Here Come the Boomers … continued

Last month I cited several statistics from the recent National Institutes of Health (NIH) research study as evidence of the “sea of change” that is taking place in the United States as people like me, proud members of the baby boomer generation, grow older. This emerging wave of boomer older adults is causing much conversation about our nation’s ability to engage, care for and provide a safety net for the record numbers of older adults.

A high percentage of older adults is nothing new to most churches I visit during my travels for Wheat Ridge Ministries. Most of these people represent the “silent” and “GI” generations. What will our pews look like as these faithful and talented individuals are no longer in our pews? Will people of my generation remain active in worship and congregation leadership as they get older? And, just as important, will their children and grandchildren be active in the life of the church?

Two things are very evident from the recent NIH research. First, there is going to be a huge talent pool of skilled people who, as they retire or cut back on their employment, will have an increased amount of time to serve their community and their church. Second, since these increasing numbers of older adults will, on average, live longer than people of previous generations, the resources required to care for them during the later years of their life will increase significantly. 

Fortunately, our churches and communities are not without significant assets as we attempt to come to grips with the burgeoning older adult population. Organizations and activities focused on older adults in the Lutheran Church are a great example of this. The organizations that are members of Lutheran Services in America provide services to 1 out of every 50 people in the United States each year. Many of these people are older adults and many of them are served by a large number of excellent independent living, assisted living, and nursing care facilities for older adults, such as Lutheran Life Communities and Lutheran Homes of South Carolina. Lutheran Social Service organizations across the country, including great organizations like Lutheran Social Services of the South, Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska, and Lutheran Social Services of New York are daily providing services for older adults.

I recently asked Rich Bimler, past president of Wheat Ridge, to share a list of some other organizations he knows that are focused on serving older adults. Rich is more aware of older adult activities and resources in the Lutheran church than anyone else I know. Here are just a few organizations from his list:

• Adult Lutherans Organized for Action (ALOA) – This is a national ministry focusing on older adults celebrating and serving.   
• Ignite your Life – This is a program sponsored by the Ammerman Center for Creative Aging.  Its focus is helping younger older adults through programs, resources and modeling.
• LCMS Rural and Small Town Ministries – Focus on rural ministries with an emphasis on older adults.
• LEA EncourAGEnet – Hosted by the Lutheran Education Association, this network provides encouragement for retired/repositioned church workers and laity.
• Rich and Charlie Resources – Provides “encouraging words to those who serve.”
• Creative Communications – They produce a great devotional resource for older adults called Hope-Full Living.
• Lutheran District and Synod Older Adult events – One example is the Veterans of the Cross Retreat for retired church workers, hosted by the Florida-Georgia District of the LCMS each year.  
• Grant Makers – Wheat Ridge Ministries is one of a number of Lutheran-related grant makers who provide resources to assist older adult ministry efforts that are developed by congregations and other faith-based and community organizations.

At the base of all of these efforts (I hope) is the ministry with and for older adults that takes place every day through the life of individual churches. For many older adults, their church is their place of community, the place where they gather with people of all ages for worship, service and fellowship. Local churches are uniquely positioned to serve our increasing numbers of older adults through their own programs and by partnering with others in their community.

More on all this in the next edition of Rick’s Reflections. In the meantime, to whatever degree you have been chronologically gifted, celebrate God’s gift of life today!

Olympic Spirit

Perhaps you enjoyed watching the Winter Olympic Games like I did during the past couple of weeks. While I’m not a fan of all the sports featured (I wish I could warm up to curling), it is always impressive to see the level of skill and fitness that the athletes possess. And, it is inspiring to hear the stories of athletes whose extreme commitment and sacrifice have helped them reach their goal of making the team.

Of course, possessing extreme skill, effort and dedication is not limited to athletes. I was reminded of this as I traveled during the weeks of the Olympic games and visited with leaders of some of our Lutheran social service agencies.

