Southeastern Synod
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
God's work. Our hands. E-News Weekly |
|
Issue: #345
|
November 14, 2012
| |
|
|
|
|
Responding to Disaster
| | |
By the Rev Paul Summer
Assistant to the Bishop of the ELCA Southeastern Synod
As one of the new Assistants to the Bishop, I was asked to attend the recent Volunteer Disaster Coordinator Training in Cullman, Alabama. As stated in our synod's Disaster Preparedness and Response brochure, "Our synod knows what it means to be hit by disaster. Whether it is hurricanes on our coastlines, floods along our rivers, or tornadoes that randomly strike areas throughout our four states, we know that when disaster strikes, lives are changed."
The recent devastation caused by Sandy is for us a reminder of the storm effects we too have experienced. As we learn of and support the disaster response efforts now in place for the victims of Sandy, we can be thankful for the ministry of our Synod Disaster Preparedness and Response Task Force which assists with training and providing resources for Synod Disaster Response Coordinators as well as for congregations and social ministry organizations....
Read more on the synod blog here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Worship News from the ELCA
| | |
Ecumenical Festival for the commemoration of All Saints
 On Sunday, October 28, First Evangelical Lutheran Church of Nashville, TN hosted The first ever Ecumenical Festival Eucharist for the commemoration of All Saints.
This was a rich and historic service that brought together many of our ecumenical partners. Present for this service were the Right Reverend  Jeffrey Leath, Bishop of the 13th District of the AME Church; the Right Reverend John Bauerschmidt, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of TN; the Right Reverend Bill McAlilly, Bishop of the United Methodist Church Southern Conference; the Reverend Tim Downs, Conference Minister of the UCC; Ms. Nancy French, Moravian Church USA; the Reverend Warner Durnell, Executive Presbyter of the PCUSA; the  Reverend Julian Gordy, Bishop of the ELCA Southeastern Synod.
This full Communion liturgy provided an opportunity for the Southeastern Synod of the ELCA to celebrate our numerous ecumenical partners and included a mass community choir of over 50  voices and a congregation of over 250 people. Bishop Leath in his sermon reminded us "Be present, don't just show up! The world needs you. The church needs you. Be present and active agents of change and justice. Be present as saints in the world!"
The Reverend Kevin L. Strickland,
Partner in Worship, Southeastern Synod
|
Reminder: This Sunday at Lutheranch
| | |
Lutheranch Open House
This Sunday, November 18, a special event is planned at Lutheranch to thank friends and congregations for their support in helping to make Lutheranch a reality. The celebration will occur at the future building site of the Retreat Center. Bishop H. Julian Gordy will share his appreciation, guests will enjoy a BBQ dinner and will be treated to special music by Cadillac Creek, a bluegrass band. There will also be site tours beginning at 3 p.m. For more information or to RVSP, contact Libby Bedenbaugh at 803 940-6523 or at libby@llmi.org. Information is also available on the Lutheranch website or in the open house flyer.
Events For Youth!
Your youth group (6th-12th grade) is invited to come a little early to the Lutheranch Open House (around 2:30) and join other youth from our synod in an Ultimate Frisbee Throwdown! If we have enough teams, there will be a tournament. Please RSVP as a group if you want to play so we can plan to have enough equipment, mark enough playing fields, and make brackets if necessary. You can also RSVP individually to the Facebook event here.
Bring a water bottle, clothing appropriate to be outside all afternoon, donations for the Lutheranch fundraising campaign (suggested $5-$10 per youth, but completely optional), and your mad Frisbee skills (because you'll need them).
Schedule:
- 2:30 pm: Arrive for the Frisbee tournament, park, and shuttle in to the event (shuttles provided by LLMI)
- 3:00 pm: Tours and music will begin; we will continue playing and snag a tour as we have time
- 4:00 pm: Bishop Gordy talks about Lutheranch
- 4:30 pm: BBQ! If we need time for a championship game, we will play after eating.
- 5:00 pm: The program officially ends and people will start to head home.
Shuttles to Lutheranch will leave from Salem Baptist Church at 344 Salem Church Road, Tallapoosa, GA 30176. Click here to view or download the flyer for the event.
For questions and group RSVP's
Mary Houck
Diaconal Minister
Cross of Life Lutheran Church in Roswell, GA
|
Direct Choice Dollars Respond to Hurricane Sandy
| | |
A message from Thrivent Financial
At Thrivent Financial, our mission is to strengthen Christian communities by helping members be wise with money and inspiring them to live generously. Hurricane Sandy left a trail of destruction across the East Coast and is inspiring generosity among thousands of our members. Thrivent Choice® lets you help make a difference. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation matches Choice Dollars grant funds allocated to Lutheran disaster response agencies.
The Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation has announced it will offer a dollar-for-dollar match for any Thrivent Choice Dollars® grant funds allocated to the three Lutheran disaster response agencies listed below, up to $500,000 or until the 2012 Thrivent Choice Dollars direction deadline (March 31, 2013), whichever comes first. The Foundation will also match Choice Dollars® grant funds allocated to these agencies since the storm impacted the East Coast on October 29th.
You can help by directing your designated Thrivent Choice Dollars® to one of the following disaster relief organizations participating in the hurricane relief efforts:
 ELCA Disaster Response
LCMS World Relief and Human Care
WELS Christian Aid and Relief
To direct Choice Dollars: Consider getting involved in grassroots disaster relief efforts through your local Thrivent Chapter. Many Thrivent chapters are planning fund-raising activities to help with disaster relief efforts. Consider getting involved in the grassroots efforts in your local community. To locate your chapter, use the Locate a Chapter option on Thrivent.com. For more information on Thrivent Financial's response to Hurricane Sandy, see Thrivent.com/disasterresponse/sandy. If you have any questions, please contact a representative from the Member Connection Center at 1-800-THRIVENT (800-847-4836) and say "Disaster Response" at the prompt or email mail@thrivent.com. Directing Choice Dollars® to an enrolled organization is subject to the Terms and Conditions of the Thrivent Choice® program.
|
Free Training for Mandated Reporters
| |
 As of July 1, 2012, Georgia Law requires all employees and volunteers who work with Georgia's children to report suspected child abuse.
In the wake of the child abuse incidents at Penn State, Georgia's lawmakers and Governor Deal broadened the state's pool of mandated reporters--those individuals legally required to report suspected instances of child abuse--to include all employees and volunteers whose duties include attending to children.
Is your faith community or child-serving agency aware of these changes? Are you prepared to implement them? Register today for free training on changes to the law. Use the corresponding registration link below to register for the date of your choice. Contact Pamela Perkins Carn at Interfaith Children's Movement with any questions.
Click below to register for one of the following sessions:
- November 19: United Methodist Children's Home in Decatur, GA, from 9:30 AM-12:00 PM (Registration begins at 9:00 AM). Register here.
- November 20: United Methodist Children's Home in Decatur, GA from 9:30 AM- 12:00 PM (Registration begins at 9:00 AM). Register here.
|
Centering Prayer Retreat in Rincon, GA
| |
New Ebenezer Retreat and Conference Center in Rincon, GA will be the site for a three-day contemplative centering prayer retreat in January 2013. The retreat begins at 6 pm on Sunday, January 27th and will end at 2 pm on Tuesday, January 29th.
Centering prayer is a form of contemplative prayer or meditation that is both a relationship with God and a discipline to foster that relationship. It is a silent form of prayer/meditation where one listens to God with the intention to consent to God's presence and action in one's life.
This retreat will include two tracks, one for those who have no experience with Centering Prayer or meditation and for whom introductory instruction will be offered, and one for those who have Centering Prayer or meditation experience and for whom extended prayer time will be offered. Silence will be held from Sunday evening until Tuesday morning.
Margaret Marshall and Lynne Lockie are the retreat leaders. Margaret is an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of East Tennessee and has been teaching Centering Prayer and leading retreats since 1998. Lynne is a clinical social worker who has practiced meditation/contemplation for the past 50 years and is a presenter of the method of Centering Prayer.
Residential Fee: $300
Deposit: $50
Registration Deadline December 15, 2012
(Fee includes meals and private room & bath)
To register or for more information:
Call Krista Seckinger: (423) 400-2043 |
|
| | |
By Connie Pearson
SES Health Ministries Task Force
 November is American Diabetes Month. This November, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) is working to raise awareness about the health risks of prediabetes and diabetes. Prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes occur when the body can no longer produce enough insulin to maintain blood sugar at a normal level. Several factors, including genetics and environment, contribute to these conditions.
In prediabetes, blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be considered diabetes. Seventy-nine million Americans, or 35% of adults older than twenty have prediabetes. Over half of all Americans aged 65 years and older have prediabetes. Despite these alarming numbers, only seven percent of Americans with prediabetes are aware that they have this condition.
Type 2 diabetes, the most widespread form of diabetes, develops most often in overweight or obese middle-aged and older people. Others at a great risk of developed prediabetes and/or diabetes include: those with a family history of diabetes, people who are physically inactive, or persons of African American, American Indian, Hispanic, Asian American and/or Pacific Islander descent.
