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Tuesday, January 10, 2023

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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 All rostered ministers are asked to fill out a report to Bishop Strickland. 

Please complete by Feb. 15, 2023.

Submit Report →

 

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A word of thanks for all of you who have put in much planning and effort with your faith communities through Advent and Christmas. 

Well done, good and faithful servants!

 

News

"RE-formation" - a Synod Formation Event - Feb. 11, 2023 - Atlanta, GA

What IS "Formation"?  Seems like all of us are now going through a REformation process on FORMATION.

Gather with us at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Atlanta, on Saturday, Feb 11, 2023, 9:30am-5:00pm

Cost is $25 per person

Hotel accommodations open / reduced rate available!  ($99/room rate is available through Jan 20, 2023.)

We welcome Daniel Kirschbaum (Program Director for ELCA Young Adults) and Rebbecca Payne (ELCA Innovation Hub) as our guest speakers/leaders for this event who will help us wrestle with what Formation looks like in YOUR context and will help to come up with some concrete plans for your Summer / Fall 2023 programming.

Register Now →

 

 

 

"Flip the Switch" - a Stewardship Workshop

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!

 

Synod Vice President, Synod Treasurer, Synod Council Nominations Being Accepted

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.

 

 

2023 All GA Lutheran Youth Gathering

Come join other 6th-12th grade youth from around the Southeastern Synod, especially those from Georgia, as we will be gathering IN-PERSON together. We will discuss what love for self, creation and others looks like in today's world.

When: February 24-26, 2023

Where: Camp Grace in Roberta, GA

Theme: "What is AGAPE?" (What is Love?)

Cost: $120/per person

Featuring special guests: Joe Davis and Dave Scherer (AGAPE)

FYI, this is a Group Registration

More Details here →

 

 

Retired Rostered Ministers and Spouses Epiphany Luncheon & Worship

All retired rostered ministers of the Southeastern Synod and their spouses are invited to a luncheon and worship service.

Theme - Light Dawns in a Weary World: Called to Bear the Light of Christ

Location - Christ LC, Fairfield Glade, TN

If you did not receive an invitation, please contact the synod office at 404-589-1977.

 

Prayers for All Traveling to Israel with Bishop Strickland and Pr. Jill Henning

Bishop Kevin Strickland, Assistant to the Bishop Pr. Jill Henning, 50 other synod participants will soon return from their trip to the Holy Land!  We are thankful for their time in a most holy space.

Please keep them in your prayers as they prepare for their return journey.   

Please take some time and check out the Facebook page for the Southeastern Synod to find pictures and descriptions from this pilgrimage.

 

Renewal for Rostered Ministers

2023 ELCA Rostered Ministers Gathering

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).

 

Respite & Renewal Grants for Rostered Ministers

The Synod is committed to caring for and accompanied our Rostered Ministers in their journey toward wellness. Please visit the Pastoral care for Rostered Ministers page to find out more information for grants if you need just a couple of Sundays away or if you could benefit from an extended time away.
 

Synod Prayer Ministry

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.

 

NovusWay Shares TWO Specials for 2023 for ELCA Rostered Ministers

Offer ONE: Respite Stays at Camp

We all need time away to rest and renew our body, mind and soul. We invite you to schedule a respite stay at any of our locations in 2023.

Rostered leaders will receive 50% off the normal nightly rate.

 

Offer TWO:  1/2 Off One Program Per Year

Come enjoy the fun and faith-filled experiences of our camp programs in 2023! 

Rostered leaders will receive 50% off one program registration.  Use code ROSTERED23 when registering.

 

Sharing Resources

 

A Hot Mess: "Tackling a Congregation’s Messy and Missing Records" (a 4-part series)

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

  

 

Rev. Dr. Nelson W. Trout Lecture Series - Featuring the Rev. Dr. Kevin Dudley

Thursday, January 19-Friday, January 20, 2023

Trinity Lutheran Seminary at Capitol University (Columbus, OH)

NOTE:  This is an in-person event only.

The Trout Lectures honor the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Nelson W. Trout (1920-1996). He was a Trinity Lutheran Seminary alumnus, a member of the Trinity faculty, and the first African American elected to serve as a Lutheran bishop. His vibrant preaching and commitment to social ministry inspired hundreds of seminary students and touched thousands of lives. As always, this year's Lectures are held in his honor. Trinity is delighted to announce that the 2023 Nelson W. Trout Lectures will feature Trinity’s own, The Rev. Kevin Dudley. Dr. Dudley professor of Church and Society at Trinity Lutheran Seminary at Capital University. These two days will be filled with inspired worship, focused learning, anointed preaching and Spirit led conversation.

  

 

Region 9 Stewardship Symposium

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.”

 

 

Social Media for Ministry 202: Discoverable Algorithms & Vertical Video

Thursday, February 9, 2023

7-8:15pm ET / 6-7:15pm CT

Being a friend, follower, or subscriber to someone on social media is no longer the only way to connect. All major social media platforms are building in discoverable algorithms to connect people with new creators based on their interests and interactions. Understanding how this new type of algorithm works and being able to create content for it (vertical video) is a huge opportunity for evangelism for churches of all sizes. 

Led by Pr. Colleen Montgomery, Virginia Synod

 

 

Disability Ministries Grants

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.

  

 

Refreshed ELCA Brandmark

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.

 

 

ELCA Introduces "Journi"

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.
 

Rostered Minister & Congregational Transitions

 

Installations:

  • Pr. Dave Helfrich - St. John's, Atlanta, GA
    • Interim Pastor - Sunday, January 22, 10:30am ET

 

Prayer Concerns

 

Ongoing prayer needs:

  • For Pastor Angie De Windt-Smith 
  • For Pastor Randy Palm 
  • For Pastor Jeffrey Halenza 
  • For Pastor Paul & Debbie Baumgartner 
  • For Pastor Steve Hilgeman’s wife 

Those who are grieving:

  • For Pastor Joel Emerson, whose father passed on Jan. 3 
  • For Pastor Ron Bonner, whose grandson passed on Jan. 5 
  • For the family of Pastor Doug MaGinn who passed on Jan. 5 

Congregations:

  • For Pastor Dena Lane and Lutheran Church of the Nativity, Austell, GA recovery after burst pipes 
  • For Pastor Jeff Halenza and Christ Our Hope Lutheran Church, Riverdale, GA recovery after burst pipes 

 

 

 

 

 

ELCA-Southeastern Synod

Physical Address and address for UPS and FedEx
c/o St. John's Lutheran Church
1410 Ponce de Leon Avenue NE
Atlanta, GA, 30307

Mailing Address
P.O. Box 400
Decatur, GA 30031

Phone: 404-589-1977
Fax: 404-521-1980
Email: synod.office@elca-ses.org