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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.
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Congregations in Transition
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Synod Calendar
Events and Meetings
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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 10, 2016
Intentional Interim Synod-Wide Event
Trinity Lutheran Church, Pleasanton
November 11 - 13, 2016
SPSYC Middle School Retreat
Mt. Cross
December 10, 2016 Synod Council Meeting
Sacramento Office of the Bishop
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 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.
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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
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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
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Newsletter Submissions
Please submit any newsletter requests to
by Thursday at 5:00 pm
Thank you!
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A message from Bishop Mark W. Holmerud
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Thank you to all who planned, hosted, presented at and attended our 3rd Online Synod Gathering ten days ago! Even with a few technical glitches, our gathering was a great time to consider how we as Lutheran Christians - "we are Lutheran" -- might commemorate the upcoming 500th Anniversary of Reformation. It was also another opportunity for us to be "church together" across the large mission field known as our Sierra Pacific Synod. The conference gatherings which followed the online gathering were a fruitful time to consider everything from naming the new conferences (the names of the conferences and the new deans are on our synod website) to imagining area mission strategies and ways to collaborate in mission and ministry - to be "church for the sake of the world" -- in the many communities around our synod.
To that end,I am pleased to share with you that our synod is now being served by three "Synod Ministers" - three persons who will be assisting synod staff in working with congregations in times of transition. Pr. Jodi Golden-Lund, Pr. Tom Miller, and Pr. Kathryn Gulbranson have been trained in the use of our new call/transition manual and are already connecting with congregations in the process of seeking new pastoral leadership. The addition of these adjunct staff members is part of a plan to re-organize the Office of the Bishop as a result of budget cuts that took effect in 2015. It is likely that additional Synod Ministers will be called as we seek to support the nearly 40 congregations of our synod that are usually in a call process at any given time. Please keep these new Synod Ministers, and the entire staff of the Office of the Bishop in your prayers in this time of transition.
I also ask for those prayers because this week is the last week my friend and colleague, Pr. Nancy F. Nelson, is serving as Bishop's Associate for our Sierra Pacific Synod. Beginning October 1st, she will transition into a new time of ministry. I am happy that she will continue to serve our synod's ministry in the area of Candidacy, both because her gifts and graces will be offered in such an important area of our shared ministry and because she isn't going completely away. As she shared in her newsletter article two weeks ago, she is not retiring, and is trusting in the guidance of the Spirit to determine "what's next" in her life and ministry. In anticipation of her leave-taking from her current position, I asked a number of her friends and colleagues to offer a word or two about Pr. Nancy, and here are a few of the offerings I received:
"Compassionate, Fun, Warm, Insightful, Discerning, Wise Truth Teller, Faithful, Ceiling Breaker, Steady, Challenger, Supportive, Kind, Deeply Rooted, Bold, Wise, Quick-witted, Listens Deeply, Poetic Preacher, Visionary, Caring and Concerned, Advocate, Dedicated, Adventuresome, Friend, Sister"
This list may give you some understanding of why Pr. Nancy's service to our synod with me over these past eight years, and our time as friends and colleagues before that, has been such a gift. I know that I am a better bishop, friend and follower of Jesus because of our walk together as a sister and brother in Christ. I can only wish her and Jim and Sam well for the future, and celebrate that she will continue to be a part of our ministry in a new way. May you be blessed with such a friend and colleague in your life and ministry as we journey together in faith.
Peace,
Bp. Mark
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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 102 registrations and there is still room for you! (Regular room rates will apply and the registration fees have increased.)
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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
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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
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Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities issues statement condemning hate threats
The board of directors of the Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities has issued a statement condemning hate threats made against Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kan., and its president, William Jones.
