Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church Elca

Information may not be reliable

The worst floods on record have brought destruction to communities across five provinces of the country. As of August 18, Government figures on the number of people directly affected by the floods remain at approximately 15.4 million. Assessments to establish the degree to which affected populations are in need of immediate humanitarian assistance continue. The official death toll has risen to 1,475 with 2,052 people reported as injured. Almost 1 million houses are now reported as having been either damaged or destroyed.
In response to the monsoon flooding in Pakistan, the ELCA provided $100,000 to support the work of Church World Service (CWS) which is providing food, emergency shelter materials and health assistance to survivors. Efforts already underway have provided food and shelter kits to families in Sibbi, established mobile health care and emergency health assistance in Balakot and continue to assess the affected areas to identify those in need and plan next steps in the response. Initial assessments conducted by CWS and partners indicate that survivors face grave challenges given the loss of housing, crops and livestock. At the village level, people in general have little to eat and lack opportunities for earning money to purchase food.
Financial gifts are urgently needed to continue this vital response effort and provide long-term support to the people of Pakistan. Your gifts to ELCA Disaster Response, designated to Pakistan Flooding, will be used entirely - 100 percent- for this response effort in Pakistan. Your prayers and generous gifts will make a life saving difference. Please visit the ELCA website at www.ELCA.org to find out how you can donate.

CHURCH AS A BEFRIENDING COMMUNITY To befriend is to act as a friend to; to help. Why and how is the Church Community our church community - to befriend one another/others? The WHY is more obvious. This is the time of the season when we hear of Jesus as the vine and we are the branches; we are to produce fruit and the fruit he describes is love. The energy we receive as we trust in Jesus is meant to be used for love. We know that we are commanded to love one another and then Jesus speaks of friendship. No one has greater love than this, to lay down ones life for ones friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from my Father. John 15.13f How do we become a befriending community? The ultimate virtues of Christian friendship faithfulness, kindness, and patience are most perfectly shown to us in the example of Jesus himself. Jesus was a friend to a broad range of people, even befriending the outcasts of society. Jesus also had best friends in his community. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were among them. The twelve disciples were his most intimate friends and the ones he called friends. The Old Testament gives us other examples: I and II Samuel tell of the friendship between David and Jonathan, Proverbs has sayings about friends, the Psalms mention friends, and the Book of Job relates some of the difficulties of friendship. There are many faces to friendship. Jesus, by his example as well as by his teachings, instructed that humans were not to be individualists, but to be in relationship in community. Jesus endorsed the OT view of solidarity. Jesus was always a faithful friend. Jesus showed us the way. Make friends a priority. Jesus trusted his followers, opened his heart. Be kind and gentle in criticism, forgive, and be a friend to yourself (a low self-image is not a friend to grace). Friendships permit us to go beyond merely quoting Jesus to living out Jesus summary of the law that we love God with our whole self and love others as we love ourselves. Christs spirit present in the circles of friendship broadens them to include more and more people. Community is a gift. Christian unity is a gift also and Christian unity can begin in friendship. Jesus had friends whose names we know; he also befriended the nameless poor, the outcasts, the hungry, and the ill. Friends have in common a unity of spirit. If we are to be friends of Jesus, we are also called to befriend those whom Jesus befriends. Many people turn to the church seeking relationships; the Church, this church, has the opportunity of becoming a befriending community and welcoming all people.

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We invite you to join us every Sunday for joyous Worship and opportunities for learning and fellowship.

Faith Congregation offers a variety of programs, ministries, and community service. We would be delighted to have you and your family participate. Please feel free to speak with Pastor Kay or other members of the congregation, or call the Church Office for specific informaiton about a particular program.

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