 |
Pr. Anita Warner (Morgan Hill) whose mother-in-law died on Saturday.
Pr. Rebecca Swee (Good Shepherd, Burlingame) as she undergoes surgery.
Shirley Ericson, spouse of Pr. Jack Ericson (retired), recovering from surgery.
Pr. Mark Dunbar, Faith, Elko, who is recovering from surgery and preparing for ongoing treatment.
Continued comfort and healing for Revs. Caine, Theiss and Fey.
For those affected by fire and flooding. We especially remember firefighters, rescue workers, and those providing care and services.
We pray for those who have lost their homes and those who are providing rescue and relief.
Places and people living in areas of violence and uncertainty, both locally and globally.
Those around the world who are fleeing terror and violence; that they find compassion and welcome as they seek refuge.
|
Congregations in Transition
|
Synod Calendar
Events and Meetings
|
|
September 23 - 24, 2016
Synod Council Meeting
Sacramento Office of the Bishop
October 14 - 16, 2106
SPSYC Elementary School Retreat
Mt. Cross
October 14-15, 2016
Candidacy Committee
PLTS
October 15, 2016
SPS Hunger Network Workshop
Lutheran Church of the Incarnation, Davis
October 17 - 18, 2016
Rostered Women's Retreat
Dean's Gathering
October 18 - 20
Professional Leaders Conference
The Village at Squaw Valley
November 11 - 13, 2016
SPSYC Middle School Retreat
Mt. Cross
January 20 - 21, 2017
Candidacy Committee
PLTS
January 27 - 28, 2017
Synod Council Meeting
Sacramento Office of the Bishop
January 31 - February 1, 2017
Dean's Retreat
Christ the King Center, Citrus Heights
February 2017
Synod Council Meeting
Sacramento Office of the Bishop
February 24 - 26, 2107
SPSYC High School Retreat
Mt. Cross
February 27-28, 2017
Annual Retired Pastors Retreat
San Damiano, CA
March 11, 2017 Rwanda Connections Meeting Lutheran Church of the Master, Sacramento
March 17 - 18, 2017
Candidacy Meeting
Hope, El Sobrante
May 3, 2017
Synod Council Meeting
Fresno
May 4 - 6, 2017
Synod Assembly
Fresno
June 23 - 24, 2017
Synod Council Meeting
Sacramento Office of the Bishop
June 28 - July 2, 2017
Western States Youth Gathering
California Lutheran University
August 25 - 26, 2017
Candidacy Committee
TBD
October 16-17, 2017
Deans & Women's Retreat
Monterey
October 18-20, 2017
Professional Leaders Conference
Monterey
CANDIDACY COMMITTEE MEETINGS:
October 14-15, 2016
January 20-21, 2017
Hope Lutheran Church, El Sobrante
March 17-18, 2017
Location TBD
August 25-26, 2017
Please take note of our office schedule:
All Synod offices are open Monday-Thursday and closed every Friday.
|
September 23 - 24, 2016
St John's Lutheran Church
Sacramento
Fall 2016 Winter 2017 October 17 - 20, 2016 Pneuma 2016
November 4 - 5, 2016
Good Shepherd, Salinas
November 10, 2016 Christ Lutheran, Long Beach
December 5-7, 2016
March 13-15, 2017
May 22-24, 2017
Hope United Methodist Church
San Diego, CA
|
These are not official Synod events, we hope you'll find this information useful as you plan for the 500th anniversary.
August 30 - September 6, 2017
|
Newsletter Submissions
Please submit any newsletter requests to
by Thursday at 5:00 pm
Thank you!
|
Was this newsletter forwarded to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
A message from Carlton Monroe, Assistant to the Bishop and DEM
|
Reformation Day is coming! Reformation Day is coming! Woohoo! I was already excited for our rapidly approaching 500th Anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation. The gathering was led and guided by Bishop Mark Holmerud this past Saturday, and after attending and participating with so many of you during our synod-wide online gathering, hearing and seeing your excitement I am even more excited! There are a plethora of plans in place for the 500th anniversary throughout our synod and of course churchwide throughout the ELCA both nationally and internationally! We are truly blessed to have so many options to choose from highlighting the joy and significance of being Lutheran my Sisters and Brothers!
