Fathers and Families

Like other fathers across the United States, I enjoyed being honored by my family again this year on Father’s Day. While my cynical side likes to take jabs at “Hallmark holidays,” I admit that I look forward to the special attention of this day. This year, Father’s Day was especially great since it arrived just a couple weeks after the wedding of our daughter and I’m thrilled to be a father-in-law for the first time! I’m also blessed that my own father is still alive and doing well. I called him on Father’s Day at his home in North Carolina. He’s 91 years old and refuses to resort to hearing aids, so our conversation was brief (and loud!). Just long enough to get a health update and let him know that we love him.

Those of us who are blessed with the God-given privilege of being a father know that it’s an awesome gift and we also know that fatherhood carries with it awesome responsibilities. Fortunately, there are millions of wonderful, fathers who love, care for, and serve as positive role models for their children. I’m blessed to have such a father in my life. Unfortunately, though, there are also far too many dads who, for whatever reasons, have not been present in the lives of their children, have not been a significant caregiver or provider, or have behaved in ways that have had a damaging impact on their family’s wellness.

There are many varieties of family units these days. They all exist to provide love, care and support for adults and children of all ages. The family is the basic unit of caring community in every culture. And, for those of us who recognize God’s creative power, caring for family is our way of responding to and sharing the story of God’s love for us.

At Wheat Ridge Ministries, we are blessed to know and support leaders and organizations dedicated to helping families be and become healthy and whole, no matter what shape or makeup they take. Our website directory shares the wide variety of programs geared to families. It’s amazing to see the church at work through such a wide range of projects and initiatives.

Praise God for the gift of families and for those who help families be all that God created them to be!

Thanks John!

One of the great blessings of serving at Wheat Ridge Ministries is meeting and enjoying relationships with so many inspiring, interesting and unique people. Across the breadth of our constituency of project leaders, recipients of services provided by ministries we assist, donors who support our work, and colleagues from other organizations, there is an amazing variety of people who have many different stories to tell. I’ve met some real “characters” over the years. I’ve listened to and learned from some really wise and intelligent people. So many individuals who exemplify Christ-centered living have encouraged my faith-journey.

Someone who fits into all of these categories was my good friend, John Walz. John passed away recently. He was 76 years young when the Lord took him to heaven following a bout with cancer and subsequent medical challenges.

My predecessor, Rich Bimler, recruited John to the Wheat Ridge staff as Director of Finance not long after I joined the team as Vice President for Programs in the early 1990s. He served in this role until just a few years ago. 

John Walz (center), pictured here with wife, Donna,
and Dave Siebert at a President's Circle Retreat, 
was a great friend of Wheat Ridge Ministries and a
devoted churchman who will be greatly missed!  

John just couldn’t seem to get enough of being involved in the work of the church. Prior to coming to Wheat Ridge, he had a long history of involvement and leadership in the Walther League, a youth and young adult organization of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. He was also extremely involved in his home congregation. I recall John coming into the office on many occasions extremely excited about some new strategy or structural change that he felt was going to make the congregation more effective in its outreach. I also remember him expressing his frustration when many of these efforts didn’t pan out the way he had hoped. But the frustrations never led him to “throw in the towel.” He was always convinced that he could contribute to making his church more effective.

The same was true at Wheat Ridge Ministries. One of the things I respected the most about John was his ability to combine his expertise as a “numbers guy” and his ability to be comfortable in the messiness and imprecision that is often a part of ministry efforts. While many finance and accounting types seem most comfortable with black and white objectivity, John worked well with “shades of gray.” He did a great job of keeping those of us on the team who always wanted to pursue a new idea mindful of the financial realities and consequences of our activities, but his main objective was to see as many people as possible served by our ministry efforts and he recognized that this often involved more than having good numbers on a financial report.

Up until the time of his death, John remained committed to using his gifts and abilities to serve the Lord through organizations he loved. In addition to sharing their time and talent, he and his wife, Donna, have been generous supporters for the ministry of Wheat Ridge for many years and they have regularly attended our annual President’s Circle Retreat. John was also a great blessing to other ministries including Lutheran Life Communities, Lutheran Education Association, and Bright Stars of Bethlehem, serving on boards and committees and providing accounting services. As John’s pastor quipped during his sermon at John’s funeral, “John never met a meeting he didn’t like!” I will say, however, that I saw John on a many occasions find a way to blend his love for meetings with his need for a nap!

