by the Rev. Dr. Amsalu Geleta
You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior. I declared and saved and proclaimed, when there was no strange god among you; and you are my witnesses, says the Lord. Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? – Isaiah 43:9-12, 18-19
Today, I yield my blog post to the Rev. Dr. Amsalu Geleta, Executive Assistant to the Bishop and Director for Evangelical Mission, who introduces our five new mission starts in the Delaware-Maryland Synod for 2018-2019! My heart is full of gratitude and hope! +bg
Today, I yield my blog post to the Rev. Dr. Amsalu Geleta, Executive Assistant to the Bishop and Director for Evangelical Mission, who introduces our five new mission starts in the Delaware-Maryland Synod for 2018-2019! My heart is full of gratitude and hope! +bg
God is actively mobilizing our synod to do new things, to change lives, to transform communities, and to renew the church for the sake of the world. One of the overall synod mission strategies is investing in potential new starts. After strategic consultations with our bishop, local leaders, and ELCA Domestic Mission, we are pleased to announce five Synodically Authorized Worshiping Communities (SAWC) and SAWC explorations in 2018-2019. These ministry sites were identified with careful consideration of area potential, compelling vision, clear ministry plan, and potential leadership resources and support mechanisms.
Mountain of God International Church
Mountain of God International Church is an African national ministry started by resettled refugees primarily from Central and South Eastern African countries. The ministry started by a zealous evangelist who was resettled by the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services in partnership with Christ (Baltimore). Jean Paul saw the need for a Swahili speaking community in the Baltimore area and began the service with five families on October 16, 2016, in Christ Church’s Childrens Chapel. Swahili, French, Lingala, and English languages are used at Mountain of God during worship services.
The objectives for this SAWC exploration is to nurture the community gathered for worship, to organize them into a congregation so that the worship service begun with five families a year ago that grew to 60 average worship attendees will reach even more people with the good news of Jesus Christ in the Metropolitan Baltimore area. The leader identified as developer is Jean Paul Makano Kisuku.
Hamilton-Lauraville Community
Rooted in Hamilton-Lauraville but open to the wider city, this SAWC exploration is a neighborhood church with a heart for the whole of Baltimore. This is a project of the Delaware-Maryland Synod. They aim to become a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Hamilton and Lauraville are adjacent neighborhoods located along Harford Road in the Northeast of Baltimore, consisting of primarily single-family homes. A strong neighborhood association seeks to support the small businesses that sprout along the historic “main street,” and is currently raising funds to transform an abandoned gas station into a commercial kitchen. Artistic organizations, such as the Strand Theatre and the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Performing Arts make their home there and show strong engagement in the neighborhood. The neighborhood is unusually diverse in terms of income level, race, sexual orientation, and profession. A three-mile radius shows a racial demographic of 61% African American, 32% Caucasian, and the remaining 7% Hispanic, Asian and Pacific Islander/American Indian. While most residents are middle income, about a quarter of families make less than $35,000 a year, with almost 6% making less than $10,000 a year.
The community seeks to create a lively, growing, and justice-focused Christian community rooted in the Lutheran tradition. They will come together regularly for worship based around Word and Sacrament, and seek to grow in love and become a witness of Christ’s love and desire for justice in the city of Baltimore. They will come to the table to be nourished and fed, and sent to the world, not only to serve, but to work for justice as organizers, advocates, and activists.
Our bishop and Synod Council have called Pastor Emily Scott to serve as Mission Developer for this new community. Pastor Emily most recently served as pastor of St. Lydia’s in Brooklyn, a congregation she founded, along with friends and colleagues, in 2008. St. Lydia’s became known for its “dinner church” liturgy where the Eucharist is celebrated over dinner at a shared meal. During Pastor Emily’s time at St. Lydia’s, the community grew from 12 to 80, moved into their own storefront, and incorporated as a full-fledged ELCA congregation! Pastor Emily was also engaged with faith-based and secular organizing groups in her neighborhood in Brooklyn and in the city at large, especially around issues of police brutality and a lack of affordable housing. Prior to her work at St. Lydia’s, Pastor Emily served as the Director of Worship at The Riverside Church in New York City.
Beloved Community Multicultural Congregation
This is an exploration of ministry opportunities with intentionality to gather for worship and praise as a multicultural congregation in the neighborhoods of I-70/Route 40/Howard County region where there is high concentration of immigrant communities. This is the creation of a worshipping community that expresses the traditions and cultures informed by our common Lutheran heritage and preaching in witnessing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In order to implement the rationale and the objectives for this SAWC, the Rev. Dr. Surekha Nelavala (pastor/developer) would be able to use her skills in connecting people largely from the Asian Indian community, as well as local members that are hungry, if not enthusiastic about the multicultural aspect of the congregation that has been gathering in Baltimore area and along the I-70/Route 40 corridor. Pastor Nelavala will continue to serve at Global Peace Lutheran Fellowship while establishing Beloved Community Multicultural Congregation as her second site for multicultural ministry. She will bring her experience as a mission developer of Global Peace Lutheran Fellowship and offers to serve with a new vision of integrating the SAWC with local congregation that is eager and welcoming.
