Turn to the Southeastern Synod social media channels (YouTube or Facebook) for mid-week pauses throughout Lent.
A member of the synod will read a psalm, and share a reflection and a prayer every week.
Come join us!
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As we prepare to enter into the Lenten season for 2021, Bishop Strickland will be providing a sermon for Ash Wednesday for your congregation use. This sermon will soon be available via our weekly sermons page.
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Amazing Grace Lutheran Church en Lawrenceville, GA les invita a participar en un servicio de Miércoles de Ceniza en español el 17 de febrero a las 9:00pm ET por Zoom.
Registrarse para el evento.
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Our COVID-19 task force has gathered resources in regards to Ash Wednesday and Lent. Many thanks to all dedicated to providing guidance in the midst of uncertainty.
Also available En Espanol.
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Please consider signing up so that we can meet Bishop Strickland’s challenge that at least 40 congregations participate in the 40-40-40 Lenten Walk (so far there are 15 congregations signed up!). Send selfies of yourself walking/running to Cheryl Bopp at cherylbopp@hotmail.com, or post on social media with #404040 for inclusion in the newsletter.
Be sure to let us know you are participating (and see who else has signed on)!
Download the ELCA World Hunger Lent Study Guide, here, and consider creating your own walking chart.
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Sunday, February 21, 3pm EST / 2pm CST
We will gather as a synod to watch and discuss the movie Selma. Sign up for Zoom link!
Many thanks to the Diversity & Justice Task Force for leading this important event.
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Monday, February 22
7pm ET / 6pm CT
For Congregational Leaders, including Council Presidents and council leaders
This is the EIGHTH round of conversations that will help you to support your ministers and congregation. This gathering is hosted by Bishop Strickland and the synod staff.
ELCA Deacon Jerry Johnson talking about second round PPP and Rev. Ana Lugo talking about endowments and legacy giving.
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Monday, February 22
9am EST / 8am CST
Bishop Kevin Strickland invites you to join him in prayer. Newcomers are always welcome!
This team gathers monthly to pray via Zoom.
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Saturday, February 27, 2021
Calling all 6th-12th graders THROUGHOUT THE SYNOD!!!
Participants will register by congregation. Cost: $20.
This gathering will be digital in nature and participants will have a combination of in-home and online activities in which to engage.
We will have 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering Band Leader - Tyra Dennis - with us to share a message of hope, and perform some of her music!!!
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Sunday, February 28 - 4pm ET / 3pm CT
Join us for a panel discussion regarding church space rentals, grants, and strategic planning. Ms. Melissa Fuller Sims and Pr. Patti Axel, Assistants to the Bishop / Directors of Evangelical Mission, along with Bishop Strickland, will be moderating the conversation with panel members from the Synod and Region 9.
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This Workshop will be held on Zoom over the 5 Mondays in March (1, 8, 15, 22, and 29) - 10:00-11:00am ET / 9:00-10:00am CT
Join the Rev. Dr. Mary Hinkle Shore, Rector and Dean for Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary of Lenoir Rhyne University for a study of the Easter Lectionary texts for 2021.
These sessions will be recorded and sent weekly to all who are registered.
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If your congregation has not made a 2021 Mission Support Intent, please do so soon. It's fast. It's easy. It's incredibly important! Click here!
96 congregations have already made an intent for 2021, but our goal is 118 congregations, or 75%. We're well on the way but need your help! Make your intent today!
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3 time slots available!
- Tues, 3/15, 10am ET / 9am CT
- Wed, 3/16, 2:30pm ET / 1:30pm CT
- Mon, 3/22, 11am ET / 10am CT
Register today for a time to check in with Bishop Strickland. This will be a group format; you will be checking in with the bishop, along with whoever else signs up for the same time slot.
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Tuesday, March 30 - 10am ET / 9am CT
Bishop Strickland invites all rostered ministers (those in a call, on leave from call, or retired) to join him on Tuesday, March 30th for a service of prayer and renewal of vows. Musicians from around our synod and the ELCA will be joining us to lead in worship. And we are thrilled to have as our guest homilist for the day, The Rt. Rev. Phoebe Roaf, Bishop of the Diocese of West Tennessee of the Episcopal Church.
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Join us for a Zoom event to learn about the free Resourceful Servants Congregational Financial Assessment.
Event will be held:
- Monday, February 22, 1pm Eastern / 12 Noon Central, and
- Thursday, February 25, 7pm Eastern / 6pm Central
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With partnership and support from the Mission Investment Fund of the ELCA, the ELCA Federal Credit Union (FCU) is now offering the second round of Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans to congregations and ministries.
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Leaders from throughout the synod will be sharing 14 Stations of the Cross on Good Friday. These will be posted on social media (YouTube and Facebook) every 30 minutes, beginning at 7am ET / 6am CT. These reflections will be about 2 minutes each.
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The synod staff will provide a full liturgy (Service of the Word) and sermon for any congregation to use. The service will be available for viewing and downloading on the synod staff sermon page. This pre-recorded service will be available by March 28.
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The Ecumenical Consultation on Protocols for Worship, Fellowship, and Sacraments produced this material. Here a quote from the introduction:
As we are writing these materials (in February 2021), the number of new daily cases of COVID-19 in the United States has only begun to decrease while deaths
continue to climb.
