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Southeastern Synod
E-News Weekly
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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
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Issue: # 208
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February 2010 |
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Ash Wednesday Service in Atlanta
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There will be an Ash Wednesday service at 12 noon on Wednesday, February 17 at the Interdenominational Theological Center, 700 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., Atlanta, GA 30314. There will be chaplains from four colleges, including Torrey Johnson Interim Chaplain, from the Lutheran Campus Ministry at the Atlanta University Center. The Rev. Dr. Beverly Wallace who is Interim Director of the Lutheran Theological Center in Atlanta will be leading the service. All are welcome.
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Congregational Reports
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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.
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Assembly 2010
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Start making plans to attend the 23rd annual Southeastern Synod Assembly!
June 4-6, 2010Chattanooga Convention Center Chattanooga, TN
What is the Synod Assembly and who can attend?
According to our Synod Constitution, "This synod shall have a Synod Assembly, which shall be its highest legislative authority." (S7.01.) Anyone can attend the Synod Assembly as a visitor. Our Synod Constitution outlines that Lay Voting Members should be elected from each congregation and, of course, all Ordained Ministers, Associates in Ministry, Deaconesses and Diaconal Ministers under call on the roster of this synod should attend.
Youth and young adult voting members are welcome!
Congregations are encouraged to elect at least one youth or young adult as a voting member of the Synod Assembly. While this will not change the number of voting members allocated to each congregation, it is the goal of this synod that at least 10 percent of the voting members of the Synod Assembly be youth and young adults. The Synod Council encourages congregations to strongly consider including youth and young adults as congregational voting members. The term "youth" means a voting member of a congregation who has not reached the age of 18 and the term "young adult" means a voting member of a congregation between the ages of 18 and 30.
Click here for up-to-date information on the assembly including registration information, elections & much more.
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Seminary Days for Prospective Students
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 Do you know someone that may have the gifts for ministry? Do you have those gifts yourself? Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary will be hosting its spring "Seminary Days" event, March 14-16, on their campus in Columbia, SC. The open house event will enable prospective students to attend classes, worship, interact with students and faculty, learn about financial aid opportunities, and much more. There is no fee, but registration is required by March 1. Please visit www.ltss.edu for more information.
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Lenoir-Rhyne University Choir
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 Lenoir-Rhyne University A Cappella Choir and College Singers, Paul D. Weber, director, will perform throughout the synod.
The theme for this year's tour, "Fear Not, You Are Mine," will be featured at the beginning and end of the concert in compositions by Knut Nystedt and Weber's "When You Pass Through the Waters." The tour will include appearances at: - Grace Lutheran Church, Oak Ridge, TN, March 12, 7 PM
- St. Andrew Lutheran Church, Franklin, TN, March 13, 7 PM
- The Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta, GA, March 14, 4 PM
- Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Marietta, GA, March 14, 7:30 PM
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Lutheridge + Lutherock offering programs to promote wellness
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 In today's world, it is extremely difficult for those who work in the church to focus on their health and wellness. It is getting harder and harder to be healthy and well while working in the church. In 2009, Thrivent Financial provided Lutheridge + Lutherock Ministries (LLMI) with a grant to assist pastors and others working in the church to live healthier lives.
LLMI has several program offerings that directly promote wellness, both individually and for a family together. LLMI would like to provide you, those who are paid to work in the church more that 15 hours per week, the opportunity to attend one of our programs. Click here for more information. |
Because of Christ
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"Because of Christ, the world - Because of the world, vocation - Because
of vocation, education"
This is the mantra of the Vocation and Education Unit of
the ELCA in which the work of Candidacy committees is housed. As Stan Olson,
the Executive Director of Vocation and Education unit notes, "within the
context of the Plan for Mission of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,
the purpose of the Vocation and Education Unit is to equip people for their
callings by developing and supporting leaders - from the GOSPEL, through the
ELCA, for the WORLD."
It is because of Christ, that we understand the relationship
of God's people on earth with each other.
