Resources to help you be a more effective church leader. / June 30, 2016
Follow Along With South Dakota Servant Trip
Come along for the ride as 85 teenagers, young adults, and adults from 15 SEPA Synod congregations travel to the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota June 30 through July 11 to work alongside the Lakota people. Rosebud is located in the third poorest county in the nation, and the work we do there makes an incredible impact on the people we serve. Follow along on the trip blog at http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog/sepasynod/1/tpod.html.
Please keep our crew in prayer as they travel and serve. A special Thank You! to all the generous individuals who made this trip a reality! You are all a part of the story...
Pastor Brad Burke with SEPA Servants at a pre-trip gathering.
Support SEPA Young Adults in Global Mission
Ralen Robinson
Did you know that our Synod has two young leaders serving in the ELCA's Young Adults in Global Mission program? Ralen Robinson of Philadelphia has spent this last year volunteering and immersing herself in the culture and religious history of Jerusalem and the West Bank; she will begin seminary at LTSP this fall. Courtney Smith
Courtney Smith
learned about YAGM as youth rep to the 2013 Churchwide Assembly and will head to South Africa in August to work with a church, school or nonprofit.
Last week a flash flood ravaged parts of West Virginia, killing 23 and damaging hundreds of homes. Camp Luther there evacuated 350 people with little time to prepare. You can join Lutheran Disaster Response by praying for those affected and by making a gift at https://community.elca.org/westvirginiaflooding. Double your impact: Gifts will be matched dollar for dollar until the appeal reaches $100,000.
Remember "seekers"? They're not seeking God, or meaning for their lives, in church. Religion News Service reports on new research which shows that Americans aren't looking for worship or God-talk, and are more likely to participate in neighborhood events, community service or sports than worship.
Several recent studies have cited the benefits of living a religious life, including one from the Pew Research Center that said 40 percent of religious U.S. adults say they are "very happy," compared to 29 percent who are less or not religious. Living Lutheran magazine found that a foundation of faith, prayer, community and even singing hymns can make one happy and healthy.
Augsburg Fortress, the publishing house of the ELCA, has adopted a new name: 1517 Media. Beth A. Lewis, president and CEO, said the new "doing business as" identity "expresses our rootedness in the Lutheran reforming movement - ignited by events in the year 1517 - and the gifts this tradition continues to offer to the whole church, society and the individual." 1517 Media continues to publish books and church resources through its AugsburgFortress, Fortress Press and Sparkhouse units. Learn more at http://ministrylink.org/publishing-new-name/.
ELCA Represented at Orthodox Council
The ELCA joined Christians from around the world in offering prayers as the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Christian Church June 20-25. It was attended by 220 Orthodox bishops and archbishops, as well as 70 official advisers. According to the council's website, the last time such a council was convened was 1200 years ago - predating the Reformation by 700 years. The Rev. Donald McCoid, former assistant to the ELCA presiding bishop and executive for ecumenical and inter-religious relations, was invited to represent The Lutheran World Federation at the meeting. Learn more at http://elca.org/News-and-Events/7839.
Augsburg Fortress, the publishing house of the ELCA, has adopted a new name: 1517 Media. Beth A. Lewis, president and CEO, said the new "doing business as" identity "expresses our rootedness in the Lutheran reforming movement - ignited by events in the year 1517 - and the gifts this tradition continues to offer to the whole church, society and the individual." 1517 Media continues to publish books and church resources through its AugsburgFortress, Fortress Press and Sparkhouse units. Learn more at 
Bob Fisher
