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DONATE ONLINE!
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For your
convenience, you may now make a gift to the Atlantic District online.
Please visit our website often for news
about the Atlantic District and its ministries. |
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| |  Welcome to the E-Communique, the official e-news magazine of the Atlantic District.
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Letter from the President
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ATTACHMENTS
If your email provider is as smart, and invasive, as mine, then you've had the experience of typing in the word "attachment" in the body of an email, hitting the "send" button, and getting this little puzzler: Are you sure you want to send this message without an attachment? (Message contains the word 'attachment').
My first reaction is to look into the monitor - is there an editor in there reading whatever I'm writing? It's none of your business whether I have an attachment or not! Of course, the program is only trying to be helpful, because it knows that along with the rest of the human population about half the time I DO have an attachment I forget to attach it.
Of greater concern in the real world outside the internet are the changes and transitions in our very human attachments - to favorite things that wear out, for instance. My second lifetime baseball glove lasted about ten years, back when I played regularly. It had been like an extension of my right hand (I'm a lefty). But it had been repaired, gouged, hammered around and thrown hither and yon so many times that it finally had to be retired. I couldn't bear to throw it away, this beloved glove, so it's down in the basement somewhere - my attachment prevented me from tossing it in the dumpster. This by the way is how we human beings accumulate. Our attachment to stuff remains long after usefulness is gone.
Tougher yet and by far are the changes in attachments to people, when we move, or they move, or priorities and times change, or worst, when a loved one dies. If you've been "joined at the hip", as the saying goes, your spirit is going to walk with a pronounced limp when that attachment is taken away. And the longer in the tooth we get, the more of those losses we sustain, and the more they hurt.
Of course, there are NEW attachments as well, and the formation of those relationships (like the breaking in of that new baseball glove) is both enjoyable and also different from the former attachments. In our Atlantic District parishes, I see the full range as some congregations rejoice in new accessions and capacity seating, others seem to have empty pews where beloved members used to sit and no one to replace them, and a lot are in transition.
So amid the amazing constancy of our attaching-detaching lives and work and church, Jesus, our Risen Lord, invites us, "Abide in me." Remain attached to the Vine. Be a branch. Live in the grace and peace of a God-initiated attachment that will last forever. Things and stuff and email programs and even human arrangements may fade and change. In fact they will.
But with Paul we can exclaim, "Nothing will separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ!" God's Living Word endures forever, and by grace the Living God lives in us. Be blessed with your Divine Attachment to the Vine who is Christ!
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The Atlantic District Launches New Website
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The Atlantic District Launches Newly Designed Website.
Please visit www.ad-lcms.org to take a look. We hope you'll find the site both user-friendly and informative. And while we have a new look and lots of new content, we've retained many useful features such as the comprehensive list of AD congregations and contacts, and our safe and secure "Donate Online" page. Content, including news and calendar items, are updated frequently, so please come back often to find out what's going on around the District.
The 58th District Convention will be held on June 8th and 9th at Concordia College-NY, Bronxville. You can find detailed information about the convention, reports, registration forms and more on the website. Click here
www.ad-lcms.org/main/index.php/news/latest-news/47-58th-atlantic-district-convention.html
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| Connect to the AD Facebook Page | |
 Does your church have a facebook page? Make sure you connect with the Atlantic District page and stay connected online!
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Transforming Churches Network |
Save the Date
Two important Transforming Churches Network events coming up.
Wouldn't it be fantastic if all our churches were enthusiastically and effectively reaching unchurched and unbelieving people with the Gospel?
Find encouragement to shift the focus of a local church off of its own organization and on to the effective living out of the Great Commission. But wait!--there's more. Pastors, leaders and people of passion can address these issues and find out "what more" is offered at two Hinge Training Events in our district.
**APRIL DATE POSTPONED UNTIL FALL**
April 21st at Our Savior, Colonie in upstate New York
and
Saturday May 12th at Immanuel, Whitestone in Queens
Plan to bring a group from your church and get excited together.
Please click here to view the brochure and visit our website for a flyer and registration form.
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Holy Week and Easter Celebrations Around the District
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Click here to see pictures of many different events that occurred around the district during Holy Week and on Easter.
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Witness in the Public Square
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Save The Date! 
A Luncheon Honoring Regional and National Leaders For their Contribution to Missions The New York Athletic Club Tuesday, October 16, 2012, 11:30 a.m. |
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Happy Birthday to the following AD Pastors... |
Rev. Dr. David Benke May 5th
Rev. David Born May 3rd
Rev. Adam Filipek May 20th
Rev. Dr. Robert Hartwell May 16th
Rev. Kenneth Hessel May 7th
Rev. Alfred Hofler May 19th
Rev. Donald Lee May 5th
Rev. Wade Miller May 1st
Rev. Neil Mittelstaedt May 12th
Rev. Travis Scholl May 26th
Rev. Paul Steinke May 24th
Rev. R. Glenn Stubbs May 30th
Happy Belated Birthday to Rev. Matthew Gonzalez - his birthday was April 3rd.
