|
Southeastern Synod
E-News Weekly
|
|
Share this e-news with a friend!
If you know someone who might enjoy receiving the e-news from the Southeastern Synod, please send them your copy and invite them to join the group.
Mobley Hope
Director of Communications
|
| Join Our List |
 |
|
|
Issue: # 205
|
January/2010 |
|
|
LWR's Haiti Response Continues
|
|
Dear Friends,
With more than 100,000 dead, 1 million homeless on the streets, and up to 80% of Port-au-Prince buildings destroyed, the need is dire and aftershocks continue.
The good news is that aid is finally starting to get to Haiti and we are working with 400 people on the ground to provide immediate access to water, food and shelter.
Lutheran World Relief (LWR) has pledged $1 million to overall relief work in Haiti and has committed an initial $150,000 to the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) to deliver water containers and purification materials, as well as temporary shelter items. We anticipate needing more than $1 million for assistance, thus we will reevaluate that pledge as the need and fundraising increase.
Providing immediate services though partnerships with LWF, Catholic Relief Services, local partners in Haiti, and other international, faith-based organizations. We're also preparing a long-term response to help the people of Haiti to rebuild their lives.
How can you help? You can make a gift online to help LWR and our partners with these critical relief efforts, or you can make a $10 donation now by texting LWR to 40579.
You can make quilts and health kits. which are urgently needed. We are dispatching them from our warehouses, and first shipments will leave in the next three days.
We are working around the clock to ensure we have the most up-to-date information possible. Please go to www.lwr.org/Haiti for updates.
In Christ,
John Nunes
President and CEO
Lutheran World Relief
|
|
Requesting Physicians to Help in Haiti
|
|
 The US Department of Health and Human Services is requesting specialty physicians to deploy with the National Disaster Medical Assistance teams to Haiti. Needed: trauma surgeons, orthopedists, anesthesiologists, and others with experience in treating crush injuries. You must be able to serve for at least two weeks, and willing to live and work in spartan conditions.
Preference will be given to physicians who are Creole or French speaking, and to those currently credentialed through the Medical Reserve Corps in their home state, or the ESAR-VHP program (Emergency Services Advanced Registration of Volunteer Health Personnel).
Volunteers will need to be credentialed as temporary federal employees and will need to be able to provide credentialing paperwork as soon as asked. Credentialing normally takes about a week. Volunteers with these clinical skills should contact Michala Koch at Michala.Koch@hhs.gov. Not everyone who wishes to help will be deployed; those without requisite skills may not receive a direct response.
For medical professionals wishing to help in future relief efforts, please take a few minutes to learn about the Medical Reserve Corps, by visiting www.medicalreservecorps.gov, identify your local unit and register to become part of the corp. This channel deploys medical volunteers immediately following an event; only those registered beforehand are likely to be deployed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Where is God?
|
|
I
remember the first time I was aware that the world could be a genuinely
terror filled place. I was maybe nine years old. It was in the late
fall and I was sitting on the front porch in the dark and off in the
distance to the southeast, above the tree line, I could see an orange
glow against the sky.
Suddenly a pickup wheeled into our
farmyard, blowing the horn, a man in the back yelling to my father,
"Lowell, we need help. The Hooker's house is on fire." Daddy ran out
the door, pulling on his boots in the back of the truck. Mama bundled
up the kids and we followed in the car.
The Hooker's house
burned to the ground. It was an old "shotgun" sharecropper house they
rented from another farmer. They were a family of seven; Mama and
Daddy, four big farm boys and one blonde-haired baby girl. They lost
everything but their lives that night.
The community rallied
around them that night and in the days ahead. They fixed up another
old farmhouse down the road. People went into their stock of meager
belongings and shared what they could to furnish the house and clothe
the family.
On an international scale, the terrifying fragility
of our life together on this planet has been revealed to us again with the
devastation in Haiti. And the only possible human answer to such
trouble is to reach into what we have and share it with those in
deepest need. We are called of God to step into this moment with every
act of love and compassion we can muster. When people ask where is God
in such a tragedy, we must be able to point at the work of the church
and say, "There is God, right there, serving the least of these."
Pr. Delmer Chilton
|
|
Raise Your Voice on "Stand for Welcome Sunday"
|
|
 Join the Lutheran Immigration & Refugee Service (LIRS) campaign for immigration reform. Bishops of the ELCA Immigration Ready Bench and LIRS encourage you to dedicate a Sunday in February or March for your church to raise its voice and focus on immigration advocacy.
A Stand for Welcome Sunday can increase awareness about the difference people of faith can make on behalf of migrants at risk. You can ignite your community for action and help connect to an important cause for justice. Stand for Welcome Sunday resources include the following:
- bulletin insert with stories, prayer and actions your congregation can take home
- mythbuster that reveals the facts about immigration
- Bible study to help your congregation respond faithfully to immigration concerns
- postcards to download and send to Congress at a critical time for reform
These and more are available at http://www.lirs.org/sfw.
