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Tuesday, December 13, 2022
Please check your email for an invitation to fill out a report to Bishop Strickland. Coming soon, and due by Feb. 15, 2023.
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Join us LIVE at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Atlanta, GA, on Sunday, January 15, 2023, 4pm ET for the Bishop's Commemorative MLK Worship Service.
This will also be livestreamed via the synod website (https://www.elca-ses.org) as well as via our Facebook and YouTube pages.
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If your congregation is hosting a Blue Christmas service this year, please fill out the form below so that we can publicize your service. Your synod’s Diversity and Justice Taskforce would like to publish a complete list of all Blue Christmas services in the synod by November 15, 2022.
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January 16-20, 2023
Waverly, TN
Come and be a part of rebuilding or repairing the home of a family that lost so much in the August 2021 floods. Building skills are great but not essential for this trip! There are plenty tasks for all skill levels! Our housing is being provided by First United Methodist Church in Waverly.
We hope to have a team of 15-16 volunteers. You can be one of them!
We will have a question and answer / orientation via ZOOM on January 4, 2023 at 6pm CT/7pm ET.
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Friday, January 27, 2023 - 10am-5pm ET
Stavros Lecture Hall - LTSS, Columbia, SC
Cost: $20 for in-person; $10 for online
"Financial Accountability and Empowerment for Missional Leaders" with keynote by Bonnie Ives Marden
In-Person registration includes a free lunch and a complimentary copy of Bonnie’s book, “Church Finances for Missional Leaders: Best Practices in Financial Stewardship.”
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Saturday, January 28, 2023
10:00-11:30am ET / 9:00-10:30am CT
This will be a workshop (held via Zoom) for Lay Leaders of our Synod congregations to offer Resources for Stewardship, Suggestions for “Making the Ask,” and other valuable tools. This workshop will help you update your Stewardship webpage, reach people through generosity, and "Flipping the Switch" from transactional Stewardship to Transformational!!
Register now for this informative event and be ready for a transformative discussion about being a vital congregation for Giving, Gratitude, and Generosity!
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Due to the election of Mr. Imran Siddiqui to serve as the Vice President of the ELCA, the 2023 Southeastern Synod Assembly will be electing a new Vice President to serve a four-year term of office.
The 2023 Synod Assembly will also be electing the position of Treasurer for the Southeastern Synod.
In addition to the two officer positions, the Assembly will also be elected 2 at-large positions on the Synod Council, these positions can only be held by lay members. We will also elect members to the Consultation and Discipline Committees.
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January 1-10, 2023, Bishop Kevin Strickland and Assistant to the Bishop Pr. Jill Henning will be traveling with 50 synod participants in a trip to the Holy Land.
Please keep them in your prayers as they prepare for this formative journey.
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Monday, January 9, 2023
10am-3pm ET / 9am-2pm CT
The ELCA Region 9 Bishops’ Relational Agreement for Boundaries, Candidacy, and Call Process points out that our synods are “committed to always reforming for the health of leaders, vitality of congregations, and the flourishing of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we agree to work together as a region to address systemic issues facing rostered ministers who are women. Together, we will work to create a culture change in our region through deepening trust and relationship—creating authentic avenues for reporting, responding, education, advocacy, and care.”
The focus for this training is Gender Justice and Inclusion Boundaries Education.
This event is only for those who missed the previous 3 opportunities in October 2022
This is the FOURTH and FINAL opportunity for rostered ministers to participate in this required Regional event.
Please contact Pr. Justin Eller (jeller@elca-ses.org) if you have any questions.
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The ELCA has refreshed the brandmark. Details are on the ELCA website. Here is a comment about brandmarkes from the ELCA:
All organizations identify themselves through their branding, and our church is no exception. Branding consistency supports a unified voice among all expressions of the church and increases the visibility of the ELCA throughout the world.
From time to time, this brand has been updated, and we are pleased to offer a refreshed suite of ELCA brandmarks. With updated colors, fonts and layouts, these offer more flexibility for digital and print communications.