(We apologize if we've missed any of our Pastors birthdays. Please contact the District office to let us know.)
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Congregational News and Events |
| See all the latest congregational news and congregational events from Atlantic District congregations, including:
Church for All Nations -- Annual CFAN Community Celebration
St. Luke, Dix Hills -- Bi-Annual Carnival/(May 20th Car wash has been postponed)
All Saints Lutheran, LaGrangeville -- Information on Veteran's Benefits
Resurrection Lutheran, Flushing -- Lutheran Laymen's General Meeting
Redeemer Lutheran, Bronx -- Chrism Mass 2012
St. John's, Stuyvesant-- Rev. Daniel Cohn Installation, click here to read more
St. Matthew's, Dongan Hills -- Strawberry Festival, Classic Classical Music
SonRise, Pottersville -- Sonrise Camp
Love, East Greenbush -- Rev. Henry Albrechtsen Ordained/Installed
Village, Bronxville -- ALPHA Next Steps, Chapel School Summer Program
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Calls Announced for 19 DELTO Pastors |
Concordia Seminary announced the placement of 19 men as DELTO pastors on Friday, February 10, 2012. Click here to read more.
DTEP: Front row, from left: Dr. Dale Meyer, King Crawford, Kevin Ogle, David Nielsen, Randy Stroming, Dr. David Wollenburg; second row, Dr. Robert Hoehner, Christian Schultz, David Brockhouse, Lawrence McReynolds, Scott Holoubek, K. Anthony Durante; back row, Andrew Sorenson, Albert Matlock, Dan Cohn, Ken Bose, Henry Albrechtsen, Brian Roehrborn, Dr. Timothy Saleska, John Ramsey. Not pictured: Timothy Christenson, Martin Tyce, and John Voelker.
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ATLANTIC DISTRICT LUTHERAN WOMEN'S MISSIONARY LEAGUE
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The women of the Atlantic District Lutheran Women's Missionary League met in convention April 28-29th in Albany, NY. The delegates approved a new mission goal of $76,000, as well as voting on new mission grants for the 2012-2014 biennium.
Our inspirational speaker was LWML Public Relations Director, Edie Norris. Her beautiful and humble message about everyday witnessing was well received by all.
The ingathering for the Albany Maritime Mission was a success, with many boxes received, which were wrapped in Christmas paper, containing gift items to be delivered to the sailors, for their Christmas at Sea Program.
We also were blessed by the presence of six Young Woman Representatives and two teens!
Thank you to all the women of the Albany Zone for making this convention a success!
Quenched by the Water!
DID YOU KNOW...
The Atlantic District LWML, along with 5 other LWML districts(Eastern, English, New England, New Jersey and SELC) are hosting the 2013 LWML convention in Pittsburgh? That's right!...And we NEED YOUR HELP!
Log onto the Atlantic District LWML website @ www.adlwml.org and click on conventions for more information and for a downloadable volunteer form. This is a wonderful opportunity for many in our district, women and MEN , to come and work together at this wonderful event!
DATE: June 27-30, 2013
Theme: Quenched! by the Water
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Concordia College-New York Seeks Next President
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Dear Friends of Concordia,
Your help is needed as we seek the next president of Concordia College - New York . Dr. Viji George has announced his intention to step down as president of Concordia in June, 2013. The leadership he has brought to the college during the past fourteen years has been a blessing to our ministry in innumerable ways.
We must now be about the business of discerning God's direction in choosing the next president of Concordia. Under the newest bylaws of the Lutheran Church -Missouri Synod, much more of that responsibility lies with the Board of Regents of the college. To assist the board in that responsibility, it has appointed a Presidential Search Committee. Additional information about the search process, the committee, and progress being made may be found on Concordia's web site at
http://www.concordia-ny.edu/psearch
I am writing to ask your help as we go about this important task.
First, I ask for your continuing prayers for the work of the committee and the board as we seek to discern God's will and direction. The inscription on our college's seal is Nisi Dominus Frustra, "Without the Lord, all is in vain." We need your prayers as we seek to move forward under God's will.
Second, I invite you to be part of the nominating process. Nominations may be suggested by various groups or individuals, but may only be submitted through the official action of the appropriate body of a congregation of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod or through action of one of the other agencies listed in the bylaws of the Synod. Please look through the preliminary list of qualifications and the process posted in the official Call for Nominations on our web site.
Your help is valuable because you may be able to lift up the names of qualified individuals who might otherwise be unknown to us. The deadline for submitting nominations is June 30, 2012. A timeline of additional actions is posted on Concordia's web site.
Thank you for your prayers and for your help. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at arthur.scherer@concordia-ny.edu
Cordially, in Christ,
Rev. Dr. Arthur W. Scherer, Chair
Presidential Search Committee
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Martin Luther School Events | |
Martin Luther Night @ Citifield!
