By: Gail Neal

One of my favorite Bible verses is in Micah 6:8:

He has told you, O man, what is good;

    and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

    and to walk humbly with your God?

As a member of Lutheran Women’s Missionary League at Holy Cross I am learning more and more the importance of living this way and the impact that a group of women who love the Lord can have in bringing it about in each other’s lives and to those who are in need.

Lutheran Women in Mission is a part of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod. Although I grew up in an LCA (Lutheran Church in America) church, I discovered very young that I wanted to be involved in missions in some way. I even studied missions in seminary and looked for a way to serve the Lord with an eye towards missions.

Most of my life my “mission” has been to students:  junior high, high school, and college. However, I have had the opportunity to take some mission trips and to discover how God is working in other cultures and is using those who love Him to reach others.

This is happening in LWML at Holy Cross.

As I am involved with Sarah Circle, the women’s board, and serving with the women of Holy Cross, I see Micah 6:8 being lived out. Let me begin by seeing this in the last phrase “and to walk humbly with your God.” The first goal that I see being lived out in LWML at Holy Cross is to meet our need to know God more and to be closer to Him in our own personal walk. This is encouraged in our circle Bible studies, in our yearly themes, in our devotions that we have together and in our fellowship. In order to walk humbly with God, we need to know Him and His Word and to allow Him to fill us with His humility.

“To love kindness” is lived out as we serve the members of Holy Cross, our community and our world. LWML at Holy Cross works diligently to raise money and to serve with various missions. We are a part of the larger LWML which raises money to support various ministries across the globe. We help with these missions through our collection of “mites” which goes to the national and district LWML service projects. However, we are also serving in our own community and church. We are actively involved in helping the Pregnancy Care Center, Orphan Grain Train, and other local and state missions. We assist with our own church pantry and help others who need prayer and service. Personally, I have had LWML sisters bring me food when I was ill and I know I am prayed for!

Finally, “to do justice.”  To me, this is what it is all about. The reason LWML exists is because there is so much injustice in our world. By sharing the Truth of Christ with each other and through missions, we are helping those in need and bringing some peace, joy, hope and light to dark places.

I believe that God has called me to serve Him and I have found many opportunities in LWML. All women of Holy Cross are a part of LWML and can serve (and be served) as much as they choose to be involved.

Finally, I will share the LWML Pledge which summarizes all that we do and why we do it: 

“In fervent gratitude for the Savior’s dying love and His blood-bought gift of redemption, we

dedicate ourselves to Him with all that we are and have; and in obedience to His call for

workers in the harvest fields, we pledge Him our willing service wherever and whenever He

has need of us.”