Greetings,

 

I am on vacation (the stay-at-home kind) and so this will be a very abbreviated update.

 

Please keep the family of Pr. Jack Biemiller in your prayers.  Pr. Biemiller, who once served as the pastor of Redeemer in Ft. Myers, died on Christmas day.  Please also keep Carl Buer and his family in your prayers.  His son died unexpectedly on Friday.

 

Please pray for a cease fire and peace between Israel and Hamas (and all Palestinian people).  Two separate groups of Lutherans are headed to Israel in the coming days.   On Friday a group of 30 students/faculty and spouses from Trinity Lutheran Seminary (including our daughter Jenn and her husband Rob) will be there for an educational tour from Jan. 2 - 18.  In addition, beginning next Monday, most of the 65 ELCA bishops (including our own Bishop Benoway and my former bishop, Marie Jerge) and bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada (and many spouses) will be there for a conference until Jan 16.  During the visit, Bishop Benoway and the other bishops will meet with Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian religious, community and political leaders to emphasize the ELCA?s support for peace in the Holy Land. Most significantly, the bishops are traveling to the Middle East as a sign of support and solidarity for the Christians who live in Israel and Palestine, and for our sisters and brothers in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) and its bishop, the Rev. Munib A. Younan.  We pray for the safety of these Lutheran leaders and future leaders as well as all other pilgrims seeking inspiration in Jerusalem which is a holy site for Jews, Muslims, and Christians.
 

 

In Christ,

Pr Rusty