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Season of Pentecost
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August 21, 2013
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ELCA Churchwide Assembly 2013
Fifteen voting members from the New England Synod (pictured above), along with some 935 others from around the country, gathered in Pittsburgh, Pa., for the six-day 2013 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, held Aug. 12-17.
 The assembly made good on its theme, "Always being made new," as it celebrated the 25th anniversary of the ELCA, and also marked a historic moment in the life of the church when the Rev. Elizabeth Eaton (right) was elected the first female presiding bishop since the ELCA was formed in 1988.
Eaton has served as bishop of the Northeastern Ohio Synod since 2006, after serving 15 years as pastor of 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. Eaton is slated to be installed on Oct. 5 in Chicago.
For more on Eaton's election, click here.
You can also see video updates from the first three days at Churchwide by clicking below!
Day 2:
Day 3:
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 September 6-8 Registration is still 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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'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 on the retreat center, 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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2014 Synod Assembly - Change of Date
The dates for the 2014 Synod Assembly have changed. Synod Assembly 2014 now will be held from Thursday, June 5, through Saturday, June 7.
The reason for the change is that Sunday, June 8, is Pentecost, a day when many pastors and laypersons will want to be in their home congregations to celebrate this major festival of the church year.
Please mark the new dates of June 5-7, 2014, on your calendars. The location will remain as planned, MassMutual Center, Springfield, Mass.
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 Ordination of Timothy Ness
Timothy Ness, a native of Torrington, Conn., will be ordained Sept. 8 at 5 p.m. at St. Paul's in Torrington, where he is a member.
Ness, a graduate of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, as well as Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa., has been called to serve at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Clifton Heights, Pa.
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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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Director of Youth and Family Ministries - St. John's, Springfield, Ill.
St. John's Lutheran Church is seeking a full-time Director of Youth and Family Ministries who provides leadership, vision, and support in developing programming to help youth, 7th grade through college age. This position requires a faith-filled, enthusiastic, nurturing, caring individual with excellent relational skills, a passion for sharing the story of Jesus' love and, a strong ability to recruit, train, and equip others in the congregation to join in ministry both to and with youth and their families. For more information and to view the complete job description, please visit the St. John's website and click on "Resources" and then click on "Jobs at St. John's."
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