I was fortunate to participate with CEOs of many of these agencies at the annual retreat of Lutheran Services in America. While the Lutheran church is blessed with many, many talented leaders in its congregations, schools and church body offices, I’m confident that none surpass the talent pool of this great group of “Olympic-caliber” church leaders. Effectively operating a social service agency, large or small, is a complex business these days. The agencies these CEOs represent make a huge impact in the lives of thousands of people. Did you know that 1 in 50 Americans is touched directly by the services of an LSA organization each year?! These CEOs “bring it” everyday, providing leadership in organization and fiscal management, human relations, board governance, development and marketing, social enterprise, etc., etc. And they do so with a deep commitment to sharing the healing touch of Christ with people in need.  

On the heels of the CEO retreat, I had occasion to get a closer view of a couple of these leaders on their home turf during a trip to the Cleveland, Ohio, area. 

Building Hope in the City is a 10-year-old organization birthed out of Trinity Lutheran Church, a 150-year-old congregation near downtown Cleveland. This organization exists to strengthen urban ministry and mission in northeast Ohio and beyond, pursuing the mission of “restoring the city to God by developing and linking people, communities and churches.” Brian Upton is a gifted leader who has been at the heart of this ministry since its inception and recently was named executive director. 

The staff and volunteers of Building Hope in the City are passionate about acting on God’s call to welcome new refugees from around the world who come to Cleveland. They assist in the resettlement and help make others aware of the many gifts and assets these new arrivals bring to their community. During my visit with Brian, it was my privilege to present him with the initial grant check for a new initiative being seeded by Wheat Ridge Ministries. This new program will provide culturally-sensitive counseling for refugees who are coping with and trying to recover from the trauma of violence, abuse and rejection from their countries of origin. They will train and equip volunteers from the refugee community in basic counseling skills. I’m very pleased that Wheat Ridge can assist in the initial development of this important health and healing effort!

Just a few miles down the road from Building Hope in the City are more outstanding leaders! Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry (LMM) was established in the 1960s by revered founding executive director Dick Sering. LMM has been serving the needs of the underserved in Cleveland in powerful ways ever since with a focus on housing and shelter, community re-entry and support for at-risk youth.

Under the leadership of current President and CEO Andrew Genzsler, LMM is developing some very exciting and impactful new social enterprise ventures, including a metal works shop and what they call “Central Kitchen.” The Central Kitchen program provides food service training for unemployed and underemployed people in Cleveland. Many of the graduates of the program are employed by LMM. They prepare and deliver meals using food provided by local food banks to feed those living local shelters, including the men’s shelter operated by LMM and others who are living on the streets. Talk about a win, win, win, win plan! A very talented young man, Brian Mauk, directs the social enterprise program at LMM. If you are in Cleveland, stop by and see this wonderful program for yourself!

Praise God for the talented leaders in our church agencies who, through their heroic efforts, serve people who are so often forgotten and underserved. They are not driven by the Olympic spirit, but rather by God’s spirit working in them. Most likely there is a Lutheran social service agency in your community or somewhere nearby. Stop by sometime – you’ll see gold medal quality ministry in action! 

Summer in the Synods

It has been a full summer for Lutherans all across America.  Three of the major U.S. Lutheran church bodies held conventions or assemblies.  There was also a national youth gathering in the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, as well as a convention of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League.

Our prayers are with Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, Presiding Bishop-elect of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, as she transitions to this new and very important leadership role.  And our thanks to Bishop Mark Hanson as he completes his significant and impactful years of servant leadership to the ELCA.

There is no question that changes continue to take place in church denominations as they attempt to discern their place in a rapidly changing religious landscape.  Wonderful and exciting opportunities exist to share the Good News of Jesus Christ in word and deed.  At the same time, these opportunities require adaptation and change as our world becomes more diverse, as “churched” people tend to be less loyal to specific denominations and as church attendance decreases and congregations are often perceived as less integral to community life than they used to be.  As we respond to these changes, church body officials struggle with questions related to their authority and influence.  Should they exert control and require greater agreement around theology and practice or should they encourage more openness and variety of practice in an effort to serve an increasingly diverse population?

