Tag: teaching

Developmental Disability Ministry

Friendship Ministries is a not-for-profit organization that exists to help churches and organizations around the world share God’s love with people who have intellectual disabilities.

Friendship Ministries.

LDM equips the Church to minister with persons who are mentally impaired. Through innovative programs, we evangelize, develop relationships, model servanthood, and disciple leaders

LDM began as an independent ministry serving the Lutheran Church. However, we understand that the mission of LDM is much larger than any single denomination. We are available to assist any Christian congregation to start intentional programs for people that are mentally impaired. Our programs teach the basics of the Christian faith as revealed in God’s Holy Scripture. As Christians, we are saved by God’s grace through Jesus Christ.

LDM.

The Myth of Positive Thinking

I came across this via orvitinn.com. Watching this video led my to www.thersa.org which describe themselves as:

For over 250 years the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) has been a cradle of enlightenment thinking and a force for social progress.  Our approach is multi-disciplinary, politically independent and combines cutting edge research and policy development with practical action.

Who Is Ramakrishna?

When Hindus talk about a divine incarnation, they mean somebody who is the actual vehicle by which God himself appears, manifests himself on the earth. Such a being has no past, he is not subject to the wheel of birth and rebirth—he has no karma in this sense, he simply manifests himself to do good to the world. He is, if you like, an expression of the world’s need at any particular moment. He manifests himself and gives through himself power, which is then transmitted and gradually begins to work within Society.

via Who Is Ramakrishna?

This link leads to a helpful and interesting article attempting to explain Hinduism and the status Ramakrishna has for the author.

Nostra Aetate

The Church, therefore, exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the Christian faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these men.

via Declaration on the Relation of the Church to non-christian religions – Nostra Aetate.

In the context of the Second Vatican Council, His Holiness Pope Paul VI made the proclaimation “Nostra Aetate” on October 28, 1965. It ends with those words:

No foundation therefore remains for any theory or practice that leads to discrimination between man and man or people and people, so far as their human dignity and the rights flowing from it are concerned.

The Church reproves, as foreign to the mind of Christ, any discrimination against men or harassment of them because of their race, color, condition of life, or religion. On the contrary, following in the footsteps of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, this sacred synod ardently implores the Christian faithful to “maintain good fellowship among the nations” (1 Peter 2:12), and, if possible, to live for their part in peace with all men, so that they may truly be sons of the Father who is in heaven.

Creeds

When I was reading blogs from Iceland this morning it struck me that there was a person with an undergraduate degree in Philosophy and a graduate degree in teaching, an individual that had been through confirmation in ELCI and has been active in writing about religion that did not know that the Apostolic Creed is universal creed of most Christians, and he even claimed that it is not used by the Roman Catholic Church. To be excact, it sounded like he considered the Apostolic Creed to be some specific Lutheran thing.

One must ask what is the use of teaching Christianity in elementary school, like is mandatory in Iceland if this does not make it through. The second thing is of course how one can study philosophy on an undergraduate level in Western Europe without learning a thing or two about Christianity. The third is then the confirmation studies in Iceland, are they good for anything?

Fermingarstörf þjóðkirkjunnar

Helstu niðurstöður rannsóknarinnar eru þær að draga þarf úr trúarlegri áherslu starfanna og leggja í staðinn meiri áherslu á ungmennin sjálf, byggja störfin frekar á þeirra eigin forsendum en á forsendum kirkjunnar. Einnig kalla aðstæður í samfélaginu í dag á stóraukna umfjöllun um siðferðileg gildi. Auk þess þarf að fjölga fræðslustundum, koma á fót fermingarstarfahópi og fá söfnuðina til að gera verklýsingar fyrir fermingarstörfin sem og safnaðarnámskrár. Á þeim forsendum lagði ég fram drög að nýrri námskrá fermingarstarfanna.

via Skemman: Fermingarstörf þjóðkirkjunnar: Námsefnis- og námskrárgerð.

Meistaraverkefni Torfa Hjaltalín Stefánssonar er allrar athygli vert. Reyndar tek ég ekki undir að það þurfi að draga úr trúarlegri áherslu starfanna, enda er að mínu viti marklaust að leggja áherslu á aukna fræðslu “um guðshugtakið, um heilagan anda, um þrenningarlærdóm kirkjunnar og sögu hennar” (bls. 167) ef einhvers konar trúariðkun fylgir ekki.

Hins vegar tek ég undir með Torfa að nauðsynlegt er að fræðslan fari fram á forsendum ungmennanna en ekki á einhverjum óljósum forsendum kirkjunnar (lesist prestanna).

Death with dignity: the ultimate human right?

The medical establishment’s narrow view of there being only one way to handle the dying patient–by using every last resource available to try to save her or him–has greatly hindered the quality of our deaths. Physicians are trained to believe that they have done their job only if every last measure is taken, regardless of what value this saps from the patient’s quality of life. This is the model by which the medical establishment measures its success.

What is needed is a paradigm shift in the educational curriculum of medical schools. No one can place value on what any individual considers to be “quality of life” because we all have different bodily functions that we consider more important than others. What one person considers an extraordinary means of intervention, another may see as typical. Furthermore, what is extraordinary at one point in history isn’t necessarily extraordinary at another time.

via Death with dignity: the ultimate human right? – The Popular Condition – Brief Article – Editorial | Humanist | Find Articles at BNET.

