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SEPANews Update / September 16, 2014
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Best practices:
A Growing Approach to Food Insecurity
 From the seeds that planted a garden to help a local food pantry, Lutheran Church of the Resurrection (LCR) in Yardley is nurturing an ever-widening circle of ministry to people experiencing food insecurity. Volunteers planted a "Resurrection Garden" three years ago to support local food pantries and LCR's monthly shared meals for persons in need. The 50-by-50-foot garden is small but in recent weeks volunteers have picked, packed and delivered as much as 300 pounds of fresh produce per week.
Growing interest in hunger issues has led LCR to join forces with God's Love, Newtown and a local Episcopal parish to form a Food Insecurity Alliance. Its first project will be to support a food backpack program for local children run by St. Mary Hospital in Langhorne. "We are convinced we should be partnering with other non-profits and building bridges, rather than reinventing the wheel," says Diane Casey, LCR's coordinator of serving hearts ministries.
Learn more at http://ministrylink.org/article/a-growing-approach-to-food-insecurity/
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Bishop Eaton on "Divine Foolishness" of the Cross
"I wonder, sometimes, if the church is a little embarrassed by the foolishness of the cross," ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton writes in her September column in The Lutheran. "The foolishness is not just that the brutal and humiliating crucifixion of Jesus is actually the way God's love was manifested, but that God's love is so complete. This is the overwhelming simplicity of God. God loves us completely. There is no way or any need to dress that up. It just is." Read or download her full column.
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Stewardship for Mission-Minded Congregations
Our Synod Stewardship Resource Team will present free workshops, "Building Stewards for Mission-Minded Congregations."
- Monday, October 6; 7-9 p.m.; at St. James, Limerick
- Sunday, October 12; 2:30 - 4:30 p.m. at the Lutheran Theological Seminary
- Tuesday, October 28, 7-9 p.m. at St. Paul's, Doylestown
These workshops are aimed at clergy and lay leaders. The Rev. Robert Linders, Sr. Pastor at St. Paul's, Doylestown will be the keynote speaker and workshops include "Faith and Finances Go Together;" "Healthy Congregations/Healthy Families: Being Good Stewards of God's Gifts" and "Five Smooth Stones: Asset-based Stewards". For more information visit our website.
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Learn How Mwangaza Makes a Difference
 Tanzania faces a dire education process. The Mwangaza Partnership trains secondary teachers to engage students in their lessons, so school becomes more meaningful and genuine learning happens. You are invited to meet Mwangaza leaders John and Salome to learn how the organization supports the people of Tanzania ' and how you can help! They will be at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, King of Prussia, on Oct. 15, with dinner and presentation at 6 pm. For info or to RSVP by Oct. 8 contact Joanne Carlson at 267.323.3759 or email David Neale at neale.home@gmail.com. Download more information at http://ministrylink.org/article/learn-how-mwangaza-makes-a-difference/
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Oktoberfest Supports Disaster Response
 Join Lutheran Congregational Services on Saturday, September 20, 12pm-6pm for the 6th annual Oktoberfest celebration to benefit its Lutheran Disaster Response program. Oktoberfest is hosted by St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 120 N. Easton Road, Glenside, PA. The festive event features delicious German food, craft beers, music, children's activities and a silent auction. Tickets are $25 for adults. For more details and to purchase tickets go to www.stpaulsglenside.org or contact Pastor Jennifer Ollikainen, Executive Director of LCS. - See more at: http://ministrylink.org/article/oktoberfest-supports-disaster-response/
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Are You Ready for Reformation 2017?
 Check out ideas, links and resources from our Synod's Reformation at 500 Committee at http://ministrylink.org/ministries/teams/luther2017/
"Why are we so vexed by thoughts, seeing that the future is not in our power for one moment? Let us, then, be satisfied with the present and commit ourselves to the hand of God, who alone knows and controls the past and the future."
- Martin Luther (W 20, 121. SL 5, 1487)
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Take a Virtual Journey to Zimbabwe, Zambia and Tanzania this Fall!
 Take a virtual journey to Zimbabwe, Zambia and Tanzania this fall! Come along with six ELCA travelers Sept. 25-Oct. 10 to learn about exciting new Global Ministries that are priorities of Always Being Made New: The Campaign for the ELCA. Sign up to receive blog stories and photos through "Stories of the Global Church" at http://www.elca.org/News-and-Events/blogs/handInHand/.
