Winter ‘Engage’: Lutherans on the move

Lonnie Loehr, a Lutheran Early Response Team (LERT) volunteer from Zion Lutheran Church, Pasadena, Texas, takes a break after clearing hurricane debris at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and School in Sarasota, Fla., on Oct. 17, 2022. (LCMS/Erik M. Lunsford)

“Most people … don’t understand the importance of church. … It’s hard to explain, but it’s just the place I need to be,” says David Rode, a member of a Lutheran church in the small town of Chapicuy, Uruguay. The church recently dedicated its new building after many years of meeting in people’s homes.

The Winter 2023 issue of Lutherans Engage the World tells stories of Lutherans around the world who know that church is “the place … to be” because it’s where God’s gifts are distributed to His people. From Uruguay to Peru to Florida’s hurricane-ravaged coast, Lutherans find comfort and strength to reach out to their neighbors with Christ’s mercy amid a chaotic world.

The issue also includes articles about the history of the LCMS Youth Gathering; a recent LCMS Church Relations conference attended by representatives from 34 of the Synod’s partner churches; and a school in Dearborn, Mich., that is educating and caring for deaf students.

The Rev. Kevin D. Robson, LCMS chief mission officer, writes in the introduction: “This issue of Lutherans Engage the World — like so many that have preceded it — portrays a lively church and her living members intentionally on the move together. We are called to live and work not in chaotic commotion, but with purposeful ‘co-motion.’ ”

The magazine will begin arriving in mailboxes in late December. It can also be read online at engage.lcms.org. If you aren’t currently receiving the magazine but would like to, visit engage.lcms.org/subscribe to sign up for a free subscription.

Both individual and bulk subscriptions (for congregations) are available.

Posted Jan. 12, 2023