At its weekly Saturday evening service on Dec. 14, 2013, the first anniversary of the Newtown, Conn. school shooting, congregants of  First Lutheran Church in East Greenwich, R.I., dedicated 26 quilts - each one made and labeled to honor the life of a Newtown victim. Pastor Linda Forsberg blessed each quilt, and the bell in the church steeple rang as the name of each child and adult was read. 

 

Hanging along both sides of the church, the quilts were the result of a year-long project to memorialize the lives of each victim. The project was the idea of First Lutheran Church Council member Diane Sauer Amaral, a longtime quilter who organized "Quilts from the Heart," a group of 12 church members aged 8 to 74, all but two of whom had never quilted. 

 

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The 2014 New England Synod Assembly will be held Thursday, June 5, through Saturday, June 7, at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass. 

 

We will be announcing and adding information throughout the coming months, but the Assembly now has an online home at our website. You can access the 2014 Synod Assembly page by clicking here. Watch for registration information to appear there (and in other Synod communications) sometime in March.

 

Among the many events and actions planned for the assembly is the election of a series of positions on Synod Council and the Discipline and Consultation Committees. Click on the link above to see a list of all the positions up for election at this year's assembly. 

After a successful communications seminar last year, the Synod once again invites you to join us for a day spent discussing strategies and tips to help congregations better communicate - with their members and with the outside world. Speakers at CommFest 2014 include Pastor Keith Anderson (left, Upper Dublin Lutheran Church, Ambler, Pa.) and Elizabeth Drescher, co-authors of Click 2 Save: The Digital Ministry Bible. 

Click here to register for CommFest! Seating at Trinity is limited, so those wishing to come to Worcester for the event should register soon. 

Holy Trinity, Newington, N.H. - If you'd like to attend in Newington, please email Tim Roser at troser@nesynod.org to inquire about space.

Holy Trinity, Trumbull, Conn. - If you'd like to attend in Trumbull, click here to register.

• The All Right Ministry, which is dedicated to helping congregations be more open and welcoming to those with developmental disabilities and mental illness
• The Creative Living Community of Connecticut, which provides a venue for adults with disabilities to work in a real, productive greenhouse environment
• Churches working with LSS to aid immigrants who are settling into their new American homes

The New England Synod is planning two mission trips to Honduras next year - February 12-19 and April 22-29. Below are brief descriptions of the projects. 

 

For more in-depth information, and to begin the registration process, click here.

 

February 12 - 19, 2014 Omoa, Honduras

Leaders: Ed & Nancy Martin

Estimated Costs: $995 plus airfare (approx $850.00) from Boston to San Pedro Sula

This weeklong trip includes service projects in the communities of Omoa and Chachagualla, which are about 1½ hours from the airport along the North coast of Honduras. Accommodations are in a motel with shared rooms with private baths - similar to a Motel 6 in the US. (Hotel costs are the reason for the higher charge) Breakfast is served at the hotel and typically lunch and dinner are served at the host church. You will be working alongside Hondurans to improve their Health infrastructure.

 

For more information, contact Ed and Nancy Martin at EMartin@FifieldFabrics.com

 

April 22 - 29, 2014 Yuscaran, Honduras

Leader: Pastor Dave Rinas

Estimated Costs: $795 plus airfare (approx. $850.00) from Boston to Tegucigalpa 

After flying in to the Capital we will take a one-hour bus ride to our living quarters which are located on the mountains overlooking the town of Yuscaran. The work in Yuscaran has centered on three projects, and each person finds their own place in one or more of these projects:

1) Construction on the church building through cement and rebar work. We have nearly completed this project.  Other projects will be presented

2) Spontaneous after school children's VBS - crafts, games & singing in the town square.

3) Women's sewing clinic. We have brought sewing machines and provided an opportunity for women (though a few men come) to sew. We leave the machines and they are used in a nearby church as a resource to the community.

 

For more information, contact Pastor David Rinas at prdrinas@yahoo.com.

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