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| Lenten Blessings | February 18, 2016 |
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The 2016 Plan for Mission Support is now available in a fillable PDF
Please submit your plan as soon as possible.
Click here for a fillable PDF of the 2016 Plan for Mission Support
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2016 Rostered Leader and Congregational Reports
Due February 15, 2016
- Parochial Reports Forms A & C for congregations are also due. Please make every effort to work with your leadership to complete the report and submit it by the date requested. You should have received information, including your congregation's ID number and password, from the Churchwide Offices of the ELCA. If you have not, please contact the Sacramento Office of the Bishop at info@spselca.org for assistance. You and your leadership can complete this report at: https://webapps.elca.org/FormAAndC/Login.aspx
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A message from the Synod Assembly Planning Team
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Dear (Contact First Name),
 Don't Miss This!
ELCA Presiding Bishop, Elizabeth Eaton, is coming to the Sierra Pacific Synod Assembly as our guest and Keynote speaker. It has been many years since an ELCA Presiding Bishop has been at a Sierra Pacific Assembly. The Assembly is June 3 - 5 (Friday - Sunday) at the Grand Sierra Resort Hotel in Reno, NV. The assembly planning team is focusing on an assembly agenda that provides numerous opportunities to hear from Bishop Eaton and to celebrate mission and ministry as "church together". Please watch for more details of how you can shape the conversation with Bishop Eaton during the assembly.
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 SYNOD ASSEMBLYJune 3 - 5, 2016
Grand Sierra Resort, Reno
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Applications for Workshop Proposals and Display Space now available
Please click here if you are interested in submitting a workshop proposal application for Synod Assembly
Please click here if you are interested in submitting a request for display space for Synod Assembly
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Former ELCA Youth Gathering Program Director Receives Tom Hunstad Award
CHICAGO (ELCA) - Heidi Hagstrom, former program director of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Youth Gathering, was presented with the Tom Hunstad Award for Excellence in Children, Youth and Family Ministry during the ELCA Youth Ministry Network Extravaganza held Feb. 4-8 in Anaheim, Calif. The annual event provides spiritual renewal, continuing education and networking opportunities for adult leaders who work in youth ministry at ELCA congregations and in other areas of the church. Six hundred and eighty leaders attended this year's Extravaganza.
Hagstrom, who currently serves as vicar of Fields of Grace Lutheran Parish in southwest Minnesota, was program director of the ELCA Youth Gathering from 1997 to 2015.
The gathering is a triennial event that brings together more than 35,000 high-school age Lutherans from across the country and overseas for faith formation, worship, fellowship and service.
"The ELCA Youth Gathering looked very different in 2015 than it looked when Heidi started," said Erik Ullestad, chairperson of the ELCA Youth Ministry Network board, in a network news release. "This is a testament to her adaptability, her vision, and her willingness to listen. Heidi did the unprecedented thing of having two consecutive Youth Gatherings in the same city - because God wasn't finished with New Orleans, and neither was the ELCA."
Ullestad added that Hagstrom "allowed service learning to be something that all participants were expected to engage in. She also "acknowledged that pre-Gathering conversations among youth groups should be more than fundraisers and packing lists - instead, she provided resources to equip youth and adults to engage in faithful conversation in the months before the Gathering."
The Tom Hunstad Award is awarded annually to someone who has made a significant impact on the life of children, youth and family ministry in the ELCA. It honors the legacy of the Rev. Tom Hunstad, who helped found the ELCA Youth Ministry Network. Hunstad died of cancer in 2001.
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New resources for Lent, including an exclusive 40-day devotional, and other initiatives are now available.
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NEWS FROM AROUND THE SYNOD
AND BEYOND
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SPS Resource Center 
What is new and thought provoking at the Resource Center??:
Lutheran Social Service (LSS) of Minnesota has developed an amazing study called
"My Neighbor is Muslim: Exploring the Muslim Faith."
