Time for Hobbies and Thanksgiving

Since reading, writing, and editing are sort of a hobby/passion/obsession, I've been pleased to have more than the usual amount of time to do these things lately. The reason, though a somewhat painful one, is that on Sept. 12, 2015, I fell backward off of a stage and sustained several fractured bones in my right foot.

Since surgery on Sept. 24 things have gone well. Physical Therapy started two weeks ago. One more surgery early in December will be the last, and then another period of some weeks of recovery.

I decided from the start that if Martin Luther could translate the Bible into the German language while secluded at Wartburg Castle, I could likewise be somewhat productive while just sitting around with my foot elevated above my knee! This decision has helped me get through many a long day, though I'll admit to cat-napping during the process.

In this week of Thanksgiving, I am grateful to God for doctors, nurses, surgeons, medicine, a loving and caring family, a loving and caring church, a loving and caring sisterhood of deaconesses in Concordia Deaconess Conference, and of course, the salvation that God has so freely given to us!

May you have a blessed Thanksgiving, in Christ!

The Life and Words of Deaconess Clara Strehlow

One of my recent joys was to finish the biography of Deaconess Clara Elsa Flora Strehlow (1895-1985).

My first acquaintance with Clara was sometime during the early months of 1979, when we were both involved in campaigning for a deaconess training program within The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Clara had a calm voice and seldom spoke, but when she did have something to say, everyone listened. We regarded her as a mentor who gave sage advice gleaned from a life of genuine diaconal service in the Lord’s name.

Her experience was broad. She cared for orphans, organized Sunday Schools, worked at a home for the deaf, make countless home visits in the community, and starting in 1958, served as the first housemother of Deaconess Hall at Valparaiso University.

Here was a woman who had seen it all in the Church. When we met she had been a deaconess for 52 years – a founding member of the Lutheran Deaconess Conference of the Synodical Conference at the beginning of her career – and a founding member of Concordia Deaconess Conference – Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in the twilight of her career.

Sources for this biography include pieces written by Clara herself; her family’s oral history; the memories of her friends; and other articles and common domain historical documents. Some great photos add a fun dimension to the text. If you are looking for an easy and inspirational read - about how one dedicated deaconess lived her life in service to the Lord in her neighbors - this could be the book for you!  It's available from Lutheran Legacy Publishing, at http://www.lutheranlegacy.org/index.php/publications/20-the-life-and-words-of-deaconess-clara-strehlow

Concordia Deaconess Conference Pro-Life

The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS) has for many years been one of the forerunners of the Pro-Life movement in the United States. That Pro-Life conviction was upheld by the Synod's President, Rev. Dr. Matthew Harrison, in his testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Thursday February 16, 2012, in discussion of the threat to religious liberty that is posed by the recent contraception mandate from President Barack Obama's Health and Human Services Department. (Please see http://reporter.lcms.org/pages/rpage.asp?NavID=19663)

As implied, this stance is not new for the LCMS or for its pastors, teachers, and deaconesses. In fact, in 1984, only four years after its origin as an organization that provides personal, spiritual and professional growth opportunities for LCMS deaconesses, Concordia Deaconess Conference - Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (CDC) passed a resolution to ensure continued participation in Pro-Life support and education:

Resolution 1984S-1 – To Continue Pro-Life Studies

WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod at its July 1983 Convention passed Resolution 3-04B “To Reaffirm and Implement the Synod’s Pro-Life Position;” and
WHEREAS, Dr. Ralph Bohlmann, President of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, has requested each organization affiliated with Synod to implement this resolution and report back to Synod; therefore be it
RESOLVED, that Concordia Deaconess Conference affirm Synod’s position that (a) the living but unborn are persons in the sight of God from the time of conception (Job 10:9-11; Ps. 51:5; 139:13-17; Jer. 1:5; Luke 1:41-44); (b) as persons the unborn stand under the full protection of God’s own prohibition against murder (Gen. 9:6; Ex. 20:13; Num. 35:33; Acts 7:19; I John 3:15); and (c) since abortion takes a human life, abortion is not a moral option, except as a tragically unavoidable byproduct of medical procedures necessary to prevent the death of another human being, viz., the mother (1979 Res. 3-02A); and be it further
RESOLVED, that Concordia Deaconess Conference encourage member deaconesses to take a pro-life approach in counseling opportunities and to be a referral source for members of their congregations and staff of their agencies; and be it further
RESOLVED, that Concordia Deaconess Conference continue pro-life studies.

Program organizers for the CDC annual conference have invited Maggie Karner, Director of LCMS World Relief and Human Care Life and Health Ministries, to serve as their 2012 banquet speaker. More information on the annual conference will soon be available on http://www.concordiadeaconessconference.org/news.htm

Guest Blog by Deaconess Deborah Rockrohr

A New Page in Deaconess History

The Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (LCSA) will soon write a new page in deaconess history. For the past two years a small group of women have received short-term intensive course training from Deaconess Grace Rao with the support of LCMS World Relief and Human Care. These women will complete their final course in October, and on October 28, 2011, the LCSA will commission its first deaconesses.