I am deeply grateful for John’s assistance and strong encouragement. He consistently expressed his support and confidence in me. He was always curious about what I was doing or thinking, and often his inquiries led us to engage in great conversations about the mission of the church. I always knew I could count on John if I needed his help.

Thanks, John, for your friendship, encouragement and example! I’m one of many, many people who thank God for the privilege of knowing you and working with you. We celebrate your life and we celebrate that you are now experiencing the joy of your heavenly home at the feet of Jesus!

Be Not Afraid

The women who went to Jesus’ tomb on the first Easter heard the words, “Be Not Afraid” twice that morning, according to the account in Matthew 28. These were the same words the shepherds who were “abiding in the fields by night” heard at the time of Jesus’ birth.

I’ve tried to imagine what it would have been like to see an angel or to see Jesus alive after observing His crucifixion. Be not afraid – are you kidding me?! How could these women and these shepherds not have been afraid? After all, God created us with survival mechanisms to protect us from harm. Fear is one of them. To not be afraid at a strange site, an unusual noise, or a life-threatening situation would be abnormal.

Recently, Wheat Ridge Ministries hosted a convening of church leaders in Chicago who are trying to address violence in their communities. Just a few days later, on Easter day, we were reminded once again of the reason their efforts are so important as nine children who were playing in a Chicago park were shot by a spray of gunfire. A carefree afternoon turned, without warning, into an experience of fear and terror. 

The message to “Be Not Afraid” in the Easter Sunday Gospel lesson caused me to think about the projects seeded around the world by Wheat Ridge Ministries. I guess it would be true that these new ministries are assisting people who are afraid. The ABAN project in Ghana helps young women who were homeless and living in fear in the streets of Accra. The Noah Project in South Carolina encourages the development of respite programs for caregivers who are afraid of the toll of aging on their frail elderly loved ones and who are afraid of the effects on their own health resulting from serving as a full-time caregiver. The Bridges to Hope program in Nebraska helps men who fear the challenges of re-entering society after years in prison.

Be not afraid! These words were spoken by Christ and His angels not just to the women at the tomb, or those facing special challenges, but to all of us. What a great opportunity we have to be Gospel messengers by reminding ourselves and others that these are not a reprimand for being afraid, but words of comfort and hope. They are a reminder of Christ’s presence even as we are afraid. They remind us that the sources of our fears pale in comparison to the fullness of God’s love for us in Christ. And, they remind us that because of Christ’s Easter victory we are headed for an eternal future without fear. The apostle Paul assured us that we can “be not afraid” in these beautiful words:

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.   (Romans 8:38,39)

Christ is risen! Be not afraid! Alleluia!!

By the Time We Got to Phoenix …

I admit that my reasons for looking forward to a recent trip southwest on behalf of Wheat Ridge Ministries included the hope of relief from this year’s endless Chicago winter.  Phoenix, Arizona in March.  No snow.  No sub-zero temperatures.  Clean cars.  No potholes. No heavy coats.  Sunshine.  A parting blow as Deb and I made our way to O’Hare airport was yet another “snow event” that resulted in a two-hour flight delay.

Fortunately, once we arrived in Phoenix, it didn’t take long to remember the real purpose of our trip and experience the joys of this journey to the Grand Canyon State.  I was so pleased to be part of two great gatherings there - our Board of Directors meeting and our annual President’s Circle donor retreat.  Here are just a few “snapshots” from these meetings:

Kathy Anderson, Executive
Director of Survivors of
Torture International

• Getting to know Shahzad, an amazing young man from Pakistan, who is bringing the concept of parish nursing to his home country in spite of the many risks involved.  Shahzad’s story of faith and courage is amazing!
• Receiving a report from Susan Work, CEO of Holy Family Ministries in Chicago, that posted the first successful project on our new WeRaise crowdfunding platform for the “Peace Exchange” project, an innovative effort to teach and promote peace and end violence in urban neighborhoods.
• Touring the Christ Cares Clinic, an amazing new ministry developed by Christ Church Lutheran in Phoenix that is already serving hundreds of uninsured and underinsured people.
• Learning about the important work of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services to train volunteers who provide a caring presence for refugees who often must live in prison-like conditions in U.S. detention centers before they are allowed into our country.
• Getting updated on the important work of Survivors of Torture International, an organization in southern California that received seed funding from Wheat Ridge a number of years ago. They continue to share health and hope with people struggling to recover from the trauma of physical and emotional torture that resulted in being forced to flee their home country.
• Being inspired, challenged, and encouraged by excellent speakers and resource people who joined us for these meetings, including Paul Miles, VP for Development for the Make A Wish Foundation; Dr. Don Christian, Dean of the College of Business at Concordia University in Austin, Texas; and Dr. Rich Bimler, past President of Wheat Ridge Ministries.

