July, 2008
Posted by Administrator (holytrin) on Jul 02 2008 at 8:45 PM
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July, 2008

I have the privilege of writing this article from an absolutely beautiful corner of God's creation, Camp Lutherwald in Howe, IN. I am here with our Confirmation students Ashley Gresso, Kalab Hilliard, and Zach Hilliard to play, pray, sing, learn, laugh, and enjoy serving and learning about God in an unfamiliar location, surrounded by other students, pastors, and college-aged leaders with much more energy than I ever remember having at that age. In other words - it is perfect.

I am happy to report that our students are having a great, fantastic, fabulous time. Our first day here together, it was neat to see their pride (and a bit of puzzlement) when they reported that there is a cabin-now-storage-building with our name on it, Holy Trinity of South Bend. And, it's been neat to see them singing songs about Jesus, praying, worshipping, and watching a faith that matters to young people they admire. Truly, sending our young people for this kind of opportunity is a great blessing, and for our congregation to make it possible is a fantastic ministry.

Our students and I are spending the week talking about prayer: different styles of prayer, different postures for prayer, different ways we pray, all of it. And, we're using Luther's discussion of the Lord's Prayer from the Small Catechism as our text. Be a little bit forewarned - we are using the "new" language of the Lord's Prayer ("new" as in, from the 1970's!), which they are feeling challenged by, and not sure if they like it, but think we should try using it in our worship together sometime!

The camp is using the topic "Justice" for their program this summer. Our chapels, devotional time, and bible studies are focused around that topic: what does "justice" mean? What is God's justice? How does God's justice come about in a broken, sinful world? And, what is our role in partnering with God to work for justice? After all, the great summary of faith from the prophet Micah reads, "He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8).

Along with us here at camp, take stock of your own prayer life. Maybe review and renew your appreciation and understanding of the Lord's Prayer - you might even grab a hymnal or Small Catechism and refresh your understanding of the "new" (30+ years' old) version. And prayer and ponder justice with us, especially the exciting question, "How might God be calling us at Holy Trinity to 'do justice' in our corner of the world? How might we partner with God in fighting for justice for those who cannot fight for it themselves?"

Blessings to you from Camp.

Peace,

-Pastor Tim