Who: You!

What: Online chat with Bishop Jim Hazelwood

When: March 6, 7-8 p.m.

 

On Thursday, March 6, all are invited to join Bishop Jim Hazelwood for an informal hour-long web chat!

 

Is a little bit of heresy a good thing? Bishop Hazelwood will talk about why doubt, wonder and heresy, among other things we don't understand or agree with, are a part of our faith, and why we should embrace that. That will lead to a wide-ranging discussion that starts with that thought, but will be open to any topic. The web chat will be hosted on the Synod's GoToWebinar account, which allows audience members to submit comments and questions while watching the Bishop talk in real time. If you want to chime in with questions or comments, join the chat!

 

To register for this web chat, click here. Upon registration, you will receive an email with instructions for logging in to the chat. Spots are limited, so group gatherings are encouraged!

Now that annual meeting season has come and gone, and budgets have (hopefully!) been settled, the Synod is requesting annual Mission Support forms from each of its congregations. This crucial information is needed to prepare the New England Synod 2014 budget, and your mission support helps the Synod accomplish a host of initiatives and tasks, from helping future leaders through candidacy, to current pastors in mobility, to the planting and development of new ministries and congregations.

 

The Synod will be working in 2014 to expand and enhance our YouTube page, with more videos including updates from the bishop (like his Christmas message below) and check-ins from our various events. Are you a subscriber to our channel? It's easy, just click here to visit the page, and click on the "Subscribe" button (or you can click on the big old red button to the right!). Subscribers get updates whenever we add a new video to our page, either through email or on their own YouTube profile page (it's your choice!), so you won't miss any of the exciting things we're hoping to do in the coming year. And don't worry, we won't be spamming you with a new video every five minutes. We just want to make sure you don't miss out when we do post something new!

 

Bishop Hazelwood's Christmas message

We're also hoping to transition to YouTube to broadcast the 2014 Synod Assembly, and we can use your help! Become a subscriber today, and you can help us reach our goal of 100 subscribers, which will allow us to use this technology to make the assembly available to anyone with an Internet connection. 

 

It's simple! Just click here to subscribe!

March 15, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Concordia Lutheran Church

40 Pitkin St.

Manchester, CT 06040

 

The New England Lutheran Theological Forum will present "Christian Faith and Witness in the Age of Digital Pluralism," featuring noted preacher and speaker David Lose, on March 15 at Concordia Lutheran Church. 

 

Rev. Dr. Lose will lead a series of talks including looks at why church attendance in North America has fallen, the effects of digital media on our culture, and the future of preaching and worship in an increasingly post-Christian world.

 

Registration is $30 on or before March 1, and $35 after. Registration includes morning coffee and a light lunch. All are welcome

 

To register, download the event flyer by clicking here, and send it to:

Emanuel Lutheran Church

attn. Ellen Anderson

311 Capitol Ave.

Hartford, CT 06106-1410.

Saturday, March 1

St. Andrew Lutheran Church

Charlestown, R.I.

9 a.m.-noon

Join Dr. Bill Barter, the senior pastor at St. Ansgar (Portland, Maine) for a Safe Church training seminar at St. Andrew.

 

The training will be an overview of child abuse and neglect issues. Best practices and models for creating and maintaining a safe church for children will also be the focus of the training. The session involves lecture, interactive activities, a video, and an opportunity for questions and answers. Anyone who needs continuing education hours (counselors, nurses, teachers, etc.) receives a certificate for three hours of continuing education. The training runs approximately three hours. Dr. Barter is a Ph.D. psychologist with a specialization in child abuse and forensics. 

 

Whether you've never gone through the training, or simply need a refresher, this is a good opportunity to make sure your church is up to speed with best practices for working with youth.

 

Invited to attend the session are pastors, lay leaders in children's and youth ministry, preschool staff, council members, preschool board members, and anyone else who works with your church's youth.

 

The training session is free, though participants are asked to help cover the cost of training by putting a small donation in the basket. Those interested in attending are asked to register by emailing standrewRIoffice@gmail.com. Coffee will be served!

 

Over the past few years, thousands of people the world over have welcomed a day-by-day opportunity to fast from carbon as their Lenten discipline. Initiated by the UCC and endorsed by Episcopalians, people of every Christian perspective - and people who are not Christians - have benefited from this opportunity to become more conscious and conscientious in their daily lives. 

 

For hundreds of years, Ash Wednesday (March 5, 2014) marks the beginning of a time when Christians engage in spiritual disciplines involving repentance, fasting, prayer, study and works of love.  Living as we are at a time when our actions - along with the actions of only a few generations - have threatened creation as we know it by the excessive burning of fossil fuel, it is fitting to engage in a spiritual discipline of fasting from carbon.  

If you're a rostered leader, sign up here, and share an invitation with people in your congregation.

2% Discount: What, How, and Why

What: $34,000 saved by ELCA employers throughout the New England Synod

 

Who: You, if you are an ELCA-Primary plan member or eligible spouse.

 

How: All congregations and organizations in our synod will earn a 2% discount on ELCA health premiums for all of 2014 if 65% of the eligible ELCA-Primary plan members and eligible spouses in our synod take the Mayo Clinic Health Assessment Jan. 1-April 30.

 

Why we need you: If you're an ELCA-Primary health plan member, we need you to take the health assessment. As of Feb. 1, 53 New England members have taken the assessment, which means we only need 74 more. You may be the one to push us over the 65% discount threshold and save us all 2% on all 2014 premiums.

 

Take the health assessment by clicking on myPortico.PorticoBenefits.org. 

Caring for God's creation is a basic dimension of stewardship. How has your church been able to save energy, green your church, or educate the parish or community about caring for the environment? Please send stories/photos/videos to Andrew Merritt (amerritt@nesynod.org), to post on the "Go Green" portion of the synod website. And keep up the great work! 

The 2014 New England Synod Assembly will be held Thursday, June 5, through Saturday, June 7, at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass. Our theme for 2014 is "Mission and Worship in the Age of the Spirit."

 

Our keynote speakers are Rev. Dr. Scott Thumma and Rev. Dr. Claudio Carvalhaes. 

 

For more information on this year's assembly, click 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. 

The Synod will host a retreat for all rostered women in ministry and current interns, "The Evolving Role of Women in Church and Society: Legacy, Reality, and Dreams," featuring rich worship, conversation and learning over three days at the St. Edmund's Retreat Center.

Click here to register. The cost is $255 per person for the entire event, which covers two nights in a private room and six meals. For more information, click here to download the flyer.

Update on job listings policy

The Grace Christian Nursery School Board of Directors is seeking an energetic and creative person for the position of Nursery School Director. To meet the needs of this well-established nursery school, the successful candidate must be Massachusetts Department of EEC Director Certified. The director must have the ability to function as a teaching director. The nursery school has vibrant programs for 40 children.

Handbell director needed for a 10-12 member intergenerational choir of three octaves with limited experience in small, growing Lutheran church, Foxborough, MA; September to May position with 26 weeknight rehearsals and 3-4 Sunday recitals; Stipend salary; Office@lcor.org or 508-543-7988.

NESynod.org