Gratitude 8 July 2010

I am grateful for packed lunches.  Not only do packed lunches save time and money, but they provide more time for reflection during lunch breaks.  I highly value time for self-reflection.

Gratitude 7 July 2010

I am grateful for living within walking distance of a bookstore.  Books are an amazing gift as they inspire creativity, imagination, deep thinking, learning, and in some cases social action.  Reading remains one of my favorite pastimes even in the age of electronic distractions.

Gratitude 6 July 2010

God grants us many blessings in life.  My goal is to be more conscious of God's blessings in my daily life.  To help with that, I am going to pick at least one thing I am grateful for each day and post it here on my blog.

Today, I am going to start with an easy, yet very important blessing.  I am grateful for my loving family.  They have supported me throughout my entire life - through the good and the bad.  I value their insight as I continually wrestle with God's call.  They have been supportive and tolerant of God's call, even as it leads me to far away places like Haiti and South Africa. I have been extremely blessed to have such a wonderful family.

Summer Songs of Thanksgiving

In response to the musical gifts God has granted me and others at St. Stephen, I will be headlining a concert at the church on Saturday, July 10th at 7PM.  My sister will be playing a piece as well as accompanying our songs.  My mother, sister, and Jim McPherson will also be joining me in singing various pieces.  There will also be a surprise guest appearance; you do not want to miss this concert!

We will also be singing some interactive songs for audience participation.  We hope this concert will be an enjoyable time for all as we give thanks for the gifts God has showered us with at St. Stephen.  There will be a free-will offering with proceeds going to Young Adults in Global Mission to help support my year in South Africa.

Good Works: The Effect, not the Cause, of our salvation

In my travels back and forth between Bucknell and home this summer, I keep passing a sign for a church reading: "Good Works are the effect, not the cause, of our salvation."  I can't help thinking how appropriate this sign is as I prepare to volunteer for a year in Durban, South Africa with YAGM.  It serves as a reminder to me of two of the most important reasons for service.

First, service is a conduit to express my thanksgiving for the gift of grace granted to me through Jesus' death and resurrection.  Second, service helps me become more aware of God's ever-present love.  Those I serve with become more aware of God's love through my actions.  Likewise, as I am serving, I see God's love expressed in ways new to me.

Keeping in mind the uplifting power of service, the apparent contradiction between "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith [...] not by works" (Ephesians 2:8-9) and "faith without works is dead" (James 2:20) is resolved.  The joy of my salvation in Jesus Christ is so great, that it naturally expresses itself through service with others.  If my faith becomes so weak that I stop rejoicing in my salvation through service, then my faith has indeed become dead.

Thank you St. Stephen Lutheran Church

The council of St. Stephen has approved $1500 disbursed on my behalf to the YAGM fund from established memorials of the church.  Thank you very much for helping me as I pursue my goals.

July and August Newsletter Article

I posted an article in the July/August newsletter of St. Stephen Lutheran church.  The following is the content of the article as I submitted it:

Dear Friends in Christ:

I have been appointed by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to serve as a volunteer in the ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission program. I will serve in Durban, South Africa for one year beginning in August. I will be joining 42 other young adults in the program serving in Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico, Israel-Palestine, Slovakia, Hungary, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Each participant will serve in a church, school, or social service ministry. In some cases, including mine, our exact work assignments are not known at this time.

For the 11 of us going to South Africa, our work assignments will not be determined until a few weeks into our stay at our placement. The delay allows us to form relationships with people in the community to find the best use of our gifts. So despite the unknowns involved, I am looking forward with excitement to my upcoming year of service in South Africa. Service informs my faith in two ways. First, it is a response to God's gift of grace given to us through Jesus' death and resurrection. Second, service is an opportunity for us to help us see God's ever-present love in our lives. My year in Durban will help me live out faithful service on a daily basis.

While service will play a core role in my year abroad, this year will also serve as an opportunity for education and discernment. I am at a crossroad in my life. I have just received my bachelor's degree in mathematics from Bucknell University and I am trying to discern what is next for me. This year will provide me an opportunity to pause, reflect, and grow closer to God.

As I learn from the South African culture and journey in faith, I invite you to come along with me in spirit. I will be sending back periodic updates in the form of a newsletter. I also will be maintaining a blog of my observations while in South Africa. Additionally, Brenda Sanchez's kindergarten class and I will be pen pals throughout my year abroad. If you have any other suggestions for ways to share in this journey with me, please contact me and I will be happy to discuss them with you.

As you have supported me on my trips to Haiti, I once again ask for your support while out of the country. I especially ask for your prayers as I prepare and ultimately embark on this international journey. I give thanks to God for the support St. Stephen's has always shown me. I will be praying for your continued growth as I am abroad.

I also give thanks for the support that council has shown for my service in Durban, South Africa. Council has approved making my year of service a ministry of our congregation. This is significant because it enables contributions made by individuals towards my service to be tax deductible. Council has also given my fund-raising efforts a jump start by generously authorizing $1500 be dispersed on my behalf from endowments of the church.

If you are interested in contributing towards my year of service, please mark the appropriate amount on your offering envelope on a blank line using “YAGM fund” as the header. Alternatively you can write a check made out to St. Stephen Lutheran Church with “YAGM fund” in the memo line. I thank you in advance if you do decide to contribute.

If you would like more information about the program or how it is funded, I will be writing about it in more detail on my blog at lengelmichael.blogspot.com.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns, please feel free to contact me at:

email: lengel.michael@gmail.com

cell:(published in newsletter)

On August 18, I depart for a week-long program orientation in Chicago. I leave for South Africa on August 25^th. Once in South Africa, I will have a week-long country-specific orientation before traveling to my permanent location in Durban. While in Durban, my mailing address will be

Michael Lengel

Box 304

Ubombo

3970

South Africa

I look forward to journeying with you in the year ahead.

Mike Lengel