Calling All ELCA-Primary Health Plan Members
43 More Needed to Earn the 2% Health Contribution Discount
 As of the end of February, 40.57% of the eligible ELCA-Primary health plan members and spouses in our synod completed the confidential Mayo Clinic health assessment. Thank you to those who have already done their part!
But we still need 43 more people to take the health assessment to reach 65% participation and earn a 2% discount on all of this year's ELCA health contributions for synod employers. ELCA-Primary health plan members and spouses: Complete the assessment by April 30 to take stock of your health, earn $150 in wellness dollars, and get us that much closer to saving 2% this year.
If your spouse has ELCA-Primary health benefits and completes the Mayo Clinic health assessment, too, you'll receive another $150 wellness dollars and will help us earn our synod-wide 2% discount on health contributions.
New this year: To take the Mayo Clinic health assessment, access Mayo Clinic Healthy Living online directly through myPortico - no separate Mayo Clinic ID and password necessary. Go to PorticoBenefits.org/HealthyLiving for details.
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Ecofeminism and faith:
A weekend with Dr. Rosemary Radford Ruether
 April 10-12
St. Ansgar Lutheran Church
515 Woodford St., Portland, Maine
What is ecofeminism? Find out April 10-12 when St. Ansgar Lutheran Church in Portland welcomes
Dr. Rosemary Radford Ruether, world-renowned activist, feminist theologian, and international lecturer. A prolific author, she is also currently teaching at Claremont School of Theology in Claremont, Calif.
The centerpiece of the weekend will be a presentation by Dr. Ruether, followed by Q&A with the audience. The presentation will be followed by lunch, then a panel conversation about Mainers engaging in a range of ecological efforts, including solar energy, sustainable living, and climate change in Maine.
Among the panelists: Rev. Dr. Susan E. Davies, feminist theologian, activist and former Academic Dean and professor at Bangor Theological Seminary; David Littell, Commissioner of the Maine Public Utilities Commission and former Commissioner of Maine's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP); Ray Sirois, IT Director at Wright Pierce Engineering and one of 3,000 presenters trained by Al Gore's Climate Project.
Rev. Susan Gilpin, a sustainable living course instructor at OLLI (the Senior College at USM), and Dr. Debra McDonough, an associate lecturer in biology at the University of New England will facilitate.
Schedule: Friday, April 10 at 7 p.m. - Disruption: Film screening, followed by a discussion facilitated by Anne D. Burt, Consultant for Maine Council of Churches' Environmental Justice Program; Saturday, April 11 at 10 a.m.-2 p.m. - Presentation by (and Q&A with) Dr. Rosemary Radford Ruether, followed by complimentary lunch, then panel discussion. (Dr. Ruether will be signing books after the event.); Sunday, April 12 at 10 a.m. - Worship with Dr. Rosemary Radford Ruether, guest preacher
Where: St. Ansgar Lutheran Church, 515 Woodford Street, Portland (corner of Woodford Street and Brighton Avenue)
All events, including lunch, are free of charge. For a complete schedule or list of speakers, call 774-8740, ext. 4, email rrr@saintansgar.org, or go to www.saintansgar.org. RSVP to rrr@saintansgar.org or 774-8740, ext, 4. (RSVP appreciated but not required.)
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Water in the Wilderness: An Overnight Retreat
for Rostered Leaders - registration extended
March 16-17, 2015
Rostered leaders, join us for a Lenten timeout in companionship with colleagues. We will use Ignatian meditation for scripture reflection; no experience in Ignatian Exercises necessary for participants. Our focus is simply on prayer, rest, refreshment. Time for intentional prayer and quiet are balanced with open time for conversation, walking, or relaxing in the beautiful houses and grounds of the Holy Family Passionist Retreat Center. This retreat is sponsored by the synod's Continuing Theological Education Team.
Date: Monday, March 16, 2 p.m.-Tuesday, March 17, 1 p.m.
Cost: $150 per person for overnight accommodation and meals; $100 for commuters.
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New England WELCA Spring Gatherings
NH/Northeast Mass.: April 25, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Holy Trinity, Newington, N.H.
Maine: May 9, Grace, Auburn, Maine
Greater New Haven/Southern CT: April 11, Good Shepherd, Monroe, Conn.
Greater Hartford/Central/Eastern CT: May 2, Christ the King, Windsor, Conn.
Naugatuck Valley: May 16, Immanuel, Oxford, Conn.
Southeastern Mass./Rhode Island: May 9, St. Matthew Trinity, Pawtucket, R.I.
Vermont: TBD
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2015 New England Synod Assembly
The 2015 New England Synod Assembly is scheduled for June 5-6, 2015, at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass., and registration for the assembly itself as well as preferred lodging at the nearby Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel is now open!
HOW TO REGISTER FOR THE ASSEMBLY
All active and retired rostered leaders must register as voting members. Rostered leaders on leave from call may register as non-voters. Please complete all required fields on the registration form (marked with an *). If you do not know the name of your conference, please check with your pastor or congregational secretary.
