The Coffee Hour from KFUO Radio

Deaconess Pamela Boehle-Silva, R.N. — serving at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Rocklin, CA, and Founding director of Always Mercy, a US non-profit supporting the work of Rehema Open Door hospice and palliative care center in Kenya — joins Andy and Sarah for our Set Apart to Serve Series to talk about when she first learned about the office of deaconess, the path from serving as a parish nurse to a deaconess, what these service roles have in common, the focus of her service as a deaconess today, and how many experiences in countries around the world have led to Always Mercy and the Rehema Open Doors hospice and palliative care center in Kenya. Learn more about Always Mercy at alwaysmercy.org.Learn more about the Set Apart to Serve Initiative at lcms.org/setaparttoserve.Christ’s church will continue until He returns, and that church will continue to need church workers.Set Apart to Serve (SAS) is an initiative of the LCMS to recruit church workers. Together, we pray for workers for the Kingdom of God and encourage children to consider church work vocations.Here are three easy ways you can participate in SAS:1. Pray with your children for God to provide church workers.2. Talk to your children about becoming church workers.3. Thank God for the people who work in your congregation.To learn more about Set Apart to Serve, visit lcms.org/set-apart-to-serve.

Rev. Dr. Alfonso Espinosa, pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Irvine, CA, Chair of the LCMS Board for National Mission, and author of the forthcoming book Faith that Shines in the Culture from Concordia Publishing House, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about how this book fits into his trilogy of books about faith and culture, how we understand vocation as Lutherans, our vertical relationship with God and horizontal relationships with our neighbors, what "light" has to do with all of this, and how we understand vocation within the three estates. Find your copy of Faith that Shines in the Culture at cph.org/faith-that-shines-in-the-culture.

Rev. Dr. Jamison Hardy, Bishop of the LCMS English District and author of Pastoral Leadership, Shepherding and Caring for God’s People available from Concordia Publishing House, joins Andy and Sarah for our series on Leadership to talk about learning from your mistakes as a leader, understanding the beauty of forgiveness even for leaders, responding to criticism, leading the perpetually unhappy person, where the 8th commandment plays into this conversation, and how a leader works through betrayal.Find Bishop Hardy's book from CPH at cph.org/pastoral-leadership-shepherding-and-caring-for-gods-people.

Rev. Peter Bender, Director of the Concordia Catechetical Academy, and Rev. Dr. Al Espinosa, member of the board of directors for the Concordia Catechetical Academy, join Andy and Sarah to talk about what catechesis is, what the Catechism is, why catechesis is important, how the Concordia Catechetical Academy began, how the Concordia Catechetical Academy serves the church at large, and how the status as a Recognized Service Organization will help them better carry out this faithful work. Find the Concordia Catechetical Academy at peacesussex.org/cca.

Rev. Stephen Kieser, Headmaster of Faith Lutheran School in Plano, Texas, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about classical Lutheran education, the marks of classical Lutheran education, why classical education has become a growing movement, why classical education works for Lutherans, the value schools being distinctly Lutheran, and the upcoming golf tournament to support Faith Lutheran School. Learn more about Faith Lutheran School at flsplano.org.

Rev. Dr. Roosevelt Gray, LCMS Director of LCMS Black Ministry, joins Andy and Sarah for our Set Apart to Serve Series to talk about his journey to the LCMS and then to the pastoral ministry, his experiences as a Black Lutheran pastor, the work that LCMS Black Ministry and the Black Clergy Caucus do today, and the opportunities he sees for these ministries to use SAS resources to encourage young people to consider church work vocations. Find LCMS Black Ministry at lcms.org/blackministry.Learn more about the Set Apart to Serve Initiative at lcms.org/setaparttoserve.Christ’s church will continue until He returns, and that church will continue to need church workers.Set Apart to Serve (SAS) is an initiative of the LCMS to recruit church workers. Together, we pray for workers for the Kingdom of God and encourage children to consider church work vocations.Here are three easy ways you can participate in SAS:1. Pray with your children for God to provide church workers.2. Talk to your children about becoming church workers.3. Thank God for the people who work in your congregation.To learn more about Set Apart to Serve, visit lcms.org/set-apart-to-serve.

Rev. Kevin Graudin — volunteer for missionary kid programming at the Eurasia Region missionary conference, and Anne Gonzalez — Manager of Short-Term Mission Training and Engagement with the LCMS Office of International Mission, join Andy and Sarah to talk about Pastor Graudin's experience serving in short-term international mission, what his responsibilities were on the team taking care of the missionary kids, what he learned on this experience, and how this experience compares to other short-term volunteer opportunities. Find more missionary kid program volunteer opportunities and other ways to serve at servenow.lcms.org.

Rev. Dr. Jamison Hardy, Bishop of the LCMS English District and author of Pastoral Leadership, Shepherding and Caring for God’s People available from Concordia Publishing House, joins Andy and Sarah for our series on Leadership to talk about keeping the focus on leadership, maintaining purpose and motivation, being proactive in leadership, managing criticism and fear, and being a leader instead of a follower.Find Bishop Hardy's book from CPH at cph.org/pastoral-leadership-shepherding-and-caring-for-gods-people.

Chelsea Irwin, serving the Lord in the Eurasia Region as missionary coordinator for volunteer opportunities based out of the Czech Republic, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about what she does as coordinator for volunteer opportunities, what is most rewarding and challenging about this work, what she loves about living and serving in the Czech Republic, how her education and experience have prepared her for this work, and what she loves about being a young adult missionary. Learn more about Chelsea and how to support her work at lcms.org/irwin.

Mindy Thews, serving as Lutheran Education Coordinator in Taiwan with the LCMS Office of International Mission, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about her new role as Lutheran Education Coordinator for the Asia region, what education looks like in Taiwan, what curriculum and pedagogy look like on the mission field, the materials available for Lutheran education in Taiwan, and what's on the horizon for her and this new position. Learn more about Mindy and how to support her work at lcms.org/thews.