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Issue #403 February 12, 2014
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Black History Month is For All of Us
The Rev. Carla Thompson Powell, pastor-redeveloper of Salem Lutheran Church on Chicago's South Side, reminds us of the importance of Black History Month. This column originally appeared in the February issue of The Lutheran. Reprinted with permission.
Black History Month started when historian and journalist Carter G. Woodson sponsored a national Negro History Week in February 1926 to coincide with Abraham Lincoln's and Frederick Douglass' birthdays. In 1976 the week was extended to a month, albeit the shortest of the year. Every year media outlets, schools, cultural institutions and some municipalities honor Black History Month (sometimes known as African Descent History Month) through token images of some of the most well-known historical figures of African descent. Continue.
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ELCA Embarks on First Comprehensive Fundraising Campaign
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- As members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) seek to grow the life-changing, life-sustaining ministries of this church, they can do so through "Always Being Made New: The Campaign for the ELCA." The five-year comprehensive campaign is the first ever for the ELCA.
A goal of the campaign, overwhelmingly approved by the voting members of the 2013 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, is to raise $198 million to help sustain and grow the ministries of this church. Click here to continue reading.
The Southeastern Synod Stewardship Table will be considering this campaign in the coming months and how we might participate in it here in our synod. In the meantime, individuals and congregations are encouraged to learn about it and to consider how they might feel called to be a part of it. Watch the video below to learn more!
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What does the ELCA mean to you?
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Rostered Leader Reports &
Congregation Parochial Reports due Saturday
Rostered Leaders Report (RLP): All rostered leaders who are not retired should complete an RLP annually. Click here and then click on Synods to access the forms for the report. Once completed, please email them to bishop@elca-ses.org or you can send a copy to the Southeastern Synod Office. Reports are due by February 15, 2014.
Congregation Parochial Reports: These annual reports filed on behalf of congregations can be accessed here. Reports are due by February 15, 2014.
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2014 Southeastern Synod
Assembly
Chattanooga Convention Center 
One Carter Plaza
Chattanooga, TN 37402
(423) 756-0001
Begins Friday, May 30, 2014
Ends Sunday, June 1, 2014
A summary of elections to take place at the 2014 Assembly is now posted to the
Assembly webpage. You can read it here. This year we will elect a Vice President, among other positions. A candidate bio form is available here.
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Dr. Rolf Jacobson,
Assistant Professor of Old Testament
Luther Seminary
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The Rev.
Wyvetta Bullock,
ELCA Assistant to the Presiding Bishop,
Executive for Administration
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Speakers:
Dr. Rolf Jacobson
Keynote Speaker
The Rev. Wyvetta Bullock
Churchwide Representative
| New this year, there will be optional programming beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Friday
Registration opens mid February. Look for details soon!
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Summer called as Executive Director of Advancement at
Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary at Lenoir Rhyne
Effective February 28, 2014, the Rev. Paul H. Summer will resign as Assistant to the Bishop of the ELCA Southeastern Synod in order to assume the position of Executive Director of Advancement for Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary at Lenoir-Rhyne University (LR/LTSS). Read more here.
In the coming days and weeks, consideration will be given to next steps in filling this staff vacancy based on the needs of the Southeastern Synod. An interview process will be established and communicated as decisions are made.
In the meantime, our blessing goes with Pr. Summer as he assumes his new call. Please keep Pr. Summer, his family and the synod staff in your prayers during this time of transition.
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The Malaria Campaign
 Jonathan Trapp, Synod Malaria Campaign Coordinator, shares an update on the campaign and how our Southeastern Synod youth are involved.
Every minute, a child dies from malaria. Think about that. Every minute a child dies from a disease that is treatable and preventable. Even more children are kept out of school from malaria and they lose the ability to gain an education, to rise up from the poverty in which they generally find themselves. Malaria is a disease that truly strikes hardest against the poor, the sick, the hungry; the ones who cannot fight off the disease; the ones who are already barely making it each day and cannot afford food, much less lifesaving medicine. Malaria strikes hardest at the people to whom Christ has promised the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:3-11). Continue.
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Highlights of the
Southeastern Synod Council Meeting
January 17-18, 2014
At its meeting on January 17-18, 2014, the Southeastern Synod Council took action on a number of matters. Among these were approval of the following:
- Birmingham, Alabama, as the site of the 2015 Southeastern Synod Assembly
- A continuing resolution on the job description of a Synod Council member
- Formation of a Mental Health Initiatives and Suicide Prevention Task Force
- Changing the status of the Disaster Preparedness Task Force to that of a committee
- 2014-15 allocation to committees and task forces
- 2015 compensation guidelines for rostered leaders
- Changes in a number of restricted accounts
- Designated the 2014 Synod Assembly offering for new congregational starts and the Lutheran Theological Center of Atlanta.