Mara Evangelical Lutheran Church
Mara Evangelical Church is a member of the Lutheran World Federation. It is a one of the churches in Myanmar, formerly Burma, founded by English missionaries. Mara Evangelical Church is the oldest of churches in Chin State, Myanmar. It was part of the unified Mara Church among the Mara people until it had to become an independent Church after India and Myanmar attained Independence from the British Raj in 1947. The Mara Church in India is being inherited by Evangelical Church of Maraland and Congregational Church of India, Maraland, while the one in Myanmar became part of the Mara Evangelical Church. Mara refugees settled by Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service in the Baltimore area gathered at homes to worship in their language beginning about seven years ago. They soon grew and moved to Christ Lutheran Church (Edmonson Avenue). The average worship attendance is over 200 and growing.
As the member of the Lutheran World Federation, the Mara Evangelical Christians are Lutherans. The objective of this SAWC exploration is to help them organize into the congregation in the ELCA. The mission developer identified for this site will be the Rev. Cho U.
SWAC Exploration for Crisfield
Located on the Chesapeake Bay, Crisfield is a waterside community in Somerset County, Maryland. The resort community is famous for its seafood — especially the Maryland blue crab. Though there are more than 30 churches along the Crisfield Route 413 corridor, there is no Lutheran congregation.
Since Hurricane Sandy, Lutheran Disaster Response has been doing amazing rehabilitation work to the extent that the community started asking for a Lutheran church. The objectives of this SAWC exploration are: to build on the relationship that exists among Lutheran leaders, the community, and ecumenical partners to start a new Lutheran worshiping community; examine the potential for partnership or the unique Lutheran presence; and train key leaders with basic church leadership skills at ELCA Mission Developers training. The mission developer for this SAWC exploration site is yet to be identified.
We give thanks for the opportunities we are provided to steward to the new SAWC and SAWC exploration processes. Please pray for the Spirit to stir our wisdom and vision as a church that we will move into the future with a commitment to God’s work in the world, growing the church, equipping new leaders, serving our neighbor and excitement for sharing the gospel in creative ways we have yet to imagine.
Who among them declared this, and foretold to us the former things? Let them bring their witnesses to justify them, and let them hear and say, “It is true.” You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior. I declared and saved and proclaimed, when there was no strange god among you; and you are my witnesses, says the Lord. I am God, and also henceforth I am He; there is no one who can deliver from my hand; I work and who can hinder it? Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For your sake I will send to Babylon and break down all the bars, and the shouting of the Chaldeans will be turned to lamentation. I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King. Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? – Isaiah 43:9-19
Mountain of God International Church is an African national ministry started by resettled refugees primarily from Central and South Eastern African countries. The ministry started by a zealous evangelist who was resettled by the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services in partnership with Christ (Baltimore). Jean Paul saw the need for a Swahili speaking community in the Baltimore area and began the service with five families on October 16, 2016, in Christ Church’s Childrens Chapel. Swahili, French, Lingala, and English languages are used at Mountain of God during worship services.
The objectives for this SAWC exploration is to nurture the community gathered for worship, to organize them into a congregation so that the worship service begun with five families a year ago that grew to 60 average worship attendees will reach even more people with the good news of Jesus Christ in the Metropolitan Baltimore area. The leader identified as developer is Jean Paul Makano Kisuku.
Hamilton-Lauraville Community
Rooted in Hamilton-Lauraville but open to the wider city, this SAWC exploration is a neighborhood church with a heart for the whole of Baltimore. This is a project of the Delaware-Maryland Synod. They aim to become a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Hamilton and Lauraville are adjacent neighborhoods located along Harford Road in the Northeast of Baltimore, consisting of primarily single-family homes. A strong neighborhood association seeks to support the small businesses that sprout along the historic “main street,” and is currently raising funds to transform an abandoned gas station into a commercial kitchen. Artistic organizations, such as the Strand Theatre and the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Performing Arts make their home there and show strong engagement in the neighborhood. The neighborhood is unusually diverse in terms of income level, race, sexual orientation, and profession. A three-mile radius shows a racial demographic of 61% African American, 32% Caucasian, and the remaining 7% Hispanic, Asian and Pacific Islander/American Indian. While most residents are middle income, about a quarter of families make less than $35,000 a year, with almost 6% making less than $10,000 a year.
