To all the KING's Men... This will be a time remembered with words like... "Remember the Alamo," "Remember Pearl Harbor," "Remember 9/11" and in a window of time where we remember 9/11 ten years out we will come to remember the Texas fires of 2011. This is not just Channel 2 news from afar. This is news in our front yard... it is people we know...they attend our churches... we know their names... we've had meals in each others homes... And so the burn hurts a bit more. It lasts longer. Personal does that.I drove to Bastrop and La Grange yesterday( 9/12). I tried to bring some help. As I drove down the hill from Alum Creek to the east edge of Bastrop, I knew immediately that what I had in the back seat of my car was microscopic in comparison the burn trail I entered. And the greater destruction zone was the miles long stretch up HWY 21 north and east of the city. But, you know the story. You read the news. People were asked to leave. "Leave. Now," was the two-word warning many people heard. A 5 mile stretch of land and all that was on in was consumed in 45 minutes. It's more than a mess. But, that's what nature will do. We can prepare to some degree in advance. We can't control the weather. But, we can control how we respond to the destruction, hurt and heartache of our very own. I hear people say, "we should take care of things at home before we go helping someone across the ocean," and whether you believe that or not, now would be a good time to help our very own. And the good news? We already are.
That's one of things I really like about being in our synod and in the ELCA. Not the hurricanes (someone suggested that if our ELCA churchwide office is in Chigago, the 'windy city,' then after all the storms we've had in TX and LA we should be called, the "Windy Synod!") and not the fires but that fact that we are part of something bigger than ourselves. Bigger than me. Bigger than you. Bigger than the gas and gift cards, cases of water, toiletries and baby items I had in the back of my Honda. Bigger than any one congregation or any corner of our synod. Therefore, getting info out and being ready to help becomes a key piece in what will happen in the days ahead.
So, as I recieve phone calls and emails from others, this is what I can share...
- Pray. Keep praying. Our prayers remind US of other's needs;
- Be a blessing. Life is harsh. Some days and in some places life is harsher. We have been blessed to 'bless' others. Do it; practice it; own it.
- Be patient. We are part of a team of people. Immediate needs response, assessment and action are all part of a process. In fact, it's part of the 'creation' theology we cling to as life has seasons, hours and chapters or life and death and re-birth.
- Be ready. Everyone has a role. And like our brothers and sisters in New Orelans, south LA and Galveston who continue to 're-build' (lives, familiels, houses, churches & communities) after the storms, there will be ongoing work in Bastrop, La Grange, Columbus, Waller and Magnolia. Like many a fight... we didn't start it...but we can help end it!
- Map out a response---one that is personal and one that your congregation can take part in;
- Recruit others. There will be "manual labor" projects to tend to once those directives comes from the staff at Camp Lutherhill and the bishop's office. Buy some chain saws, face masks, gloves, etc and set aside some clothes you'll want to throw away when the work day comes.
- Make a gift. The synod office has set up a 'Fire Fund.' We've been told not to send any more clothes or water to Bastrop. May our response to the Fire Fund be just like that!
- Life is full of "normal beginnings and endings"... the things that are common to us... i.e. learning to ride a bike, going to school, playing in the band, winning the Little League championship, getting a job, etc... the things that people in our culture do as routine... and in each of the beginnings and endings we learn something about God and this impacts our faith. But, life can be more complicated than this and so we learn about God and our faith is deepened when we experience...
- "Crises moments"... they rock our world and set us back on our heels. Sometimes they knock us down, but not out. We get back up. They are temporary and we go on... things like having a job, losing a job and getting a new one, or having someone hit your car in the parking lot, then you get it fixed, or you fall off the ladder and break your arm, then your arm gets better and you hire someone else to paint your house so they can fall off the ladder... 'crises moments,' temporary setbacks and in each one we learn about God, ourselves and our faith is transformed once again...and then again... and yet there are times when life is much more harsh and we find ourselves eperiencing an...
- "Intrusive life marking"... where at that moment, everything changes and everything is different. And there's no going back to the way it was...only a path that leads to the way it has not ever been. These moments draw us into a depth of darkness that challenges the very core of our faith and yet shows us the tenacity of the human spirit and psyche that is driven by the Gospel's message of grace and hope and purpose.... "intrusive life markings" like when a couple gets married and then sees that marriage crumble and die; or watching a parent fade from your very eyes, or losing a child for any reason or having someone tell you 'leave now' only to return 2-3-4 days later to a heap of smoldering ash that once was a family's home... Life is never the same... and even in these moments we learn of God and of ourselves and the deep truths that bring us from the darkness to wonderful light and life that is eternal...
So, thank you... Bishop Rinehart, our synod staff, pastors and laymen who have already responded... there will be more to do...and remember...EVERY man in every one of our congregations is part of Lutheran Men in Mission... We are the KING's men....
Know Christ...
Invite others to know him too...
Nurture those friendships...
Grow your faith via, prayer, worship and study....
' ... remember to whom you now belong...
Serve the Lord via your time, talent and wallet...
In the end, our lives are not ultimately defined by the common beginnings and endings we experience, nor the crises moments we encounter and endure nor by the life changes that are permanent... as Lutheran Christian men, our lives are defined by the primacy of Jesus, the Christ, the son of the living God. His life, death, resurrection and ascension, coupled with a command to love God, ourselves and neighbor with all our heart, strength and mind as well as to make disciples of all peoples demonstrates the model of the Godly life... showing us that Christ does make all things new... Do it; practice it; own it...in our corner of the kingdom and beyond...
One man at a time; no man left behind,
Brian
Rev. Dr. Brian K Gigee, Gulf Coast Synod Men's Ministry Co-ordinator