Take action at any time through the Stand for Welcome website. Your donations help LIRS maintain a strong voice among those who set policies affecting immigrants. Every prayer, every letter, every act of advocacy matters. Take advantage of this opportunity to maximize advocacy in your faith community.
|
|
Congregational Reports
|
|
|
The 2009 congregational reports need to be submitted by February 15. If your congregation has not received its password for the 2010 congregational report, please call Mobley Hope at the synod office 404-589-1977. She is also available to answer any questions about the reports.
|
Catch The Spirit
|
|
An annual Southeastern Synod gathering of ELCA leaders who want to learn and grow.
The
goal of this two-day retreat experience is to empower leaders in the
areas of Evangelism and Leadership. This is done by an inspiring
speaker, practical workshops, creative worship and the fostering of
connections between leaders with a common passion for growth and
transformation in the church.
For information on the keynote speaker, workshops, registration and general information visit www.catchthespiritlutheran.org. |
|
Go for It!
|
|
The confidential 2010 Mayo Clinic Health Assessment is now open
to the Mayo Clinic EmbodyHealth web portal. If you have ELCA-primary health benefits, please take 30 minutes by April 30 to complete the assessment to:
- Take stock of your health
- Earn a $150 credit to your personal wellness account (spouses who take it earn the credit too)
- Help each congregation and organization in our synod to earn a 2% discount on all 2010 ELCA health contributions. We all receive this discount retroactive to January 1 if 65% of our eligible ELCA-primary plan members and spouses complete the assessment by April 30.
Completing the assessment is an act of stewardship for you and this church. Access the Mayo Clinic Health Assessment at https://www.elcaforwellness.org or learn more at https://www.elcabop.org/UnderstandMyBenefits/Health/ELCAPrimary/HealthAssessment/Whatsnew.aspx.
|
|
Affirm 2010
|
|
 God is doing great things in and through the young people of the Southeastern Synod and we would like for your youth to be part of it. Join us at Berry College in Rome, GA June 20-25 for Affirm 2010. Affirm is a 6-day, 5-night camp. Affirm is grounded in Scripture, and offering youth the opportunity to develop discipleship, leadership, and life skills to know and live out God's love and grace in the world. Affirm is built on a large group - small group model with 9 different age-appropriate units for youth grades 6-12. An additional unit, YAYMI (Young Adult Youth Ministry Institute), is for college freshman and sophomores who would like to increase their youth ministry skills. Over 80 adult volunteers from all across the synod's four states serve at Affirm. For your convenience, you can now register and pay online at www.sesyouth.org. Cost is $350 before May 1 and will go up to $400 after May 1. Limited scholarships are available. Please download the form online at www.sesyouth.org. Registration questions? Contact Sue Logan at suelogan@bellsouth.net. General questions? Contact Rachel Alley at ralley@elca-ses.org or 770-235-7339.
|
International Youth Trip
|
|
Information coming soon regarding a synod youth trip to Lutheran Church of Malaysia and Singapore's National Youth Gathering, June of 2010. Since we are their guests airfare is your main cost. Once you get to Malaysia costs will be minimal because you will be the guests of the Lutheran Church of Malaysia and Singapore. For more information, contact Pastor Noel Anderson at noeldiane@aol.com.
|
|
$8,500 in Grants to Congregations
|
|
|
At its meeting last week, the Synod Council approved Great Commission Fund grants totaling $8,500 for the following three congregational outreach projects: $3,000 to Christ Lutheran Church, Nashville, to assist them in providing bus transportation for Burundi refugees in the Nashville area
$3,000 to Celebration of Grace Lutheran Church, Canton, GA , for its Outreach Media project, including development of a DVD to be distributed during visits to prospective first-time guests
$2,500 to St. John's Lutheran Church, Atlanta, to assist the congregation in offering its 2010 summer day camp as a gift to its surrounding local community
The synod's Great Commission Fund provides monies for both grants and loans to support outreach ministry projects by congregations. The maximum grant is $3,000 per project and all grants require one-to-one matching funds from the congregation. Loans are available for up to $10,000 and must be repaid over no more than five years. Individual congregations are limited to one grant or one loan per three-year period. Grant and loan applications are accepted throughout the year. The deadline for applications to be considered at the next Synod Council meeting is April 1. Click here to link for applications.
|
|
Upcoming Events
|
|
January
29-30 Affirm Administrative Meeting
February
2-3 First Call Pre-Lenten Retreat
5-6 Catch The Spirit
For more information on these and other events visit our synod calendar.
|
|
|