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| Renewal for Rostered Ministers |
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July 17-20, 2023 - Phoenix, AZ
As a Rostered Minister in the ELCA, you are invited to join colleagues under the theme of "Rekindle the gift within you". (2 Timothy 1:6).
Let this gathering be an opportunity for you to remember, reclaim, rekindle and revive yourself. Gathering with colleagues from across the church for fellowship, renewal, continuing education, worship, bible study and refreshment for your spirit.
All rostered ministers are invited (active in call, on leave from call, awaiting call, retired).
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Assistant to the Bishop for Care and Community, Pr. Justin Eller, is developing synod grants for rostered ministers who need a time or respite and rejuvenation. The application packet for this is available through a synod website where you can apply for these grants and see accompanying documents.
Many thanks to Pr. Justin Eller, Assistant to the Bishop for Care and Community, for leading this process.
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Save the Date: Retired Rostered Ministers and Spouses Luncheon & Worship
Thursday, February 16, 2023
Christ LC, Crossville, TN
Invitations to come in 2023!
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PRAYER SESSION is (mostly) the 4th Monday of each month at 11am ET / 10am CT
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything make your requests to God...by prayer, thanksgiving and placing your request to God, the peace of God will guard your heart and mind fully beyond understanding (Phil. 4: 6–7)
The synod staff invites you to join in prayer. Newcomers are always welcome!
This team will meet once a month via zoom to pray. Praying for the needs of ourselves, our neighbors locally and globally, the needs of the church and world, and for what else might be in need that day of prayer.
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From Rev. Lisa Heffernan (lisa.heffernan@elca.org), coordinator of ELCA Disability Ministries:
I am excited to see how God is at work as you seek to make accessibility, inclusion, participation and leadership of people with disabilities a priority — a matter of justice.
At this time, here are the important pieces to have in mind. We will begin accepting grant applications on Dec. 12 and will officially close the application process on Feb. 15, 2023. We hope that this time frame will give congregations a chance to start dreaming over the holidays and begin to have plans take shape as we move into the new year.
Applicants for this grant can be congregations, synods or other ELCA organizations. We leave this intentionally open because we know that great things are happening all across the wider church!
The ELCA Grants Management Team has made a tool to help grantees with the registration process on GrantMaker. You can find it here. The team has also included a document to help you navigate the tool: Managing the Grantee Tool.
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If you are a parish administrator, church secretary, pastor, or church archivist who is overwhelmed by the state of your parish register, church files, or archives; we are here to help. In partnership with Pastor Mary Anderson of Columbia, SC, and other Synods, we are offering a 4-week Zoom workshop from 10-11 am EST on Mondays: January 23, January 30, February 6, and February 13, 2023.
Cost: $30
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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is pleased to introduce Journi, a web-based tool designed to help people discern their call to leadership in the ELCA.
“Journi encourages all of us to seek out and inspire gifted people in our congregations and communities to consider a call to ministry of the gospel,” said the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, ELCA presiding bishop.
Journi.faith is an online tool that connects people with programs and ministries from across the ELCA. By creating a free account with Journi, a person can take the ELCA Spiritual Gifts Personality Quiz, which will identify their top five spiritual gifts, and receive content recommendations based on those gifts.
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| Rostered Minister & Congregational Transitions |
Installations:
- Pr. Dave Helfrich - St. John's, Atlanta, GA
- Interim Pastor - Sunday, January 22, 10:30am ET
- For Pastor Angie De Windt-Smith
- For Pastor Randy Palm
- For Pastor Andrea Windsor-Peterson
- For Pastor Jeffrey Halenza, who is undergoing chemotherapy
- For Pastor Joel Emerson, whose father is now in hospice care
- For Pastor Crispin Ilombe's wife
- For Jo Hood's son-in-law
- For Pastors Petersons' daughter
- For Pastor Matt Steinhauer's mother
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