Have you ever been to a place that just resonates with your soul? Have you ever been surrounded by stones that have heard more prayers than you have uttered in your life? Do you think it would make a difference, in your faith, if you went to such a place?

This January I went with a group from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (LTSS) to the Holy Land. There were 52 people in our group of pilgrims, including several from the Virginia Synod. We began this journey with a political problem; President Bush was also going to Israel. If he arrived there before us, the Secret Service would close the airport, and we would be diverted to another place. Looking back, perhaps this set the tone for what I would learn on this trip. Politics and pilgrims have been involved in this land for thousands of years.

We saw what you would consider the usual tourist/pilgrim sites. We visited the famous churches; we walked the Via Dolorosa, and Hezekiah's tunnel. We learned to eat different foods, I still cannot get used to vegetable salad for breakfast, we had our pictures taken riding camels, and we floated in the Dead Sea. We listen as the biblical story unfolded to us in a new physical way. We walked thousands of footsteps in a land where our fathers and mothers of faith have walked for thousands of years.

However, we also saw some things that are not the usual tourist sights. We saw the people at Augusta Victoria Hospital, and we listened as they told their stories of frustration with the political system, which makes access to medical treatment for Palestinians difficult. We saw "The Wall" (left) and listened to the people of the West Bank, including several pastors, tell us how this concrete divider separated them from their families and communities. We listened also as a member of a Jewish Settlement told his story. A story, which I found hard to listen to, that echoed the need for a safe home in this land. I saw these people, these Palestinian Arab Christians and Muslims and Jews, and I heard them all crying out for justice, peace and safety. Yet they each defined these qualities differently.

The question then became, "How do people find a faithful solution to a political problem, when faith itself is a political issue?" As an American Lutheran pilgrim, these seem to be separate issues, but for my brothers and sisters in Israel (both Jew and Arab) they are as intertwined as the threads in a pastor's stole. Israel is indeed a holy land, a land set apart. It is set apart in its struggle to hold onto lasting peace. It is set apart in its struggle to have three major religions claim and co-exist on the same square mile of land. It is set apart as a place where millions of people feel a deep spiritual connection to God in a physical way. I began wonder, is there anything I can do to help these people, who have both brought me to tears and inflamed my anger? Does it make a difference that I have seen these things and heard these stories?

Elias Chacour said to our group, " Love your Jewish friends and love your Palestinian friends, but do not approve of the violence that either does in the name of God. Pray for peace, but do not pick a side, because when you pick a side you make an enemy, and we do not need any more enemies in this conflict."  But I wanted to pick a side, and others called for me pick a side. My heart ached to fight for justice and how could I do that without picking a side? How could just loving the people work for peace?

As I looked at my photos, when I arrived home safe and sound, I thought about these places. These tourist/pilgrim sites, they tell the story of one who died for all people. They tell of Jesus who chose to die on the cross for those who knew they were sinners and those who thought they were righteous, for those who nailed him to the cross and those who stood at the foot of it. He died out of love for them and for us, without picking a side or loving one less than another. To Jesus, politics and religion were a reflection of his love.

So now I pray for peace, I tell the story, and I encourage you to do the same.

Members of the Lutheran community might not know that the Lutheran Adoption Network is a collaboration between nearly 30 Lutheran social ministry organizations that oversees almost 3,000 international and domestic adoptions every year.

As a past chair of the network, I'd like to tell you about a special adoption that happened because of the hard work of two LAN members. The full story of Xu Xiaofeng will soon appear in Chicken Soup for the Adopted Soul published by HCI and available March 1 in bookstores.

            For nearly two years, Xu was on a waiting child list in a Chinese orphanage. Because he has albinism, his likelihood of adoption was diminished. Meanwhile, halfway around the world Pam McGonigle and John Stevens of Ardmore, Pennsylvania, were seeking to adopt. At 38, Pam McGonigle is an elite-level runner for the U.S. Paralympics team and a motivational speaker at programs for youth to promote acceptance of differences. She also has albinism and the vision problems that sometimes accompany the condition.

            The McGonigle-Stevens worked with Lutheran Children and Family Service of Pennsylvania to find a child, and Lutheran Social Services of New England was working hard to find a home for Xu. Through their hard work, two dreams were made possible: a child has a loving home and parents have a child to love.

