Women gather to support missions
From June 21-24, 1,450 women attended the 55th annual Lutheran Women’s Missionary Society (LWMS) Convention held in Green Bay, Wis. Special guests included members from WELS’ mission field on the Apache reservation and members of South Asian Lutheran Evangelical Mission, WELS’ sister church body in Hong Kong.
The LWMS serves Jesus “by increasing awareness of, interest in, and support of the mission outreach of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.” The convention features WELS missionaries sharing stories from their mission fields, worship services and devotions, and displays that offer more information about WELS’ missions and the organizations that support them.
One highlight of this year’s convention was the keynote presentation by Kirk Massey, Jr., and Gary Lupe, Apache pastors who told attendees about the 125 years of God’s grace that WELS has been sharing God’s Word on the Apache reservation. As Massey presented the history of the mission field, Lupe entertained the audience with stories from his life and ministry.
Wendy Wright, a WELS member from Joplin, Mo., shared her story of how she was inspired by a presentation at the 2017 LWMS Convention to pursue opening a home mission in her community. As she noted, “On April 12, [our core group] heard that we were selected as a new WELS mission! Only 10 months after God provided the seed at the last convention, he prepared the soil and watered it . . . and we are now rejoicing in seeing a home mission sprout up in Joplin, Mo.!” Wright encouraged attendees to consider how the Lord may be speaking to them at the convention.
Laura Lemke, a convention attendee and member of Trinity, Sturgis, S.D., echoed her sentiment. Lemke says, “The most essential part of attending a convention is the strong desire I take with me to be a missionary right where I have already been planted, even when the ways feel small or insignificant. The Holy Spirit can truly work through any of us.”
Every year, local LWMS circuits collect offerings for one Home and one World Missions project. At the 2018 convention, the LWMS presented these offerings to WELS Missions. Over the course of 2017–18, the LWMS raised $37,985 each for Cameroon projects and the Caribbean Scholarship Fund. The LWMS also raised $49,443.57 for feeding Jesus’ lambs in Nepal through its kids c.a.r.e program.
“We thank the women of the LWMS for this generous support,” says Keith Free, administrator of WELS Home Missions. “The LWMS is an active partner with both Home and World Missions.”
For information on the 2018-19 mission projects and to learn more about the 2019 LWMS Convention being held in Des Moines, Iowa, from June 27–30, visit lwms.org. To view recorded sessions from the 55th annual LWMS Convention, go to livestream.com/welslive.
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Volume 105, Number 9
Issue: September 2018
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