Mrs. Sharon Jurgens and other members of her LCMS congregation in Ridley, MN are collecting sets of altarware for the Lutheran bishops of Nigeria - 14 all told. Her pastor, Fr. Paul Strawn, has taught at the seminary there and this was the number one request he received.

With the godly humility of a true Midwestern Lutheran, Mrs. Jurgens originally asked for used communion sets containing individual cups. I rang her up and told here that the Gottesdienst Crowd can do better than that and the good bishops of Nigeria deserve to have the traditional and beautiful vessels that inspire piety and reverence. A complete altarware set should include a chalice, paten, host box or ciborium, flagon, and cruets. This would be an excellent project for an LWML group, chapel or VBS offering, etc. I recommend shopping at Autom - an entire set as mentioned above can be purchased and shipped for under $600.

So talk it over in your congregation. To contact Mrs. Jurgens: sjurgens at clear dot net.

+HRC