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By Brenda Blackhawk

I just returned from Bogotá, Colombia, where I attended the first Inter-American Lutheran Encounter: AYNI. The word “Ayni” comes from the Indigenous communities of Bolivia and its meaning is multi-layered; I’m not sure there is an exact translation into English.

Ayni is a reciprocal understanding of the world and a specific way of living. Ayni means that you have reciprocal relationship with other people and the world around you. It means that when your neighbor needs help with the harvest, you help with no questions asked. When you are building a new home, your community comes to help you without hesitation. When someone is born or dies in a family, everyone shares or cooks or lends a hand. It is both a spiritual practice and a way of being.

And Ayni extends to the land and water and animals as well. You don’t take more than you need and you honor what has been given. And you intentionally give back as needed.

THE CONCEPT OF Ayni is an Indigenous concept that exits around the world. At this Inter-American Lutheran Encounter, there were indigenous people from North, Central, and South America who were quickly able to say, “We have a practice of Ayni, called by a different name.”

I heard young Indigenous Lutheran women from Costa Rica talk about their Indigenous traditions and spirituality and heard my own story echoed in theirs. And as the older, more assimilated folks asked questions about how they reconcile their Indigenous spirituality with Jesus and the Bible, I watched those women calmly assert that there is no single way to be in relationship with God.

“We cannot simply talk; we must listen.”

And I thought about Ayni and how God must have taught this to Indigenous communities around the world long before the birth of Jesus.

Jesus was born in a manger in a little town in the Middle East. He lived and died in a world of kings and emperors; clashes of cultures and values fraught with inequality, greed, and division. He was born in a specific time, in a specific place, in a world that needed him. And Jesus preached love. He preached Ayni. And then he died for the whole world.

IF YOUR INDIGENOUS SPIRITUALITY leads you to live a life that reflects Ayni, you have a relationship with God and community and the Earth. And you are also living a Christ-like life. (There are echoes of this perspective in Martin Luther’s oft-quoted “God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does.”)

The European colonization of the Indigenous world was sanctioned by the Church with the adoption of the Doctrine of Discovery. The genocide and atrocities of the past and present in the name of empire was authorized and endorsed by the Church. While the ELCA finally repudiated this document in 2016, the Catholic Church has still not done so.

“The genocide and atrocities of the past and present in the name of empire was authorized and endorsed by the Church.”

The stories of Jesus are valuable, but so are the old stories of other lands and peoples. Relationship is reciprocal. It is both give and take. We cannot simply talk; we must listen. And we must try to live a Christ-like life – a life of Ayni.

Imagine the world we’d live in today if we had not lost Ayni along the way.

By Pastor Craig Pederson

A week has passed since the tragic helicopter crash that claimed the life of Kobe Bryant, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others who were on their way to a youth basketball game. As the tributes and memorials continue to accumulate in the media and online, it’s hard to put into perspective the global impact of Kobe’s high-profile life and premature death.

For me, Kobe’s legacy is complicated. As a basketball player, he was one of the greatest of all time. Period. Few players have achieved the level of personal and team accomplishments that Kobe did during his 20-year career. I’m filled with both amazement and grudging respect for his tenacity and success on the court. I say “grudging” respect because, too often, it was Kobe and the Los Angeles Lakers who ended the playoff dreams of my favorite team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, back in the 2000s.

“I relate to Kobe having a 13-year-old daughter who loved basketball. So do I.”

And his “Mamba Mentality” – a fearless, disciplined, don’t-back-down approach to the game – inspired a generation of basketball players the way Michael Jordan inspired my generation.

AS A FAMILY MAN and community leader, Kobe was also impressive. He was highly engaged in the lives of his four daughters and his wife Vanessa, and he became an outspoken supporter of opportunities for women in sports. And in his “second act” – life after retirement from the NBA – Kobe was expanding into an eclectic list of business and entertainment pursuits with the same “Mamba” intensity he showed on the court.

On the other hand, in 2003 Kobe was charged with criminal sexual assault against a hotel worker in Colorado. The case was ultimately dropped when the victim declined to testify, and a civil suit was later settled out of court. But his reputation was severely tarnished, and the incident still feels unsettling all these years later when viewed through the lens of the #MeToo Movement.