The council also recommended the 2015-16 Ministry Funding Plan and proposed Rules and Procedures to the 2014 Synod Assembly as well as discussed the format and agenda of the assembly. It received reports from the synodical officers and heard presentations on the Campaign for the ELCA, the African Descent Strategy Report, and the Lutheran Theological Center of Atlanta. The preliminary minutes can be found here.
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The Memorial Drive Hunger Ministries
at Rock of Ages, Stone Mountain, GA
 The Memorial Drive Hunger Ministries (MDHM) is an ecumenical outreach program that provides an emergency midday meal 6 days a week, as well as periodic seasonal distribution of clothing and health care items to homeless and transient folk living along a four mile area of Memorial Drive in Stone Mountain, GA. All meals are served at Rock of Ages, and in 2013, over 18,000 were fed.
From now until March 31 st, Thrivent Financial is providing a matching Fund Grant; every dollar donated to the ministry with be matched with 50 cents, up to $5,000. Details about MDHM, along with information about making a donation, can be found on our website: www.memorialdrivehungerministries.org
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GA Korean Lutheran Association Gathering at
Prince of Peace, Alpharetta, GA
March 1, 2014
10:00 a.m.
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7th GA Korean Lutheran Association Meeting
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The 8th Georgia Korean Lutheran Association Gathering will be held at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, 10250 Haynes Bridge Road, Alpharetta, GA 30022. All are welcome to join in the planning for the future of the Korean Lutheran Ministry. Call (770) 475-4250 for more information.
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 Fundraiser for Lutheran Services in TN
March 9, 2014 6-8 p.m.
@Mayday Brewery 521 Old Salem Rd, Murfreesboro, TN
Come join the fun at Mayday Brewery on Sunday, March 9th from 6-8 p.m. The Blue Grass Band from Faith Lutheran Church in Lebanon, TN will be leading us in an evening of hymn singing. There will be speakers from the Building Healthy Families Program of Lutheran Services in Tennessee and great fellowship. There will be a $10.00 per person cover charge at the door. All proceeds will go to LST. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is also offering a grant towards this event. You may bring your own snacks. Snacks will also be available there, as well as a food truck. Beer is $5.00 a pint and $8.00 for a flight. If you have any questions, please contact Pastor Kevin Strickland, Board President of Lutheran Services in Tennessee.
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Lutheranch Round Up - You are Invited!
~ March 15, 2014 ~
 The Round Up will include a BBQ lunch, site tours, afternoon activities, auction, and a conceptual design and plans presentation for the new multiple use retreat center. Registration begins at 11:00. Lunch is from 11:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. A free will offering will be taken to offset costs for the day. If there are auction items that you would like to donate, please contact Libby Bedenbaugh. For more information on the Round Up, contact Libby Bedenbaugh, Senior Development Associate at 803-940-6523 or libby@novusway.com. Note that the Round Up will be held at the new retreat center site on the Lutheranch property. Please use this address to 344 Salem Church Road, Tallapoosa, GA 30176 to go to the new retreat center site.
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Holy Trinity, Nashville, TN Hosts
"Building an Inclusive Church"
March 28 - 29, 2014
 Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church is hosting a "Building an Inclusive Church" Workshop that is being led by ReconcilingWorks. The "Building an Inclusive Church" training helps you design and implement a process for your congregation to publicly and intentionally welcome people of all gender identities and sexual orientations.
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Click the picture above for information and registration.
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Have You Taken the Portico Health Assessment Yet?
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Portico Health Assessment: Not only does this program remind us of the need to be good stewards of our health for the sake of our ministries, but ELCA employers (congregations, seminaries, other organizations) earn a 2% discount on their health contribution payments if 65% or more of the ELCA-primary plan members and eligible spouses take the online Mayo Clinic Health Assessment between Jan. 1 and April 30, 2014. It only takes 10-20 minutes and you get $150 in wellness dollars just for taking the assessment! Plus, if you do the follow-up activities, you can earn even more wellness dollars! For the last two years, our synod's success in achieving the participation goal earned us money from Portico which has been used to fund sabbatical and wellness grants for our rostered leaders. Make time today to take the assessment! Click here to get started.