In May 2006 a group of Trinity Ecumenical Parish (an ELCA, Episcopal and Presbyterian parish located in Moneta) members decided that they would like to know more about local and world hunger issues.  They decided to form an ecumenical study group to learn more about hunger and were joined by others from Epworth United Methodist, Resurrection Catholic and Bethlehem United Methodist churches..

 They began their study by reading and discussing Ending Hunger Now,a book by George McGovern, Bob Dole and Donald Messer.  As they progressed through the book they decided to add an additional study and chose Just Neighbors, a hands-on participatory program focusing on poverty in the U.S. In addition, they familiarized themselves with the activities of hunger-oriented organizations such as Bread for the World (BFW), Oxfam, Church World Service and Lutheran World Relief.

After several months, they decided that just studying the problems of hunger and poverty was not enough so they chose the name, Hunger Action Group.  They began to look for specific activities to undertake, starting with a meeting featuring a One Campaign speaker.  This was followed by implementing a BFW workshop. At an intergenerational hunger event, a BFW Offering of Letters was held in conjunction with the packing of 106 bags for the Stop Hunger Now (Six Meals in a Bag) feeding program.

 Last July, members of the group participated in a summer nutrition program that provided lunches and weekend food backpacks for students from five local elementary schools.  This was done with the assistance of Lake Christian Ministries and the help of volunteers from the four churches. Over 2,500 lunches and food backpacks were provided.  With the success of this activity, a much bigger effort is being planned for the summer of 2008, with the development of the SML Good Neighbors, Inc.that will provide both meals and education for disadvantaged elementary school students from the local area.

            If you are interested in more information or details on the work of the Hunger Action Group or SML Good Neighbors, Inc., please contact Russell Baskett at director@smlgoodneighbors.org or 540-721-2581.

            In an age of quick fixes, fast food, immediate gratification and internet communication, the Lenten tradition seems like an ancient practice that is totally out of step here in 2008. Lent is a drag.

            "Keeping Lent" promises no immediate results or instant answers to life's problems. Lent doesn't even promise dazzling communication from on high. Instead, Lent is a call to disciplined inquiry and patient searching after the presence of God. The Lord Jesus has promised always to be with us: Lent is a time to slow down and acknowledge His presence in our daily lives.

            In an age of quick fixes, fast food and immediate gratification and internet communication, the days and weeks of Lent appear to be lived out in slow motion. Lent is a drag. However, the disciplines of Lent (Worship, prayer, fasting and alms-giving) help us to focus on God's gifts of grace, mercy, forgiveness and love.

            Lent may not be a quick fix but it is our annual opportunity to prepare for the power and meaning of the Resurrection of our Lord. (Of course, any time is a good time, but here is Lent, presenting itself "in our face.")

            Lent is not a quick fix but it does give us 40 days (well actually it's 46 but we don't include Sundays in the count) to examine ourselves and how we are fulfilling our Baptismal calling. Lent is not a quick fix but it does give us time to pause and take stock-to ask ourselves;

            Am I becoming the kind of person Christ is calling me to be? Or, am I looking for the quick fix, letting things slide, giving way to the comfortable, the easiest way or the popular way?

            How does being a Christian make different?

            Lent is a good time to stand up and be counted. Lent is not a quick fix but it is a good time to witness to your faith in Christ and to invite others to join you for worship.

            Lent definitely is a time for hope. As we journey through Lent together, let us rejoice in every opportunity to witness to our faith in Jesus Christ.

          The Konnarock Training School building, a longtime Smyth County education center for hundreds of mountain girls will come to life again as a retreat center under plans in development by its new owner, Konnarock Retreat House Inc.

            Ownership of three-story building and five acres of land was transferred from the U.S. Forest Service to the 501(c)3 non-profit corporation under a bill sponsored by 9^th District Rick Boucher and signed by President George Bush. The corporation was formed to restore the property for reuse and it is to be used as a center for community and faith-based activities, according to Dr. Jean Hamm of Rural Retreat, nominated as board chairman of the corporation.

