Issue #390
11/05/2013
News

Bishop Eaton Assumes Office

ELCA Presiding Bishop 
Elizabeth Eaton

 The Rev. Elizabeth Eaton officially assumed office as presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on November 1.  Writing for her first column in The Lutheran, Eaton describes 'A Place called Lutheran.'


"A first-call candidate assigned to the Northeastern Ohio Synod came to me about an interesting encounter she had with a waitress.  The waitress admired our candidate's Luther Rose pendant and asked what it was." Read more here.
Open Enrollment is here... 

 

 

Open Enrollment  - From November 1 through November 22, individuals will be able to enroll in the health benefit program.  Visit the Open Enrollment Center to learn more about open enrollment for individual plan members.  

 

New Benefit Offering - In addition to choices of benefit coverage, the ELCA Survivor Benefits Plan is changing.  It is transitioning to fully-insured, group life insurance benefits offered through Minnesota Life. These benefits include basic group life insurance protection and optional supplemental and dependent life insurance for the plan member, spouse or eligible same gender partner, and children at discounted group rates.  For more information, login to myPortico and visit the Open Enrollment Center.

 

Don't Leave $500 on the TableTime is running out to earn 2013 wellness dollars. ELCA-Primary members, earn up to $500 - or $1,000 if you have a spouse on the plan. Complete 30-A-Day and a few small steps by Nov. 30. You must have completed a health assessment in order to earn the additional wellness dollars. Click here to learn more.

Newberry College Choirs 2013 Fall Tour

November 6-10

 

 
Newberry College Singers and Madrigals, conducted by Dr. Chris Sheppard and Dr. Allyss Haecker, and accompanied by Mrs. Dawn Driggers, are about to begin their fall tour. The NC Singers, a group of 45 singers of various disciplines, will present a program of "Longing and Comfort." Their portion of the concert will include works from the great Western choral tradition by Palestrina and Brahms, but also reach the modern era with works from other parts of the world. Composers include Chilcott, Eriksson, Organ, Singh, and Ticheli. NC Singers has a long tradition of touring in the region, reaching back over fifty years. The concert will also include Madrigals, a select 20-voice choir. With music themed "Old and New," Madrigals' music is from the 16th and 20th centuries, and each piece in some way utilizes techniques from the opposite era. Music by Josquin, Nystedt, and Burchard, in addition to interesting arrangements of American folk songs, make up their portion of the program. Admission to all concerts is free, although free-will offerings will be available.

 

Nov. 6    Batesburg-Leesville, SC

Wittenberg Lutheran Church

233 N. Lee St.

7:00 p.m. concert

Nov. 7    Savannah, GA

Lutheran Church of the Ascension

120 Bull St.

7:00 p.m. concert

Nov. 8    Athens, GA

Holy Cross Lutheran Church

800 West Lake Drive

7:00 p.m. concert

Nov. 9    Augusta, GA

Advent Lutheran Church

3232 Washington Rd.

7:00 p.m. concert

Nov. 10 Augusta, GA

Lutheran Church of the Resurrection

825 Greene St.

8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Sunday services   

Stewardship

 Why Do We Worship?
 
The Rev. Tom Clark , Ascension Lutheran Church,    Jackson, MS with a young worshipper.  Pastor Clark also serves as dean of one of the Southeastern Synod's Mississippi clusters.
 
The Rev. Tom Clark, Ascension Lutheran Church, Jackson, MS, shares this story of stewardship as recounted by Mark Allan Powell, the Robert and Phyllis Leatherman, Professor of New Testament at Trinity Lutheran Seminary. Dr. Powell is also the author of Giving to God: The Bible's Good News About Living a Generous Life.
 
"Mark Allan Powell tells the story of a congregation he once served where the people wanted him to visit all of the "inactive members" and see if he could get some of them to come back to church.

     

So, he came up with a list of 50 families and decided that he would visit one family each week for a year. He says that apparently he was not very good at this because he did not persuade very many to come back to church.

 

He did, however, hear lots of reasons why people had quit coming to church. Some had complaints about the liturgy or church politics. Some said there were too many personality conflicts within the congregation. Some thought the church had gotten too liberal; some too conservative. Some thought that the church was trying to be too contemporary; others that it was too traditional.  Click here to continue reading.

 

 

 

Click here to sign-up for Luther Seminary's Stewardship E Newsletter and to see other helpful stewardship resources from Luther Seminary.

 

God's Work. Our Hands.
 
September 8 was "God's Work. Our Hands." Sunday. Congregations throughout our synod shared photos and stories from their service projects on our website
 
We're pleased to know that "God's Work. Our Hands." continues past September 8.  If you'd like to see your congregation featured, email stories, photos, and reflections to Carolyn Davis
St. James, Brunswick, GA - Hands for SHARE


Volunteers from St. James Lutheran Church, Brunswick, GA, celebrated "God's Work. Our Hands." in their neighborhood, Goodyear Park. They did gardening, yard clean-up, general cleaning and small repairs for SHARE (Speech, Hearing and Rehabilitation Enterprises), the Cancer House of Hope, and individual homeowners.  

Become an LSG Fundraiser on 

Georgia Gives Day!   

 

 November 13, 2013 is Georgia Gives Day, and Lutheran Services of Georgia needs your help! One way you can help LSG bring hope, healing, and strength to individuals and families throughout Georgia is by signing up to be an LSG Fundraiser. Become an LSG Fundraiser by creating your very own fundraising campaign and sharing our Georgia Gives Day profile with YOUR social network. 

 

Becoming an LSG Fundraiser is easy! 

