finally to verses 20-23. As I prayed two things were happening: the text was beginning to unpack itself, and I began to realize that part of the message had to go "topical"-to go beyond the text. I would need to speak about "disunity" as much as about "unity." The message came to me in bits and pieces, during waking hours in the night, and on the flight to Minnesota.
By Monday night I still had only a few thoughts and fragmentary notes. (This is not my usual way of preparing sermons, but I was stuck!) I did not finish writing out my notes until 6pm the night of the service. By then we knew the results of the vote, and I kept asking the Lord to keep me from saying anything that would be more divisive. The Lord opened up the text beautifully. But then I knew I had to address a painful issue that would take some common-sense observations that I hoped would be self-evident. The Lutheran Brethren has always had a tension between Lutheran confessionalism and evangelical pietism. That was present at the very beginning, and once in a while comes to the surface in local churches. Although prominent theologians in our group would strongly disagree with me, I see the actual types of confessionalism and pietism in our group as two poles on a continuum. But how does one speak to a general audience about theological issues? I decided to use the obvious words, "Lutheran," and "Brethren" to communicate clearly. Now this involved over-simplification, I admit. But most veteran LB folks would understand what I was talking about. I myself lean strongly to the confessional side, but I can never abandon the pietism in my heart. So I tried to invite the two poles to recognize each other's historical legitimacy in our synod, and to respect one another. I hope they can also enrich each other in Christ. We don't have to agree to be in spiritual unity, but we need to be able to minister to one another.
WEDNESDAY MORNING
He is With Us Always
Pastor Tony Karlik
I really thought that I was prepared to speak at this year's convention because I had prepared two possible sermons knowing that we would all be speaking on a single theme. On Sunday evening my greatest fear became realized when president Egge shared his message and I heard some of the things I had prepared to share. Then the next morning Missionary Paul Szobody shared and I just wanted to go home. Having sat through only two messages, and both had touched on what I hoped to share, I just wanted to throw in the towel.
On Tuesday evening I took all my notes and all my fears and laid them all before the Lord. I asked for wisdom and guidance as I made some revisions but most of all I asked for the ability to trust Him with what needed to be shared. On Wednesday morning I stood before the convention and trusted that our Lord would minister to His people through me and as I shared I knew that He was with us. To God be the glory.
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A personal reflection on the Church of the Lutheran Brethren's 2009 Annual Convention
Singing in the company of 500 saints is my pride's Achilles' heel.
I arrived Sunday night at this year's annual convention in Fergus Falls tired and crabby and thinking of myself. In short, I didn't want to be here. At least not yet. I only wanted to go take a nap or be by myself for a while before seeing people and dealing with the business at hand, namely the proposed changes to the constitution regarding the structure of the synod.
My wife Betsy and I arrived at the opening worship service a little late, which was fine by me except for the fact that the church-Bethel Lutheran-was packed and so we were forced to sit up near the front. We found a spot near the front, left corner directly in front of the worship team, which was engaged in leading the full house in singing "My Savior's Love (I Stand Amazed)."
I looked at the words on the screen overhead, and I may have even mouthed them-not half-heartedly, but empty-heartedly. The church where I serve as pastor-Ebenezer Lutheran in Mayville, ND-had celebrated its centennial anniversary this weekend, which was the primary cause of my exhaustion. It had been a wonderful, encouraging weekend. But the truth is I'm an introvert, and time spent socializing-even though I enjoy it-wears me out. Another truth is that leading worship and preaching at one worship service Sunday morning also tires me out. After that, I'm pretty much done for the day. This Sunday I didn't even preach, other than giving a children's message. President Joel Egge preached in Mayville Sunday morning, and was poised to do so again tonight. I don't know how he does it. Well, it is by God's grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, I know that. But still...wow.
Anyway, what I wanted, honestly, was a week away from people, not three days of intense socializing and engaging in what was sure to be a long and in-depth discussion over the proposed changes to the synod's structure.
But then God entered in...on the very next song.
I made it to the refrain holding on to my hard heart. Resisting grace or fellowship or worship. Or love. Or God's holy presence. I felt the resistance in my heart. It was fighting, trying to keep me prideful and self-centered, telling me how tired and crabby I was and how much I really didn't want to be here. The fact that there was such strong resistance shows that the battle was raging. Using the presence and voices of five-hundred other Lutheran Brethren sinners saved by the blood of the Lamb to amplify His own voice and presence to me, God won the battle.
Sing with me: How great...is our God.
