Teaching and leaving "Phoebe" in Liberia

Cheryl D. Naumann giving a copy of "In the Footsteps of Phoebe" to The Revd. Amos Bolay, President of The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Liberia

Teaching Liberian deaconess students in Monrovia, Liberia.

From February 21 to March 5, 2014, I had the privilege of journeying to and from Monrovia, Liberia, at the invitation of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) Office of International Mission, to assist in teaching Lutheranism 101 to deaconess students of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Liberia (ELCL), an African church body that just became a partner church of the LCMS at its synod convention in the summer of 2013.

This course in Monrovia was the second phase of deaconess training in Liberia organized under the directorship of Deaconess Grace Rao (Director of Deaconess Ministry, LCMS Office of International Mission), with whom I traveled to Africa. 

Our ten students came from all over Liberia, from five different tribes with five different languages, so the common language of instruction is English, which they all know as their second language. The two women that came the furthest traveled three nights and two days; one of them with her three month old baby!  Every day they were eager to learn.  We started at 7:30 a.m. and finished between 4 and 6 p.m. (even having class on Saturday).  We had to insist that they took breaks during the day and their whole lunch hour because when they finished lunch they would be back in their seats waiting for class to start again.

After our last day of teaching, ELCL President Rev. Amos Bolay took us to see the Liberian Lutheran Malaria Initiative office.  I thought of Bishop David Stechholz of the LCMS English District while standing in the office, since the Bishop is on the LCMS committee for this initiative and the English District has made such an effort to support the Malaria initiative.  It was very moving to see what a huge effect the LCMS is having in this part of the world that so desperately needs the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the hand of mercy that is simultaneously provided through the love of Jesus Christ.  What a privilege we have to partner with and serve the people of Liberia in so many ways!

KFUO BookTalk Interviews

These last several months since my dear father's departing to his heavenly rest have been very busy - and hence my lack of posts here on the blog. But activity in the realm of deaconess history has continued! In January I was interviewed three times on KFUO radio - A station located on property adjacent to Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. BookTalk host Rod Zwonitzer did a marvelous job of interviewing me about In the Footstep of Phoebe, as well as encouraging his listeners to think seriously about diaconal work in their own churches. The good news is that you can hear these recorded programs simply by accessing the archived BookTalk section of the KFUO website: www.kfuoam.org, Archives, Book Talk, Jan. 14 (Part 1), Jan. 21 (Part 2), Jan. 22 (Part 3). After the interviews I wrote a 30-second advert for deaconesses, which is now airing daily on KFUO 850AM and streaming worldwide. The hope is that this will generate some interest to create more positions for deaconesses in LCMS congregations. Since recruitment programs for deaconess students have done their jobs well, we have a lot of women graduating from our LCMS deaconess training programs! Now the placement directors and the church as a whole need to keep up with finding enough appropriate places for these women to serve. This is a matter that we can keep in prayer! I hope you enjoy listening to the archived interviews!

Deaconess and her Father on Family Vocations

Every once in a while one is delighted to find a book that expresses the truth in a way that one always hopes it could be articulated - simply, straight to the point, and in accord with Biblical teaching! This volume by Deaconess Mary Moerbe and her father, Gene Edward Veith, does just that with a topic that so desperately needs to be dusted off and discussed over shared cups of coffee. Sections of the book deal with the vocation of husband and wife; the vocation of parent; and the vocation of childhood. Everyone can benefit from this book, married or unmarried, with or without children. (Moerbe and Veith point out that all have the vocation of childhood, for our entire lives, even if only in terms of being the children of our heavenly Father!) Bottom line - Our six children will all be getting it for Christmas, and in the meantime, it's the first thing on my agenda to study in the fall Woman to Woman classes. Thank you Deaconess Mary and dad, for this great book! (Available from Crossway. $15.99)

Assessing Loehe's Influence on the Deaconess Movement in North America

The rather new "International Loehe Society" has hosted three international conferences to date: 1) The founding conference at Wartburg Theological Seminary (Dubuque, Iowa) in 2005; 2) A second at Neuendettelsau, Germany in 2008; and 3) A third at Concordia Theological Seminary (Fort Wayne, Indiana) in 2011.

The theme of the latter conference, "Wilhelm Loehe: Theological Impact and Historical Influence," included a presentation by yours truly titled Lutheran Deaconesses in North America: Assessing Loehe's Influence.

My presentation, along with others, was published in the most recent issue of Currents in Theology and Mission (February 2012 Volume 39 Number 1). Anyone who doesn't subscribe to this periodical but would like to acquire a copy of this issue can contact the circulation desk at773-256-0751 or currents@lstc.edu

Currents in Theology and Mission is produced by the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

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

Deaconess Cook Book

Every once in a long while I find a gem of Deaconess History on eBay. A few weeks ago it was a lovely little 1924 hardback "Deaconess Cook Book" compiled by the Deaconess Society of the First Lutheran Church, Worcester, Massachusetts.

Deaconess societies accomplished a great deal of work on behalf of the deaconess movement in North America, first through their members promoting and carrying out diaconal acts of mercy in areas local to the society; and second, by raising money to support deaconess training and deaconess service throughout the church.

I feel quite certain that my newly acquired "Deaconess Cook Book" is one of the projects that the ladies would have designed specifically to raise money for the deaconess cause! The fact that there are four "Patron and Patronesses" listed on the page opposite the front "Index" (Contents page) also testifies in favor of this possibility.

Within the 104 pages of great looking recipes, the Hor's D'oeuvre page includes a very interesting entry describing a good SMORGASBORD - what we might call a fancy buffet:

Butter pats; rye, wheat, and other breads cut in thin, small slices; strip of toasted bread, about width of two fingers; two or three kinds of cheese; caviar; sardines; anchovies, shrimps; lobster; medvurst; sausage; cold sliced chicken; cold sliced ham; sliced smoked salmon; sliced corned beef; sliced tongue; cold boiled salmon; small meat-balls; pickled herring; cucumbers; plain and stuffed olives; celery and other relishes. Besides the above a few salads may appear, as well as hot dishes consisting possibly of small meat pies, and various small omelets made by adding to omelet batter, sardines, minced ham, or fried mushrooms, also dainty meat or fish croquettes. The above dishes are placed upon buffet and serving table and are eaten before sitting down to dinner table; each guest may be asked to help himself; or, they may be placed upon dinner table and served before regular dinner is served, in that case the table must necessarily by cleared before the first course, leaving olives, celery, radishes, butter and bread.

I was surprised by the amount of seafood included in this smorgasbord - but then the book was published on the eastern seaboard. But what a massive amount of food to eat before dinner!

For the fun of it - Next time you go to eBay, type "deaconess" into the search bar and have fun looking at all of the different things that pop up about deaconesses.

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.