It is because of God's world, that we know that we are called to assist
in bringing in God's kingdom (the mission). And it is because of this calling (a
calling that each one of us has) that education is important.
Currently, more than 70 individuals are in the candidacy process
of the Southeastern Synod moving toward becoming rostered leaders to serve the
world. These women and men feel called to become rostered leaders through the
ELCA. The traditional track toward becoming a rostered leader in most cases
means leaving one home. It means individuals and sometimes families leaving
communities, church homes, friends, and even jobs to receive formal theological
education seminary. For many of our candidates, it also means taking out
substantial student loans to attend seminary. The cost of a theological
education, at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, for example, is more than
$34,000 for nine months including housing (with an additional $3,000 for Summer
Greek or an additional $2,500 for the required Clinical Pastoral Education). In
some synods, the entire cost of a student's theological education is paid in
full by the synod. The Southeastern Synod is not in a position to do this
(though at one time, this was the case.) Most students come out of seminary
with substantial debt entering into their First Call (and you know how much compensation
"First Call" pastors receive.)
The Rev. Dr. Beverly Wallace, Assistant to the Bishop
Click here for the entire article.
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ELCA Youth Gathering Location Announcement
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July 18-22, 2012, ELCA youth will gather - again - in New Orleans, not to cheer on the Saints football team, but to stand with the saints of God in that place: the young and the old, the privileged and the uninvited, the lonely and the claimed, the powerful and the shamed, the weak and the strong, those who have built new homes and those still struggling to rebuild.
Why go back? Because New Orleans has more to teach us about fresh starts made possible by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. New Orleans has more to teach us about generosity and about how to be good neighbors. New Orleans has more to teach us about the house that God is building.
Please join us in the summer of 2012 in New Orleans. There is more to be done, and more to learn. Go to www.elca.org/gathering and become part of the movement, ELCA for NOLA!
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Is It Done in Love?
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 Is It Done in Love?
-by Pr. David Hendrix
The TV show Family Feud is celebrating its
thirtieth anniversary this year, and whatever one thinks of the show itself
there is something interesting about the concept of people enjoying watching
families feud for that long. The infamous Hatfield and McCoy feud lasted only
13 years. While the TV show feud can be fun, a genuine feud is not.
Both the TV
show and the infamous feud pitted families against each other. However bad a
feud between families can be, a feud that pits members of the same family
against each other is even worse. We have all seen the destructive power such a
feud can have on a family; we have seen the pain a feud causes.
Click here for the entire devotional.
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Bishop Gordy to Preach on "Day 1"
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 On February 14, 2010, Bishop Julian Gordy will be the featured preacher on "Day 1," the nationally broadcast radio program also accessible by podcast at Day1.org. The program includes a message by Bishop Gordy along with interviews conducted by the program's host and executive producer, Peter Wallace.
In his sermon for Transfiguration Sunday, based on Luke 9:28-36, Bishop Gordy helps listeners grapple with the relationship of science and faith: the two can be compatible because science can tell us the "how" of things but not the "why". "The job of science is to remove the mystery from the world," he says. "Faith's job is to show us the mystery and the holiness of God hiding everywhere."
Formerly known as "The Protestant Hour," "Day 1" celebrates 65 years of weekly broadcast in 2010. Distributed to 200 radio stations across America and overseas, it is produced by the Alliance for Christian Media in association with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church. The program has received numerous awards, including the George Foster Peabody Award and the Communicators' Award for Excellence in inspirational radio.
For more information, call toll free 888-411-Day1 or check the program's website, http://day1.org.
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Synod Office Closed
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The synod office will be closed on Monday, February 15 in observance of Presidents' Day. If there is an emergancy please call the synod office (404-589-1977) for further instructions.
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Upcoming Events
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February
15 Synod Office Closed
March
12 Atlanta Hunger Walk
12-14 All-Georgia Youth Gathering
For more information on these and other events visit our synod calendar.
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