The Coffee Hour from KFUO Radio

Vic Garcia, who along with his wife Mirian adopted a child through Lutheran Family Service, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about when he and his wife began considering adoption, their two adoption stories of their daughter and son, the blessings of an open adoption for their family, and his encouragement for others who are considering adoption. Learn more about Lutheran Family Service of Iowa at lutheranfamilyservice.org.

Lisa Clark, Senior Editor of Curriculum Resources at Concordia Publishing House, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about Sunday School through the years, including when it first began, how it made its way to the United States, concerns about this method of teaching at the beginning of the practice, and how Sunday School has changed in the LCMS in the last 50 years. Read Lisa and Deaconess Anna Johnson's article "Teaching the Word: Sunday School Through the Years" in the September 2022 Lutheran Witness. Find Sunday School materials from CPH at teachthefaith.cph.org/enduring-faith.See what is included in the September 2022 issue of LW at witness.lcms.org/2022/lutheran-witness-september-2022. Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.

Deaconess Heidi Goehmann, LCSW, MSW, joins Andy and Sarah in our series on "Emotions and the Gospel" to talk about what an emotion foundation is any why it's important, the relationship of God to our bodies and emotions, how emotion is a gift, how sin and brokenness has affected emotions, and whether emotions are sinful.Find your copy of Emotions and the Gospel: Created for Connection at books.cph.org/emotions-and-the-gospel. Listen to all episodes in this series at kfuo.org/tag/emotions-and-the-gospel.Hear Mental Health Mondays each Monday at 9am CT, or listen to all episodes at kfuo.org/tag/mental-health-monday.View Deaconess Heidi's Mental Health Playlist on Youtube, listen to the Life in Relationship Podcast, and find all of her writings and resources at heidigoehmann.com.

Rev. Dr. James Baneck, Executive Director for LCMS Pastoral Education, joins Andy and Sarah for our Set Apart to Serve Series to talk about Church Worker Appreciation Month, why it's important to show appreciation to church workers, how congregations can show appreciation beyond just the month of October, and how the Set Apart to Serve initiative ties-in with appreciating and recognizing our church workers.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.

Joleen Cary and Katy Baetz-Matthews — Volunteers with LCMS International Mission for the Missionary Kid Program Team in the Dominican Republic, and Erin Mackenzie — LCMS Missionary in the Latin America and Caribbean region, based in the Dominican Republic, join Andy and Sarah to talk about how they learned about this opportunity to serve in the Dominican Republic, the preparations for serving in this way, what they were able to do while they served the missionary kids, and advice for those considering serving in this way. Find how you can serve (including this opportunity for next summer!) at servenow.lcms.org. Learn more about Erin Mackenzie and her service in the Dominican Republic at lcms.org/mackenzie. Missionary Kids and short-term mission team at the 2022 Missionary Conference in the Dominican Republic.

Karen and Tracy Bougher, who adopted a child through Lutheran Family Service of Iowa, join Andy and Sarah to talk about when they first began considering adoption for their family, how Lutheran Family Service connected them to families, the long process of waiting for a child, and how they've been doing since adoption day. Learn more about Lutheran Family Service of Iowa at lutheranfamilyservice.org.

Rev. Jason M. Braaten, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Tuscola, Illinois, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about the history of Vacation Bible School, as he wrote about in the September 2022 of The Lutheran Witness, including the concept of the first Vacation Bible Schools in the United States, how these programs were vastly different depending on the location of the students, how Vacation Bible School has chanted over the last 50 years, and how a locally developed program may be very beneficial to individual congregations and their children.See what is included in the September 2022 issue of LW at witness.lcms.org/2022/lutheran-witness-september-2022. Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.

Deaconess Heidi Goehmann, LCSW, MSW, joins Andy and Sarah in our series on "Emotions and the Gospel" to talk about what we know about emotions (and what we don't know), the Church's relationship with emotions, her own relationship with emotions, and what we're going to dive into in this series on emotions.Find your copy of Emotions and the Gospel: Created for Connection at books.cph.org/emotions-and-the-gospel. Listen to all episodes in this series at kfuo.org/tag/emotions-and-the-gospel.Hear Mental Health Mondays each Monday at 9am CT, or listen to all episodes at kfuo.org/tag/mental-health-monday.View Deaconess Heidi's Mental Health Playlist on Youtube, listen to the Life in Relationship Podcast, and find all of her writings and resources at heidigoehmann.com.

Rev. James Woelmer, Pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Plano, Texas, joins Sarah for our Set Apart to Serve Series to talk about empowering parents to talk with their children about considering church work, including where church work vocations begin, why it's important for parents to have these conversations, some examples of how parents (and other adults) can faithfully encourage, some key points for parents to consider, and other actions parents can take when encouraging young people to think about church work vocations. Learn more about the Set Apart to Serve Initiative at lcms.org/SetApartToServe.This is a rebroadcast from June 10, 2022.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/SetApartToServe.

Rev. Doug Griebenaw visited the 2022 Consortium for Classical Lutheran Education Conference at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and had the opportunity to chat with CCLE board members and conference presenters.Hear his conversation with Mrs. Cheryl Swope, Author of Simply Classical curriculum for children with special needs (Memoria Press), as they discuss classical education for all including those with special needs. Find more information on the Consortium for Classical Lutheran Education at ccle.org.