Prince of Peace Lutheran Church 3rd Avenue at 111th Street in the historic Lansingburgh section of the city of Troy, New York "Where every person is important and Jesus Christ is Lord" |
Bishop Marie Jerge's Synod Update May 2006 |
The "meet Bishop Jerge" link and the "Assistants to the Bishop" links will take you to a site that will introduce you to our Bishop - Pr. Marie Jerge, and her assistants. To return to this page you must use the "back button" on your browser. |
Meet the Assistants to the Bishop: |
SPECIAL MESSAGE!!! from Bishop Jerge A Resurrection Moment or A Child Shall Lead Them It was a Sunday morning surprise. During the announcements, the pastor asked me to come up front. When I got there he handed me an envelope. On the outside of the envelope was written "for the kids in Zimbabwe." Inside the envelope I found $140 in cash. Then the pastor explained that the gift came from Marisa. Marisa had just celebrated her l0th birthday. The invitation to her birthday party included a special announcement, something like this, "When you come to my party, please don't bring me any presents. I have enough stuff. What I'd like to do is collect money to help the children in Zimbabwe. If you want to bring something, bring a gift for them." The $140 in the envelope was Marisa's birthday present. When the story was told, I could not respond beyond the tears that were finding their way down my cheeks. One hundred and forty dollars may not seem like much money. Unless you live in Zimbabwe - then it translates into 13,929,575 Zim dollars. Or unless you desperately needed a sign of hope.., then (like the Master Card commercial) it is priceless. Just one day before, I had been in a Synod Council meeting where we talked about and wrestled with the synod's financial future. The picture is not pretty. The fact is that we have a 5 year trend of negative income from congregations and this doesn't even include inflation -just real dollars. In 2005 - the synod received less mission support from congregations than in 2004, despite the fact that 121 congregations (61%) increased or held even. In 2006 - the projected deficit in our budget, without major changes, is $90,000. In 2007 - the projected deficit in the mission proposal that will come to the Synod Assembly, without major changes, is $150,000. We will be sharing much more information in the months to come and at our upcoming Synod Assembly. What we know is that we cannot and will not support such deficits for long. Understandably we were all discouraged and we prayed for the breath of God's Holy Spirit to blow in and through us. Then came Sunday morning. If one ten year old can raise $140 for mission, then I have to believe that 80,000 baptized Christians in Upstate New York can raise the $96,000 we need to meet our basic missional commitments. And so I am asking, begging and challenging every congregation to increase their basic mission support in 2006 by $1,000 (that's $1000 more than you are currently planning to contribute) and by at least $1500 in 2007. I am well aware that for some congregations this will double their commitment and is a really big request. I also know that others could do five times more than that without blinking. I'll trust God to figure that part out. Possibilities for making it happen abound: - an increase in your budgeted mission support. - a special appeal, inviting individuals in your congregation to help with special gifts as they are able. - a special request to an individual or a few key leaders. - a portion of a bequest or other special gift that you have received could be shared. - a special project or party (like Marisa's birthday party.) Lutherans are generous people. In 2005 over $36 million was given by Lutherans to Disaster Relief primarily for the tsunami in SE Asia and for those involved in the hurricanes along the Gulf Coast. This was in addition to the $17 million that was given to the ELCA World Hunger Appeal (reaching an all-time high!) This totals more than $53 million that was given over and above regular mission support. Jim and I will be following Marisa's example. We will give something extra so that the Upstate New York Synod can continue to provide what we consider to be "core" ministries, including our relationship with the wonderful people of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe. I invite you to join Marisa and us on this resurrection journey - keeping hope alive for all of us in this work we do together. Grace and peace in this season of Easter, Marie Jerge, Bishop |
Please hold the following people, their families, friends and caregivers in prayer. Thanks be to God for the life of Jean E. Victory! Mrs. Jean Victory, from Fairmount, former Executive Secretary to Bishops Perry and Miller entered eternal life on May 9, 2006. In addition to being Secretary and Executive Secretary in the Upstate New York Synod offices from 1967-1996, Jean was involved in numerous activities such as Silver Bay and Central Crossroads Conference activities. Jean is survived by her husband of 56 years, Charles (Chuck) R. Victory; and a cousin, Katherine Long of Connecticut. A funeral service will be held on May 12, 2006 at St. Stephen Lutheran Church, 873 Dewitt St., Syracuse, NY 13203. Calling hours will be on May 11, 2006 from 4-8pm at Frasier-Shepherdson Funeral Home, 1217 N. Salina St., Syracuse. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to St. Stephen Lutheran Church or Fralick-Central City Chapter 433. Condolences may be sent to Mr. Charles Victory 19 Gifford Dr. Syracuse, NY 13219. We give thanks to God for Jean Victory's life and ministry among us and for the promise of the resurrection through Jesus Christ our Savior. We pray God's peace and comfort for her family. With prayers of healing for: Pr. Larraine Frampton (RIT, Rochester Campus Ministry) With prayers of joy for: Cindy Hager (Buffalo Support Staff) and family as they welcome into this world Cindy's new granddaughter Austin, born May 10, 2006 "I Have a Dream" By Pastor John Kroschel On the Saturday of Easter weekend, my 12 year old son and I went for a hike. As we went along one of the lesser used paths of the park we came across something on the trail. It was money - $15 to be exact. No wallet, no ID, just a five and a ten. We picked it up and continued to walk. Soon the conversation turned to the money we had found. "What do you think we ought to do with the money," I asked Nathan. While he thought, I made my suggestions. "We could stop for donuts on the way home," I offered. "Or maybe we should get a pizza." After a few more suggestions, most of which dealt with food, Nathan spoke. "Dad," he said, "we don't really need the money. What if we gave it to someone who does need it." "And how would we do that?" I asked. "If we gave it to the church, they could use it to help others," he suggested. The next day was Easter. As the offering plate came by I reached in my pocket for the $15 and quietly slipped it to Nathan. His eyes grew large. When the usher came by he could see that Nathan's gift was in addition to our family's offering. He too lit up. In a loud and cheery voice he bellowed "thank you." The look on Nathan's face was priceless. As the stewardship staff for Upstate New York, I have a dream. I dream of a day when every person in every pew in every congregation of our synod would experience that kind of excitement and joy in giving. I dream of a day when the offering is a time filled with bright eyes and smiles. I dream of a day when reactions like the one I saw in my son on Easter morning are not shocking but common place. Nathan chose generosity over pizza and donuts and experienced the joy in giving. May God move each of us to know that kind of joy and generosity. Global Mission Event At the Global Mission Event, congregations, families, youth, and seniors - along with international guests and missionaries discover a global community of God's grace. The Global Mission Event help ELCA members receive the gifts of Christians and churches around the world. The goal of global events is to equip participants to deepen their understanding of the accompaniment model for mission, which stresses mutuality and acknowledges that all members of the body of Christ are gifted. This year, a Global Mission Event will take place July 27-30 in Amherst, Massachusetts, on the Amherst campus of the University of Massachusetts. Global Mission Events begin on Thursday evening with an Opening celebration and conclude on Sunday morning with global worship. To learn more about the Global Mission Event, please visit |