DATE: Tuesday, May 29
TIME: 7 PM
LOCATION: Citifield
MORE: Join us as the Martin Luther Concert Choir and Mixed Chorus perform
the National Anthem
before the Mets take on the Phillies!
Tickets are only $18 each each and support the Concert Choir's trip to the World Choir
Games this summer!
Please call (718) 894-4000 x133 to reserve your seats ASAP!
Click here to learn about more about our annual Golf Outing and other spring events!
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| Trinity Lutheran, Hicksville 2012 Golf Outing | |
Click here for more information about the Golf Outing for Trinity Lutheran, Hicksville
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2013 National Youth Gathering | |
The 2013 LCMS National Youth Gathering. "Live Loved" is taking place in San Antonio, TX from July 1-5, 2013. For this event, I will be the District Coordinator. Please send any questions that you have to my e-mail address: Pastor@trinitylutheranbronx.org. Looking forward to working with you all and sharing in this wonderful celebration.
Blessings, joy & love,
Pastor Matthew Ryan Gonzalez
Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church - The Bronx, New York
*Click here for more Youth Gathering Information |
| LCMS Youth Servant Events Offer Many Opportunities Through Summer 2012 | |
Hong Kong International School seeks 10 educators for 2012-13 school year
The world-renowned Hong Kong International School (HKIS) is one of three LCMS international schools in Asia. It opened its doors in 1966 to 170 students. Since then, it has grown to more than 2,600 students who represent 40 nationalities. Currently, HKIS is seeking to fill 10 open educator positions for the 2012-13 school year.
HKIS comprises four school divisions located on two campuses on the southern side of Hong Kong Island. The Lower Primary (pre-K to grade 2) and Upper Primary (grades 3-5) Schools are situated on the original HKIS campus in Repulse Bay, while the Middle and High Schools are found in Tai Tam, overlooking Tai Tam Tuk.
HKIS students are guided by a staff of 490 teachers, administrators and assistants who are amongst the best in the world; highly qualified and experienced, providing unparalleled qualities in teaching, guidance and care for their students. Consider joining the HKIS community!
The positions open for the 2012-13 school year include:
Director of Educational Technology Services (a new administration position)
Counselor, Lower Primary
Physical Education Teacher, Lower Primary
Speech Language Specialist, Lower Primary
Classroom Teacher, Upper Primary
French/Spanish Language Teacher, Middle School
Learning Specialist, Middle School
Counselor, Middle School
Counselor, High School
Science Teacher, High School
Interested candidates or those with questions about these positions can contact Jean Lau, the HKIS recruitment advisor. More information about these positions and job descriptions are posted on the HKIS website under 'Working at HKIS.
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Grants for Regional Youth Activities Now Available | |
Under the direction of the Atlantic District Board of Directors, the District Task Force on Parish Education and Youth (Task Force #5) has set aside $2000 in its 2012 budget for the purpose of providing financial support for youth events and activities on a regional basis.
These grants for regional youth activities are designed to encourage collaborative planning and regional youth gatherings, connecting youth and youth leaders from various congregations in each vice presidential region.
The grant money would be released in two phases. Half of the allocation ($250) would be released after the first three parts of the application are submitted and approved by the Task Force. The balance of the grant ($250) would be released after the event is completed and the last three sections of the application are submitted.
Questions about the Regional Youth Grants can be addressed to Tom Roemke, chairman of Task Force #5, troemke@nycap.rr.com 518/669-0790
Click here for the Application Form.
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Lutheran Malaria Initiative | |
Lutheran Malaria Initiative program staff, Hilaire Zon from West Africa shared that the most recent LMI program in Mali had some surprising results. Since 2006 the percentage of children under 5 years old sleeping under a bed net has increased from 27% to 99%. Households owning at least one bed net jumped from 66% to 99% and pregnant women sleeping under a bed net the previous night went from 31% to 86%. All of these changes are directly related to the programming of LMI and its partners.
Please consider Holiday gifts to the LMI campaign through your church, through LIMM, or directly to www.lutheranmalaria.org. All of us together CAN help to change history and eradicate deaths in Africa from malaria by 2015.
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LCMS Short Term Volunteer Medical Mission Service
| LCMS Mercy Medical Teams are currently accepting applications for medical professionals and hard working laity to provide voluntary service in a short-term, primary care, clinical setting.
Click here to learn more.
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Lutheran Tape Ministry
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Click here for information regarding the release of the newest Bible study, entitled "Jesus is Lord" on compact disc from Lutheran Tape Ministry and TalkingScriptures.com.
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| Save the Date |
~ Check the calendar on the Atlantic District website for the latest events ~
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This is an e-mail from the Atlantic District of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. If you would like to submit an article for publication in the E-Communique, please send it via email to Kristen Schulz at: kristen.schulz@ad-lcms.org
Thank you and God's Blessings!
Atlantic District LCMS
171 White Plains Road
Bronxville, NY 10708
www.ad-lcms.org
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