WHETHER YOU’RE A rabid basketball fan or hadn’t heard of Kobe until a week ago, I think there are aspects of Kobe’s story that almost anyone can relate to – and might also find complicated. Kobe’s relentless work ethic and uncompromising drive to win clearly produced results, but at times they also alienated others and clouded his judgment. Kobe’s celebrity made him the focal point of any room he entered – even in the star-studded Los Angeles area – yet he was also known to support and befriend people who were well out of the limelight.

Kobe had developed an intellectual curiosity to learn from the best in other fields. He was known to contact leaders in other industries out of the blue to ask for a meeting so that he could learn what made them successful. While this was an admirable trait that broadened his base of knowledge, some worried that he was too unfocused or was spreading himself too thin.

Kobe’s commitment to increasing opportunities in women’s athletics provided an incredible boost for raising awareness and resources.  But there was also skepticism that this was primarily his attempt to redeem himself in the eyes of the public and his own family for his transgressions earlier in his life.

I relate to Kobe having a 13-year-old daughter who loved basketball. So do I. On that fateful morning of the crash, it was reported that they were running late so they decided to take the helicopter to get to her game rather than try to navigate the L.A. traffic. How many times have I rushed or been less cautious than I should have to get to our daughter’s game on time? Too many to count.

“Kobe’s relentless work ethic and uncompromising drive to win clearly produced results, but at times they also alienated others and clouded his judgment.”

A lesser known aspect of Kobe’s life was that he was a practicing Catholic. It was reported that he leaned heavily on the counsel of a priest to deal with his sexual assault charges back in 2003. It was also reported that he had attended a 7 a.m. mass on the Sunday morning of the terrible crash that took his and his daughter’s life.

We don’t know what message he heard that morning, but I hope and trust that Kobe and his family heard the promises of Jesus Christ many times before: We are fully saint and sinner, and we are beloved children of God, regardless of our accomplishments or flaws; that Christ’s redemption and new life shine light into our darkness; and that neither heights nor depths nor anything else can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ.

Legacies can be complicated, but God’s love need not be. God bless the memory of Kobe, Gianna, and the seven others whose lives ended last Sunday. May their eternal light shine.

By Pastor Deb Stehlin

On Sunday, the people of Grace Lutheran Church in Apple Valley voted to call me as their senior pastor. They did this even though I warned them that choosing me means they’re getting an evangelist. As I begin the spiritual work of letting go of my current platform for evangelism, it occurs to me that the practice of inviting people to experience something of Jesus is deeply connected to letting go.

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry of the Episcopal Church puts it this way: “Evangelism … is about sharing the journey into a deeper relationship with God and each other, and not about us controlling the end result. It’s not increasing our market share, and it’s not just propping up the institution. If we believe the relationship with a living God does matter, and that loving relationship with each other matters, then evangelism and anything that helps us to come closer as human children of God matters.”

“Evangelism … is about sharing the journey into a deeper relationship with God and each other, and not about us controlling the end result.”

Here’s a true story, but I changed the names: Dee invited Joan to her congregation four times over two years. Each time she made an invitation, Dee did so without (much) desire to control Joan’s response. One day, it was the right time for Joan to say yes. And that “yes” saved her life. Joan told me that during a time when she battled depression and suicide ideation, it was relationships in the community and re-kindled connection with God that gave her what she needed in order to keep on living.

MY SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR introduced me to a prayer that’s helping me to develop the practice of letting go. (He’s awesome; private message me if you want to connect with him.)

Welcoming Prayer

Welcome, welcome, welcome.
I welcome everything that comes to me today
because I know it’s for my healing.
I welcome all thoughts, feelings, emotions, persons,
situations, and conditions.
I let go of my desire for power and control.
I let go of my desire for affection, esteem,
approval, and pleasure.
I let go of my desire for survival and security.
I let go of my desire to change any situation,
condition, person, or myself.
I open to the love and presence of God and
God’s action within. Amen.

Mary Mrozowski of Brooklyn, New York – one of the first leaders of centering prayer – developed the method; and Father Thomas Keating developed it further. I’ve been praying this prayer upon waking each morning – and need it throughout the day, too!

By Pastor John Hulden

Pictures tell stories. Take a look at this photograph (on the right) from May 1919.

These are St. Olaf College students, canoeing down the Cannon River to Red Wing, Minnesota, to attend … (take a deep breath and say out loud): “The First National Convention of the Young People’s Luther League and the Choral Union of the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America.”

In 1917, three Norwegian Lutheran church bodies merged to form The Norwegian Lutheran Church of America. Within a few years, a wonderful idea was hatched: A Youth Gathering! In Red Wing! With a really big choir!

Thanks to the on-top-of-it archivists at ELCA Churchwide and Luther Seminary, I can quote you some of the promotional material from this auspicious event:

If you have not already done so, take your calendars and mark now a Big Red Ring around the dates May 16, 17, and 18 for your attendance upon the forthcoming Convention of Young People. … By all means, do not miss this great Convention and an enthusiasm that cannot help but create a resolve to live better and to labor more than in the past. The value of Convention life to all who attend them is educational and inspirational. … Until you attend a convention of Young People’s Luther League you never know what numbers and talent there is in the Lutheran Church. … Those fortunate to attend will not be disappointed.

And, one more quote you need to read:

Come and enjoy three happy wholesome days with the people of Red Wing. Clear everything out of the way and let us meet you there. You will return refreshed in mind and in spirit, having attended a Convention which you will never forget — a better Luther Leaguer and Christian for having gone.  –Ida M. Vigen, Lutheran Church Herald, Vol. III, No. 14, pp. 1-2

A few photos from this amazing event in Red Wing:

Have you heard that Minneapolis is hosting ELCA Youth Gathering June 29-July 3, 2021?

“Thirty-five thousand young Lutherans showing up at our convention center, football stadium, congregations and non-profit organizations.”

Well, in 102 years the promo materials have not changed much. You should bring your teenagers. Encourage your people to volunteer. Thirty-five thousand young Lutherans showing up at our convention center, football stadium, congregations and non-profit organizations. Check out https://elca.org/YouthGathering, and this video here.

By all means, do not miss this great Convention and an enthusiasm that cannot help but create a resolve to live better and to labor more than in the past. … You will return refreshed in mind and in spirit, having attended a Convention which you will never forget — a better Luther Leaguer and Christian for having gone.

Well said, Ida M. Vigen.

The Lutheran Church Herald from March 25, 1919; photos provided by ELCA Region 3 Archives and taken by St. Olaf student Andrew Burgess, later a professor at Luther Northwetern Seminary

By Emilie Bouvier

These days as I settle back into life in Minneapolis, I’ve been sharing a roof not only with two very close friends, but also their two amazing toddlers. Antalya, who is 4, and her little sister Aurelia are the dearest kiddos in my life and an absolute hoot to call housemates.

Yes, sometimes there’s screaming involved over the impending doom of bedtime. Yes, I’m learning unique skills like how to not step in play dough crumbs on the floor (or more accurately, how to get said play dough crumbs out of socks). Yet, it is in and through the controlled chaos that the most magical moments occur.

One of my favorite moments during the first few weeks of living together was when Antalya offered a prayer before a particularly intentional and delicious family meal. She began, “Dear God, thank you for today, thank you for …” and went on to list all the things she was feeling grateful for in our shared life together.

“Since when did I start believing there was a wrong way to offer gratitude?”

My heart swelled – and not only because she was thankful for my presence in their beautiful little family, but also because these were the same words and cadences of my own prayers as a small child. I can’t help but see myself in her. I too at that age began my prayers the same lilting sing-song list of completely free-flowing and un-self-conscious gratitudes.

The parallels continue: She understands prayer, loves her church friends, and even sang a solo of “Amazing Grace” at her church, something that was a big deal for me too at age 3, when I stood up in front of my home church and sang “Jesus Loves Me.”

I SEE THE WAYS THAT this precious one’s parents and faith community form and shape her in the faith. It would be easy enough for me to go on from here to talk about the value of early Christian education or how in my role as a non-familial “auntie” can support and guide this young person’s faith. But that’s not actually what’s most striking to me. Rather, quite the opposite, I realize how much Antalya’s faith is re-shaping for me.

Emilie at age 3, with her parents at their church in Austin, Texas.

A few evenings later when the girls were at their grandparents’ house for the night and we all sat down for a rare “grown-up” meal, we skipped the prayer all together. I suddenly realized that, although it’s at her parents’ prodding, it is ultimately Antalya who makes sure we pray. Her boisterous personality and complete willingness to pray out loud for all of us makes all the difference.

“I too at that age began my prayers the same lilting sing-song list of completely free-flowing and un-self-conscious gratitudes.”

I cringe remembering my complete lack of desire to contribute to my own family’s spoken dinner table prayer at our Christmas dinner, letting the fatigue of the meal prep and sudden self-consciousness limit my ability to voice free-flowing thanks to God. Since when did I start believing there was a wrong way to offer gratitude? Since when did prayer feel more like pressure, or chore, or self-consciousness than an opportunity for relationship and wonder?

Cutting through all the mental clutter, self-doubt, and distraction in my own spiritual life is Antalya’s feisty spirit for prayer that has brought me back to find center. Just by simply being herself she is helping me recover threads of that early sense of spirit-filled and unabashed joy in prayer. And oh, what wonder to again see how close the presence of God is in our lives and to risk, without second-guessing, naming that out loud.

By Bob Hulteen

We work together so that all experience gracious invitation into life-giving Christian community and live in just and healthy neighborhoods.

Yep, if you’ve been to any synod event with Bishop Ann in the last five years, you’ve probably recited the synod’s mission statement. She has been able to drill this aspirational statement into our collective consciousness in a way that really can get us to believe it.

The synod’s staff spent some serious time discussing this mission statement. We challenged ourselves: Is it as concise as it can be? Do we believe what it says? Can we live into the commitment?

The last few weeks I have been wondering about that first question: Do we need all of the words? I’ve wondered if the last phrase – “so that all might live in just and healthy neighborhoods” – isn’t redundant. I mean, if we are inviting people into “life-giving Christian community,” do we need to say the rest of it.

Is it possible to have life-giving Christian community without just and healthy neighborhoods?

IN ADVENT WE practice waiting. It’s a weird sort of waiting; “already, not yet,” I think we call it. “Now” and “then” bleed into each other. They aren’t opposites; the choices are not binary.

Given what we so often experience, it is absolutely absurd to believe that we will have just and healthy neighborhoods. There is no evidence that we can embody that promise, that hope, that longing, that vision.

And yet, our congregations are filled with people who work for just and healthy neighborhoods every day. For some, their employment includes the holy work of filling potholes or cooking meals in shelters or teaching students or offering medical care or planting trees or meeting with their legislators. Each day, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power, these witnesses proclaim the good news of Jesus by finding ways to make life better, or easier, or healthier, or more predicable for vulnerable neighbors, hurting neighbors, frightened neighbors, despairing neighbors.

“Is it possible to have life-giving Christian community without just and healthy neighborhoods?”

Now, I actually don’t want to change the mission statement. (I suspect that at this point in reading the blog, Bishop Ann might be wondering.) But, I hope that we, out of our faith in the Resurrected One, can more and more be challenged to be repairers of the breach, to be co-creators of the future, to be gracious inviters into the community of faithful followers.

Let’s aspire to the mission that is oh so absurd.

By Pastor Craig Pederson

I’m writing this blog near the end of another Black Friday weekend, which seems to get more “biblical” every year. By that I mean that the seven days it took for God to create the heavens and the earth don’t really align with our chronological understanding of a “day.” Likewise, Black Friday is no longer just one day on the calendar – it’s an event, an experience, a season unto itself. It starts several days ahead of the Friday after Thanksgiving, and extends a few days after, ending with the arrival of its commercial friend, Cyber Monday.

This Black Friday phenomena was created by retailers driven to give us prime opportunities to get everything we could ever want for the best prices possible – and also driven to get their net earnings out of the red ink and into the black as soon as possible (thus “Black” Friday). It feeds our need and longing and desire to ensure we have enough – enough of the material things that we hope will give us comfort, enjoyment, security, and meaning.

Black Friday provides a strange contrast to the season of Advent we observe as Christians. Advent teaches us to wait, to prepare for the One who is coming, the One who will bring comfort and joy and meaning. Black Friday and the holiday shopping season teach us that the best time to get what we want and need is right now – so don’t wait, and don’t be left without the things that will complete your life.

WHETHER WE ARE IN the midst of the holidays or not, what really motivates our pursuit of “enoughness?”  Episcopal author David Zahl asserts that religious faith decreasingly fills that role – at least religious faith as we know it now. The title of his new book is long, provocative, and highly descriptive: Seculosity: How Career, Parenting, Technology, Food, Politics, and Romance Became Our New Religion and What to Do about It.

Zahl says religion is not disappearing; it just looks different. Zahl defines religion as “that which we rely on not just for meaning or hope but enoughness.”

“David Zahl makes an interesting move, saying that our pursuit of enoughness is essentially the same as our pursuit of righteousness.”

And then Zahl makes an interesting move, saying that our pursuit of enoughness is essentially the same as our pursuit of righteousness. “The theological and psychological term for the energy we expend for the sake of feeling righteous is self-justification, and it cannot be overstated as a motivation in human affairs.”

Yet rather than finding righteousness through faith-based doctrines, rituals, and practices learned at church, Zahl says:

[Polls] tell us that confidence in the religious narratives we’ve inherited has collapsed. What they fail to report is that the marketplace in replacement religion is booming. We may be sleeping in on Sunday mornings in greater numbers, but we’ve never been more pious. Religious observance hasn’t faded amidst ‘secularization’ so much as migrated—and we’ve got the anxiety to prove it. We’re seldom not in church.

PEOPLE INCREASINGLY PURSUE enoughness through secular endeavors they can pour themselves into:  political causes, fitness courses, parenting methodologies, food and drink philosophies, professional advancement, personal improvement plans, and yes, material acquisition. These endeavors produce results that feel more controllable, tangible, and immediate.

But complete enoughness is ultimately unattainable. The goalposts move, the measurements change, our appetites grow, and we just can’t quite get there.

I’m not entirely finished with the book, but Seculosity has made an impact on me this year. As I found myself aimlessly pouring over Black Friday ads, pondering endless vehicle commercials, glancing at new home listings online, perusing new fitness classes at my health club, and hearing about all the music lessons and personal sports workouts that other parents are arranging for their kids, I asked myself, “Am I doing enough? Do I have enough?”

And I’m a pastor. I’m supposed to have all of this in the proper perspective, right?

“David Zahl defines religion as ‘that which we rely on not just for meaning or hope but enoughness.’”

Dear friends, in this Advent season of preparation and waiting, I encourage you to claim/reclaim the power and promise that God says we are enough. Reaffirm that your church is a place where tired, anxious, overworked souls can hear the good news that they are enough. One is coming to reveal that this is so.

Of this One it is said, “The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth . . .” (Isaiah 11:2-4). 

Blessed Advent and Christmas season to you all!

By Pastor Deb Stehlin

For several months (yes, months!) Pastor Jorge Espinoza has been abiding at a mobile home park in Chaska. With others, he organized a summer soccer league, put on a day camp, and tutors children. After months of gentle, loving presence, a man attending an event Pastor Jorge organized with residents asked him, “Tell me about your church. Who are Lutherans?”

Pastor Jorge trusted the slow work of God, and the power of showing up. And, finally, after a while, people became curious.

For three years (yep, years!) Pastor Marissa Sotos has been abiding in the North Loop neighborhood of downtown Minneapolis. She inhabits coffee shops, rents a co-working space, hosts “Tuesday Topics” at a local bar/restaurant, and holds dinner church at an event space every month. Oh the joy, when people say yes to an invitation, because participants know it is a safe space for millennial and queer people who aren’t quite sure about church. Oh, the slow work of God, and the power of showing up!

For decades (uh huh, decades!) Pastor Jane Buckley-Farlee has been abiding in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. She’s the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Congregation, the last Christian church in that area. She’s a trusted colleague of the imams, chats with neighborhood moms while their kids enjoy homework help with Augsburg students, and is a gentle, loving presence at community meetings and events. After decades, the mosque and Christian congregation are wondering about ways to serve the neighborhood together. I marvel at the slow work of God and the power of showing up.

THESE FAITHFUL LEADERS are teaching me the value of patience, deep trust in God, and the power of love. This is not easy work in a culture that has been shaped by corporate executives who are pressured to produce a return on investment each quarter, and movies that solve big problems in 90 minutes.

In the story of Paul, Timothy, and Silas in Acts 16, it takes only four verses to tell a story of a journey in which they try to bring a message of God’s love to new places, but are prevented in three different regions. Because the story is so compact, I always assumed that it all happened very quickly. But what if it took a very long time? What if they abided, and abided, and abided in each place?

Eventually, Paul was given a dream which led them to a river where they met a group of women including Lydia, who asked, “Will you come and abide at my home?”

Oh, the slow work of God and the power of showing up!

By Pastor John Hulden

Are you tired of hearing and reading and talking about the demise of the church? Well, let’s talk about football instead.

I like watching football. I’ve never played it — well, I guess I played a couple games of flag football at seminary. I’m also in two fantasy football leagues. One includes my family. (I have the most total points, but I’m 5-4 — life isn’t fair.) The other one involves my colleagues at work. (I’m in eighth out of ten places; Jeni sits on top of the leader board, despite her nonchalant attitude to the exciting world of fantasy football — again, life is not fair.)

What a great weekend for Minnesota football. The University of Minnesota’s Golden Gopher football team defeated the fourth-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday. (What’s a Nittany?) It’s the first time in ages the Gophers beat a ranked team; the squad is still undefeated late in the season and has garnered national media attention. The game on Saturday was well-played by both teams; the lead went back and forth; and I have to remind myself that it was played by talented young men in their teens and early twenties. Another rare occurrence for U of M football: The students stormed the field after the clock hit 0:00.

“I have to remind myself that the game was played by talented young men in their teens and early twenties.”

Then Sunday night the Minnesota Vikings won a game they often don’t win — on the road, against a team with a good record. This game was filled with acrobatic catches by both teams. Another see-saw battle, with a diving pass deflection by “our” middle linebacker that sealed the game for a Vikings win.

But I struggle with my football-watching hobby. It’s a violent sport. Players I grew up watching — in the pros, even a college classmate — suffer from brain injuries, sometimes causing their early death.

AND THEN THE Sunday New York Times included an investigative report on … wait for it … the demise of football — even in Texas! The article went into detail about what the powers-that-be are doing to try to reverse the trend. As an example, the Times printed a 2008 team picture of the high school football team from Maiden, North Carolina, next to its 2019 team photo.

From the Times article: “Football has long been a fundamental part of the American identity, and it likely will be for years to come. But it has become mired in controversy over safety, and it has to compete harder each year with the popularity of other sports. In Maiden and elsewhere, the joyous Friday nights and Saturday afternoons remain, but they are different now.”

I remembered the 2016 editorial by Lord of Life in Maple Grove’s Pastor Peter Geisendorfer-Lindgren comparing the cathedrals of century ago (e.g., Central Lutheran in Minneapolis) and the cathedrals today (e.g., US Bank Stadium). “Sports and religion have switched places in American culture,” observes Pastor Peter. “Is that OK?”

“I have to admit that, when I saw the side-by-side pictures of that high school football team, I couldn’t help but think of side-by-side confirmation pictures in church fellowship halls and basements.”

But this New York Times article shows up with facts and figures about football in decline in the U.S. Does this mean that American football might just be a phase?

I have to admit that, when I saw the side-by-side pictures of that high school football team, I couldn’t help but think of side-by-side confirmation pictures in church fellowship halls and basements.

Change is hard. Church is different now. The way we do church is different now. The way we do confirmation and faith formation is different now, too. And I hadn’t thought of this before, but even football might not last.

But keep this in mind — the apostle Paul started around 14 churches 2,000 years ago. Where are they now?

Thanks to the gift of the Holy Spirit, somehow we feeble faithful Christians have figured out how to pass on the faith to the next generation.

Keep up your good work, you followers of Jesus, and keep the faith, oh readers of churchy blogs!