Both prediabetes and type 2 diabetes were once rare in youth but are quickly becoming more common as an increasing number of children and adolescents are overweight or obese. Excess abdominal fat, also known as central obesity, is a major risk for prediabetes, Type 2 diabetes, and heart and blood vessel diseases. Central obesity produces hormones and other substances that have chronic effects including damage to blood vessels. Diabetes is a major cause of kidney failure, foot and leg amputation, blindness among adults, heart disease and stroke. Because people with prediabetes often go undiagnosed for long periods of time, they are at risk for the same health problems that impact those with diabetes.
Yet a prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes diagnosis does not necessarily mean a sentence to life threatening complications. Studies have found that individuals with prediabetes who lose weight, increase physical activity and eat a diet low in fat and calories can successfully prevent or delay the onset of Type 2 diabetes. In some cases, their blood glucose levels returned to normal.
 The National Diabetes Education Program states that "diabetes prevention is proven, possible and powerful." Yearly annual checkups - often overlooked by adults - can help to identify early signs of both prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes. In addition, lifestyle changes in the form of diet, exercise, weightloss and stress reduction can positively impact one's health and make a difference in an individual's longevity and quality of life. If you are at risk, take some action today and strive for better health and wellness! For more information about prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes, visit |
|
| | |
Please Come to Visit My Parents
From ELCA Hand in Hand Newsletter: Stories from Your Missionaries
 | | Pastors Wayne Nieminen and Christa VonZychlin, ELCA missionaries in Hong Kong |
Sarin had been one of Christa VonZychlin's students in Hong Kong and now she was visiting him in his home country, Cambodia. Sarin was the first in his family to become a follower of Jesus Christ. One by one the rest of his family also came to faith. But not his dad, who held back. However, very recently Sarin's father discovered that God's Son is for real.
"So where were you baptized?" Christa asked.
"Baptized, I haven't been baptized yet," the father answered. "But you're a pastor. You could do my baptism!"
 | |
Sarin, left, and his father who was recently baptized
|
Someone was chosen to be the acolyte and add more water to a basin, and a congregation was easily, enthusiastically summoned.
In Christa's Bible readings that day, these words reminded her of how God surprises us with the grace of baptism through occasions such as these: "As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, 'Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?' He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down to the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing." (Acts 8:36-39 NRSV).
**********************
Dr. Rusty Edwards Teaches in Zimbabwe
 
Dr. Rusty Edwards (Christ Lutheran Church in Marietta, GA) served in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of Africa University in Zimbabwe as a Visiting Fellow in October, 2012. His duties included: lecturing to music students, conducting classes, directing the Africa University Choir, and meeting with Mutare's top Choir Directors. Students worked on writing hymns and paraphrasing Psalms. His sessions with the University Choir included teaching a brand new anthem entitled Unchain Your Heart. Africa University is a United Methodist Related Institution.
|
| Around the Synod | |
Cross of Grace's Ministry Goes Mobile
 | |
Teresa Sweet & Paul Mackey
|
As a small new mission church, Cross of Grace Lutheran Church in Jonesborough, TN knew developing strategies for awareness in the community would be a challenge. Then, they had an idea: acquiring magnetic signs for the vehicles for their parishioners. They purchased three pairs of signs for worshippers to use as they drive their vehicles, taking their ministry into the streets. Paul Mackey, pictured above on the right, is the mastermind behind this idea. Teresa Sweet, left, drives her truck through Jonesborough with her sign proudly displayed. Cross of Grace is interested to see if this strategy helps increase awareness of their ministry in the surrounding area.
*******************
Donate Used Pews and Chancel Chairs
 | | The soon-to-be Fellowship Hall |
As you may be aware, Christ Lutheran Church in Cullman, AL is in the midst of rebuilding their church building after the tornado last year. Given good weather, they expect to begin worship in their new church around February 2013. Would you like to support Christ Lutheran Church? Consider donating used pews and chancel chairs. The church currently needs 20 ten-foot pews and four eight-foot pews and two chancel chairs. If you are able to assist, contact Kay Peters. Click here to read more about the rebuilding of Christ Lutheran Church.
|
| View the entire Synod Calendar | | |
Nov 18
Open House & Open House for Youth
Lutheranch, Tallapoosa, GA
Nov 22-23
Synod Office Closed for Thanksgiving
Nov 26-28
Lutheridge Almost Free Youth Gathering
Dec 1
Budget and Finance Committee Meeting
Dec 24-26
Southeastern Synod Office Closed for Christmas
|
Share this e-news with a friend Do you know someone who might enjoy receiving news from the Southeastern Synod? Please forward a copy of this E-News and invite them to join the group!
ELCA-Southeastern Synod
100 Edgewood Ave. NE, Suite 1600
Atlanta, GA 30303
404-589-1977
|
|
|