I would like to offer some snippets of what was articulated during the online gathering Saturday from Cross and Crown Lutheran Church where I was in attendance:
St. Matthew, San Francisco Lutheran Pastor Kerstin Weidman spoke from Our Savior, Lafayette explaining the anniversary would be a both/and event...sounds Lutheran to me, just saying...of celebrations and observances. Pastor Weidman spoke to the many sides and perspectives of Martin Luther. Pastor Weidman pointed to Luther's place in the reformation of the church and the tension it created through protest. Hmmm, protest, how interesting. It was particularly important to hear that the reformation is entrusted to us past, present and future in and through creative reformation tension and how we are now called to be just that...reformation. I join with Pastor Weidman's query of us all...how are you celebrating and observing the reformation?
St. James Lutheran Church, San Leandro Pastor Diane Bowers gave us some hard to find, fascinating information about Luther's historical reformation change of marriage. Luther, a priest married Kate, who was a nun. This certainly was against canon law. Luther's doing so reformed marriage from a church sacrament and lifted up women in matrimony and divorce. Luther's marriage in this matter established matrimony as a safe haven for human nature to exist.
Lutheran Church of the Incarnation, Davis Pastor Dan Smith gave us that Luther speaks to 'Life-to-Life' preaching highlighting how we all want to speak honestly in relationships from our hearts. Pastor Smith pointed to Luther's reformation as God's relationship with the vulnerable through love and social justice. Pastor Smith poignantly pointed to that relationship as emblematic of Theology of the Cross and The Empty Tomb in our continuing call to reformation.
Grace Lutheran Church, San Francisco Pastor Megan Rohrer finished by offering celebration and observance information that can be found online at our synod website and at ref500.info. Pastor Rohrer spoke to many great reformation ideas. Pastor Rohrer offered a reformation theme of stewardship and evangelism where God's blessings are so abundant they are a burden NOT to give away. Pastor Rohrer gave ideas and themes away of: sock-n-undie Sunday, blankets and peanut butter-n-jelly give aways, cross-generation homesteading and bowling no less! Pastor Rohrer even offered to help you with these themes and ideas if want to contact her!
We had our expected elections for new Deans and lay nominations. I will announce that Pastor Bill Wessner was unanimously elected and installed as the new Dean of the Redwood Mountain Conference following the online session...congratulations Pastor Bill! Bishop Holmerud closed our gathering with heartfelt sentiment through a Godspeed and Farewell for Associate to the Bishop Nancy Feniuk Nelson who will retire at the end of the year.
This is just a small sampling of what was articulated from locations where we gathered together. I pray to see you somewhere in reformation celebration and observance!! Peace!
Carlton Monroe
Assistant to the Bishop and DEM
|
|
Reformation: Past, Present and Future
2016 Rostered Women's Retreat
Dean's Gathering
October 17 - 18, 2016
2016 Professional Leaders Conference
The Village at Squaw Valley
888.767.1907
We have 100 registrations and there is still room for more! (Regular room rates will apply and the registration fees have increased.)
|
|
Stewardship Discipling Team September Council Devotions
Generous People Living God's Love by Keeping Connected with God Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105
|
Our PO Box is no longer active.
Please send all correspondence to the Sacramento Office of the Bishop at:
Sierra Pacific Synod
9985 Folsom Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95827
|
ELCA: Administration Matters
Topics of the September 2016 issue include:
Time to update your congregation's constitution
October 18, 2016, 12 noon, CDT
HR Series - applications for employment
Don't let hazardous materials go down the drain
Gutenberg to Google - effective use of technology for congregations
|
|
News from around the Synod and Beyond
|
Rostered Leaders Celebrations
Installation: Prs Erik and Amy Allen - October 30th 2016, 2:00 pm at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Reno ******************************************* Do you have other Celebrations (installations, ordinations, book publishings, etc.) that you'd like listed in this column? Feel free to submit them to our enewsletter editor, Kathye Hamm. |
Last Chance for the Early Bird Rate for the SPSYC Elementary Retreat!
 The SPSYC Elementary Retreat is soon approaching! Join us on October 14-16 at Mt. Cross for a fun weekend exploring God's courage in our own hearts. Find more information and register now!
Registration for each person is $140.00 but that price rises to $175.00 on September 27th, so register NOW! Scholarships are also available. All registration and payment can be done online as a group or as an individual, or can be done by mail.
|
Refugee Sunday
This fall, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service is asking all Lutheran congregations to set aside one Sunday to celebrate the gifts of God's children who are refugees and migrants among us - a Refugee Sunday.
Refugee Sunday is a worship experience dedicated to reflecting on the plight of refugees around the world, celebrating their gifts and contributions to our community, and witnessing to Christ's call to welcome the stranger in our midst. We've just released a brand new set of interactive materials to help congregations learn about and lift up the refugee experience in worship.
