This year there have been many stories of tragedy around the world. We can’t help but remember the earthquake in Haiti, the floods in Pakistan, the trapped miners in Chile. The world watched in horror as people’s lives were changed forever by these tragedies. Hopelessness, homelessness, death, disease could have been the hallmarks of those events. The world could only have photos and videos of the coverage of these events as they happened.

Canadians in the pews, as well as people around the world, provided a much different view of the tragedy. They provided hope to people’s in chaos. Working through Canadian World Relief and the Lutheran World Federation, the world supported the relief efforts with their dollars and time. The relief efforts provided an opportunity to survive and thrive. It will never be enough considering what people have gone through though. The tragedies will forever change their lives but the reactions of the world to their plight helped some to see a different world before them.

The Chilean miners survived sixty nine days underground. In the first couple of weeks the world did not know if they were alive. The minors wondered if anyone was trying to get them out. At times they might have experienced hopelessness, of wondering if they would ever see their families again. The men lost sixty nine days of their lives, none of which they can ever get back. Time lost with families and friends has changed their relationships forever. The miners have to live with a new reality, of new grandchildren being born, of new wives and partners, of marriages and divorces, etc. Life is not what it used to be and it will never be again.

Learning to survive in a new world takes courage, patience, understanding and love for those around them. It takes time to carefully maneuver through the minefield of relationships and personalities and changes in the world. It means looking at this new world through new eyes.

One of the things I noticed about the miners was their unfailing faith. As they rose from the capsule, tan t-shirts showed bright red lettering- Gracias Senor- Thank you Lord. Many expressed praise of God and praise for God’s unfailing presence while they were underground. The faith that kept them moving forward to freedom is the faith that will keep them in hope as they meet the changing life they have come face to face with.

The faith filled stories of these miners and the victims in Haiti and Pakistan can be an inspiration to us as we think about our own situation. There are a number of congregations across the ELCIC and the ELCIC itself that is struggling to maintain ministry at the same level done years ago. When one is struggling, it is sometimes with a sense of hopelessness, of wondering about the future, of holding on to the past. Life and ministry is not like it used to be.

In faith, the people of Chile, Pakistan and Haiti are moving ahead in their lives, to meet the changing reality. Our faith in a God who is present among us always can be a guiding light to us in the midst of our own changing landscape. Do we have the courage to let God lead?

In recent years two of our congregations closed after years of struggling to maintain their ministries. Each left a legacy of hope behind that has touched a number of other congregations and ministries. Assets were disbursed to create a new mission site, support building projects at our bible camp, support women in shelters and crisis centres, seminaries and student aid, street ministries, children’s centres, etc. The list goes on and on.

In a changed context, ministry still exists even when we don’t see it. New voices are heard. New life is experienced. It’s not the same as the old life, with the old relationships. It takes courage, patience, understanding and love to live in this changed context. It takes risk to let God lead where we don’t want to go. But change brings renewal and growth, sometimes the things we are most afraid of. Gracias Lord, for your guiding light brought to use in your Son, Jesus Christ, the babe in Bethlehem.