            The building, listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places, needs major restoration but it is salvageable, she said. The school operated during the active ministry of  Pastor Kenneth Killinger, a "mountain missionary," from 1924 until it closed in 1959. The Forest Service bought the building about 1965 and used it for about 15 years and it has been vacant since, Hamm said.

An anonymous $50,000 donation will be used for architectural and restoration work. The siding is of American Chestnut, a valuable construction material. Hamm said the corporation will welcome work groups, starting this spring.

The corporation was formed in cooperation with the Evangelical Lutheran Commission for Mission in Appalachia (ELCMA). "They had to have a group to accept the transfer," Ham said.

Other board members are Carolyn Tracy and Ralph Blevins, Damascus; Peggy Baldwin, Whitetop; Sue Pickett, Palmyra; Monroe Herring, Blountville, Tenn.; the Rev. Harvey Huntley, Columbia, S.C.; Shirley Shumate, Shady Valley, Tenn.; Evelyn Price Jones, Jefferson, N.C., and Mary Ann Shealy, Newberry, S.C.

First Lutheran, Norfolk, plans to rededicate its church building on Palm Sunday following the recent completion of extensive renovations.  Bishop Jim Mauney, a ministerial son of the congregation, will preside. The project cost exceeded $1.4 million.

            The most obvious improvement is the congregation's Welcome Center which was doubled in size.  The space now includes new lighting, ceiling, floor, cabinetry, display areas, a built-in reception desk, and television monitor for highlighting ministry opportunities and parish activities.  Also accessible from the Welcome Center is the new library, including space for archives storage and display.   

            In the narthex, a stairwell was added, giving access to the rear gallery that was included in the 1930 church building but was never completed.  This area provides ample space for hand bells and other musical ensembles. 

            An exterior elevator tower has been constructed for a full-size elevator that gives exterior access to all three floors of the building.  A commercial kitchen was constructed adjacent to the fellowship hall.

            All first-floor offices were renovated and an office suite for First Lutheran's three rostered leaders was added on the second floor.  The second-floor music room and early childhood education center were also completely renovated.  Offices for the director of music, the Sunday School and the bookkeeper were created. 

            Electrical and other utilities throughout the building were upgraded, and the security and fire alarm systems were replaced. 

            One of the marks of a healthy congregation is that it develops generous people.  Generosity is not just a nice virtue.  It is a natural response to a God who has been so generous to us.  But how do we grow in our understanding of this concept?

Attending a workshop from the Healthy Congregations series entitled

"Healthy Congregations Develop Generous People" led by a synodical healthy congregations facilitator can provide a great start!  One of these workshops is being offered at First Lutheran Church in Norfolk on April 19. .

            Normally there is a $20 charge per person for a healthy congregation workshop.  However, for this event there will only be a $6 charge because it will be underwritten by the Synod Stewardship of Life Committee through the ELCA Shared Synod Stewardship Staff budget. All congregations in the Peninsula, Tidewater and Richmond conferences are encouraged to participate in this event as we all grow together in God's grace.

 The workshop will begin at 9:30 a.m. and end at 3 p.m.  For additional information contact Cary Mangus at 540-774-8702  (cjmangus@cox.net) or Luther Mauney at 540-297-7231 (LFSMauney@aol.com). As registration forms are being  emailed to all churches in these three conferences, these forms will be available in church offices.

            In an end-of-the-year financial report, Keith Brown, financial advisor, said 2007 was "a good year for the synod. He reported $83,185 in income over expenses.

            Mission and ministry support came to $2,280,443, about $20,000 over budget. Total expenses amounted to $2,253,962 or better than $38,000 under budget. The synod passed along $1,140,251, or 50 percent of total support, to ELCA Churchwide programs.

  Pastor Dianna Horton of St. Jacob-Spaders, Mt. Crawford, has been elected to serve as the Piedmont regional representative on the board of FACES (Family, Advocacy, Collaboration, Empowerment, Support), Foster, Adoption and Kinship Association.

 The Virginia Department of Social Services provided financing to establish the association in an effort to support foster, adoptive and kinship parents and the Puckett Institute was contracted to facilitate the process. Among the association's goals are support of recruitment and retention of quality, advocacy for and consistent standardized training and support for foster, adoptive and kinship families; also, provision of resources and information to parents, empowering them to be educated, equipped and effective.