Complete with videos, sermon notes, posters, worship activities, a refugee quiz, bulletin inserts and stories from refugees resettled around the U.S. along with other resources, congregations can begin a Christ-centered conversation about one of our nation's most pressing issues through this dynamic worship experience. Today, for the first time since World War II, more than 60 million people around the world have been forced from their homes due to war, violence, and persecution. Yet Lutherans are not discouraged. We continue to meet refugees and those displaced by violence with God's love. Whether your congregation is new to assisting refugees, has a history of newcomer ministry, or is made up of newcomers themselves, Refugee Sunday provides an engaging and informative opportunity to celebrate and explore the refugee story in worship. Visit us now at www.refugeesunday.lirs.org to get started today.
|
 #decolonize16
The all-day meeting will be a mixture of worship, sharing, testimony, laughter and banter, fellowship and love - inspired and directed by the Augsburg Confession and the liturgical calendar year.
Taking place at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, the site will be easily accessible via public transit with decent street parking available. All #decolonize16 spaces are wheel-chair accessible and there will be ASL translation throughout the day.
The online registration fee between now and September 30, 2016 is $25.
From October 1-October 21 the price will then be $35.
Registration at the door on Saturday, October 22 will be $40 - cash only.
Seminarians and college studenets can register for the significantly reduced rate of $10 cash at the Registration desk the morning of the conference - just email decolonizelutheranism@gmail.com right away so we can reserve your spot.
#decolonizelutheranism
|
|
St John's Lutheran Church, Sacramento
See and hear Dr. David Cherwien internationally recognized church organist, music director, cantor, conductor, composer and teacher.
Free parking will be available both Friday evening and Saturday in a nearby parking facility.
Registration, which includes a box lunch, is $35 general, $25 for students.
This event is sponsored by the Commission on Liturgy & Music of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California and The Worship for Baptismal Living Discipling Team of the Sierra Pacific Synod Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
|
2016-2017 Clergy Clinic in Family Emotional Process
Hosted by the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center
Register now to pay the pre-registration price of $1,350 for tuition (Tuition covers all nine days of sessions) - Fee is higher after September 26, 2016
Relying on both 2016 and 2017 budgets to pay for Clergy Clinic?
Send in your registration form with a check with at least half of the tuition rate to save your place; pay the remainder of the balance after the New Year.
(Remember - Send in your registration before the dates when tuition goes up, and, you still pay the lower pre-registration rate)
Meeting Dates in San Diego, CA:
Dec. 5-7, 2016
March 13-15, 2017
May 22-24, 2017
Don't be fooled by the start date of December 5, 2016. Best Registration prices are this fall
|
This Fragile Earth
On October 22 from 10 am-3:30 pm, laypeople and clergy are invited to CDSP for a day of theological reflection, discussion and worship exploring the church's response to the crisis of climate change. Speakers will include former Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who is the current St. Margaret's Visiting Professor of Women in Ministry; Bishop Marc Andrus of California, CDSP President and Dean W. Mark Richardson, and Dr. Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, professor of theological and social ethics at CDSP and Pacific Lutheran Seminary of California Lutheran University.
Jefferts Schori will deliver the keynote address, titled "Creation and the Effective Word: Holy Storytelling, Creation, and God's Mission," and Moe-Lobeda will give an address titled "Truthtelling, Inequity, and Christian Action."
The day will culminate at 2:30 pm with a liturgy to bless CDSP's new installation of solar panels led by Bishops Jefferts Schori and Andrus. The panels, installed on Easton, Parsons, and Shires Halls earlier in 2016, make up the largest solar installation of any seminary in the United States.
|
God's Work, Our Hands Day Contest Entry Information
The official "God's Work. Our Hands." Day of service was September 11, 2016. Congregations choosing to serve on another day, are also invited to submit entries to the contest.
There are two categories: narrative and video. The winning entry in each category will have the honor of having a $100.00 gift made to ELCA Good Gifts in their name.
The deadline for submitting an entry will be October 15, 2016.
To submit a video entry, please post it on YouTube and submit the entry form with the YouTube link to mic@spselca.org. Any information that will not fit on the entry form should be included in the entry email.
Everyone, including your children, your extended family members, school teachers, your grumpy neighbor, everyone, is invited to vote in this contest. The entries will be posted and open for voting on October 18, 2016. Voting will be open until December 15, 2016. We will include more directions for voting before voting begins. We will tally and announce the winning congregations in early 2017.