Some people complain about the repetition in some of the praise songs. But it was this refrain, sung over and over, that battered me and beat me down until the rock-hard wall of my heart broke like a dam and my voice spilled out to join those of the throng around me and my heart, if not my hands, was lifted up to our great God.
Our. Great. God.
And that was just the opening five or ten minutes of this year's convention experience for me. The rest of the convention was not anticlimactic by any stretch, even though my personal, prideful battle with God was over. The convention theme this year was I am with you always. Most of us know that verse. We recognize those words. We understand that Jesus spoke them and that they do indeed apply to us. He is with us. Always. Right now. And forever.
But sometimes, God knows, we need a little reminder. Or perhaps a big one. This year's convention, in more ways than three, served as that reminder-in a very real way-for me.
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. - Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:20b)
Pastor Randy Mortenson serves Ebenezer LBC in Mayville, North Dakota.
Women's Ministries Convention 2009
Wow! Two hundred women! They kept registering, calling, emailing, and asking if there was still room in the last week before our Women's Ministries Convention. We planned for 150, but by God's grace 185 ate a delicious catered lunch, and 200 attended the morning business session, listened to Keynote speaker, Teresa Szobody, and attended practical and inspiring workshops in the afternoon. Twenty-one children of the women were cared for and God provided a day warm enough for them to spend time at Hannah Park and the Hillcrest gym as well as playing and creating crafts. What a great day!
THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Teresa Szobody brought us a message on our theme that kept echoing throughout the day: "Enduring Faith." It was straight out of the Word, sprinkled with illustrations from her missionary life in Africa, but speaking right to the heart of women in North America. She began with "Be still and know that I am God." Are we desperate to know Jesus? To know the power of His resurrection? To give Him pleasure?
She shared stories of Abraham - his failings, his faith. He believed God when he left his homeland, but throughout life, he still continued to learn to believe. God didn't rebuke him for his failings. Instead, He used them to build his faith, finally to the point of sacrificing all to the God he trusted.
"How has God called you to sacrifice?" Teresa asked. "To believe when it makes no sense?" She urged us in those situations, "Get to know Jesus!" Through the spoken word and the written word, we can know Jesus and the power of His resurrection - and the fellowship of His sufferings. Sometimes it is essential that we can't see our way out of whatever struggles we are in - so we can see Jesus.
"Jesus completed the race that His followers are now running," Teresa reminded us, "Jesus understands suffering." When we feel rejected or fearful, she said, "Know Him then! He gives hope to meaningless situations. What a loss, if we fight back - we lose the chance to suffer!" We rejoice in sufferings, Romans 1:1-5 tells us, "because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character, and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."
"God's love is poured into us." But then Teresa asked us, "Did God say, ‘A new commandment I give unto you, that you suffer?' No, but you shall "love the Lord your God with all your heart soul, mind, strength, and your neighbor as yourself.'"
When God's love is poured into us, we are enabled to love others; our neighbors; strangers; our enemies. Teresa talked about the "great ‘shall'" as opposed to the "must" that we often feel. As we have faith in God, He pours His love into us. God is in us. We shall love God. We shall love our neighbor. As we honor our neighbor, we obey God. How do we love ourselves? What is pleasing to the Lord, even when we don't feel like it? Hebrews 10 says, "Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith...hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful..." and "let us encourage one another."
Enduring faith is possible because He is faithful. We can hold on to hope because He has suffered. We are all desperate to know Jesus, so let us encourage each other to cling to Jesus, in faith, hope, and love. Hebrews 10:36 "You have need of endurance so that when you have done the will of God you will receive what He has promised."
THE CONVENTION DAY
Eugenie Lapeube Synzoune was introduced to us by Ruth Vallevik. Her father, Silas Lapeube, attended the Lutheran Brethren Seminary when Eugenie was a child. She has had a radio ministry to children in Africa, and is now pursuing an English degree in the U.S. before returning to her country to teach English there.
Eugenie shared scripture and thoughts from Nehemiah. She boldly challenged us: "We have a calling! What is your part in the family of God?" She described the church as needing to be a magnet, as in Nehemiah's day. "We need to come together and build. No ‘sleeping.' No gossip. The enemy will build his kingdom - but we are daughters of the Heavenly Father - it is time for us to build! Ask God to give us a vision. What is my purpose? Am I ready to obey? The enemy gains territory. But he can't take God from our hearts!" She emphasized that "we have to build together," that all of us are needed as Christ builds his Kingdom, the Church.
