The bishops recently heard some feedback about the surveys on the Canada Lutheran
magazine. The survey indicated that readership and subscriptions are down, that less
and less congregations have bulk subscriptions for their membership and that Canada
Lutheran only reaches a small percentage of ELCIC households. The statistics say that
10,000 copies are printed per issue. The ELCIC has approximately 152,000 members,
which is about 50,000 households.

Despite the readership, Canada Lutheran has set some pretty amazing goals for its
publication. They want to assist the church in finding ideas to launch ministry in the
local context. They want to help people get involved in the church. Take note of the “How To” column for these kinds of ideas. Even better, you can assist Canada Lutheran in reaching this goal. The magazine should be shared. Give it to your children and grandchildren, your council members who are the elected leaders of the congregation, friends and neighbours, hospitals and care homes. SHARE IT!

One of the things I hear young adults say is that the church is out of touch with the reality of the world today, the context in which we do ministry. Canada Lutheran, as a tool of the church, addresses issues in today’s world through its column “Let’s Talk”. While some of us may think that we shouldn’t spend time talking about such things, perhaps that is the reason why we are irrelevant in these times. Everyone else outside of the church is talking about these things. Maybe we ought to be part of the conversation and then speak to it through our Lutheran Christian lens. Maybe we ought to be having conversations (two sided ones) with young adults to find out what they think about the issues facing the world today. Canada Lutheran offers a platform for discussion and dialogue. Give a copy to your youth or young adults group. Suggest articles be used as discussion starters, faith incubators, new members classes. Just imagine the opportunities for dialogue that is engaging for the whole congregation.

One of the cornerstones of our faith is to build disciples. We have concerns that our young people (and I might even add our middle age and older generations in some cases) don’t read nor study the bible. While Jesus is the centre of our faith, the bible assists us in knowing what God has in mind for us and helps develop and strengthen our faith. Two columns in the Canada Lutheran help us dig deeper into the bible- “Practising Our Faith” and “Q & A”. Need a starting point for beginning conversation? Use the Canada Lutheran articles in your Sunday morning studies. It will give people understanding about why we do the things we do as Lutherans and Christians.

Over the passage of years as our children were at home, my spouse and I had a plan to share as much of Canada as we could with our children through family vacations. Sadly, we missed Nunavet, Newfoundland and the Northwest Territories. Through our travels we learned of your life in small and large communities and we grew to appreciate our differences. Our sons speak highly of what a privilege it is to live in this country and they are proud of the Canadian heritage they have received through travels and at home.

The Canada Lutheran provides a snapshot of life in the ELCIC. Apparently the synod inserts are the most read sections of the magazine. People obviously want to know what is going on elsewhere. It’s a wonderful opportunity to “check in with each other”. This is healthy- to want to know about our friends and neighbours. To take ourselves out of our insular world and see what is going on. Come on ELCIC- lets continue to stay connected as we do ministry in TOGETHER on behalf of the whole world.