A Note from the desk of Pastor Tammy*******************

Soul Shop – Ministering to Suicidal Desperation

What if we were to adopt a mission statement of: We will be the place where no one loses hope and no one is alone. Doesn’t that sound like the vision of the church where we profess hope through Jesus Christ? I recently attended a daylong Soul Shop training that uses this mission statement. The training better equipped me for having conversations around a topic that is not talked about very often – that is regarding suicidal desperation. When people enter this conversation, it is from many different perspectives. The reality is that there may be persons who attend church here at Bread of Life or Trinity Lutheran who are considering, or have considered suicide at some point in their lives. There are likely persons who are concerned about a family member or friend that they suspect is considering suicide, or persons who have lost a loved one to suicide. It is also likely that there are persons who at one time experienced a season of suicidal thinking in the past but have found a way out of the darkness.

If so many are suffering, we may ask the question, “why aren’t we aware of it?” Suicidal desperation is a topic the church is often silent about. Perhaps it is a quiet desperation, a topic that we are afraid to talk about. Perhaps the stigma around suicide prevents us from being open about it. The goal of the Soul Shop training is for faith communities, such as ours right here, to create an environment where conversations can take place that are healing, transforming and even lifesaving for people who attend church and for those who are in our community. What a better place for these conversations to happen – where love, hope, forgiveness, and grace through Jesus are professed. What a great way to live out our faith lives by opening conversation around desperation and suicide, that often go hand in hand. Where else in the world can you find such love and support for one another as you can through your siblings in Christ?

There are many places in Scripture where we find suicidal desperation. Take Job for example. At one point, he says, When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint, even when you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions, so that I prefer strangling and death, rather than this body of mine (Job 7:13-15). Job is able to be honest about the fact that his desperation has led him to think about suicide. He says it out loud. Many other faces of desperation throughout scripture were brought to our attention, including Judas, and the desperation of the jailer who was saved by Paul and Silas after they broke out of jail. At the conference, we learned that the simple act of using the word “suicide” out loud in a sentence is a starting place for the conversation to begin.

What would it look like here at Bread of Life and at Trinity Lutheran if our church communities became places where no one loses hope and no one is alone? This coming fall a presentation titled Soul Shop for Congregations will take place at Bread of Life, where we will delve into what we as church together can do to open ourselves to deeper conversation around suicidal desperation and the hope and love we as the body of Christ have to offer.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Tammy

May Loose Change Offering:

We are getting closer to sending 9 high school youth and two adult leaders to the ELCA National Youth Gathering in New Orleans. One of the service projects is making hurricane relief kits in the event of another hurricane/storm. May's loose change offerings will go to helping contribute to these hurricane relief kits. Below you will find more information as well as a link to purchase items for the kits. Our church is part of "Region 3", and we will be contributing "Portable Charger Power Banks" for charging cell phones/electronic devices.

Our goal is to create 3,000 disaster relief kits filled with these items to help New Orleanians get through the days immediately following a natural disaster. It takes about $100 to create an entire disaster relief kit. We encourage you to collect the items for your region or raise funds to complete an entire kit! 

Click Here for the website!

Welcome to Bread of Life Gatherings - May 1,4,5

New around Bread of Life? Want to learn more about the church and ways you can get involved? This is for you! Join us on any of the upcoming dates listed below. We’ll gather in the church conference room or outside at the pavilion if it’s nice. Please RSVP to the church office or reach out to a pastor.  

Saturday May 4th (4-5pm) 

Sunday May 5th (11am-noon)

Please join the women of western ND WELCA for our 2024 Biennial Convention, with the theme of "Peace Like a River."

It will be an enriching time of learning, sharing and fellowship. You can attend for either day or both. Scholarships available. Please contact Cody, Michelle or the office for more information.  

Wednesday Programming at BOL Wraps up for the School Year!

Our final Wednesday for the school year will be held on Wednesday May 15th. We will have our regularly scheduled meal and worship followed by some outdoor games (weather permitting!). Many thanks to teachers, worship helpers, those who prepared/served meals, and all who helped in other ways this past year. Our Wednesday nights of faith and fellowship together wouldn’t be possible without the contributions of many. Thank you!!!  

Prairie Faith Devotions

Prairie Faith Devotions Link

Check out Prairie Faith Devotions, found on Facebook. Just click the link. Each weekday, a pastor or deacon from the Western North Dakota Synod shares a short devotion. You are invited to add this devotion to your faith practices.

Microwave Request:

We are looking for a microwave for the multipurpose room. If you have a microwave that you would be willing to donate to the church, please let the office know. 

Noon Bible Study

All are invited to join our noon Bible Study group on Tuesdays at noon. You are welcome to join in person or via zoom. You will receive an email on Mondays with the zoom link attached.

Memorials

Given by: In Memory of:

Gene & Dawn Evenson Marlene Hill

Donna Luther Arliss Radford

Larry & Donna Herslip Maxine Nehring