Dear Friend for LIFE,
It is bright and sunny and joyful in southern Indiana today, a day easy to rejoice in. And if I’m honest, I am filled with joy—both the bright and the bittersweet kind—but mostly bittersweet.
I’m certain you can relate. It’s the type of joy one feels during transitions in life. It reminds me very much of how I felt as a teacher when my high school students graduated—oh, so happy for them, but also keenly aware of how much I would miss them.
That’s how I’m feeling today—excited about the future but not quite ready to let go of the past. Not quite ready to say goodbye to seven years full of blessing.
Though some of you have heard the news already, I’m guessing for many this message will be surprising. I have received and accepted a call to serve as Assistant to the President of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, and I will begin serving in this new capacity tomorrow, on July 10.
Taking the call to serve in this new role was not an easy decision; I have loved carrying out the work of LFL as national Director of Y4Life. Being part of LFL’s mission has been exciting, invigorating even! But as is always the case with ministry, the greatest blessings have been the people. YOU have been a life-affirming and life-changing blessing to me. Thank you.
To the Lutherans who have been for life since the beginning and to those who have joined Y4Life as youth—thank you for being partners in the Gospel For Life; I have enjoyed working with and for all of YOU. Your stories, your efforts, your tireless work for life has been inspirational. And even though I am very certain that God intends to use me to serve His people in a new way, you can be certain that I will miss working with all of you, God’s faithful people at Lutherans For Life. I will always be thankful to have been part of this work.
Though change brings with it uncertainty, God is and always will be faithful. He will continue to do what is best for Y4Life and Lutherans For Life in the coming days. After all, LFL belongs to God; He will not forsake it. That being said, Lutherans For Life will be making decisions about who will serve as the next Y4Life Director in the coming weeks; please pray for wisdom for those making decisions concerning the future of Y4Life. And please pray for the next director God is already preparing for this position, a director with new and different gifts and talents who will surely be a blessing to our youth. May we welcome him or her with support and joy!
Until a new director is named, Y4Life Assistant, Cori Meier, will be your point of contact for all things Y4Life. She is very much looking forward to serving and upholding you and LFL’s Y4Life teams as soon as she returns from maternity leave on July 24.
It has been both an honor and blessing to serve alongside so many who have sought to equip Lutherans and their neighbors to be Gospel-motivated voices for life. As my service at Lutherans For Life comes to an end, know that I sincerely hope our paths cross in the future, and I pray that you will join me in continuing to be, both publicly and privately, a fervent advocate for LIFE.
God’s blessings on your continued work for HIM!
In Christ 4 Life,
Michelle Bauman
Director of Y4Life and YA For Life, Lutherans For Life
mbauman@lutheransforlife.org
812.350.2732
y4life.org
“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).
You can watch the installation service for Michelle Bauman as Assistant to the President of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. CT on the LCMS Facebook page: www.facebook.com/TheLCMS.