By Pr. Craig Pederson

It happened 30 years ago, yet the image will be forever etched in my mind. It was the summer of 1989, and I was frozen speechless in front of the TV as a solitary figure stood defiantly – and for all he knew, sacrificially – staring down a military tank just a few yards in front of him.

This shocking scene took place in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. That year global resistance to communism was surging. Demonstrations and protests by the oppressed, along with international diplomatic pressures on communist governments, were teaming up to provide a tangible threat to its continuing existence as a viable economic and political system.

Two years earlier, on a trip to the Soviet Union with my college choir, I experienced in person a different town square that became the epicenter of another challenge to communist rule.  Red Square in Moscow provides a dramatic foreground to the Kremlin, the seat of Soviet power. When I was there, a government reform movement of glasnost (“openness”) and perestroika (“restructuring”) had been initiated by President Mikhail Gorbachev a few years earlier to counteract growing unrest, but it was not at all clear where that movement might lead.

“What started as a handful of protesters gathering regularly for prayer and support grew into hundreds, then thousands, and spilled over into other cities as well.”

In another part of Soviet Union, seeds of restlessness were also taking root. In East Germany, demonstrations by the tired, frustrated, and oppressed citizens of German Democratic Republic (GDR) government were on the increase. But these demonstrations were different: Rather than loud chants, provocative signs, and violent clashes with law enforcement, these demonstrations featured prayers, lit candles, and nonviolent assemblies.

The seat of these protests was in Leipzig at the St. Nicholas Church. What started as a handful of protesters gathering regularly for prayer and support grew into hundreds, then thousands, and spilled over into other cities as well. Law enforcement who were prepared to clamp down on the protesters saw their nonviolent approach and simply let the gatherings continue.

With a weakening economy, growing political isolation, and a clear will of the people to bring about change, East Germany was vulnerable. Eventually the Berlin Wall fell in November of 1989 – without violence or civil unrest. And, while much of the focus of that momentous occasion was on Berlin, it was clear that Leipzig provided the spiritual heart of the movement that became known as the “Peaceful Revolution” in East Germany.

LITTLE DID I KNOW that 30 years after that historic event, I would be in relationship with the Leipzig church that inspired the movement. The Minneapolis Area Synod is a global companion partner with the Leipzig Evangelical Lutheran Church District. The partnership was birthed out of relationships formed during visits by church groups from our synod to churches “behind the wall” in Leipzig and elsewhere in East Germany in the 1970s and 1980s.

Initially, the partnership focused on ways to support our Leipzig partners through enormous governmental and cultural changes following the fall of the wall. In more recent years, it has explored ways to be the church together in our increasingly secularized societies.

“The Minneapolis Area Synod is a global companion partner with the Leipzig Evangelical Lutheran Church District.”

Over the years, we have also enjoyed travel exchanges between pastors, church groups, youth groups, and social service agencies who have observed, interacted, and learned from each other. In the fall of 2017, Bishop Ann Svennungsen was accompanied by a group of young and emerging pastors from our synod to celebrate the 500^th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation.

Three years ago, we were blessed by a pastoral exchange when Pastor Morrie Wee from our synod served the parish churches of Leipzig, while Pastor Helge Voigt from that parish came to our synod, serving primarily at Christ Church Lutheran in Minneapolis. If you had the opportunity to meet Pastor Helge, you know he was a warm, enthusiastic, and eager servant of the gospel and lover of Christ’s church. Sadly, Helge passed away this fall after multiple battles with cancer.  Morrie Wee represented us at his funeral with words of gratitude and Resurrection hope.

“Helge’s faithful witness was joined with thousands of others to share Christ’s message of love and peace in a powerful way.”

Helge was one of the protesters who gathered in Leipzig back in 1989. His faithful witness was joined with thousands of others to share Christ’s message of love and peace in a powerful way.

This month, you can join with peacemakers from around the world to lift up the messages of nonviolent change and honor Helge’s faithful legacy by celebrating the 30^th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The ELCA has produced a wonderful resource called “Breaking Down Walls” Toolkit for use in congregational or small group settings.

As long as there is injustice, “breaking down walls” is a call we still must heed.