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CONNECT WITH
THE BISHOP
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Looking for opportunities to connect with Bishop Hazelwood?
Check out these upcoming events:
September 20-21
Synod Council Meeting,
Worcester MA
September 22
Morning Worship - St. Mark, Glastonbury, CT
Afternoon gathering - St. John,
New Britain, CT
September 24
Conference Meeting - Zion,
Portland, CT;
Evening Pot-luck - Bethel,
Auburn, MA
September 25
Evening Worship and Dinner - First, New Britain, CT
September 28
5 p.m. worship - First,
E. Greenwich, RI
September 29
Installation of Bp. Tracie Bartholomew, NJ Synod,
Princeton, NJ
October 3-8
Conference of Bishops, Itasca, IL
October 13
Morning Worship - St. Matthew,
Avon, CT
October 14-17
Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley, CA
October 18-19
Men's Retreat - Calumet,
Freedom, NH
October 20
Morning Worship - St. Ansgar, Portland, ME
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Editor's Note: This is a supplemental edition of the Bishop's E-Newsletter, which includes some key material that was inadvertently left out of the E-News sent out Wednesday, Sept. 18.
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News and notes from the New England Synod
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 Stewardship Internet Town Forum
Oct. 9, 6:30 p.m.
On Oct. 9, the New England Synod and Immanuel Lutheran Church in Holden, Mass. will present a webinar on stewardship. Immanuel has experienced a high level of giving, and Senior Pastor Dan Wilfrid (above) and Bishop James Hazelwood will examine what has worked so well for the congregation in a small, suburban Central Massachusetts town. This LIVE webinar will include a discussion of Immanuel's philosophy of approaching stewardship as well as practical steps it takes to encourage generosity. Bishop Hazelwood will interview Pastor Wilfrid, and participants are welcome to attend either online or live in person. Reservations are required for either the internet or in person attendance. Space is limited.
The event will be broadcast live from the New England Synod House in Worcester, MA. 15 on-site seats are available by reservation on a first-come, first-serve basis. Reserve your spot by email to receptionist@nesynod.org.
The event can be viewed online through your computer. We are limited to 25 online sites so you must register for a site as well. Please register via email to receptionist@nesynod.org.
The forum will also include a chance for viewers to send in questions and participate with Pastor Wilfrid and Bishop Hazelwood. Registration closes on Oct. 3, or whenever the limit is reached.
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Bishop's Convocation
Oct. 28-30
Holy Family Passionist Retreat Center
West Hartford, Conn.
The theme of this year's Bishop's Convocation is "Missional Transformation." Just what is missional transformation and what does it mean for those of us doing ministry on the ground of the New England Synod? Keynote presenter Alan Roxburgh (above), one of the leading voices and authors on the missional church movement, argues that the "missional church conversation challenges some of the most basic assumptions we have about the nature and purpose of the church." His most recent book is "Missional: Joining God in the Neighborhood."
Come and enter the conversation as we look at those assumptions and what transformation means for us.
The Bishop's Convocation is the annual continuing theological education gathering of the New England Synod, ELCA. It is an opportunity for rostered leaders to gather in fellowship and as a learning community. The event is coordinated by the CTET (Continuing Theological Education Team) and the Synod Worship Team.
This year's Bishop's 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.
To download the full informational brochure, click here.
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The View from Below:
Bonhoeffer and Spirituality
Oct. 17, 2013
Trinity Lutheran Church, Vernon CT.
Time: 9 a.m. gathering, 9:30 start time. Program ends by 2 p.m.
Cost: $25 for the event, this includes lunch.
 The New England Lutheran Theological Forum invites you into a conversation on Bonhoeffer and spirituality as we host The Rev. Dr. Lisa Dahill. This day of reflection and table talk with the Rev. Dr. Dahill will attend to three themes present in the Letters and Papers:
1. World Come of Age: Without the working hypothesis of God.
2. Ecological Crisis: The View from (Way) Below
3. Out of the Box: Religionless Christianity
Click here for a brochure and the registration form.
An October 2012 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life revealed that fully 20 percent of Americans note their religious preference as "none." That number jumps even higher among younger people: a full one-third of adults under 30. Bonhoeffer became convinced that the church needed new ways to speak of God that would make sense to these thoughtful, moral people. Listening deeply to those who live "without the working hypothesis of God" also frees us to recognize that the God that is thought to control all reality was an illusion all along. The Christian God isn't almighty in the magical sense and never was. Christians living with lives opened up to the world, in prison gardens and at deathbeds, in wetlands restoration and after-school arts programs and (with Bonhoeffer) organized difficult political resistance to evil.
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