Thankfully, while our denominations continue to wrestle with these issues and questions, and while they pursue different paths, the Lutheran faith community continues to share some distinctive common hallmarks.  One of these is the strong desire to serve people in need.  Regardless of what our various church bodies call this response to the Gospel … social ministry, human care ministry, mercy ministry, peace and justice ministry … we seem to have in our DNA caring about and for the welfare of others, no doubt encouraged by Luther and others who describe so well the blessing of Christian vocation.  Efforts such as Stephen Ministries, parish nursing, Lutheran day schools, and deaconess programs are just a few of the countless expressions of this desire to serve.  And, of course, as Lutherans we can be very proud of the tremendous impact of our Lutheran social service organizations.  As you may know, 1 in 50 Americans are touched annually by the services of member organizations of Lutheran Services in America.

There are encouraging signs for the future of a church dedicated to service as Lutheran young adults and other young people of faith place high priority on personal involvement in service to others.  One of the programs that is causing much excitement among Wheat Ridge staff and board members these days is our Burst Grant program that provides initial encouragement and support for health and human care initiatives led by young adults.  We recently hosted a convening of some of the first recipients of this grant.  It was a high energy gathering as these talented leaders filled the room with their stories, experiences and questions, while at the same time building supportive relationships. 

Wheat Ridge Ministries is blessed to have a “bird’s eye” view of this service activity as we receive and respond to abundant opportunities each year to seed new ministries of health and hope from congregations and church agencies that are inspired by God’s Spirit to develop new ways to serve people in their neighborhood and community.

Wheat Ridge Ministries is privileged to connect and serve leaders young and old who are inspired to make an impact in the lives of others in the name of the healing Christ.  We are blessed to serve as a vehicle to connect these new ministries with generous people who serve and support these new ministries through their investment of resources.

Our staff just completed its annual planning retreat.  During our time together, Mark Schoepp, our Director of Congregation Engagement, led us on a wonderful journey through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.  Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians in Chapter 5 comes clearly to mind as we encourage one another in the important work of sharing the healing touch of Christ with others:

I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.  Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever!

Amen!

Numbers ... and the Church Responds

Thanks to our ever-present media in this age of instant information, there is no lack of statistics used to describe the current state of affairs in our world. Unfortunately, most of these statistics are troubling rather than encouraging. In the past few weeks, three sets of numbers have particularly caught my attention. 

Thirty-three percent of people in the state of Illinois are living in poverty. Heartland Alliance, a Chicago-based human rights advocacy group, released data from its annual study that suggests that 33 percent of Illinoisans are living in poverty or near it. Statistically, that's one out of every three people I pass on my way to work in my home state. 

In city and suburban neighborhoods, like the one in which I currently live, it’s so easy not to see that people are living in poverty.  But they are there … ask the leaders at Trinity Lutheran Church in Roselle, Illinois, located in a comfortable middle-class suburb. They host a one day “Clinic” each year that draws nearly 1,000 people who are in need of food, clothing, a warm meal, and basic health care services.

The death toll by murder in Chicago over the past decade is greater than the number of American forces who have died in Afghanistan since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom. Between 2003 and 2012, 4,777 people were murdered in the city of Chicago. In 2012 alone, 512 people were murdered in the city. Operation Iraqi Freedom, the name for the war in Iraq, which started March 20, 2003, and ended Dec. 15, 2011, saw a total of 4,422 killed.

“Two more people were shot to death in Chicago last night and two others critically injured.” This report greeted me when I turned on my car radio yesterday. The reporter’s tone betrayed how matter-of-fact deaths by gun violence have become in Chicago and in other cities in the U.S. Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre, the news is filled with reports that gun sales have skyrocketed, and the NRA is suggesting the solution to gun violence is more guns. Thank God for congregations like Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church in Warren, Michigan, that is committed to being an oasis for hope and healing in the midst of their violence-prone neighborhood. They open their church property all day, every day so that residents can be touched by the love of Christ through ministries such as an urban community garden, a safe and nurturing early childhood center, and a counseling and support program for victims of domestic violence.