Dr. Rich Bimler with
Jan and Dale Van Wulfen

During the retreat, Rich Bimler suggested to us that the letters ‘WRM’ not only stand for Wheat Ridge Ministries, but also for Where Relationships Matter.  These gatherings in Phoenix of our board and other key supporters of our mission are great examples of the immense blessing of significant relationships that are so much a part of our ministry.  It is wonderful to gather with such caring and generous people, to be honored by their friendship and support, to learn from them, and to be inspired by their spirit of generosity in response to the Good News of Jesus Christ.  This spirit of generosity was especially evident in the testimony that several of our President’s Circle participants provided as they shared with other attendees what motivates their generosity and why they continue to make our work a priority in their charitable giving.

Deb and I are back in Chicago.  It’s only snowed twice (so far) since we have returned!  In spite of the weather, we returned warmed by great relationships and the reminders of how people around the world continue to be moved by God’s Spirit to initiate and support new ministries of health and hope that are offered in the name of our healing Christ.

Blessings as you visit the empty tomb this Easter season to celebrate Christ’s ultimate act of healing!

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! 

Care for the Caregiver

Almost without fail, when I’m in an extended conversation with friends, neighbors or colleagues who, like me, are “baby boomers,” concerns are expressed about the challenge of caring for aging parents or other loved ones. Of course, I have not yet fully confronted the fact that I’ll be the one needing care from family and friends sometime in the future. According to demographic trends, more of us will need care, and fewer family members will be available to provide it.

Recently, Holly Fiala, our Vice President for Advancement, shared with me a research summary published last September by the Wilder Foundation. It was based on interviews with about 200 primary and secondary caregivers in St. Paul, Minnesota. Of course, their research is not limited to those caring for older adults, but also includes those caring for anyone of any age who require significant and continuing care from others. Included in the Wilder research summary are some very interesting statistics:

• 43.5 million Americans provide part-time or full-time care for another adult age 50 or over;
• The nationwide economic value of unpaid, informal care provided by family and friends is estimated at $306 billion per year;
• The demand for informal caregivers is expected to increase by more than 20% in the next 15 years and by 85% in the next 40 years. 

Thank God for the uniquely gifted people who provide care for others! But, who’s caring for these wonderful people as they invest time and energy for the sake of a friend or loved one? By the way, the caregivers surveyed in the Wilder study invest, on average, 37 hours per week in this role!
According to the study, most caregivers depend on assistance from an informal support system. Just over half of the caregivers surveyed depend on assistance from another family member while 25% rely on a combination of family members and others, such as friends or neighbors. And 15% indicate that no one is helping them.

Fortunately, more formal support is also available in most communities, including paid services from for-profit and non-profit organizations, health care agencies, county or state services, and other community-based organizations. However, the study also indicates that awareness of these resources by caregivers is an issue resulting in underutilization.

As I thought about the role of the church in all of this, one other statistic caught my attention. Only 7% of the caregivers in this survey reported receiving help from a member of their faith community. This seems hard to believe. 

Fortunately, there are great models of faith communities in action to support the needs of caregivers that serve as examples of what faith communities can do. Wheat Ridge has had the privilege to help seed several such programs in recent years: 

• A Caring Place Community Respite Care Program – Christus Victor Lutheran Church, Elk Grove Village, Illinois
• FUSION Special Needs Ministry – Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Naperville, Illinois
• Experience the Embrace – Respite Outreach Care for Kansans Organization and Ascension Lutheran Church, Wichita, Kansas
• Adult Day Respite Care Program – Lutheran Church of the Atonement, Barrington, Illinois  

I’d love to hear from you about your experience as a caregiver of a friend or family member. If you have a minute, please post a comment below in response to one or more of the following questions: In what ways does your congregation engage, assist, or encourage people who are caregivers? If you are a caregiver, how could your church or other faith community be helpful to you? What helpful models of support for caregivers exist in your community?

Perhaps no story in Scripture more powerfully portrays the commitment of care for loved ones as the story of Ruth, who expressed her commitment to her elderly mother-in-law with these words: Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. (Ruth 1:16-17) If you are a caregiver, thank you for your commitment, compassion and kindness! May God be with you and bless you as you continue to respond to the Gospel in this wonderful and important way!

Following God's Call

The early-bird weekday Bible study group at my church is currently making its way through the book of Exodus.  This morning, we read and talked about the early days of the Israelite’s 40-year journey through the wilderness after God led them out of Egypt.  I’m always amazed how easy it is for us to criticize the people of Israel, wondering how they, who were direct witnesses to God’s power and love, could so quickly and repeatedly worry and complain.  What we eventually had to admit, though, is how often our own lives reflect the same lack of trust in God’s caring presence.

Fortunately, there are people whose life stories encourage us to hear God’s call and pursue it, placing our trust in Him along the way.  I had the privilege of reconnecting recently with a man who has such a story.  Rev. Maxwell Anokwute is the Executive Director of Rebuilding the Breach Ministries in Gary, Indiana.  I first met Maxwell several years ago when Wheat Ridge Ministries was considering a seed grant for a shelter for homeless men being developed by Rebuilding the Breach.

At the time, their plan required remodeling a building they had purchased.  Remodeling is an understatement … it needed A LOT of work.  I recall having significant doubts about whether this new ministry would be a good seed investment for Wheat Ridge.  But good people like Rev. Jim Wetzstein, who, at that time, served as pastor of a nearby church and is now Associate Dean of the Chapel at Valparaiso University, convinced us to take the risk.

Today, the building houses 25 men who are trusting in God’s love and guidance as the foundation for getting back on their feet.  Shelter residents share management duties as they seek employment and permanent housing.  They are deeply engaged in the study of God’s Word along the way.  They also assist with one of Rebuilding the Breach’s outreach programs, the Bakery House, which provides food and clothing to people in the neighborhood.  Of course, the residents have unique and difficult stories to tell.  On this visit I met Hal, a 61-year-old graduate of Purdue University who spent a significant amount of his adult life in prison.  Currently still on parole, he recently found a full-time job in the community where he is applying his education and managerial skills to very positive effect.

Maxwell’s story is quite amazing.  He was a Pentecostal preacher in Nigeria.  One day, he heard the voice of God instructing him to go to the United States to share the Gospel.  He had never been to the U.S. nor did he know where he would go when he got here.  He, very simply, trusted that God was calling him to go and he dedicated himself to finding a way to get to the U.S.  Doors opened for him in some very unusual circumstances (sort of his version of crossing the Red Sea) and, long story short, he eventually made it to the U.S.

According to Maxwell, the miracles continued once he arrived.  A U.S. citizen from Indiana that he had met in Nigeria invited him to stay with him for several weeks until he got oriented to his new surroundings.  Again, long story short, he met the pastor of a Lutheran church near Gary who, not long after, asked him to serve as the director of a new ministry the congregation was supporting called Rebuilding the Breach.  A few years later, Maxwell went through the colloquy process of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod and today is an ordained LCMS pastor.  Eventually, his wife and children were able to join him in the U.S.  His children are graduates of Luther High School East in Lansing, Illinois.  Two of them are now physicians and one is in medical school.

Maxwell leads Rebuilding the Breach Ministries with the same trust in the Lord’s guidance that led him to the U.S.  He approaches their budget and strategic plan with the simple confidence that the Lord will provide.  And, for the past 10 years, God has provided.  Maxwell says that people literally “just show up” at times when they have need.  This is how the facility got repaired, how many of the men are able to find employment, and how other volunteers get involved.  Recently, just after the board had concluded that their dream of opening a second shelter for homeless women was out of reach, someone donated a nearby building!   Of course, Maxwell doesn’t just sit around waiting for these events to happen.  He works very hard to tell the story of the Bakery House and to build relationships with people in the community while God’s Spirit works in their hearts.

As we travel through the coming Advent season, we will read and hear again the stories of Mary and Joseph who, long after Moses led the children of Israel through the wilderness and long before Maxwell made his journey of faith to the United States, listened to God’s call for their lives and obeyed Him.  What a blessing that God is with each of us as we hear His call to the manger and to the journey of faith and hope that lies ahead!   

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your understanding.

(Proverbs 3:5)