The Alban Institute

If you want to move the world, move a congregation. The Alban Institute was founded in 1974 as a major resource for American congregations facing the challenges of a changing society. While today’s challenges are even more pressing than they were three decades ago, the opportunities have never been clearer for congregations to be vital communities of faith, health, and leadership. Alban stands at the forefront of knowledge and experience regarding congregational vitality and positive trends across denominations and faith traditions. Our work is helping shape the strong congregations of tomorrow.

via The Alban Institute – About Alban.

Confirmation in ELCA

Few resources from ELCA about confirmation and confirmation studies.

There is no one right way to do confirmation ministry in your congregation! In fact, a quick review of present confirmation practices in the ELCA reveals there is incredible, refreshing diversity across this church. Congregations serious about effectively discipling their youth and adults shape their confirmation ministry offerings in ways that work best for their people, context and particular circumstances.

via Confirmation more than just business as usual.

While it is true that confirmation is a practice not mentioned in Scripture (although it is grounded in Baptism, as we shall see), it was created by the church as a valuable tool for growth in faith. Because of its work through the centuries in helping to shape a Christian’s faith, confirmation ministry remains important to Lutheran congregations today. Its changing form and function over the years is an attempt to address better the needs of the young people of the day.

via The Confirmation Ministry Task Force Report.

Preaching as Reimagination

It is not that the church’s theological absolutes are no longer trusted, but that the old modes in which those absolutes have been articulated are increasingly suspect and dysfunctional. That is because our old modes are increasingly regarded as patriarchal, hieararchic, authoritarian, and monologic.

Walter Brueggeman asks how this affects our way of preaching in “Preaching as Reimagination.”

Prep, Inc

PREP (Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program) is one of the most comprehensive and well respected divorce-prevention/marriage enhancing programs in the world. PREP is a skills and principles-building curriculum designed to help partners say what they need to say, get to the heart of problems, and increase their connection with each other.

On their website are various resources about marriage, cohabitation, and divorces. It has a bend towards traditional understanding of the family, but valuable nonetheless.

Prep, Inc – Articles. – Of special interest is Marriage in the 90s: A Nationwide Random Phone Survey (PDF).

Islam

Another visit during my stay in Detroit was to a mosque in Dearborn and a visit to an American Arab museum. The fact that not all Arabs are Muslims and not all Muslims are Arabs is obvious but very often forgotten. The website www.discoverislam.com offers some helpful information about the faith. In the context of the US, a fatwa from July 2005 is very important:

Islam strictly condemns religious extremism and the use of violence against innocent lives. There is no justification in Islam for extremism or terrorism. Targeting civilians’ life and property through suicide bombings or any other method of attack is haram – or forbidden – and those who commit these barbaric acts are criminals, not “martyrs.”
The Qur’an, Islam’s revealed text, states: “Whoever kills a person [unjustly]…it is as though he has killed all mankind. And whoever saves a life, it is as though he had saved all mankind.” (Qur’an, 5:32)

Prophet Muhammad said there is no excuse for committing unjust acts: “Do not be people without minds of your own, saying that if others treat you well you will treat them well, and that if they do wrong you will do wrong to them. Instead, accustom yourselves to do good if people do good and not to do wrong (even) if they do evil.” (Al-Tirmidhi)

via Fatwa against Terror (PDF).

Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion

When I attended a course in Detroit in 2008, we meet with representatives from various groups that are trying to change the life of individuals and communities for the better. An example of that is:

We work to address inequity throughout our region through a process of recognition, reconciliation and renewal.  We strive to build relationships that create social justice and build sustainable inclusive communities.

via Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion.

We focused especially on interfaith issues and how the conversation has changed over relatively short time. A resource to look at in the context of interfaith is Interfaith Heroes.

Triangle Foundation

When I attended a course in Detroit in 2008, we meet with representatives from various groups that are trying to change the life of individuals and communities for the better. An example of that:

It is the mission of Triangle Foundation to promote equality and to secure freedom from violence, intimidation and discrimination for LGBT persons throughout Michigan.

We visited a community center in Detroit that had no markings on the outside do to intimidation towards LGBTQ. We heard about Ruth Ellis Center and their work with homeless LGBTQ teenagers and young adults.

There we were introduced to the “Heterosexual Questionnaire” that is a very helpful tool to address issues about sexuality. The questionnaire is found in various forms. Examples are 1, 2, 3 and 4.

More about Triangle Foundation can be found at www.tri.org.

Err on the side of love

Matt Kruse shows his brilliance:

“I have to be willing, as a leader, to let God hold the differences that people bring when they come to worship,” said Kruse, whose home congregation is Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Jackson. “I guess I’m going to err on the side of love and welcoming also, and that’s also loving those I disagree with.”He said he was disappointed to see his church defined by the issue of homosexuality.

“From a Lutheran perspective, the only thing necessary for a church to happen is that the word of God be preached and that the sacraments be administered, and we’re free to disagree on lots of other things,” he said. “Ultimately I know there are plenty of people who were hurt by the decision in August, and the way we can respond to people’s hurt isn’t to leave but is to love.”

via A church divided: Area ELCA members weigh in on sexuality statement | Worthington Daily Globe | Worthington, Minnesota.