Go & Tell the Story

By Rev. Steve Meysing, Assistant to the Bishop & PMA Program Director PMA Sunday will be celebrated on Sunday, April 25, 2021, the feast of St. Mark, Evangelist, and Good Shepherd Sunday. Worship resources, sermon videos, and manuscripts by PMAs are available at this link. “Pastor Bob is retiring the day after Christmas. We’re sending in a PMA and you’re supervising her,” said the assistant to the bishop on the other end of the phone call. This was about two weeks into my new call in a new synod. “What’s a PMA and how do I supervise one?” I asked. “You have two PMAs in your congregation, Lyle and Pat. They’ll fill you in. And I’ll email you the PMA handbook.” That was my introduction to the Parish Ministry Associate program of our Nebraska Synod. Now I can’t imagine being Nebraska Synod without PMAs! When a congregation needs a part-time minister, your pastor needs a theologically-trained partner to care for a congregation and community, or you need pulpit supply or visitation whil...

By Rev. Steve Meysing, Assistant to the Bishop It had been a glorious Christmas Eve service. Our regular pianist and flautist were supplemented by the college student home with her cello and the children who’d not left for vacation. The new Advent and Christmas decorations transformed our worship space. The singing was inspired, the candlelight so warm and the mood even warmer. I don’t recall anybody being in a hurry to leave. Just before leaving, Paul, one of our most faithful members, asked a question that sticks with me a dozen years later. After saying what a beautiful worship service it was, Paul asked, “So is that all there is, Pastor? After all the work done to get ready for Christmas—the shopping, the concerts, the decorating, the parties—Christmas is over now? When do we get to enjoy Christmas?” Getting ready can be hard work. This Advent and Christmas, give yourself the gift of a tiny break from the work and spending a few moments with our Lo...

By Rev. Steve Meysing, Assistant to the Bishop “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.”     Psalm 133:1 Since my upbringing was ecumenical, I’m glad the Psalmist said unity and not uniformity. Dad was Roman Catholic and made sure I went to mass every Sunday and attended CCD after school on Wednesdays. In the summer, my Evangelical Covenant Church mother signed me up for Vacation Bible School at Protestant Churches. Every one of her siblings, my aunts and uncle, ended up in a different branch of the Christian family tree, and got along well most of the time. Experiencing this diversity in the Body of Christ that is the Church, God’s people in community, was a great way to grow up. Upon learning the history of the Moravian Church during seminary, I was struck by their oft-repeated, defining statement: “In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, love.” As a Lutheran Christian, the proclam...