LSS of Minnesota President and CEO says, ""My Neighbor is Muslim" is a very special gift to the church and local communities. Join us in conversation and learning about our new neighbors. Keep refugees in your prayers. and join in our shared work of welcome." These materials were developed in response to the 60 million people in our world who are displaced from their homes- nearly 20 million have crossed international borders seeking safety and are considered refugees. With this resource you will gain a better understanding about the Muslim faith through these chapters:
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Stewardship Discipling Team Co-sponsor of
Workshop on
Unleashing the Soul of Money
with Lynne Twist
February 19, 2016
Starts at 9:30 AM
PLTS Berkeley Campus
2770 Marin Ave Berkeley, CA
Congregational leaders, stewardship teams & pastors are invited to a 1-day workshop on how to move from fear to love to unleash the church's potential, on February 19th at PLTS. Click on the link below to register through PLTS. Event is co-sponsored by our Stewardship Discipling Team and includes lunch & a copy of Lynne Twist's book, The Soul of Money, which she can sign at the event!
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New Synod Communications Coordinator 
Welcome to Kathye Hamm, our new newsletter,
website, social media, and all things communications coordinator. Please submit all newsletter requests/articles to her at kathye@spselca.org, no later than Tuesday, to be included in the current week's newsletter. Thank you, Bishop Mark
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2016 Chrism Mass Schedule
March 17, 2016
10:30 am
Bethlehem Lutheran Church
1279 High Street, Auburn, CA 95603
March 18, 2016
10:30 am
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
38801 Blacow Rd, Fremont, CA 94536
All rostered leaders are invited to attend for worship, fellowship and distribution of oils. Lunch will follow the worship.
You must RSVP to debbie@spselca.org by March 10!
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RISE UP Together - The Tour
Rachel Kurtz and Agape* (David Scherer) in Concert
Saturday, February 20 at 7:00pm
St. John's Lutheran Church in Sacramento
Tickets are just $10 and ALL proceeds will go to ELCA World Hunger's Walk for Water project
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Interim Pastors Regional Gatherings
Tuesday, February 23, Burlingame
Thursday, February 25, Sacramento
These gatherings are a time for learning and support for those serving as Interim Pastors.
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California Lutheran University Choir
2016 Concert Tour
Palo Alto
Sacramento
Fresno
Visalia
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Save the Date!
Sierra Pacific Synod Reformation 500 Event
Oct 29, 2017
3pm
Grace Cathedral, San Francisco
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Clergy Tax Info 
2016 Standard Mileage Reimbursement Rate Increases
The Internal Revenue Service has issued its 2016 optional standard mileage rates. Effective January 1st, 2016, the IRS standard rate will be
54 cents per mile driven for ministry or business purposes (The new rate is down from 57.5 cents per mile for 2015 because of lower gas prices. ). Use of this rate is optional, though it is widely seen by churches as a simple way to determine a standard rate for calculating mileage reimbursement for employees who use their personal vehicle for ministry or business purposes. If your organization uses the IRS rate to calculate mileage reimbursement, be sure to update your systems to account for this change.
Clergy always have the option of claiming deductions based on the actual costs of using a vehicle rather than the standard mileage rates. When a church owns the vehicle driven by a staff member and uses the vehicle for personal use, the value must be added to their W2 income. Personal use is any use which is not ministry related. Commuting is considered personal use. The individual is required to log their mileage and provide the church with a statement showing the ministry/business miles driven and the total miles driven.
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We Are a Reconciling in Christ Synod
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| For more information click here
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Not on our mailing list?
Click Here
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We Remember in Prayer...
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Pr. Ron Kreiensieck (formerly served Lord of Life, Clovis) and family on the death of his wife, Chris, following a long illness.
Pr. Adam Knudson (Assoc. Pastor, Hope, Fresno) and his family upon the death of his grandfather, The Rev. Newell P. Knudson, a pastor of the United Methodist Church.
Barbara Schaefer, spouse of Pr. Marty Schaefer (retired), for treatment and surgery of Stage 2 breast cancer.
Shirley Ericson, spouse of Pr. Jack Ericson (retired), who is recovering from surgery for cancer. Pr. Bill Knezovich (Our Saviour's, Fresno), who is hospitalized and undergoing tests. For the more than 100 in Southern Taiwan still buried under the rubble as a result of the recent earthquake.