Looking at the journey behind us - we viewed Power Point photos of last year's projects completed. We rejoiced in God's provision, through the women of the CLB, to meet and exceed our budget for 2008-09! We praised God in song, led by Suzanne Bowman and a praise team from Victory, Jamestown, North Dakota.
Looking at the journey before us - we re-elected Lori Christopherson as our treasurer. We viewed projects that we will support in 2009-10 (see those projects in the next issue of Faith & Fellowship). We listened to Heather Olson's update of Grace Community, Wesley Chapel, Florida, and prayed for Missions in small groups gathered all over the sanctuary as Alice Spidahl guided us.
Afternoon workshops - Our keynote speaker, Teresa Szobody, was followed by a noon luncheon. After a time for visiting, we were inspired, rejuvenated, challenged, and encouraged through attending a variety of workshops including:
Invitation to the Race - Suzanne Bowman and Janet Kilde
Coaching to Run the Distance - Teresa Szobody
The Long Wait - Joy Mathiesen and Gudrun Boe
Training for the Test - Ruth Christenson
Enduring the Pain - Casey Baardson
Unique Challenge: Special Joy - Ruth Vallevik
If you couldn't make it this year, plan for next year,
Saturday, June 19, 2010!
I always smile when I hear the word "Twitter"; it reminds me of the early morning chatter of the birds outside my window. And for most folks using that social-networking tool, it's just a lot of chatter as they write and read about the most mundane events in their lives: "I'm going out for a hamburger," "The traffic was nuts!" "Words-of-wisdom" that would drive me nuts!
(In case you're wondering what I'm talking about, Twitter is an Internet/cell-phone service where the user sends little messages no longer than 140 characters called "tweets" to her friends.)
That got me thinking. Is prayer like tweeting? For starters, the Lord's Prayer is just seventy-one words long and contains about 360 characters - too long for a tweet. But our prayers aren't restricted to a certain length, are they. My shortest prayers are sometimes just three words long: "God help me!" And my longest prayers are the longings of my heart, inexpressible without the help of the Holy Spirit.
And then who hears my prayers? If I'm twittering, I don't really know if any of my friends are paying attention to what I'm writing. But I know for certain that God not only hears, but He answers my prayers. According to the writer to the Hebrews, "He (Jesus) always lives to make intercession for us."
The CLB Prayer Team uses the Internet, too. We use it to stay abreast of concerns that the people who work throughout the CLB bring. For example when plans were being made for the recent Annual Convention, the Prayer Team focused on topics from Preparation to Speakers to Worship to Deliberations and especially that God's will might be done as we assembled. Or as LB Seminary looked forward to its next session this fall, we prayed for God's work in the hearts and lives of candidates, praying the "Lord of the Harvest to send forth workers."
Most teams have Players; we invite you to join the CLB Prayer Team as Pray-ers. Just send your email to pray@prayclb.org. The more than 150 other pray-ers will welcome you to the team. Thank you for praying.
Shel Sorensen is the CLB Prayer Team Coordinator and serves on the Elder Board at Ebenezer Lutheran Brethren Church in Minneapolis, MN.
Standing at the headwaters of the Mississippi River was a "bucket list" moment for me. As the 2007 movie of that title reveals, a bucket list is a list of the things you'd like to do before you kick it...the bucket. I'd never thought about it this way, but I'd always wanted to see the spot where the mighty Mississippi begins. And so, on a beautiful day in 2009, here it was.
Some have been disappointed to find that the start of this mighty river is so not mighty! Compare the beginning to the middle: Fly over Memphis, Tennessee and you will see the river there is gigantic. The beginning is pretty small, but I was not disappointed. Quite to the contrary-I was thrilled.
Lake Itasca is a beautiful lake. The setting is stunning, and the start of the river is a simple stream rushing over rocks and coming out of the lake right there in front of you. It's beautiful. But, it seems to me that this is not really the beginning at all. There's so much water in the lake itself, and the lake is fed by streams which has led to lengthy debate as to whether or not this really is the beginning of the river, but I'll let that go. It is. Period. But is it? My question quickly became: Is the beginning really the beginning?
It seems to me that beginnings are preceded by something. Something caused the beginning to...uh... begin. The Bible says in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. I love that. I love that about the God we serve. There's a beginning to everything He has made but there is no beginning to Him. He is eternal (both ways!) and He invites us into His eternity even as He calls us into life as part of His creation. I know-it's mind-boggling. I'm boggled even as I try to write about it.