IF PAYING BY CHECK: After completing your registration form, please print a copy and mail it to New England Synod, P.O. Box 13, Worcester, MA 01614-0013. Please include the number of the check accompanying your registration, or ask your congregational treasurer to include that number on each form if multiple forms are mailed together.
VOTING MEMBERS selected by your congregation or rostered leaders, Click here to register as a voting member
NON-VOTING VISITOR attending by your own volition or assisting with the event, click here to register as a non-voting visitor
*If you are a Keynote Presenter or ELCA Representative, Ecumenical Partner, Assembly Staff (office, musicians, AV), Volunteer for display table or workshop, Anniversary Honoree, Guest of Anniversary Honoree, School of Lay Ministry Graduate, or Guest of Graduate please register on the NON-VOTING VISITOR page under the appropriate heading.
Cancellations requested by May 1, 2015, can receive a full refund.
LODGING REGISTRATION
Lodging reservation must be made separately using the link below. A block of rooms for the New England Synod has been reserved at the Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel. The deadline for hotel reservations is May 7, 2015. Be sure to pre-arrange your roommate and send in only one reservation form per room. Parking at the Sheraton is an additional $10 per day. Check in time is 3 p.m. Luggage may be safely stored by the hotel, if necessary.
To register at the Sheraton, click here!
Elections at the 2015 Synod Assembly
At our June 2015 Synod Assembly, we will be electing our voting members for the 2016 Churchwide Assembly, which is to be held Aug. 8-13, 2016, in New Orleans, La.
Pre-Assembly nominations are now closed for the positions to be elected at this year's Synod Assembly. Candidates can still be nominated from the floor at the Assembly. Floor nominations will be open from 8:30 a.m. (the start of registration) until 11 a.m. on Friday, June 5. For more information, go to the Synod Assembly page and scroll down to "2015 Synod Assembly Elections."
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Post-Easter Retreat for Retired Rostered Leaders and Spouses
Camp Calumet
Freedom, N.H.
April 7-9
 The New England Synod's annual Post-Easter Retreat for Retired Rostered Leaders and Spouses, which is also open to widows and widowers of rostered leaders, will be held at Calumet April 7-9. This event will begin with lunch on Tuesday, April 7, and end with lunch on Thursday, April 9. It also includes breakfast, lunch and dinners between, and overnight lodging for two nights. Cost is $140 per person. Pastor Ron Jackson and Pastor Dan Carlson and his wife, Faith, will host this casual gathering. Please contact Barbara Lamson at the synod office via email or at (508) 791-1530, to reserve your space.
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Reimagining Sunday School - a Calumet retreat
 May 15-17, 2015
Camp Calumet, Freedom, N.H.
Are you daring to reconsider or reformat your Sunday School program? Are your once filled classrooms down to a handful of children?
Come to Calumet and wonder ... dream ... imagine ... what Christian Education could look like in your local congregation. This three-day retreat will include opportunities for discussion in rethinking and reimagining Sunday School. You will hear from local folks in the New England Synod who have taken the leap to try new methods and models for Faith Formation, and have discussions based on the study guide written by Pastor Robert C. Blezard, assistant to the bishop of the Lower Susquehanna Synod, as found in the September 2014 issue of The Lutheran.
COST: 2 nights and 5 meals ~ $162 per person; 1 night and 3 meals ~ $86 per person
Contact Alice for more information or to make your reservation by calling (603) 539-3223, EXT. 220, or emailing alice@calumet.org.
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"Welcome One Another" Fellowship Retreat 2015
 May 1-3, 2015
The Walker Center, 144 Hancock St., Auburndale, Mass.
The Synod Team for LGBT Inclusion extends an open invitation to all members and friends of the Synod to the 2015 "Welcome One Another Retreat." The retreat will include worship, fellowship, meals, small group reflection, and large group plenary as participants learn more about the "B" in LGBT: bisexuality. For more information, please contact Pastor Nathan Pipho at 617-328-8348 or by email at PastorPipho@aol.com
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2015 New England Synod Honduras Mission Trip  ***Reduced Registration Fee***
April 20 - 28, 2015 Yuscaran, Honduras
Leader: Pastor Dave Rinas
Estimated Costs: $745* plus airfare (approx. $850) from Boston to Tegucigalpa.
With the trip to Yuscaran just around the corner, a generous grant of $1,000 allows us to reduce the registration fee from $795 to $745 for the first 20 participants. This also allows us to send more money for the construction of the church in Yuscaran for this year's 10th anniversary celebration of our partnership there. Others who might not be able to go on the trip may also send money to complete the edifice, which completion is only about $12,000 away. For more information on the trip, see www.sdumas.net, or contact Pastor Dave Rinas at prdrinas@yahoo.com, or call (978) 256-6300.
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Job listings policy
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.
Additionally, job listings are now hosted on the Synod website's new job board.
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