Thanks for entering the contest. We are looking forward to reading and watching your stories.
|
2016 Lutheran World Relief Ingathering in Northern California
Quilts and Kits for LWR make a lasting difference in the lives of  our neighbors around the world. In 2015 your gifts of love reached out to people all over the world. They went to people working to recover from an earthquake in Nepal. They comforted families fleeing conflict in Syria, living in refugee camps in Thailand and people around the world working to break out of the cycle of chronic poverty. THANK YOU! Your generous gifts of quilts and kits help to ensure that LWR is able to respond to the continuing and increasing needs overseas.
Items accepted: quilts, fleece tied blankets, school kits, personal care kits, fabric kits, blankets and soap
Specific assembly guidelines for the projects are available at lwr.org/kits. October 1 9 am - 1 pm St Paul's Lutheran Church, Vallejo
October 3 & 4 Prearranged Drop Off Only 858-900-5420 Do not drop off items without making arrangements in advance St James Lutheran Church, Redding
October 15 9 am - 1 pm Advent Lutheran Church, Morgan Hill
|
Western States Youth Gathering
June 28 - July 2, 2017
California Lutheran University is again hosting the Western States Youth Gathering.
Information about the event itself can be found at: www.WSYG.com and you can follow and add to our hashtag: #wsyg17.
|
I Was a Stranger and You Welcomed Me??
Hunger, the Refugee and the Immigrant
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Lutheran Church of the Incarnation, Davis, CA
9:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Presented by the Sierra Pacific Synod Hunger Network
Don't miss this exciting workshop! Learn how faith and justice are intertwined in a hungry world This educational workshop by the Sierra Pacific Synod Hunger Network explores both the life-saving work of the ELCA Hunger and Disaster Appeals, and how the immigration and refugee crisis impacts world and domestic hunger. Our Keynote Speaker is Johanna Olson, ELCA Global Mission Manager for Relationships for Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. She will share stories of ELCA World Hunger and ELCA Disaster Response involvement in the global refugee crisis. Pastor Susan Birkelo, Director of the Community Information Center for Migrant Assistance, in Watsonville, CA will share stories of hunger and poverty experienced by immigrants right here in California! You'll also hear recent immigrants tell their own stories. Information and resources for AMMPARO will be shared. AMMPARO is a holistic, whole church commitment by the ELCA, as a church in the world, to accompany children today and in the future. Rev. Tita Valeriano will be our worship and bible study leader. Asante Fair-Trade Products will be available for early Christmas shopping!
The cost is only $10 for the day, including lunch; no charge for congregational hunger contacts, college students or seminarians. If you take AMTRAK California, rides to the workshop will be provided. Questions? Contact Edie Lott at thelotts@gmail.com or (530) 582-5362 or Pastor Elieen Smith Le Van at pastoreileen@peacelutherangv.org or 530-802-0925. Edie will be out of the U.S. and unavailable by phone in September. Send email registrations to thelotts@gmail.com.
|
 November Ballot Proposition Recommendations from LOPP
More information, such as Support and Opposition lists and Advocacy Sunday resources, will be available later at www.loppca.org.
Congregations, pastors, and members are encouraged to schedule an Advocacy Sunday on October 16th or another Sunday prior to the election and are encouraged to utilize the ELCAvotes! resources found here, as the countdown to Election Day continues.
National Voter Registration Day is Sept. 27. Please let us know what events you have scheduled and follow us on Facebook and Twitter (CA Lutheran Advocacy, @loppcalifornia).
Questions or concerns: Mark Carlson, Lutheran Office of Public Policy - California, 916-447-6666, director@loppca.org.
|
Over 600 adults who work with children, youth and families (CYF) in congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will gather at The Galt House Hotel and Conference Center in Louisville, Kentucky for Extravaganza 2017. The "E" is the premier training event for adults who work in faith formation.
Held January 20-24, the Extravaganza will focus on the theme "500," with an emphasis on the ongoing re-forming work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the world and the church. Dynamic spiritual renewal, transformational continuing education and supportive networking are critical elements of Extravaganza. For more information on the Extravaganza, and to register, please visit www.ext17.org. Our local contact for information about the Extravaganza or the Youth Ministry Network is Lisa Herlocker.
|
Need funding for a new ministry project?
Consider applying for a grant from the St. Francis Lutheran Church Endowment Fund. St. Francis Lutheran Church of San Francisco offers grants ranging from $250 to $3000 for projects or initiatives related to justice and inclusion. For more information and instructions on how to apply please contact St. Francis Lutheran Church at stfrancis@sflcsf.org.
|
|
|
|
|