If you are at the beginning of something, remember all that has gone into getting you to where you are now. Put all your beginnings in perspective and give thanks to God that He is the God of all beginnings.
Here's one: Think about the beginning of a whole new structure for a synod. A lot of good work, sacrifice, giving, faith, and fellowship have flowed into something that is just "beginning." As we move ahead in our "new beginnings" we are, in many ways, simply continuing to build upon a rich history as we answer God's call to mission today. But you already knew that.
Bruce Stumbo serves on the pastoral team at Bethel LBC in Grand Forks, ND and is Editor of Faith & Fellowship magazine.
The 4th Annual Pastors Masters Golf Scramble will be held on, September 14th, 2009 at the Links at Northfork in Ramsey, MN. This event has been an encouragement to pastors as well as others serving in full time ministry. Many participants from our congregations in the Central Region and other Regions have taken this opportunity to golf with their pastors while raising money for a very worthwhile cause. Friendships and ministry visions and goals have been strengthened during the outing to this links style golf course.
Event sponsors have provided gifts and prizes from winning a car with a hole-in-one, awards for drives and putts, and memorabilia such as cups, golf balls, and t-shirts. All net proceeds go to the Pastors Masters Support Fund that provides funding to encourage and support the spiritual, mental, and physical health of pastors in the Central Region through a variety of resources.
For registration information to participate as a player or sponsor please call or email Pastor Aage Larsen:
715-235-7775
pastoraage@oakridgelbc.org
Ebenezer Lutheran Brethren Church celebrated its 100-year anniversary June 13 & 14. Sat. On June 13 over 100 adults attended the Centennial Celebration banquet in the Luckasen Room at Mayville State University. Former pastors Nathan Richman, Jim Erickson, Randall Paulson and Bob Overgaard, as well as Jack Storry-son of former pastor Al Storry-reminisced. The Ebenezer 5 quintet provided music (Glenn and Lowell Endrud, Curtiss Hovde, Levon Nelson, Larry Olson).
On Sunday, June 14 a special worship service focused on thanking God for His faithfulness through the generations. Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America (CLBA) president Joel Egge preached on the topic "Of First Importance" from 1 Corinthians 15. A Buxton prairie native, Rev. Egge also shared significant memories of his childhood in the community and in Ebenezer Church.
Ebenezer's namesake verse is 1 Samuel 7:12 (NIV):
"He named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far has the Lord helped us.'"
Bethel Lutheran Brethren Church of Joice, Iowa, will be celebrating its 75th anniversary on Sunday, September 6, 2009. The day of celebration will begin with a worship service at 10:00 AM followed by a complimentary catered dinner. At 1:30, a service of celebration and remembrances will be held.
All former members, friends and relatives are cordially invited.
For dinner reservations, please call the church office at 641-588-3460.
Faith Lutheran Church of Blue Earth, Minnesota will celebrate Fifty years of God's faithfulness on Sunday September 27, 2009. The day of celebration will begin with a Worship Service at 10:00 a.m, followed by a catered dinner at Noon with a Service of Celebration at 2:00 p.m.
For Dinner reservation R.S.V.P. to 507-526-2270 or brentflbc@bevcomm.net
In my recent readings and musings on missions I came across an article titled Luther and Missions in the 16th Century by the Rev. Dr. Klaus Detlev Schulz. My first reaction to the title brought thoughts that this was yet another call for looking back to the "good old days." But, as I read it, with its various quotes from Luther on missions, I couldn't help but find myself thinking how much of it applied to issues we are facing today in our church and in our culture.
Dr. Schulz reminds us of Luther's take on missions when he says, "All Christians are obliged to missionary witness. They live for the sake of their neighbors and assist them in witness and deed." With the world continuing to come to North America via immigration, and with other philosophies foreign to the Gospel taking hold in our society, believers in Jesus find themselves in need of being "prepared in season and out of season" "to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."
At Oak Ridge Lutheran Brethren Church, we have been encouraging one another to proclaim this hope of the Gospel of Christ to people as they visit us on Sunday mornings as well as when we visit people at places of work, leisure, shopping, dining, etc. As Jesus comes to us through His Word and Sacrament, we become recipients of His mission of forgiveness and grace. And it is in the assurance of this forgiveness and grace that we live and work among many people who don't have this assurance. And so we share this assurance in Christ with them in conversations and coming along side them in work and service because we care for them just as God has been caring for us. Most of this occurs rather serendipitously while some of it is planned, but all of it is quite intentional.
