Michael's Newest Adventure...

A little bit about me...and a little bit about Mission Scribbles and Scratches...

Michael Gillingham comes to LAMP (Lutheran Association of Missionaries and Pilots lampministry.org) after serving as Director of Youth Ministry at Bethel Lutheran Church in Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada since 2004. As part of his role at Bethel, Michael was responsible for planning and leading mission trips and servant events for Bethel youth in various locations: LaRonge, Saskatchewan; El Paso, Texas; Juarez, Mexico; inner city Los Angeles, California, and Barranquitas, Puerto Rico. His trips to LaRonge also allowed him to do some basic work with children's ministry at the nearby Bigstone Reserve as well at the Far Reserve. Michael is a firm believer in the importance of learning to serve God and others through mission and servant ventures and he looks forward to helping support this kind of work through the LAMP teams that serve in various parts of Canada's north.

Prior to serving at Bethel, Michael served as Director of Youth, Music, and Young Adult Ministry at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Rocky Mountain House, Alberta. While serving in Rocky Mountain House, Michael completed the colloquy requirements to be consecrated as a deacon (DPS) in Lutheran Church - Canada. He also did some work on the local O'Chiese and Sunchild Reserves during his time in Rocky. Before this, Michael served as Director of Parish Ministries at Hope Lutheran Church and School in Port Coquitlam, BC. Michael recently celebrated thirty years of service as a full time church worker and he is thankful to God and his family for reaching this milestone.

Michael is in the final stages of completing a Phd in Religious Studies at the University of Alberta. He has taught courses at the Canadian Lutheran Bible Institute in Camrose, Concordia University of Edmonton, Concordia Seminary, St. Joseph's College and the University of Alberta. Michael's hobbies include reading, writing songs, playing his guitar, and watching movies. He has enjoyed serving as a co-coordinator for the local Nashville Songwriters chapter (https://www.nashvillesongwriters.com/) as well as serving as a volunteer with the Edmonton Folk Music Festival (https://edmontonfolkfest.org/).

Michael is married to Lynne and they have two grown sons: Joshua and Matthew. Joshua is married to Melinda and they have a daughter. Matthew is married to Bailey and they have two sons. Michael loves spending time with his family and he is enjoying being a grandfather very much!

Regarding this new opportunity to serve with LAMP, Michael writes, "I am very thankful to be joining the team at LAMP as they continue to foster and develop relationships and ministry moments with the peoples of the northern Canadian communities where LAMP has been invited to help. As a church worker, I've appreciated the advice I've received from LAMP staff about various ministry opportunities and the example they provide of strong, thoughtful, and committed work in the communities where they serve. I hope and pray that my background and experiences can be helpful to LAMP even as I look forward to learning more about the work of this organization and meeting the people that LAMP serves in various ways." 

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So my new position at LAMP is titled "Missionary" or "Missionary Deacon". The term "missionary" refers to work I'll be doing in various northern Canadian communities as I meet with community leaders and local Christians to foster connections and encourage Christian faith and Christian ministries in those places. I'll also be working with teams from churches in Canada and the United States who travel north to work in these communities. The term "deacon" refers to my official status as rostered worker in Lutheran Church - Canada. For those who are familiar with this terminology, I'm a Director of Parish Services and have been one since the year 2000. In Lutheran Church - Canada, deacons are distinct from pastors and serve in various capacities in the church and in organizations that support and work with the church like LAMP. 

As part of my work, I'll be publishing blog posts here from time to time to update you on where I've been, who I've met, what I've done, and what I'm learning. These posts will make up the "scribbles and scratches" that I share with you. I hope that you find them to be interesting and helpful as I continue to learn what it means to be a "missionary deacon" on a "mission" with my coworkers at LAMP. Here's a photo of me with my favourite person!!


Comments

  1. CatherineAugust 18, 2023 at 9:34 AM

    You've definitely been "baptized" into the LAMP family this summer by first leading VBS in Hall Lake, SK, and then traveling into other northern communities we serve--welcome, Michael \0/

    ReplyDelete

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