 

1. Visit the LSG profile and sign up to become a fundraiser.

2. Create and personalize your very own fundraiser page. 

3. Share your page through email, social media, and more!

 

For more information on getting started, click here  to watch a short instructional video. The organization with the most personal fundraisers is eligible to win a $1,000 prize.

 

You can also support Georgia Gives Day by giving a donation on November 13.  Click here to give online. 

 

LSG relies on the generosity of Lutheran congregations, donors, volunteers, and other supporters. We invite you to spread the word about Georgia Gives Day to your family, friends, congregation, and community. Click here to download a bulletin insert ready for congregational use.  

 

For more information on ways you can support Lutheran Services of Georgia, contact Abby KoningVisit our

website to learn more about LSG's services for individuals and families in Georgia. 
Around the Synod

Enews Schedule Change

In an effort to make the enews more timely and improve our readership, we are working to move our publishing day to Tuesdays.  This issue is a bit abbreviated in order to help us achieve this goal. 

In keeping with this, our new deadline for receipt of information to be published in the enews is Thursday at 5:00 pm.  We will make every effort to include submissions received by the deadline in the following week's enews.

Please send your enews submissions to Carolyn Davis. You can also help us improve our distribution by forwarding this email to one or two friends right now and invite them to subscribe using the button below. 

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteers are crucial to the mission of the Southeastern Synod. Click here to find ways you can serve.  Thank you for your generosity!
James R. Crumley, Jr. Archival Survey
 
The Fall 2013 issue of the Archival Survey, the publication of the James R. Crumley Jr. Archives, is now available.
 
Please click here and take a few moments to read through this latest issue of news and happenings related to your archives housed at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Columbia, SC. 
 
This issue highlights the Rev. Dr. H. George Anderson who was honored at the annual Friends of the Archives Banquet this past September 13.  

Diabetes:  Are you at risk?

 

After much pondering and going over the list of National Health Observances for 2013, I decided that I could not pass up the opportunity to talk about diabetes.  November is identified as American Diabetes Month and rightly so because close to twenty-six million Americans (8.3 percent of the US population) have diabetes.  Seven million of these individuals do not know that they have diabetes.  Data show that slightly more than fifty years ago 1.5 percent of Americans had diabetes. This translates to an epidemic increase in type 2 diabetes during these years.  Click here to continue reading.

 

 

Submitted by Ms. Connie Pearson, Chair, Heath Ministries Task Force

Resources, Retreats, & Learning Opportunities

Social Media for Congregations - 

A How-To Workshop

 

Know that you need to do something with social media for your congregation but not sure what or how?  Join us for a workshop to learn together. The Rev. Scott Seeke will lead a hands-on discussion to talk about communicating and connecting through social media - why, how to, best practices, and your questions.  Join us on November 18 from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm in the Southeastern Synod Office. Space is limited.  Email Carolyn Davis or call her at 404-589-1977, X235 to sign-up. The office is located at 100 Edgewood Avenue, Suite 1600, Atlanta, GA 30303.   

 

Raise Your Voice!

E-Advocacy-Take Action Now! Become a part of the ELCA advocacy effort by signing up for the e-Advocacy network 
 
 
There are three advocacy ministries of the ELCA:  the ELCA Washington Office; the Lutheran Office for World Community; and the State Public Policy Offices.  Click here to learn about the ministries each are involved in and how you can play a part.
  
To learn more about the ELCA's approach to advocacy and important issues for 2013, visit the ELCA website.   
Employment Opportunities

Our synod website will now feature employment opportunities submitted by congregations and ministries throughout our synod. Click here to view descriptions and application instructions for the following open positions:

Part-Time Music Director/Organist:
Epiphany Lutheran Church in Conyers, GA

Full-Time Coordinator of Youth and Family Ministries: St. Luke Evangelical Lutheran Church in Memphis, TN

Full-Time Director of Youth and Family Ministries
St. John's Lutheran Church in Springfield, IL

If you'd like to see your employment opportunity listed on our website, please submit your position title, description, contact information, application instructions, and other relevant information to Carolyn Davis.
In This Issue
Bishop Eaton Assumes Office
Open Enrollment
Newberry College Choirs on Tour
Stewardship...
"God's Work. Our Hands."
LSG - Georgia Gives Day
ENews Schedule Change
Volunteer Opps
Archival Survey
Diabetes: Are you at risk?
Social Media for Congregations
Ecumenical Advocacy Days
Employment Opps

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Did You Know?
 Did you know that Lutheran Services of Georgia offers adoption services?  November is National Adoption Month.  Click here to learn about LSG adoption services
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Save the Dates

 

  

 

 ~ 2014 ~

 

January 19

Commemoration of 

Martin Luther King Jr 

Worship Service

at Christ Our Hope Lutheran Church, 2165 Hwy 138 SW,  Riverdale, GA 30296

 

January 20

The MLK Lutheran Day of Service at Rock of Ages Lutheran Church

 

March 9

Atlanta Community Food Bank's Annual Hunger Walk

 

May 30 - June 1

Synod Assembly 

Chattanooga, TN

 

Details will be provided in upcoming issues.

 

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Who to Contact 
 
Do you have a question or a comment for a member of the synod staff, but aren't sure who to contact? Check out our regularly updated contact page on the synod website.
 
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Synod Calendar

 

 November 7-9

Candidacy Committee Meeting

 

November 16, 2013

Green Team Meeting

 

November 28 -29

Thanksgiving Holidays

Synod Office Closed

 

View the entire synod calendar
here

 
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Please send this email to those you know who would benefit from this information.  
 
ELCA Southeastern Synod
100 Edgewood Ave. NE, Suite 1600
Atlanta, GA 30303
404-589-1977