Southeastern Synod Wellness/Sabbatical Grant Applications: Thanks to our synod's participation in the Portico Health Assessment the last two years, we have been able to award grants to rostered leaders for sabbaticals and wellness initiatives. The next deadline for grant applications is April 15. Learn more and find an application here.
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Lutheran World Hunger Provides Grant
 The Southeastern Synod Green Team is working together with Lutherans Restoring Creation (LRC) to provide an informative and motivational "Caring for Creation Retreat." Through LRC, the retreat has received a grant of $2,500 from Lutheran World Hunger to further its efforts in providing this retreat while recognizing the economic realities of the Southeastern Synod. The current effects on climate and the earth is causing dire consequences to the marginalized and the poor. That will be part of our consideration during the retreat. The Green Team expresses its gratitude to Dr. David Rhoads who requested the grant and Phoebe Morad, the Care for Creation facilitator.
Please join us and/or encourage members of your congregation to attend. As a reminder, scholarships are available for rostered leaders. Find retreat details and registration information here. To follow the development of the retreat, go to "Care for Creation," as an event on Facebook.
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 Mark Allan Powell, author of Giving to God: The Bible's Good News About Living a Generous Life, is the Robert and Phyllis Leatherman Professor of New Testament at Trinity Lutheran Seminary. With permission from Dr. Powell, his thought provoking insights into what stewardship means and how to embrace stewardship as a duty and delight will be offered in this newsletter. This is the last of ten articles. Click here to read the series.
Faithful Christians should be confident and feel good about their giving to be immune from others' pleas, "It's not enough!" Continue.
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Did you enjoy this series? Would you like to read others?
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God's Work. Our Hands.
Disaster Recovery Help Needed in Oklahoma
Annette Kezbers, Assistant to the Bishop - Youth & Family, ELCA Arkansas-Oklahoma Synod, says they are still in need of help recovering from the tornadoes. Parts of Oklahoma City, Swanee and Moore, OK were devastated by the May, 2013 tornado outbreak. Kezbers said, "The first responders have left. There is plenty for youth and adult teams to do!" To volunteer, email Annette Kezbers or call the Arkansas-Oklahoma Synod office at 918-492-4288.
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Ventures in Growing Stewards Workshop Begins in March
Want to transform stewardship in your congregation? Are you ready to move from an annual campaign to a year-round model of living as stewards? Ventures in Growing Stewards is a four-part workshop series that develops a vision and plan for growing stewards through a year round stewardship ministry. For more than ten years, the ELCA has offered this workshop series. Through it, more than 600 congregations in over thirty ELCA synods have learned how to grow faithful stewards and increase giving. For many congregations this experience included moving from a "paying the bills" approach to stewardship to a healthier response of "living the mission". A new workshop series will begin in Georgia on March 22. Contact AIM Michelle Angalet, Assistant to the Bishop, 404-589-1977, for more information and to see how your congregation can be a part. Space is limited so don't delay! | |
"For God so loved the world..." Global Resources for Lent
Resources are now available for Lenten suppers, services, classes, events and offerings. Find more information at www.ELCA.org/resources/globalchurch or
www.ELCA.org/globalmission-resources.
Three new stories from the Global Church
Check out these stories in the newest issue of Hand in Hand:
+ Warm sweaters and valuable skills from ELCA missionaries in Kenya, Africa.
+ Light shines in the darkness in Cairo, Egypt, about a Christmas service involving people from different ethnic groups in South Sudan.
+ Building relationships in Hungary from a Young Adult in Global Mission.
They are available as a downloadable newsletter or bulletin inserts at
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 A Breast Cancer Awareness event, Lutheran Night at  the Gladiators is scheduled for Saturday, March 1, 2014 at 7:05 p.m. The event is sponsored by Lutheran Services of GA. Tickets must be ordered by February 17, 2014. Metro Atlanta Chapters of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans will provide matching funds for a portion of each ticket cost. Click here for details and ordering form.
Seeking Loving Adoptive Families - Click here for a flyer and here to register for pre-adoption training.
Join LSG for Expressions of Hope! - Click here for details.
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Resources, Retreats, Learning Opportunities
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The Month of Hearts!
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Connie Pearson, Chairperson, Health Ministries Task Force shares some heart healthy approaches to living for children of all ages.
Here we are once again in the "Month of Hearts." Immediately we think of Valentine cards, candy and flowers, but there is a lot more to this heart business during February. The month of February is designated as "American Heart Month" on the list of National Health Observances. It is during this time that organizations and groups, with a vested interest in heart health, strive to engage the American public in doing those things that will make our hearts healthier. We are also given statistics showing our risks, with information on how we can improve our chances of avoiding heart disease and living to a ripe old age. Click here to continue reading.
