 Over the last few months as my wife and I have faced some serious health concerns, people – lots of people – have assured us that they are praying for us. We deeply appreciate and treasure every prayer offered. I am not always sure what the content of the prayers might be. I assume they are prayers for healing, strength, and hope among other things. It really does not matter because the expressions of care and compassion are genuine and are gifts of grace. Even when someone says, “I’m praying for you,” without a clue as to what to say or out of the desperation of feeling helpless, the impulse to pray is itself a prayer. As Paul says, “… the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” (Romans 8:26)
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 “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” —Matthew 11:28
Summer has a strange way of speeding up just when we imagine it will slow down. We start the season dreaming of open calendars, lazy afternoons, and backyard evenings. But somehow, the pace picks up—filled with vacations, kids’ activities, family obligations, projects we’ve saved “for when there’s time.”  Some of you may be upset, even angered, by this little article. I am willfully and wantonly referring to a bill now before the US Congress. You may assume that this means a pastor is taking up politics, which is forbidden in the minds of many. Others may think I am being partisan for opposing something supported by one party more than the other. I reject both accusations.
 Of the 78 million Lutherans around the world, 31 million are in Africa. 8.6 million of the Lutherans in Africa are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT), which is the second largest Lutheran Church on the planet (The largest is the Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus in Ethiopia). By contrast, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (of which we are a congregation) has about 2.8 million members. While congregations shrink and denominations struggle here, the African church is growing and becoming more vital.
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