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Job Listings on MinistryLink.org
 MinistryLink.org provides, as a free service, listings of employment opportunities provided by SEPA congregations and ministry partners. Listings remain live for two months from initial posting, unless the position has an application close date sooner than that, and then are removed from our system. If you would like your posting to run longer, please contact Cynta Coutterbridge at coutterbridge [at] sepa [dot] org to request an extension. For information about posting jobs visit http://ministrylink.org/equipping/job-listings/
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In Brief...
Thrivent Sponsors Shredding Event
Thrivent Financial will hold its annual shredding event Saturday, Sept. 27, 9:30 am-12:30 pm at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, 7301 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia 19119. Suggested limit is two boxes per person. You are asked to bring a donation of non-perishable food items to benefit the Seminary Food Pantry. For information contact Jon Roth, Financial Consultant, at 610.321.2665. Learn more at: http://ministrylink.org/article/thrivent-sponsors-shredding-event
LCS Offers Marriage Preparedness
Lutheran Congregational Services offers a 6 hour Marriage Preparedness Series for engaged couples. This skills-based series centers on communication, conflict, values, finances, intimacy and spirituality. Cost per couple is $60 ($80 for full day series which includes lunch.) Register at www.lutherancongregationalservices.org, under the "education" tab. Questions, contact Pr. Jennifer Ollikainen at jollikainen@libertylutheran.org or 610.425.2981.
Programs are held:
- Sundays, September 14 and 21, 2:00-5:00 p.m. at St. James, Pottstown.
- Saturday, October 11, 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at St. Paul's, Doylestown.
- Saturday, October 25, 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at Trinity, Lansdale.
- Sundays, March 15 and 22 (snow date March 29), 2015, 2-5:00 p.m. at Grace, Royersford.
- Saturday, June 20, 2015, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Reformation, Media.
- Saturday, September 26, 2015, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Emmaunel, Pottstown
Learn more at: http://ministrylink.org/article/lcs-offers-marriage-preparedness/
Making Mutual Ministry Work
In October 2014, Pastor Sue Lang, of RevWriter Resources, LLC, one of the co-authors of Pastor and People: Making Mutual Ministry Work (Augsburg Fortress, 2003), will offer a day-long workshop guiding participants through an exploration of mutual ministry and its exciting ministry possibilities for your congregation. It will be held on Saturday, October 4, 2014 9: 30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. at New Hanover Lutheran Church, 2941 Lutheran Road, Gilbertsville, PA 19525. Learn more at http://ministrylink.org/article/mutual-ministry-seminar/
Global Plunge for Young Adults
Do you know a young adult (ages 18-20) ready to deepen their spirituality and experience the global church? A "team of young adults from the US and Canada will take the "Global Plunge" May 27 to June 8, 2015. They will live in community in Geneva, Switzerland with Lutherans from another country, discovering how Lutherans work together through the Lutheran World Foundation and partner with other denominations. Participants will then experience a week in the Taizé Community, an ecumenical monastic order in Taizé, Saône-et-Loire in Burgundy, France. Full details at http://ministrylink.org/article/global-plunge/
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- Family Systems Training - Sept. 22
- 34th Anniversary UTI Lecture & Celebration - Sept. 23
- Making Mutual Ministry Work - Oct. 4
- Bishop's Convocation - Nov. 12-14
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Get Your Info in MinistryLink
If you have information you'd like us to consider publishing, please send it to sepanews@sepa.org at least 4 weeks in advance of when you would like it to appear.
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THANK YOU
for taking the time to read this edition of MinistryLink. We hope you find this electronic newsletter a valuable resource in our shared ministry. If you know of anyone who could benefit from the information in this newsletter, please forward it to them using the link below and encourage them to sign up to receive MinistryLink directly.
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Bob Fisher
Assistant to the Bishop,
Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod ELCA
rfisher@sepa.org
267.323.3743
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Cynta Outterbridge
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"Activated by the Holy Spirit, we equip the saints and congregations for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ."
- Synod Purpose Statement
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Keep In Touch With SEPA
Help your congregation's leaders keep up with the latest news, equipping resources and youth information from the Synod.
Please encourage all of your council members and key leaders to sign up to receive emails from the Synod in one of these ways:
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