As we thought about our summer activities, we started making plans in ways that we could be included with our neighbors. One example of this was that instead of having all our picnics on the church grounds, we would get permission to host barbeques in the neighborhoods where we live. That entailed some additional planning such as meeting with the city council for permission to barricade roads for these events and gaining permission from apartment owners, and seeking trust from neighbors that our motives were simply to share food, enjoy time, and get to know them. This of course meant that we needed to be willing for them to get to know us as well. And in getting to know us is also getting to know the One who sends us.
Food is good, fun is good, service is good, but they are not in and of themselves our mission. Our mission is Christ and to make Him known to our neighbors. And our motive is love that has been demonstrated to us by God in Christ.
And here is where I found another connection to 16th century mission. Dr. Schulz concludes his article by saying, "Mission during the Reformation was a way of life, a grass-root-level movement; it was not a subject only for specialists or enthusiasts. That makes it surprisingly contemporary. The church is now, in a sense, in a missionary situation everywhere. For ‘missions is no longer understood as a thing which plays itself out chiefly on the outer edges of Christendom, but instead as a way of life or, rather, as a lifestyle for every Christian congregation within its particular surrounding (Luther).' Mission is a task differently conceived from the great 19th century. Competing faiths are no longer separated by distance, over the horizon, but wherever the church exists, in the midst of us. Good congregations, known for their yearly offering for foreign missions, may suddenly face the tough question of outreach to others who contest the salvation only found in Christ."
As I continue to see Jesus, quite blurrily, I am struck by the ongoing nature and work of His Word and Spirit delivered through "jars of clay." The nature of mission itself is contained in the Person of Christ who is sent to us through the living Word. As He sends us, wherever and whenever we go, Christ is contained within us as the True Treasure given to our neighbors in mission. As the proclamation of this Treasure unburdens and assures those in faith and brings unbelievers to new faith, this same Treasure travels with us out of the worship service and into our community to be shared in word and deed with neighbors who may contest it, but need it nonetheless. And with the joy given to us in Christ, we are glad to share the treasure of the Gospel for we know that "it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes."
Pastor Aage Larson serves Oak Ridge Lutheran Brethren Church in Menomonie, Wisconsin
Gresham, Oregon - Gresham-based Where He Walked Ministries is forming a tour to Israel especially designed for impaired travelers. The tour, named "Israel, More Slowly," is being tailored specifically for persons with limited mobility, people who can walk with the assistance of cane, crutch, walker, or are just a slow walker because of age or infirmity. The tour is to take place March 15-27, 2010.
Ministry director, Greg Pietz, said the idea for the trip began with a tour he organized in 2007. A number of people said they would like to go to Israel, but were afraid they couldn't keep up with the group. That, and having friends with mobility impairments, prompted Greg to research tour companies that specialize in handicap tours. "Israel has nothing that approximates our ADA standards," he said, noting the fact that most pilgrim sites are thousands of years old.
Pastor Pietz made a special trip to Israel in March to pre-walk many of the sites that will be visited on the tour and to visit with representatives of two of the more complex sites. He also met with the owner of a tour company that specializes in providing services for tourists of varying degrees of mobility. "That was helpful," he said. "He shared a lot of insight regarding touring with disabilities in places that are definitely not barrier free."
"We're talking about archaeological sites made available to tourists by uneven paths of a variety of materials," says Pietz, who is an ordained Lutheran minister. "The old city of Jerusalem is particularly challenging. Most of the streets are paved with cut stone, some dating to the time of Christ. Buildings and historic sites are multi-layered, with few ways to avoid stairs and virtually no elevators." He continues, "While little can be done about the terrain and steps, alternative entrances and coordination with site custodians can reduce accessibility barriers. Also, adjusting the pace of the tour can help. Slowing things down, providing more rest, finding different entrances and letting folks know in advance what barriers they will face before they arrive at a site gives them choices in regard to doing only what they feel able to do - that's the thrust of this trip."
While the tour is being designed with slow walkers in mind, Pietz is quick to add, "Fully able walkers are encouraged to come. This tour is a full tour that will cover the same sites that are typical for Christian tours in Israel. We'll just cover them more slowly."
Where He Walked Ministries, LLC, is the personal endeavor of Pastor Pietz. Though not officially connected to the church, the ministry is based at Greater Grace Lutheran Brethren Church, Portland. More information about the ministry or the March 2010 trip can be found on the ministry's website.