As our Giving campaign begins to shift focus to the ways we express compassion and the ways we seek a more just world, I invite you to reflect on our global focus of ministry. Each year we participate in the ELCA Good Gifts program that helps build sustainable communities across the globe through livestock gifts and community wide projects for things like water, sanitation, and economic opportunities for marginalized populations. We also participate in the Southeastern Synod partnership with the Lutheran Church in Guatemala (ILAG) and sent our first delegation to Casa Milagro in Guatemala City earlier this year.
Once again, our siblings in Christ living in the rural areas of Guatemala are facing significant flooding of the Rio Chixoy in the Quiche department. They are facing the loss of crops and the devastation that comes from flooding.
Our donations are always needed to support ILAG's ministries in responding to disasters, training leaders, and being the hands of Christ among people on the margins of Guatemalan society. As you prayerfully consider the ways God is calling you to steward the resources you have been blessed with, I encourage you to consider an ongoing gift to ILAG. You can make those gifts at any time through your regular giving method and note Guatemala. Even before you do that, you can support of siblings through prayer:
Gracious God, the rains fall and rivers rise, and we see the devastation all around. We pray for those who live, work, and worship along the Rio Chixoy who have been inundated with water. We pray for their safety and health through the storms and as the river slowly returns to normal levels. Strengthen your church for the days ahead as they embody your gracious love for their neighbors in helping and rescuing in any ways that they can. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Chris