The community seeks to create a lively, growing, and justice-focused Christian community rooted in the Lutheran tradition. They will come together regularly for worship based around Word and Sacrament, and seek to grow in love and become a witness of Christ’s love and desire for justice in the city of Baltimore. They will come to the table to be nourished and fed, and sent to the world, not only to serve, but to work for justice as organizers, advocates, and activists.
Our bishop and Synod Council have called Pastor Emily Scott to serve as Mission Developer for this new community. Pastor Emily most recently served as pastor of St. Lydia’s in Brooklyn, a congregation she founded, along with friends and colleagues, in 2008. St. Lydia’s became known for its “dinner church” liturgy where the Eucharist is celebrated over dinner at a shared meal. During Pastor Emily’s time at St. Lydia’s, the community grew from 12 to 80, moved into their own storefront, and incorporated as a full-fledged ELCA congregation! Pastor Emily was also engaged with faith-based and secular organizing groups in her neighborhood in Brooklyn and in the city at large, especially around issues of police brutality and a lack of affordable housing. Prior to her work at St. Lydia’s, Pastor Emily served as the Director of Worship at The Riverside Church in New York City.
Beloved Community Multicultural Congregation
This is an exploration of ministry opportunities with intentionality to gather for worship and praise as a multicultural congregation in the neighborhoods of I-70/Route 40/Howard County region where there is high concentration of immigrant communities. This is the creation of a worshipping community that expresses the traditions and cultures informed by our common Lutheran heritage and preaching in witnessing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In order to implement the rationale and the objectives for this SAWC, the Rev. Dr. Surekha Nelavala (pastor/developer) would be able to use her skills in connecting people largely from the Asian Indian community, as well as local members that are hungry, if not enthusiastic about the multicultural aspect of the congregation that has been gathering in Baltimore area and along the I-70/Route 40 corridor. Pastor Nelavala will continue to serve at Global Peace Lutheran Fellowship while establishing Beloved Community Multicultural Congregation as her second site for multicultural ministry. She will bring her experience as a mission developer of Global Peace Lutheran Fellowship and offers to serve with a new vision of integrating the SAWC with local congregation that is eager and welcoming.
Mara Evangelical Lutheran Church
Mara Evangelical Church is a member of the Lutheran World Federation. It is a one of the churches in Myanmar, formerly Burma, founded by English missionaries. Mara Evangelical Church is the oldest of churches in Chin State, Myanmar. It was part of the unified Mara Church among the Mara people until it had to become an independent Church after India and Myanmar attained Independence from the British Raj in 1947. The Mara Church in India is being inherited by Evangelical Church of Maraland and Congregational Church of India, Maraland, while the one in Myanmar became part of the Mara Evangelical Church. Mara refugees settled by Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service in the Baltimore area gathered at homes to worship in their language beginning about seven years ago. They soon grew and moved to Christ Lutheran Church (Edmonson Avenue). The average worship attendance is over 200 and growing.
As the member of the Lutheran World Federation, the Mara Evangelical Christians are Lutherans. The objective of this SAWC exploration is to help them organize into the congregation in the ELCA. The mission developer identified for this site will be the Rev. Cho U.
SWAC Exploration for Crisfield
Located on the Chesapeake Bay, Crisfield is a waterside community in Somerset County, Maryland. The resort community is famous for its seafood — especially the Maryland blue crab. Though there are more than 30 churches along the Crisfield Route 413 corridor, there is no Lutheran congregation.
Since Hurricane Sandy, Lutheran Disaster Response has been doing amazing rehabilitation work to the extent that the community started asking for a Lutheran church. The objectives of this SAWC exploration are: to build on the relationship that exists among Lutheran leaders, the community, and ecumenical partners to start a new Lutheran worshiping community; examine the potential for partnership or the unique Lutheran presence; and train key leaders with basic church leadership skills at ELCA Mission Developers training. The mission developer for this SAWC exploration site is yet to be identified.
We give thanks for the opportunities we are provided to steward to the new SAWC and SAWC exploration processes. Please pray for the Spirit to stir our wisdom and vision as a church that we will move into the future with a commitment to God’s work in the world, growing the church, equipping new leaders, serving our neighbor and excitement for sharing the gospel in creative ways we have yet to imagine.
Who among them declared this, and foretold to us the former things? Let them bring their witnesses to justify them, and let them hear and say, “It is true.” You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior. I declared and saved and proclaimed, when there was no strange god among you; and you are my witnesses, says the Lord. I am God, and also henceforth I am He; there is no one who can deliver from my hand; I work and who can hinder it? Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For your sake I will send to Babylon and break down all the bars, and the shouting of the Chaldeans will be turned to lamentation. I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King. Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? – Isaiah 43:9-19