Southeastern Synod E-News Weekly
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Mobley Hope Director of Communications
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Issue: # 196 |
November/2009 |
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Global Mission and World Hunger Advocates
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We are having a Global Mission "Summit" on Saturday,
November 21 from 8:30 am until 3:15 pm at the Synod Office (note location change). We are interested in having all who have a
passion for Global Mission and World Hunger, as well as those involved in
Companion Synod Teams, Missionary sponsorships, Mission trips etc. Pastors Lanny Westphal and Gary Hansen from
Churchwide will be there to present and share. Lunch will be provided. Kindly RSVP to Elaine Schwartz [email protected]. Lodging can be arranged at the Clarion hotel
near the airport.
Pastor Darrel Peterson, Global Mission Liaison
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Ethiopia Companion Synod Taskforce
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The
ELCA-Southeastern Synod Ethiopia Companion Synod Taskforce invites
pastors and lay leaders to join them us Tuesday, November 10, 6 pm at
Redeemer in Atlanta to learn more about our growing ministry
partnership with our brothers and sisters in East Africa.
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Updating Your Constitution?
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Is your congregation working to update its constitution? Several amendments were approved to the Model Constitution for Congregations at the recent Churchwide Assembly, including an amendment that ensures that church councils contain at least one youth and one young adult member. Interested in finding out more? Contact Pastor Randy Jones, Synod Constitution Reviewer, at [email protected] for details.
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Tell the Story!
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"Tell The Story" is a Preaching/Teaching/Reaching Mission
on November 15 and 16, 2009. It will be
held at Advent, LaGrange, GA, and the guest Preacher and Teacher will be Bishop Julian
Gordy. The schedule will be as follows:
November 15 10:30
AM Bishop Julian Gordy Preaching
Potluck
following Worship
7:00
PM Hymn Sing
7:30
PM Bishop Julian Gordy Preaching
November 16 7:00
PM Hymn Sing
7:30
PM Bishop Julian Gordy
Reception
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Faith-Based National Survivors of Suicide Day
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The Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, 4814 Paper Mill Road, Marietta, GA 30067 is hosting the Second Annual Faith-Based National Survivors of Suicide Day on Saturday, November 21, 2009 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The program is produced by the Volunteer Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Suicide Prevention Ministry (ELCA SPM). The day of healing and hope is planned for EVERYONE who has lost a loved one to suicide.
This year's program has been expanded to include those who are
supporting someone with mental illness and/or substance abuse illness.
The registration fee of $25 includes lunch, snacks, beverages and two
resource books- "Eight Stories Up: An Adolescent Chooses Hope Over Suicide", a gripping account of reality, written by a young adult who acted on suicidal ideation. "Mourning After Suicide", a
hopeful guide to healing, is written by the mom of a 23-year-old son
who completed suicide. Both books are great resources for church
libraries. Scholarships are available.
Please call Jerry Weyrauch at 770-992-0482, or email him at [email protected], for answers to questions or for a registration form.
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Bishop from Malawi visiting Roswell, GA
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Cross of Life Lutheran Church, Roswell, GA is
pleased to again host the Rev. Dr.
Joseph Paul Bvumbwe, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Malawi (SE Africa). Bishop Bvumbwe has been a guest at Cross of Life many times
before since his daughter and grandchildren are members. The bishop is
a graduate of Wartburg Seminary and holds a doctorate from Luther
Seminary.
Bishop and Mrs. Bvumbwe will be
making an informal presentation on the ELCM at our 10 AM Connections
Hour on Sunday, November 15th, and will be greeting the congregation at the 11:15 AM worship
hour. The ELCM is a Companion of an ELCA Synod in Wisconsin. Bishop Bvumbwe is also very active
in the Lutheran World Federation.
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Lutheran Bishops Advocate for Rights of Immigrants and Refugees
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Protecting children and keeping immigrant families together
were repeated concerns raised by a committee of Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA) bishops discussing issues of immigration. The
group met with Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) staff
and others to discuss the status of immigration reform and refugee
protection services, and visited with members of Congress here Oct.
28-29.
LIRS is a joint ministry of the ELCA and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS).
The Rev. H. Julian Gordy, bishop, ELCA Southeastern Synod, Atlanta,
said, "We would like comprehensive immigration reform right now. We
want it to be humane -- a kind of immigration reform that protects U.S.
borders but also protects family interests so that families aren't
divided." Gordy chairs the ELCA Conference of Bishops' immigration
concerns committee and was among seven bishops who visited with
congressional members and White House administration.
"We want the raids to come to an end and find other ways of
dealing with employers who are actively recruiting undocumented
workers," said the Rev. Steven L. Ullestad, bishop, ELCA Northeastern
Iowa Synod, Waverly. "We want the policies of this country to take into
consideration families and communities that are affected by the raids."
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Around the Synod
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Zalika Mason, a member of St. Luke, McDonough, GA, Zalika Mason, was
diagnosed with sickle cell anemia when she was a baby. After many years
of hospitalization as a child and youth, Zalika, now 18, has received a bone
marrow transplant from her dad! Her mom, Sandra Mason, says the cells are
growing! St. Luke Lutheran Church, Zalika's other family,
is raising funds to help with the costs of Zalika's hospital bills and for other
children in need of transplants.
If you would like to help or make a donation, go to the Children's Organ Transplant Association, COTA.org and look under "Zalika Mason Family".
Here's an up on Zalika". We just got heard that unfortunately, her body rejected the bone marrow transplant and she is still in North Carolina
awaiting a new match. Please pray for Zalika and her family.
How does the journey to baptism begin?
Well, in this case, it started with an inquisitive family
and a hand-written note from a pastor. "A family showed up to worship
with us at St. James," said Pr. Michael Jannett. "They signed our guest
register and I went later that week to the home of Christopher and Syndey
Robinson; but they weren't home. We were trying to gather the parents of
young children in our community for some fun and fellowship. I wrote a
note, inviting them to that event since they had a two-year old boy, and I
jotted down a few more events that were coming up."
That hand-written note jump-started a
relationship that has continued for over two years. The next step for the
family was for daddy and son to be baptized (mommy grew up Lutheran and was
baptized as an infant). "I didn't want to push things" said Pr.
Jannett. "We just took things one step at a time. After some
teaching and many conversations, the family just approached me one Sunday and
said, 'We're ready!'"
The most interesting part (for this suburbanite pastor) was
that the baptism was to take place in the Nolichucky River, which flows just
beside Christopher's parents' house. Full immersion baptisms have been
the norm for Christopher's family. "With the cold coming on, we didn't
waste any time!" said Pr. Jannett. "Two weeks later [September 27], we
held the baptismal service after regular Sunday morning worship. (I had to
ask my Church of God friends for some tips on how to do a full-immersion
baptism; it's a first for me.) I'll always remember this special baptism
and the joy of knowing that the Holy Spirit is alive and well in Greeneville,
TN...and by the way, never underestimate the power of a hand-written note."
St. James as an entire faith community will hold a "recognition of Holy Baptism" rite at
a worship service later this year to show their support of the Robinson family
as an entire faith community.
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Upcoming Events
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November 4-7 CYCLOPS 9 Compensation Guidelines Committee Meeting 12-14 Candidacy Meeting/Retreat 14 Conference 6 Meeting 21 Global Mission Summit 21-22 All-TN Youth Gathering 26-27 Synod Office Closed
For more information on these and other events visit our synod calendar.
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