More suicides by members of the U.S. military in 2012 than soldiers killed in combat. (349 – up 16% from 2011). The only good news in this statistic is that the number of U.S. military men and women being killed in combat is decreasing. However, this is small consolation to the families and loved ones of those who choose to take their own lives rather than continue to struggle with the trauma of combat and its physical and psychological effects. Once again, the church responds. Elim Lutheran Church, a small rural congregation in Minnesota, is served by a retired military chaplain who has a vision for how the church could make a difference. The pastor recruited a talented team of like-minded people and produced Welcome Them Home, Help Them Heal, a resource designed to help congregations develop programs to provide encouragement, support, and hope for veterans returning from military service. Thousands of copies of this resource have been distributed to congregations across the United States.  For more information, click here.

While statistics like these are a vivid and sad reminder of the brokenness that exists in our world, we are also encouraged by efforts such as the recent National Service Day, which demonstrate that millions of people are moved to respond to the needs of others and to move the numbers in a different direction. God’s spirit is at work in powerful ways. Followers of Christ respond by sharing the healing touch of Christ with others. For example, consider that over 170,000 people volunteer annually through the social service agencies of the Lutheran church. The actual figure is undoubtedly much higher, though, since it reflects statistics from just a portion of the member organizations of Lutheran Services in America.

Thank God for congregations whose response to the Gospel calls them to provide free health clinics, food pantries, and employment services. Thank God for those who engage in their community to address the root causes of poverty and who advocate on behalf of those whose voice is otherwise not heard. Thank God for those who bring a listening ear and a healing presence to others who are struggling with post-traumatic stress and other psychological challenges. If you are among those reading this, the chances are good that you are personally engaged through service and support in one of these life saving ministries of the church. Thank God for you!!

Our Lutheran Social Service Agencies Partners

This month's reflections are dedicated to the 300+ social service agencies and their leaders who comprise Lutheran Services in America. Wheat Ridge Ministries is proud to be an active member of LSA.

Wheat Ridge is unique as an LSA member in that we serve our fellow LSA members through our seeding mission. On the list of new ministries seeded through Wheat Ridge over the years you’ll find many new and creative ministry projects initiated by LSA organizations. One of my personal favorites is The Good News Garage, a ministry developed by Lutheran Social Services of New England that rehabs donated automobiles and gives them to people who need transportation to get or stay employed. The Good News Garage also provides repair and maintenance on a sliding fee scale for those who have received a car. This project grew out of another Wheat Ridge seed grant to LSSNE that helped them bring together clusters of congregation leaders to explore how they could work together to address needs in their communities. Today, there are multiple sites for the Good News Garage around New England making it possible for hundreds of people to find employment, to stay employed, and to have access to resources that would be impossible without the gift of reliable transportation.

The Lutheran church’s impact on people in need through its social service agencies is quite astounding. Last year, one in 50 Americans was served by a Lutheran social service agency or related affiliate! The combined budget of these organizations exceeds $15 billion. LSA agencies provide services in 16 different areas of health and human care, touching lives that range from infants to older adults and from ex-offenders to persons with disabilities.

Participating in the annual LSA National Conference is always an inspiring experience, and this year was no exception. Our church is incredibly blessed by the outstanding servant leaders who serve as CEOs, staff and board for these agencies. They serve with care and compassion, creatively finding ways to address the needs of people who are often overlooked and underserved in our society. The leaders of our social services organizations exemplify the encouragement to “do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with the Lord.” (Micah 6:8)

The LSA conference is an important time for these leaders to connect with colleagues from across the country, to re-energize, and to celebrate the healing power of Jesus. This year, I found the spirit of mutual care among the participants to be especially high. I suspect this was due to the extreme challenges these leaders are facing. The economic realities of the past two years have elevated the need for services by our LSA agencies. At the same time, they struggle to secure resources to meet these needs as state and federal government funding has declined and as individual, corporate and foundation donors have also faced tough economic times. As a result, “do more with less” has become a common expectation. In the midst of these challenges, it’s inspiring to be among leaders who continue to be enthusiastic and excited about the work they do!

Thanks for your prayers on behalf of our Lutheran social service organizations across the country and the people who lead them. And thanks for your faithful charitable support for these organizations and for Wheat Ridge Ministries, support that is needed more than ever. With your help, Wheat Ridge will continue to serve our social service agencies by encouraging and assisting them in the development of sustainable new health and human care ministries that impact so many people in the name of our healing Christ!