The New England Synod is pleased to announce the upcoming ordinations of two new Pastors who have been called to ministry in the region.

Jeffrey Johnson, left, and Douglas Barclay are set to be ordained in August, and have been called to ministry in New England.

Jeffrey Craig Johnson has been called to serve First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brockton, Mass. A native of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., Johnson holds a bachelor's degree from Florida State University, a master's degree from Westminster Choir College, and his master's of divinity from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary. Johnson will be ordained on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015, at 7 p.m., at Messiah Lutheran Church in Panama City, Fla. The Reverend Robert Schaefer, Bishop of the Florida-Bahamas Synod, will preside.

Douglas David Barclay is a native of Williamsport, Conn., who has been called to serve Concordia Lutheran Church in Manchester, Conn. Barclay holds a bachelor's in music from Lycoming College, a graduate certificate in liturgy from Washington Theological Union, and a master's of divinity from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. He will be ordained on Friday, Aug. 28, at 7 p.m. at Christ Lutheran Church in Baltimore, Md. Bishop James Hazelwood and the rev Susan Tjornehoj will preside, and the Rev. Dr. John Sabatelli will preach.

The color of the day for both ordinations is red, and all are welcome at each ceremony.

Synod Companion Trip to Jordan and the Holy Land

Dec. 29-Jan. 14

Registration Deadline: Sept. 1

Later this year, the New England Synod will reaffirm its partnership with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land with a two-week companion trip to the Middle East.

The trip is planned for Dec. 29, 2015-Jan. 14, 2016. The all-inclusive cost is $3,700.

How is the trip planning going?

Pastor Tim Keyl is consulting with ELCA colleagues and Palestinian contacts to map out an itinerary. We will have a guide for most of our trip and a chartered bus. We will stay in Lutheran or Christian Guesthouses, based on double occupancy (you can pick a roommate or Pastor Keyl can pick one for you). If you request a single, the cost will be slightly higher.

What does the $3,700 cost cover?

The costs covers lodging with breakfast, and the total cost includes round-trip airfare from Newark Airport, dinners, room, tips, and all other fees. Any additional costs will be for lunch, and flight from a different originating airport. Once we book the flights, Pastor Keyl will provide information about travel insurance, which will incur additional cost. For previous trips, Pastor Keyl made arrangements for most in the group to travel by van or train from his church, Bethesda - New Haven, Conn., and will be glad to do that this time.

The only documentation you will need to bring on the trip is a current passport. Please provide Pastor Keyl with the name that is on your passport, the passport number, your mailing address, and phone number(s).

An initial $500 down payment (check payable to the New England Synod, memo "2015/16 Companion Synod Trip") is due by Sept. 1. Two additional payments of $1,700 are due Oct. 1, Oct. 15 and Dec. 1 to the same address with the same memo. Send to New England Synod, P.O. Box 13, Worcester, MA 01614-0013

To learn more about our Holy Land partnerships, see www.elca.org/peacenotwalls and www.elcjhl.org.

ELCJHL Bishop Younan in Connecticut Friday

July 24, 7 p.m.

St. John's Lutheran Church

844 Newfield Ave.

Stamford, Conn.

Bishop Munib Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land is coming to speak in New England, and you are invited!

At 7 p.m. on Friday, July 24, Bishop Younan will speak at a public forum to be held at St. John's Lutheran Church (844 Newfield Ave., Stamford, Conn.). To attend, please call the church at(203) 322-0066 to RSVP. 

Earlier that day, Bishop Younan will gather with clergy from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Emanuel Lutheran Church (60 Church Street, Manchester, Conn.). Clergy who would like to attend should contact Rev. Duane Peterson.

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Munib A. Younan was consecrated as bishop - the third Palestinian to hold the office - on January 5, 1998, at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem in the presence of religious and political leaders from many nations. He was educated in Palestine and Finland and has been active in numerous faith organizations since his ordination in 1976, such as the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Fellowship of the Middle East Evangelical Churches (FMEEC). The bishop was the first to translate the Augsburg Confession into Arabic. He is an active member of various ecumenical and interfaith dialogue initiatives in Jerusalem that he helped found.

In July 2010, he was elected president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), a global communion of Christian churches with 145 member churches in 79 countries representing more than 70 million Christians. He is a recent past president of FMEEC and provides leadership for the ecumenical Patriarchs and Heads of Local Christian Churches in Jerusalem group as well as for the Council of Religious Institutions in the Holy Land (CRIHL), comprised of leaders of Jerusalem's Jewish, Muslim and Christian communities.

The New England Synod is now seeking candidates for the newly created position of Associate to the Bishop for Generosity.

The position was created as part of the synod's participation in a three-year pilot experiment in the areas of mission development and mission support. The new position was created in tandem with the position of Associate to the Bishop for Mission, to which Ms. Kim Bergstrand was appointed earlier this month. She will begin officially on Aug. 1.

The Associate to the Bishop for Generosity will have primary responsibilities for cultivating thanksgiving and generosity in our synod by assisting congregations in their stewardship practices, working with the Macedonia Generosity Team, leading efforts in a newly-designed Mission Support partnership, and working in the area of development. A complete position description is available at this link (click here). This position is now open, and we are accepting applications. The deadline to apply is August 15, 2015, or until the position is filled, and is open to either rostered leaders or lay persons.

The position is part-time (25-30 hours per week), and comes with a full benefit package. The design is similar to the approach taken by other synods, who have divided the responsibilities in these two areas of mission and stewardship. This is a restructuring of what has been known as the D.E.M. or Director for Evangelical Mission.

Southwestern Texas Synod, ELCA

The Southwestern Texas Synod, based in Seguin, Texas, is seeking a new treasurer. The volunteer position, open to clergy or lay persons, is accountable for the management of monies and all financial accounts of the synod in close collaboration with the synod bookkeeper. The Treasurer is responsible for the oversight and arrangement for the proper recording of all financial transactions of the synod to ensure proper handling according to both synod requirements and generally accepted accounting principles. The Treasurer shall be appointed by the Synod Council for a term of four years and may be reappointed. For a full position description and information on how to apply, click here.

Family Promise of Greater Concord

Family Promise of Greater Concord (FPGC) is looking for a passionate, energetic and caring leader to become its Executive Director (ED). Family Promise is a faith-based organization committed to ending homelessness for families with children, one family at a time. The Executive Director will work closely with faith-based congregations throughout Greater Concord, a dedicated and active board of directors, as well as local business and community leaders. Successful candidates must be confident asking anybody for anything that will support the mission of FPGC. You must have outstanding sales ability and superior written and verbal communication skills. Strong candidates will have previous experience managing and maintaining financial activities, raising money, developing programs, managing grants, and providing leadership to support staff, committees, volunteers and board members. You must also be adept with basic office technology and software. The ideal candidate will possess: