Beginning in July, LCMS Communications plans to produce resources that relate to special monthly emphases.
The resources — to include litanies, hymn suggestions, bulletin inserts, Bible studies and brief promotional videos — will be available to districts, congregations and schools to use at any time during the month.
The LCMS Communications department was asked by the Office of the President to review the schedule of emphasis Sundays on the Synod calendar and work with the various ministries to create a more comprehensive and strategic approach in promoting the ministries to the church.
“We believe that by providing consistent and strategic messaging — using our Web, print, social media, radio, video and official publications to inform and inspire LCMS target audiences about LCMS ministries in our life together — individuals, congregations and districts will want to involve themselves, spread the word and invest in the work the LCMS does across the globe,” said Deaconess Pamela Nielsen, associate executive director of LCMS Communications. “Now LCMS congregations will have resources and support in promoting themselves locally along with our shared beliefs, mission and values.”
Accompanying the monthly emphases will be Reporter inserts and related stories in Reporter, Lutherans Engage the World and The Lutheran Witness; mentions and prayers via the Synod’s Facebook and Twitter accounts; information sheets and special Web pages; public service announcements on Worldwide KFUO.org; and donor appeals.
The new monthly emphases are:
July: Service — LCMS Volunteer and Service Opportunities.
August: Youth/Schools — LCMS Youth and Schools ministries.
September: Campus Ministry/Concordia University System — LCMS Campus Ministry, Concordia University System.
October: Church Workers — Soldiers of the Cross, Veterans of the Cross.
November: Stewardship — LCMS Stewardship Ministry.
December: LCMS Partners — LCMS districts, partner churches, corporate partners.
January 2015: Witness International — LCMS International Work.
February 2015: Witness National — LCMS National Work.
March 2015: Mercy — LCMS Mercy Ministries.
April 2015: “Free to Be Faithful” — LCMS Religious Freedom efforts.
May 2015: Seminary — LCMS Pastoral Education.
June 2015: Parish Education — National Mission Ministries.
Emails with links to the free resources will be sent monthly to districts, congregations and schools. The materials may be downloaded from related lcms.org Web pages.
Posted June 10, 2014
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It is about time. We lost these materials many years ago, and it was a shame. Synod and the districts should be the the ones that “hold up the arms” of the local congregations. Now what about seminars (quarterly) to provide insight in how best to put the resources to work in the local congregations and the communities?!
Thank you for the monthly emphases. I think these are good and godly. However, I thought the LCMS Administration has chosen an overall theme or emphasis for the year or triennium on “Stand.” Is that not correct? If not, please let us know. I would then think that all the monthly emphases would have a “stand” emphasis such as, in July: “Standing for Service,” etc. We want to impart to our congregations a climate of hope and courage in standing boldly for what we believe, teach, and confess, and standing courageously in Christ Jesus in an ever increasingly secularized, materialistic culture,
Thank you for your blog post. The Stand theme selected for the triennium is still in place, and we have been instructed to phase it in over the next three years. Starting in January, the Stand theme will be more obvious and used with the monthly emphases as you suggest. Because of when the Stand theme was selected, many ministries already had events and activities planned that didn’t incorporate this theme in this calendar year. So we have elected to phase it in and will be doing so.
LCMS Church Information Center
888-843-5267/infocenter@lcms.org
Great idea! Will these resource be mailed to congregations or available on the internet and other areas?
Thank you for your blog post. The answer to this is yes. We are preparing materials this week and planning to send them out in an e-blast next week.
LCMS Church Information Center
888-843-5267/infocenter@lcms.org
I hope that this will bring an end to all of the individual appeals for various “Special Sundays.” I’m all in favor of supporting the work of the church, but with all of the individual appeals it seems that one could throw out the Lectionary and simply promote a Special Sunday each week of the year.