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Season of Pentecost
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August 15, 2013
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 Rev. Elizabeth Eaton elected new presiding bishop of the ELCA
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America made history today, electing the first woman bishop in its 25-year history.
The Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, bishop of the Northeastern Ohio Synod, was elected at the ELCA's Churchwide Assembly, held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pa. Rev. Eaton was first elected Northeast Ohio's bishop in 2006, having spent 15 years as the pastor at Messiah Lutheran church in Ashtabula, Ohio.
Eaton won election to the office of presiding bishop on the fifth and final ballot, earning 600 of the 889 votes cast. The Rev. Mark Hanson, who has served as the ELCA's presiding bishop for the last 12 years, received 287 votes. The election came at the end of three days of voting, starting with the first ballot on Monday, Aug. 12.
For more, click here.
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The New England Synod
at Churchwide Assembly
The synod has sent 15 voting members to this year's Churchwide Assembly (Aug. 12-17, Pittsburgh, Pa.), which celebrates the 25th anniversary of the ELCA. Throughout the assembly, we will be checking in on Twitter, Facebook, and at the Synod website to let everyone back home know how things are going, including daily updates and video interviews with synod staff and our voting members. Is there someone you'd like us to interview? Email Communications Director Andy Merritt to let us know!
You can see videos from our first three days at Churchwide by clicking below!
Day 2:
Day 3:
On Twitter, you can join in the discussion with us using the hashtag #NESatCWA. Let us know what you think about what's going on! |
 September 6-8 Registration is now open!
What is Hammonasset? From the website: Hammonasset is also the premier - ok, only - annual gathering of youth throughout the New England Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). More than three decades ago a small group of Lutheran churches in Connecticut decided to get together for a youth camping weekend. They repeated the campout in subsequent years, adding people and activities. From this modest beginning, the event we call Hammonasset has grown to include more than 60 church youth groups from all six New England states. Since that first gathering, the event has grown to include 800+ attendees, nationally-known speakers, great live bands, small group Bible study, and inspirational worship. Speakers and bands frequently comment that "no other synod does anything like Hammonasset." Well, shucks ... we try.
Hammonasset For Families
Experience the Annual New England Synod Hammonasset event with your family!
Sept. 6-8
- Camping for all families with children 6th grade and younger.
- Great Music and Worship.
- Fun activities for the kids provided by the staff from Camp Calumet.
- $30 per person. $90 max for a family of four or more.
Click here for registration and more information.
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Family Systems Day II
Sept. 27
For Parish Pastors. Dr. Carol Jeunnette will again be our resource person for this one-day event for clergy desiring to explore the Family Systems Thinking approach to leadership founded by Edwin Friedman. While this is a follow-up for the first group from last winter's first event, new participants are also welcome.
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'How men think about God, Sex and money'
 Calumet Men's Retreat
Oct. 18-20
Yes, that is the title of the Calumet Men's retreat. Bishop Jim Hazelwood is the retreat leader, and his three talks "For Men Only" will wrestle with the unique ways men approach these subjects. He'll use studies from as disparate fields as depth psychology, philosophy and recent win-loss percentages of left-handed pitching in Major League Baseball.
"I'm weaving together a spirituality of male intimacy in this retreat," Bishop Hazelwood says. "I think men in our culture have inherited some unhelpful perspectives on money, sex & God. While I'm not aiming to overturn a thousand years of thinking, I do think that we can explore and surface some of these unhelpful world views. As is usual for my approach to such matters, we'll use zaniness, humor and playfulness while also integrating Biblical stories. Even if nothing new emerges, we'll have a good time."
In case you haven't figured it out, Bishop Hazelwood believes in a Spirituality of Fun. Men can register for this retreat at Camp Calumet by contacting betsy@calumet.org.
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Bishop's Convocation
Oct. 28-30
Holy Family Passionist Retreat Center
West Hartford, Conn.
Hard to believe, but the fall Bishop's Convocation is right around the corner. The Synod will make an announcement regarding registration for Convocation in the coming weeks, but now's a good time to put it on your calendar.
Convocation will be held at Holy Family Retreat Center, which has two large meeting rooms, two classrooms, two dining rooms, 164 single bedrooms and four suites. Situated on 48 acres in Connecticut, the facility serves some 19,000 people each year, with a wide variety of services and retreats. For more information, click here.
Keynote Speaker: Alan Roxburgh
 Alan Roxburgh is a pastor, teacher, writer and consultant with more than 30 years experience in church leadership, consulting and seminary education. Alan has pastored congregations in a small town, the suburbs, the re-development of a downtown urban church and the planting of other congregations. He has directed an urban training center and served as a seminary professor and the director of a center for mission and evangelism. Alan teaches as an adjunct professor in seminaries in the USA, Australia and Europe. Through The Missional Network, Alan leads conferences, seminars and consultations with denominations, congregations and seminaries across North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the UK. Alan consults with these groups in the areas of leadership for missional transformation and innovating missional change across denominational systems. Along with the team at TMN, he provides practical tools and resources for leaders of church systems and local congregations.
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Celebrate Global Church Sunday
This fall, ELCA congregations and ministries are invited to pick a day to celebrate our connections and common mission in Christ's global church. For worship, educational, communication, ecumenical, global, and fellowship resources, the ELCA invites people to visit www.ELCA.org/GlobalChurchSunday or to view and "share" www.Facebook.com/GlobalLinks.
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NE Synod Assembly 2013 Highlights
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Assembly DVD
DVDs of the 2013 Synod Assembly are now available for purchase. The DVDs include Bishop Hazelwood's report and Sunday sermon, as well as the discussion with the "nones." To purchase a DVD, send a check for $12, payable to the New England Synod, to the address below.
Andrew Merritt
New England Synod
20 Upland Street
Worcester, MA 01607
For more information, contact Communications Director Andy Merritt at amerritt@nesynod.org or 508-333-1761. |
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Summer Hours
The New England Synod office will operate under summer hours from Independence Day (July 4) through Labor Day (Sept. 2). During that stretch, the Synod House will be open from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. each weekday.
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Update on job listings policy
Due to the (welcomed) increase in employment opportunities sent in for synod-wide communication, we have updated our policy for NES News listings. Job postings will run for two weeks in the synod's weekly NES News and/or Bishop's E-News, and then will be removed to make space for new listings. The listings will also be edited, so we urge you to submit them as 2-3 sentence listings with a contact if job seekers seek further information. Readers are encouraged to retain weekly emails if they wish to reference the job listings past their two-week publication period.
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