The Southeastern Synod will meet in Assembly

June 1-3, 2012 at Marriott's Renaissance Waverly Hotel, Atlanta GA.

The theme for 2012 will be

 "What in God's Name are We Doing Here?"

Our special guest speaker and Bible study leader for 2012 is Diane L. Jacobson. Jacobson is director of the Book of Faith Initiative for the ELCA. The Churchwide Representative at the assembly will be the Rev. Mary Frances, ELCA Assistant Director for New Evangelizing Congregations.

New this year!  Limited childcare will be available for children of voting members during plenary and workshop sessions for minimal cost. 

Find out more about the Synod Assembly and register at

www.elca-ses.org/Assembly.html.

Please take a minute to think of that one special youth in your congregation. You know the one... he or she is always asking you the hard questions, excelled in Confirmation class, and just seems to have a yearning to deepen his or her faith. If that youth is a current 11th or 12th grader, please nominate him or her for the 2012 Bishop's School.
 
The 2012 Bishop's School will be held the week of June 17-23 on the campus of Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, SC. Youth from all over the Southeast will come together to study with seminary professors, worship in Christ Chapel and witness the way God is working in the world and in their own lives. They'll learn what it means to think theologically!
 
Bishop Julian Gordy of the Southeastern Synod will be the 2012 Bishop in Residence at Bishop's School. 
 
Click here for a brochure with additional information. Please note, the deadline for nominations has been extended to April 1, 2012. (Feel free to nominate more than one youth from your congregation.)
 
Should you have any questions, please contact the Coordinator for Bishop's School, Ms. Sandra Holland, AIM at sandrah@salutheran.com or Ms. Tiffany Pieters in the Region 9 office at 803-461-3263 or email tpieters@ltss.edu.

The first rate deadline is fast approaching! Register now through www.llmi.net or by mail by March 12, 2012, to receive the lowest rate for summer camp! All you have to do is register and pay the deposit to lock in the lowest rate!   Learn more about payment options at http://www.llmi.net/youth/summer-gateway.aspx.

 
Scholarships are still available for those requiring financial assistance. Through the generosity of donors, we are able to provide the faith-camp experience to many. We do not want a camper not to be able to come to camp because of finances.

Cross of Life Lutheran Church located at 1000 Hembree Road, Roswell, GA 30076 has been conducting an employment group for over eight years for anyone unemployed or underemployed. They meet every Wednesday evening at 8:45 PM in the Adult Room of Building A of the church.  Their approach is small meetings on a one-on-one basis, and they use the "JAWS" Method (Job Accountability and Weekly Strategy).

All are welcome, especially during these tough economic times. For information, contact Bob Shanahan at bobshanaha@aol.com or 404-480-8002.

Adventists, Lutherans share space, ideas for ministry

Reprint from January 2012 issue of "the Cherokee Vine" neighborhood newspaper:

Two different denominations sharing one church building. Not a problem for Canton Adventist Church, which worships on Saturday, and Celebration of Grace Lutheran, which worships on Sunday.

"It's been fun," said Lutheran pastor Ginny Krekling. "We feel like a big family. It really is like having two groups of people from the same church. I don't think the neighborhood knows it's two churches. We all feel very much like it doesn't matter."

Canton Adventist Church purchased the building about three years ago, and the Lutheran congregation began meeting there for several months. The church is a few blocks off Marietta Road near downtown Canton, at 411 Scott Mill Rd.

"Our congregations complement each other," said Adventist pastor Zane Yi. "Our congregation has a lot of young married members and Celebration of Grace has parents of children that have children, so the two communities coming together felt like a big family."

After-meeting in the Canton Arts Center and a storefront in Holly Springs, Krekling said Celebration of Grace members are happy to settle into a new facility.

"There's a permanency of being in a building that looks like a church and being in a neighborhood," said Krekling, "It gives us a very clear ministry as well. If we look around a five-mile circle of the church, we see so much diversity. We have a clear mandate to go out and help the folks in that five-mile radius."

The congregations worked together to host Vacation Bible School last summer. Forever Fed, a nonprofit food ministry, holds a monthly event in the parking lot, and volunteers from both churches help.

The congregations are roughly the same size, according to Krekling. Between 35 and 40 worship each Sunday at Celebration of Grace, and close to 50 attend the Saturday Adventist services.

When the Adventist church was meeting on Ga. 20, Celebration of Grace considered renting space then, but discovered there wasn't enough parking. The Adventist church moved into the building three years ago and renovated the facility. First conversations about the recent pairing began a year ago, and the Lutheran congregation held its first service there in January 2011.

Krekling is eager to begin English and Spanish as Second Language classes, and an after-school program for neighborhood children.

"We're really looking forward to serving our neighborhood and the city of Canton together in the upcoming year, and welcome new friends to join us." said Yi.