Our work relies on sound public health guidance to call Christians to
responsible decisions about gathering and safe practices when they gather.
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The Bishop and Assistants are filming sermons for Sunday's surrounding the pandemic of COVID-19; we will post them here and host on our synod YouTube channel.
Each Sunday’s sermon will be archived on the Sermons page on our synod website. If you wish a dial-in option, just call:
678-379-4840
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Pastors, deacons, and bishops everywhere have climbed some steep learning curves this year. Now on the back side of the curve, you might be sinking down the slope and drained of creative energy — just as we as we enter our second Pandemic Lent.
What if you consider using some of your Continuing Education resources and time to participate in an on-line creative learning opportunity?
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Saturday, June 5, 2021
Official notice has been given that our 2021 Synod Assembly will be digital in format.
Read official notice here. More to come soon!
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Saturday, March 13, 10am-12Noon / 9-11am CST
The Diversity & Justice Task Force will provide training for Racial Justice, Gender Justice, LGBTQIA+ Inclusion, and Disabilities Inclusion.
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One of my favorite descriptions of stewardship is, “When God gives you a gift, hold it loosely.” I understand that statement to mean that whatever God gives us is not exclusively for our benefit, but is intended for the whole family of God. In October, I was blessed to become pastor of a church that in my estimation, does a masterful job of holding God’s gifts loosely. - Pr. Steve Alsleben, Triumphant Cross, Dothan, AL
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by Phillis Solgere - "My son, Byron, went to a racially diverse Lutheran school in southern California from preschool through 8th grade. His first exposure to the issue of race arose when he was in kindergarten. The teacher later told me that there was a question about racial differences that came up in class one day, so they had a discussion about it. Which explains why he came home from school that day and asked me, “Mommy, what kind are you?”
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If you were not awarded a grant for 2021, the opportunity to re-apply is approaching. Domestic Hunger Grant applications will be open again for 2022 grants in late March. Check back at elca.org/domestichungergrants for more details.
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| Faith Formation for All Ages |
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Saturday, February 27 - 10am EST / 9am CST
Join the African Descent Lutheran Association (Southeastern Chapter) and others in a conversation on the book, I'm Still Here - Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness, by Austin Channing Brown.
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Thursday, February 18, 2pm EST / 1pm CST
During this pandemic, church leaders have been thrust into the midst of our nation’s unresolved efforts to address systemic racism and ensure equal justice for all. This workshop hopes to address this tension.
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As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause uncertainty within the United States and across the globe, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has decided to cancel sending Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) volunteers for its 2021-22 program year.
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Use Safe Gatherings to background check and train everyone who works with children, youth and vulnerable adults in your church. Safe Gatherings works with more than 8,500 churches, including 11 ELCA Synods. They make it easy!
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Head over to Lutheranch for "Women of the Range" on March 5-7, 2021. This program was selected because it is limited in size and has a majority of the activities outside.
The Annual Lutheranch Quilting Retreat has been rescheduled from February to September.
Visit Lutheranch.org to register TODAY!
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Just a reminder that ALL are welcome to post a congregation-related classified on our synod website, here:
https://www.elca-ses.org/classifieds
Click "Submit a classified" button,
or read through current classifieds.
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Looking for someone to lead youth gatherings at our congregation twice per month. We are looking for game leadership and team building. Camp counseling experience, a plus.
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- Continued Prayers for Mr. Hilton Austin, former Director for Advocacy for the Southeastern Synod
- For Rev. Darrel Peterson, retired, former Assistant to the Bishop
- For the Rev. Fabian Kreischer, Vice President of the Iglesia Evangélica Luterana Unidad de Argentina y Uruguay (IELU), who was murdered last week. Pastor Kreischer was a preacher of God´s abundant love and an avid proponent of LGBTQ rights in society and the church.
- ?Investigations at this point are suspecting it as a hate crime related to his sexual orientation. We hold the IELU, Pastor Kreischer´s family, friends, and congregation in our prayers as they navigate grief of such a tragic loss.
- For the family and friends of Mrs. Dorothy Jean Cuthbertson, who died on January 31, 2021.
| Rostered Ministers Transitions |
Call Accepted:
- Rev. Connie Bramlett, All Saints, Huntsville, AL
- Rev. Bramlett comes most recently from the East-Central Synod of Wisconsin.
Installations:
- Rev. Justin Eller, Assistant to the Bishop for Latino Ministry Strategy and Amazing Grace, Lawrenceville, GA - February 7
- Rev. Mike Millum, Pastor, Amazing Grace, Lawrenceville, GA - February 7 (transitioning from term-call to Pastor)
Retirements:
- Rev. Jim Nipper, retiring in February 2021
- Rev. Carla Hope Knobler, retiring in February 2021
Save the Date:
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Check us out on social media
 
 
ELCA
Southeastern
Synod
St. John's Lutheran Church
Physical Address:
1410 N Ponce de Leon Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30307
404-589-1977
Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 400
Decatur, GA 30031
As always, please feel free to visit our website for more information:
www.elca-ses.org
For questions or concerns regarding our regular or special enews, please contact: Rev. Michael Jannett - Assistant to the Bishop for Formation and Communication MJannett@elca-ses.org
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