From the Editor
Delighting in Joy
On a recent trip to a local garden center, the highlight of the morning for my eight-year-old daughter was that she got to collect beautiful treasures. While I perused the aisles looking for annuals that would love the shade, she scoured the floor and filled a basket with as many broken flowers as she could find. By the time we left she had an entire bag overflowing with every flower and color imaginable. She called her sister on the way home excited to say “guess what I found?” and then spent the next few hours decorating our house with the loveliness.
The highlight for me was watching her delight in this joy she had found. I can only imagine how (on most days) you delight in those you teach. As Lutheran educators you have a unique opportunity to live out your faith and have your faith strengthened each day.
The Summer 2010 issue of ShapingtheFuture is our first “green” online issue. And we couldn’t help but talk about renew, repurpose, and recycle! Rev. John Nunes challenges us to help Lutheran World Relief renew hope for Africa by raising money to eradicate the threat of Malaria by 2015. Perry Bresemann clarifies for us that if a parent does not select a Lutheran school for their child, the real loss is not about the enrollment number, but that the student will not have a chance to hear about their Savior from a Christian teacher. And in the feature, Living “Green,” Rev. Tom Eggebrecht reminds us that despite sin and death, it is God alone who renews you, repurposes you, and recycles you for His good purpose.
God delivered us from our brokenness so that we—filled with His grace and hope—could live green in the midst of darkness.
Joy!
From the Executive Director
It’s Not Easy Being Green
That line should be very familiar to all of us (at any age) who spent time in front of the television in the 70s watching a new children’s program called Sesame Street. For me, it was a process of learning in college how such a medium and its programming could be used for effective teaching and learning. The “star” of the show was a tiny frog named Kermit who helped us all deal with life’s challenges (like being green!)
Today, “being green” has taken on a whole new meaning. The practice of recycling, conserving energy, changing our wasteful lifestyles, and adopting more efficient means of going about our day-to-day tasks are all commonplace in our society and growing in popularity worldwide. Maintaining a “green” environment in the workplace, home and community has become a priority for many. The new battle cry is “go green” as we seek to conserve resources, save money, and become the best stewards of God’s gifts.
It’s not easy being green. Collecting cans, shredding and disposing of paper, turning off lights when leaving rooms, and finding alternatives to old habits can be challenging. But we appreciate the positive environmental impact, cost savings, and satisfaction that we are all doing our part to preserve God’s green earth.
Your Lutheran Education Association has taken on the task of “going green” with this issue of ShapingtheFuture. It wasn’t easy for us either. Though savings of paper and energy required for print and distribution of the traditional version was certainly a natural advantage, we had to make a number of adjustments to accommodate the new format. It’s new, it’s different; it’s green!
We think you will enjoy the changes in this innovative issue! One major advantage is the interactive feature of many articles and ads: just “click” to be taken to another related web site! We believe the ability to navigate through many new resources will enhance your enjoyment and the usefulness of ShapingtheFuture. Try it out! See what you think. We’ll be asking for your review in coming weeks.
Enjoy your Summer online issue of ShapingtheFuture. We’ll be returning to the paper format beginning with the Fall issue.
And for a bit of nostalgia, click here for a recording of the
“green” song from Kermit himself!
Have a great summer.
ShapingtheFuture is published quarterly by Lutheran Education Association and distributed to members of LEA.