Praise God from all blessings flow! new French hymnal for Africa & Haiti

100 hymns that cover the Sacraments, marriage, Christian sanctification and more. There is prayers, the liturgy for the for Matins, and various well-done French Lutherproduced by the the Comité de l’Église Luthérienne

French-speaking Lutheran churches, they have ever had a comown language.

French-speaking congregations in Canada,” explains Rev. Dr. of LHF translation proj“However, it is quite large, expensive to transport in the African challenge, a skilled team has translate, edit, design, print “mission edition” of Liturgies et

Somers and Rev. David Saar of Canada and Phillip Magness, an LCMS missionary to West and Central Africa have been the driving forces behind the hymnal’s rich content. Hymns have been specifically chosen to provide a solid foundation for young and fast-growing church bodies like those in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Rev. Somers says Lutheran churches “have just mushroomed in the last 20 years.”

Accordingly, “some of the hymns will have African melodies, but we haven’t changed the contents or words of the original hymns,” Rev. Somers noted.

Whether in Africa or in Haiti, “hymnals are either absent or scarce,” said Rev. Bato. “This hymnal will unite our world’s French-speaking Lutherans in a common liturgy, so they may worship with one voice.”

Reflecting on the wide variety of cultures this hymnal will serve, Rev. Somers noted that the people are “highly diverse, and most not of Lutheran background. But the common bond is the faith. The faith this hymnal proclaims becomes the lingua franca!”

As immigration becomes increasingly common worldwide, the French hymnals will also be embraced by French-speaking Lutheran congregations here in the United States.

“Believe it or not, there are now more people worshipping in French on a Sunday morning in the United States than there are in French-speaking Canada,” said Rev. Somers. “In the Missouri Synod, there are at least 5 congregations in Michigan, Wisconsin, South Dakota and Kentucky that are French-speaking, and they’re all connected. Many are former Pentecostals who have become Lutheran in their faith and doctrine, but they have no liturgy or French-speaking mentors to guide them.”

Pastors, church musicians and lay leaders from a half-dozen countries including Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and Haiti will soon receive this guidance at a hymnal workshop in Montreal, Canada.

“Liturgies et Cantiques Luthériens: Édition Africaine becomes, on a practical level, the tool to express the bond that we have in worship life of the faith community,” Rev. Somers concluded. “It provides a common medium of expression for worship, and worship of course means not only worshiping God, but also binding us together as His people.”

Leaving a Lutheran foundation for future generations

In the midst of envisioning the great joy of being in heaven with Jesus, sometimes faithful Christians don’t put a lot of thought into the earthly resources they will one day leave behind. But the Holy Spirit can use these resources to do great things for His Church!

“As a staff, we here at LHF have been thinking on this idea of estate planning,” said Rev. Dr. Matthew Heise, LHF executive director. “Whether God has blessed us with incredible material gifts in this world or if, like me, you live more modestly, most Americans have assets - a home, retirement accounts, life insurance and the like - that will remain when we leave this earth.”

While many people choose to pass this material wealth on to family members, another great opportunity exists: giving a portion of all that God has blessed you with to a mission that will continue for generations to share the Good News - such as the Lutheran Heritage Foundation.

There are a variety of ways a faithful supporter can choose to direct gifts to LHF at the time of his or her passing, including naming LHF as the beneficiary (or partial beneficiary) of a life insurance policy or retirement account.

“A donor-advised fund is your personal ministry fund,” Julie explained. “Though you don’t own the fund, you (and your heirs, if you wish) define the ministries that your fund will benefit, as well as the amounts and timing of your gifts.”

Another option, says Julie Burgess, gift planning counselor the LCMS Foundation, is a charitable remainder trust (CRT). “With a CRT, you transfer cash or appreciated property to a tax-exempt trust,” she said. “The CRT provides payments to family over a set period of time, and then the remainder of your gift goes to a chosen ministry.”

Still others choose to set up a donoradvised fund (DAF), an investment account set up to support a chosen charity.

Mayans continued from p. 1 first Mayan publication, the “Jesus Never Fails” devotional booklet, is about to go to press. The booklet will be shared not only in the Yucatan Peninsula, but also with Mayan immigrants in Washington, Oregon and California.

“When I was working on the translation of ‘Jesus Never Fails,’ I translated John 3:16 into Mayan,” Rev. Ek Yah recalled. “For the first time, I read John 3:16 in my language!

“Think about it! That’s how Martin Luther started. These people need to have God’s Word to them in their own language,” he said. “That’s the same path I’m trying to follow.”

Many more possibilities, including a simple bequest through a will or trust, personal endowment funds and charitable gift annuities also exist. Simply contact your financial planner or estate lawyer to talk about the various options and which might be best for you.

A number of LHF supporters have also used the LCMS Foundation to help plan their legacy of giving.

If you’ve decided to remember LHF’s work in your estate planning, we invite you to join LHF’s Sola Fide Society! Three times per year, you will receive “behind the scenes” news and insights from LHF executive director, Rev. Dr. Matthew Heise. To join, contact LHF at (800)554-0723 or email info@LHFmissions.org.

NEW DONORS: Double your gift with a $1-for-$1 match!

If you’ve never given a mission gift to LHF before, your gift (up to $5,000) will be matched, dollar-for-dollar, until the limit of $125,000 has been reached. Your $25 gift will double to $50 (giving 10 new Christians a book about Jesus)! Learn more at www.LHFmissions. org/lhfmatching-gift.