ELCA NEWS SERVICE
August 2, 2005
ELCA Rural Life Gathering Receives Inspiration, Builds Network
05-137-JB/CL*
LINDSBORG, Kan. (ELCA) -- More than 200 people interested in
rural ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA) met here at Bethany College for worship, to learn from
each other, to build a variety of ministry networks and to hear
keynote speakers deliver messages of encouragement for their work
in rural settings.
This year's gathering of the ELCA Small Town and Rural
(STaR) Ministry Alliance, July 28-30, was the ELCA's second rural
gathering. It followed the inaugural meeting one year ago at
Newberry College, Newberry, S.C. Bethany and Newberry are two of
the ELCA's 28 colleges and universities.
Keynote speakers were the Rev. Martin E. Marty, ELCA pastor
and well-known church historian and commentator, and Marty's son,
Micah, a professional photographer whose favorite subject is
church buildings.
Lindsborg was chosen as the site of the 2005 gathering
because "it is a model of hope," upholding the historic town's
Swedish heritage through arts, food and music, said Sandra A.
LaBlanc, director for rural ministry, ELCA Division for Outreach.
The site was also chosen to support Bethany College, she said.
Conference participants dined on locally grown foods.
In opening remarks, Dr. Paul K. Formo, president, Bethany
College, told participants that the alliance and the college
have a "shared vision" as institutions of the church. Education
is a priority for both, he said.
"You are teaching all the time," he told the participants.
"I suspect we have much to learn from each other about teaching
the adult population."
Bethany, with about 600 students, is a four-year, liberal
arts college, one of the three smallest in the ELCA, Formo said.
It was founded in 1881 by Swedish immigrants. The school recently
announced it had exceeded its annual-fund goal for the 2004-2005
fiscal year by more than $50,000, raising $856,420. That
followed a record-breaking year in which it raised $3.3 million
in endowment and annual fund gifts.
"This is a special place with many possibilities," he said,
adding that, like the STaR ministry alliance, students, faculty
and staff "are called to be faithful." Five guiding principles
of the college are integrity, hospitality, relationship,
leadership and sustainability, Formo said.
In taped remarks to the conference, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson,
ELCA presiding bishop, told alliance members that they represent
"a beacon of light for the church in rural America."
Two ELCA synod bishops who attended the conference were the
Rev. Gerald L. Mansholt, ELCA Central States Synod, Kansas City,
Mo., and the Rev. Floyd M. Schoenhals, ELCA Arkansas-Oklahoma
Synod, Tulsa. Okla.
Important parts of the gathering were meetings of "affinity
groups," organized around specific areas of interest through
which the participants aim to improve the church's effectiveness
and outreach in small town and rural settings. Affinity groups
included worship, consumer ethics, cooperative ministries, health
care, evangelism, youth, moral deliberation, public education and
community economic development. Participants attended several
related workshops.
Martin Marty: 'Horizon of Generosity'
Quoting from Jose Ortega y Gassett, a Spanish author, Martin
Marty called on the participants to incline their "sensitive
crowns" -- their hearts -- to a side of "the horizon" that
emphasizes optimism, heroism, peace, hope and generosity.
He cited many challenges of rural life, such as images that
show decline and despair, a "market culture," globalization,
trade agreements that negatively affect rural communities,
politics that turns into domestic warfare, declining resources
and economic difficulties for small-town businesses. Marty
argued that the best motivator and best agency of change is "the
renewal of generosity."
Being generous is a better "theme" than stewardship, he
said, adding that it relates more to the character of God than
does stewardship. The horizon of generosity, he said, is a gift
of the rural church.
"Generosity is from God. It starts with the character of
God's heart," Marty said. "A church body can be generous. A
congregation can be generous."
Micah Marty: 10 Principles of Photography and Faith
"My faith grows through my art, and I hope my art grows
through my faith," Micah Marty told conference participants.
Micah said he and his father have produced four art books with
black-and-white photographs of churches. Many of the churches are
on the Great Plains, he said.
"I love churches, I love going to church, and I love to meet
church people," Micah said. Marty presented 10 principles of
photography he's learned that he said can be applied to a
person's faith life:
+ Bearing witness to the light: The role of the photographer
is to see and show things in a new light, he said.
+ A place doesn't have to be filled with people to have
compelling human interest: People are not in most of Micah's
pictures, yet most show there's evidence of people. "When we see
it without people in it, we can easily place ourselves in the
picture," he said.
+ Authenticity is preferable to perfection.
+ What some people see as signs of decay some people see as
signs of perseverance.
+ One person's routine is another person's poetry. A
photographer finds the extraordinary in the ordinary, he said.
+ Look for the overlooked. For example, shoot some pictures
of the audience reaction at a stage production. Sometimes, these
are the better pictures, he said.
+ Look for evidence of something that has been adapted for a
new use or something old that remains among newer things. Micah
said he likes to highlight such objects because it shows how
something old is still meaningful.
+ Receive what is there versus trying to impose something on
the picture. Micah said he never changes the place at which he is
shooting and does not use computers to enhance or improve
photographs.
+ Emphasize the timeless instead of the timely. Photos with
a timeless quality are relevant to the audience longer, he said.
+ Meaning is not dependent on numbers. More or better is
not necessarily more meaningful, he said.
Micah said he likes to photograph things that emphasize
beauty and the "majestic."
"The purpose of Christian art is to help us see things," he
said. "The role of the Christian artist is to give people hope."
The 2005 STaR Ministry Alliance Gathering was made possible
by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, a not-for-profit financial
organization based in Minneapolis. The next gathering is planned
for July 20-22, 2006, at Susquehanna University, an ELCA higher
education institution in Selinsgrove, Pa.
---
Information about the STaR Ministry Alliance is at
http://www.ELCA.org/rural/star on the Web.
Information about Bethany College is at http://bethanylb.edu
on the Web.
*Some information was supplied by Colene Lind, director of
college relations for Bethany College.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