Earlier this month, racist messages written in chalk were discovered on the Bethany campus. Following the incident, Jones received threatening phone calls from someone claiming responsibility for the messages and drawings. The Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities comprises the 26 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America-related institutions of higher education. The network's board of directors is made up of the institutions' 26 presidents and an executive director. The statement said: "The Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities has watched with grave concern recent incidents at Bethany College. As the association of the twenty-six institutions of higher education related to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), we are compelled to speak in support of Bethany College, our member institution in Lindsborg, Kansas. "We have learned that threats from a hate-group appeared earlier this month in chalked messages on campus walkways and in messages conveyed by telephone. These racist messages focused on the family of Bethany College's new president, William Jones, and the two bi-racial children of the president and his wife. An increased presence of persons of color in the student body was also the target of this hate speech. "We are diverse institutions in the Lutheran tradition, but we stand as one against these threats. With President Jones, we deplore these despicable actions that are, as he has shared, 'disgusting and completely contrary to our core values and intellectual identity.' "The ELCA Network of Colleges and Universities condemns the racist attacks and threats of violence made against the president, his family, and members of the Bethany College community. Such behavior is antithetical to human, Christian and American values. All people of good will should stand with us against the racism, bigotry and hatred that is at the root of these recent attacks."
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News from around the Synod and Beyond
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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. |
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Support our New Synod Missionaries
Our Sierra Pacific Synod currently has 3 missionary families serving in different parts of the world, each sent there by ELCA Global Missions. The three include:
- Sara Schulz (a member of University Lutheran Chapel, Berkeley) who is preparing for ordained ministry in the ELCA. Sara is currently doing what ELCA calls a "horizon internship," a parish internship outside the US. She and her husband Chris will spend one year in Santiago, Chile, where Sara is working in one of the congregations of the Iglesia Evangélica Luterana en Chile (IELCH). - Derek Harman and family (wife Dawn and sons Leo, 2, and Becket, 5). After serving at Messiah Lutheran Church in Redwood City, Derek accepted a call to serve as the pastor of the International Church in Bratislava, Slovakia, where he will also teach classes at the local Lutheran high school (Lyceum). - Gabriele Schroeder (formerly pastor at Bethel Lutheran Church, Cupertino, and a member of the SPS Synod Council) now serves as a missionary in India where she joined the faculty of Henry Martyn Institute to teach Christian theology in an interfaith setting in the South Indian city of Hyderabad, Telangana. Gabriele is accompanied by her husband Kumar Dasari and the couple's daughters Naomi (16) and Anna (14), as well as the family's dachshund, Henry. Please do keep them in your prayers as they are adjusting to life and ministry in very new contexts. Moving an entire family into a different country, culture, language, and climate is difficult. May God watch over them and keep them safe. May God inspire them to use the gifts that God has given each one of them. May God watch over the ministry of the companion churches whom they are serving. And may God open our hearts and minds to receive what these three families have to teach us. Sue Hutchins Member Global Mission Advocacy Team
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Spanish Language and Hispanic Ministry Intensive I and II
Seminary of the Southwest, Austin
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Intentional Interim Synod-Wide Event
Thursday November 10, 2016 at Trinity, Pleasanton, 9:30 to 2. Led by Interim Steering Committee. Guest speaker, Bp. Mark Holmerud. Lunch provided. Cash donations welcome. All pastors serving as interims (or hoping to!) are expected. Contact person: Pr. Lori Eickmann
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Music That Makes Community
University Lutheran Church in Palo Alto will be the site of a Music That Makes Community workshop on Saturday, October 1. This paperless music workshop, led by presenters Eric Choate, Kerri Meyer, and Donald Schell, will explore the basics of paperless music leadership, teach new songs to enrich communal worship life, and reflect on strategies for cultivating participatory singing and liturgy. For more information, click here.
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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.
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 #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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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 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.
Questions or concerns: Mark Carlson, Lutheran Office of Public Policy - California, 916-447-6666, director@loppca.org.
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Register for the SPSYC Retreats!
 The Sierra Pacific Synod Youth Committee is excited to invite your children in grades 3-6 to the upcoming Elementary Retreat at Mt. Cross on October 14-16, 2016.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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