For ongoing concerns regarding runoff and erosion in areas damaged by the Butte and Valley fires.
Those around the world who are fleeing terror and violence; that they find compassion and welcome as they seek refuge.
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Second Mile Giving
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February 2016
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Congregations in Transition
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The Rev. Alexia Salvatierra founded the Faith-Rooted Organizing UnNetwork and was the executive director of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE) for over 11 years. In addition, she has coordinated the Welcoming Congregations/Guardian Angels Network for the Southwest Synod of the ELCA and currently serves as a consultant in training, facilitating, organizing, and leading strategic planning for a variety of national and international organizations. To name a few: World Vision USA/World Vision International/Women of Vision, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship and the Christian Community Development Association. The Rev. Alexia Salvatierra has been a national leader in the areas of working poverty and immigration for over 20 years.
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California Lutheran University
Executive Skills for Pastors:
Lessons from the World of the MBA
When: Monday, July 18-22, 2016
Where: The campus of California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, CA
Cost: $799 which includes classes, materials, room and board
The event begins at 9:30 am on Monday and concludes with lunch on Friday. For those who are traveling housing may be arranged for Sunday night the 17th or Friday night the 22nd.
For more information or to register contact the Office of the Congregational Relations by phone at (805) 493-3936 by e-mail: leblanc@callutheran.edu
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2016 Grace Gathering
The Grace Gathering will be held in partnership with the 2016 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in New Orleans Aug. 10-13.
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Synod Calendar
Events and Meetings
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February 22-23, 2016
Retired Clergy/AIMs/Spouses/Widows & Widowers Retreat
San Damiano Retreat Center
Danville, CA
February 23, 2016
Regional Interim Pastor Gathering
Bay Area Office of the Bishop
Burlingame, CA
February 25, 2016
Regional Interim Pastor Gathering
Sacramento Office of the Bishop
Sacramento, CA
February 26-28, 2016SPSYC February Elementary Youth Retreat March 12, 2016Synod Council Meeting Sacramento, CA March 17, 2016
Chrism Mass
Bethlehem, Auburn
March 18, 2016
Chrism Mass
Holy Trinity, Fremont
April 8 - 9, 2016 Candidacy Committee PLTS, Berkeley
June 3-5, 2016
2016 Synod Assembly
Grand Sierra Resort
Reno, NV
CANDIDACY COMMITTEE MEETINGS: PLTS, Berkeley
August 26-27, 2016 October 14-15, 2016 January 20-21, 2017
Please take note of our office schedule: All Synod offices are open Monday-Thursday and closed every Friday.
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News from Mt. Cross Ministries
Jr. High Spring Weekend registration is now open!
Summer camp registration is now open! Check out all of the life-changing summer camp programs we have to offer this year! 2016 Summer Camp Programs
Do you know a young adult who is looking for summer employment? Mt. Cross Ministries is looking for enthusiastic young adults with a passion for working with youth of all ages, families and church congregations in outdoor settings.
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Council/Meeting Devotion - February 2016
Generous People Living God's Love
Through Fearlessness
Read 1 Kings 17:8-16
Elijah said to her, "Do not be afraid..." (v. 13)
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Check our Classifieds!
Check the Classifieds section of the SPS website for congregational employment opportunities and donated items that your congregation may find useful.
| Click here to view employment opportunities in our Synod |
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Committed to being re-formed...
The Sierra Pacific Synod
PO BOX 276648, Sacramento, CA 95827-6628
916-756-1665 · 800-275-3522 · 888-789-6434 (Fax)
Click here to visit our website www.spselca.org
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Office of the Bishop, Sacramento
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Office of the Bishop, Bay Area
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Office of the Bishop, Fresno
Synod Resource Center
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9985 Folsom Blvd.
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500 Airport Blvd. Suite 442
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2311 E. Shaw Avenue
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Sacramento, CA 95827-1405
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Burlingame, CA 94010-1938
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Fresno, CA 93710-8204
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916-756-1665 (Direct)
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650-590-0980 (Direct)
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559-345-2725 (Direct)
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