As the director of the new full-time residential deaconess training program that will launch at Lutheran Theological Seminary (LTS) in Pretoria in January 2012, I look forward to becoming better acquainted with these women who will shortly become my colleagues in the mercy work of the LCSA. Two of the current students, Nancy and Esther, were able to join us for the annual conference of the Concordia Deaconess Conference – LCMS in June (see July 3rd blog below). While we do not expect to move to South Africa until late in 2011, LCMS World Relief and Human Care is making it possible for me to join the LTS deaconess students for their final days of training and also be present for the commissioning on October 28. It is hoped that my visit in October will facilitate a smooth transition from the initial intensive training to the new full time program and permit me to develop professional relationships with the new LCSA deaconesses and others who will be resources for the new training program.

Although deaconess ministry will be new to the LCSA, women have been active in the work of the church for many years through the Women’s League. Similar in many ways to the work of the LCMS Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML), these women organize to pray for the people of South Africa and the work of the church, and engage in projects that extend the mercy work of the church to the community. In South Africa, every major Christian denomination has a women’s league with a denominationally-distinct uniform. Nancy and Esther, who will soon be deaconesses in the LCSA, are also members of the LCSA Women’s League and appear in the league uniform in the July 3rd blog photo.

Concordia Deaconess Conference 2011

Concordia Deaconess Conference - Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (CDC) - a 'Recognized Service Organization' of the LCMS - holds annual conferences to provide its members with opportunities for personal, spiritual, and professional growth. This year's conference, held at Concordia University, Nebraska, from June 15-18, centered on the theme: Lutheran Spirituality: A Life of Receptivity.

Among the 2011 conference participants were two deaconess students from The Lutheran Church in Southern Africa, a partner church of the LCMS. The conference mission offering was designated for the support of a new deaconess training program at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Tshwane (Pretoria, South Africa). CDC member, Deaconess Deborah Rockrohr (pictured above with the two students), recently accepted a call to serve as Director of this program.

CDC members thanked the outgoing Spiritual Counselor, Rev. John Berg, and four outgoing officers, Deborah Rockrohr, Carol Schroeder, Linda Cosgrove, and Lorraine Groth, for their hard work over the last several years. Newly elected officers include Sara Lemon, Vice President; Kim Schave, Treasurer, Jana Peters, Member-at-Large for Annual Conference Logistics; Heidi Bishop, Member-at-Large for Membership. Rev. William Weedon was elected as the CDC Spiritual Counselor for the next three years.

More information about the conference, membership applications, copies of the CDC newsletter, and so forth, are available at http://www.concordiadeaconesslcms.org/

Deaconesses in LCMS Procession

On September 11, 2010, the Service of Installation for the new President of The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, as well as other synod officers and elected and appointed Board and Commission Members of the LCMS, took place at the Chapel of St. Timothy and Saint Titus on the campus of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.

One of the unique features of the Divine Service was the procession of 300 individuals into the sanctuary during the Processional Hymn, "Come Holy Ghost, Creator Blest." The printed service book noted, "The procession this morning holds high our Lord's work in The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod through its called pastors and church workers, as well as through the ministry of our partner churches throughout the world. The faculty of St. Paul's Lutheran School, Des Peres, Missouri, represents the commissioned teachers of our Synod. Other commissioned ministers of our Synod follow them. Members of the Concordia Deaconess Conference represent our Synod's work of mercy throughout the world. The pastors of our Synod and the Council of Presidents are those called to the preaching office. Faculty members from our Synod's seminaries prepare men for that preaching office. Visiting bishops and presidents from our partner churches throughout the world exhibit the catholicity of the Gospel throughout the world and the worldwide carrying out of our Lord's command to 'Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation' (Mark 16:15). The Praesidium and those serving in the service this morning conclude the procession."

The thirty-nine members of Concordia Deaconess Conference in the procession traveled at their own expense, from 14 different states, to take part in this joyous occasion. The women included Jennie Asher, Heidi Bishop, Sandra Bowers, Kim Bueltmann, Linda Cosgrove, Gloria DeCuir, Susan Eyer, Jessica Feldmann, Lorraine Groth, Kelly Hardt, Julie Heck, Betsy Karkan, Dorothy Krans, Sarah Longmire, Ruth McDonnell, Linda Meyer, Jeana Moe, Betty Mulholland, Cheryl D. Naumann, Pamela Nielsen, Linda Nobili, Jane Obersat, Lauren Olsen, Joyce Ostermann, Jennifer Phillips, Grace Rao, Loraine Rathman, Deborah Rockrohr, Kim Schave, Carol Schroeder, Sarah Schultz, Linda Seward, Doris Snashall, Jane Stancliff, Corinne Thompson, Gayle Truesdell, Kristin Wassilak, Rosemary Williams, and Renee Young.

Several informal "group" photos such as the one above were taken of the LCMS deaconesses as they began to arrive at the chapel (but no photo actually captured all 39 women together at the same time).