More Synod Assembly Evaluation Questions   

The captioning is almost universally popular.  Our plan for 2012 is to have "open" seating--not to be seated by conference.  That way, voting members who rely on the captioning will be able to sit wherever they can best see the screens.

"The work the Worship Team did to make the plenary hall into worship space was good but I find the plenary hall not conducive to worship.  And why not use the big screens during the worship services if we are going to be in there?"

Separate worship space is always the goal at Synod Assembly.  It was available in Chattanooga in 2010 and will be used whenever possible. But the 2011 hotel did not have another space large enough to accommodate our 500+ attendees for worship. Holding a service outside of the hotel has its own challenges--there are additional costs, the logistics of moving everyone, and issues of accessibility for some individuals. 

The Worship Team continues to discuss ways to make the plenary hall more conducive to worship.  Not using the screens to "project the worship" is one way to mark the difference between worship time and plenary time.  One suggestion we received is to project beautiful graphics on the screens and use them like giant banners.  Great idea!

Out and About 

Fourth Annual Conference on Poverty, Abundance and Peace

The Fourth Annual Lake Janaluska, NC, Peace Conference, "Poverty, Abundance and Peace:  Seeking Economic Justice for All God's Children," will take place November 13-15, 2011, and will lift up some of the systemic causes of poverty and economic disparity to help participants better understand these issues and to be equipped as change agents to alleviate these causes of poverty for a more just and peaceful world.  Find out more at http://www.lakejunaluska.com/2011-peace-conference/.

Cultivate a spiritually centered approach to well-being through A Journey of Renewal

A Journey of Renewal is an intensive, year-long wellness experience designed by the 

ELCA Board of Pensions to benefit rostered ELCA-primary health plan members for the sake of ministry.
 
Over the course of one year, A Journey of Renewal combines retreats and small group telephonic coaching to help leaders explore, reflect, take action and grow their ability to live well in Christ. Why? Because Healthy leaders enhance lives when they live - and serve - abundantly.  

Around the Synod

Restoration of Lord of Life Lutheran Church

St. Simons Island, GA

It started with a vision and the gift of music. That's how the members of Lord of Life Lutheran came to restore its sanctuary.  Originally built in 1929, this small Spanish-style mission church had housed three different denominations when, in 1988, a small group of Lutherans celebrated their first worship service as a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Flash forward to 2009--a member gives a gift in memory of his wife; but you see, this was to be a gift of music, a pipe organ. So a committee was formed (we are Lutheran after all) and discussions began. 

Lord of Life sanctuary before

Much needed to be done to prepare the sanctuary for this addition.  The sound in the sanctuary was not good.  The committee decided to bring in an audio specialist to review the sound issues and to let us know whether or not an organ in that space would even work.  We also enlisted the talents of a member who was an architect to begin a basic design that we could use with additional fundraising.  We realized that a project of this magnitude would take a number of years, so we developed a timeline to include phases for the restoration.  

There were a number of things to consider as we moved ahead.  Our church is historic and while we wanted a functional building we did not want to sacrifice the historic fabric.  We also knew that it was going to cost more than the gift itself; our congregation, as a whole, needed to believe in the project.  But most of all, this project, like all the others done by our congregation, needed to be done to the Glory of God. 

Lord of Life sanctuary now

Today, Phase II is just about complete with other phases to follow.   There is no doubt that our little church has had a varied past and continues to have an active present.  The one thing we can all agree on is that this restoration has helped us understand our past while encouraging us to look to our future.  It has helped us secure a future for generations to come and to continue worship and praise to the Glory to God.

BBQ Cook-Off for Disaster Response

Teams will assemble at Peace on Friday, October 28th, and have an overnight cooking fest with judging the next day starting at 11:00 am. Lunch is at 1:00 PM, Saturday, October 29th.

Young Children's Formation Coach Needed

Epiphany Lutheran Church in Suwanee, GA has an opening for a Young Children's Formation Coach.  Right click this link and choose Open to view the position description.  For more info, contact Pastor Rick Barger.