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St. Mark Lutheran, East Point, GA
Hosts
Praise & Worship Workshop
February 22, 2014
9:00 a.m.
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Create in Me at Lutheridge
April 24-27, 2014
(Thursday - Sunday)
2014 Theme: Question of Cosmic Creation
Come to be inspired, encouraged, and re-created! Enjoy a wonderful exchange of ideas encouraging creativity as central to the life of faith! Click here for information about this exciting workshop, the leaders and registration.
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 The February 2014 edition of the Journal of Lutheran Ethics is available online.
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Adult Learning at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia
~online option available~
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Click the picture above for information and registration.
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Evangelical Lutheran Worship - Seasonal Liturgies
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 Liturgies for Ash Wednesday, Sunday of the Passion, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday are reprinted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship and are especially useful for services that take place outside the usual worship space. Click here to order from Augsburg Fortress. |
New Lenten Resources for
Your Congregation
Too Deep for Words: Devotions for Lent 2014 will assist your congregation in the traditional Lenten practice of praying more than usual. For information on this Augsburg Fortress resource, click here. For additional resources, click here. |
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The Little Lutheran: How do we talk with God?
Children and adults can use the February issue of The Little Lutheran to explore prayer throughout the day and other ways of talking with God, including through reading Scripture,talking with other people and exploring God's creation. Click here for additional information on The Little Lutheran.
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| | Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) introduces the first edition of the 2014 Leadership Toolkit. Key features include an important update about the yearlong LIRS 75th Anniversary of walking with refugees and migrants to a brighter new future. Click on the headline above to read the first edition and to find ways to connect with LIRS. |
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Installations & Ordinations
Sunday, February 23, 2014, 3:00 pm
The Rev. Stephen Hilgeman will be installed as pastor of Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, 51 Wilmington Island Road, Savannah, GA 31410. Rostered leaders are invited to vest and process. The color of the day is green.
Sunday, March 16, 2014, 2:00 pm
AIM Melody Simpkins will be ordained to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, 731 Peachtree Street NE Atlanta, GA 30308. Rostered leaders are invited to vest and process. The color of the day is red.
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Coming Up!
January 31 - February 16: The St. Olaf Choir Tour
February 21 - 23: SESLYO Assembly
February 22: Praise & Worship Workshop, St. Mark, East Point, GA
February 23: Installation of the Rev. Stephen Hilgeman
March 1: GA Korean Lutheran Association Gathering, Prince of Peace, Alpharetta, GA
March 1 - 2: Alassippi Youth Gathering
March 7 - 8: Green Team Retreat
March 9: Atlanta Community Food Bank's Hunger Walk
March 14 - 16: "Go Green", Ascension Lutheran Church, Chattanooga, TN
March 15: Lutheranch Roundup, Tallapoosa, GA
March 16: Ordination of AIM Melody Simpkins
March 28 - 29: "Building an Inclusive Church", Holy Trinity, Nashville, TN
April 1: Nominations due for 2014 Bishops' School at LTSS
April 24 - 27: Create in Me, Lutheridge, Arden NC
May 30 - June 1: Synod Assembly, Chattanooga, TN
June 13 - 20: AFFIRM 2014, Berry College, Rome, GA
July 18 - 20: Lutheran Men in Mission, "Guys, Guts and God's Glory", Nashville, TN
July 21 - 28: Young Adults Go to Guatamala
July 24 - 27: WELCA Ninth Triennial Gathering 2014
View the entire synod calendar here.
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Save the Dates
September 7: God's Work. Our Hands. Sunday 2014
Details will be provided as received.
October 13 - 16: Leadership Convocation, Lutheridge
July 15 - 19, 2015: ELCA Youth Gathering, Detroit, MI
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Click here to view descriptions and application instructions for the following open positions and others listed on our website:
Full-Time Campus Pastor:
Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, TX
Full-Time Children, Youth and Family Ministries Coordinator:
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (HTLC) in Hickory, NC
Full-Time Lay Staff Christian Education Coordinator:
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (HTLC) in Hickory, NC
Part-Time Interim Worship Service Accompanist:
Epiphany Lutheran Church, Suwanee, GA
Full-Time Director of Music Ministry:
Clairmont Presbyterian in Decatur, GA
Assistant Director of Development and Director of Alumni Relations: Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, SC
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. | |
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Synod Volunteer Opportunities
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Volunteers are crucial to the mission of the Southeastern Synod. Click here to find ways you can serve. Thank you for your generosity!
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Share this E-news with a friend!
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
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