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In thanksgiving for the democratic process and the right to vote. We pray for open hearts and minds as we move forward living into the election results together.
Barbara Schaefer (wife of Pr. Marty Schaefer, ret.), recuperating from further lymph node cancer surgery on Nov. 9.
Continued comfort and healing for Prs. Strehlow, Ajer, Swee, Scott, Dunbar, 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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November 24, 2016
Thanksgiving
December 10, 2016
Synod Council Meeting
Sacramento Office of the Bishop
December 26, 2016 Synod Offices Closed
January 2, 2017
Synod Offices Closed
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
Thursday - Saturday
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
November 3-4, 2017
Candidacy Committee
TBD
CANDIDACY COMMITTEE MEETINGS:
PLTS
January 20-21, 2017
Hope Lutheran Church, El Sobrante
March 17-18, 2017
Location TBD
August 25-26, 2017
Location TBD
November 3-4, 2017
Please take note of our office schedule:
All Synod offices are open Monday-Thursday and closed every Friday.
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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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May 28 - June 2, 2017
Seminary of the Southwest, Austin
June 11 - 16, 2017
Seminary of the Southwest, Austin
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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.
Student Multimedia Contest: Reconciliation: "The Love of Christ Compels Us"
The North State Ecumenical Conference is sponsoring an ecumenical multimedia contest for 9th - 12th grade students. Submissions may include, but are not limited to, written essay, visual art form, digital or video production. First prize is $250.
The theme "Reconciliation: The Love of Christ Compels Us" (2 Corinthians 5:14-20) supports world-wide week of prayer for christian unity, January 18 - 25, 2017 - part of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.
The deadline is December 31, 2016. Finalists will be honored at an ecumenical dinner on January 18, 2017.
Mail submissions to: John Berger, Secretary, North State Ecumenical Conference, 3736 Laguna Way, Sacramento, CA 95864-2923
For more information please call 916-482-6976.
Opportunity to Travel to Germany to Celebrate the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation
August 30-September 6, 2017
Join Pastor Dan Smith and members and friends of the Lutheran Church of the Incarnation in Davis, California, for an important celebration of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation. We will visit sites associated with the life, times and events of Martin Luther to explore the visionary call for reform he made in the 16th century. We will be joining people from around the world marking this important event. Our program is being offered as a land-only program (you will make your own flight arrangements to and from Germany) which allows you to go early, stay longer, and shop for special airfares. We have created a program that includes several nights in the beautiful medieval town of Erfurt and several in Wittenberg - Luther's town. We conclude our visit with an overnight in the exciting cosmopolitan city of Berlin. Join us to learn more about this visionary man and explore the people, places, and events of the 16th century. Space is limited and registrations are being accepted this summer. For program information and registration visit: www.travelillume.com/trc/vks or call: 800-368-6757 ex 128 at the Illume organization in Boston.
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Newsletter Submissions
Please submit any newsletter requests to
by Thursday at 5:00 pm
Thank you!
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Was this newsletter forwarded to you?
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All synod offices will be closed on Thursday, November 24 for the Thanksgiving holiday.
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A message from Julianne Carroll, Development Director, Lutheran Social Services
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At LSS of Northern California, our vision is to end homelessness for good. Our work renews hope for formerly homeless youth, families and seniors, and former foster youth. Our work is founded in faith and open to all. We are guided by a commitment to justice, human rights, and caring compassion to those who are often overlooked or judged by others.
LSS helps those in need find and maintain housing, and stabilize their lives. Having a home gives them a foundation and allows them to seek a better life by finding and keeping work, attending school, and stabilizing family relationships. For more than 3,500 people every day, LSS creates a path to self-sufficiency and sustainability through supportive housing services.
Many people want to help end homelessness, but don't know how. Are you looking for a way that you, or your congregation can get involved? Here are five easy ways you can help LSS end homelessness for good:
Create Welcome Baskets for formerly homeless youth and adults
Our formerly homeless clients come to us without any possessions. They need support meeting their basic daily needs when they move into their new home. Welcome baskets contain items that many of us take for granted - soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste, towels and face clothes, laundry detergent, and more.
Provide a small gift to youth or families for the Holidays
Each year LSS also hosts a Holiday Gift Drive so that our children and families have presents under the Christmas tree. Ask us for our wish list! Individuals or congregations can support children, foster youth and families in having a happy, joyful holiday season.
Donate to our Sock and Underwear Drive
Every winter during the rainy season, LSS hosts a sock and underwear drive for the homeless. We accept new socks and underwear for men and women in all sizes.
Join a Thrivent Action Team
Thrivent provides resources to help you plan the event and a community impact card with $250 of seed money. If you're a Thrivent Financial member, you can lead a Thrivent Action Team to bring people together for a one-time project that supports LSS. You can create a welcome basket, host an ice cream social or BBQ after service on a Sunday, and many other ideas.
There are many opportunities available to get involved in a tangible way. For more information, contact our Development Director, Julianne Carroll, at jcarroll@lssnorcal.org, or 925.825.1060 x20.
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ELCA presiding bishop issues statement on Standing Rock
Statement from ELCA Presiding Bishop Eaton on Standing Rock
When we come together for worship, we often begin with confession and forgiveness using these words: "We confess that we are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves." Lutherans acknowledge that this is a broken world and, as part of it, even our best wisdom and efforts fall short. Very often we face issues of extraordinary complexity in which all sides make reasoned arguments for their reality. The current situation at Standing Rock in North Dakota is just such a case. The route of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) runs through contested land, which the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe sees as their homeland and sacred places, including burial grounds. Proponents of the DAPL sees it as a combination of public and private property. The pipeline will run under Lake Oahe, the primary water source for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. What we see is the tension between two peoples trying to share one land. We can also see the tension between our dependence on fossil fuels and the commitment this church has made to care for creation. This past August, the 2016 ELCA Churchwide Assembly passed a resolution repudiating the doctrine of discovery. In it we pledged "to practice accompaniment with Native peoples." The doctrine declared that indigenous land was "unoccupied" as long as Christians were not present. Land deemed "unoccupied" was, therefore, "discovered," as if it had been previously unknown to humankind. This doctrine was used as justification for European monarchies, and later the U.S. government, to take land from Native people. Many of us in this church who are immigrants have benefited from the injustices done to the original inhabitants of this land where we now live and worship. Our church also includes American Indian and Alaskan Native people, who have been on the receiving end of the injustices done. When we repudiated the doctrine of discovery, we Lutherans pledged to do better together in the future than we have in the past. Acknowledging the complexity of this issue and the limitations sin places on human decisions, I believe that we are called as a church to support the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe: to stand with the Tribe as they seek justice, to encourage our congregations to pray for them and to offer material support, and to examine the racism inherent in our system that contributes to the current crisis. As promised in our resolution repudiating the doctrine of discovery, we will listen to tribal leaders and respect their wisdom. We will lend our presence when invited, our advocacy when requested, the resources of our people when asked, and our prayers, friendship and repentance at all times. Your sister in Christ, Elizabeth A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
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ELCA Accounting Career Opportunities
Currently the ELCA Office of the Treasurer has a number of accounting positions open on the churchwide team. If you have questions or want additional information, please contact Zoraida Rivera-Picazo (773-380-2983) with our Human Resources team.
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Leadership Program for Musicians Offers Online Courses
 The Leadership Program for Musicians (LPM), a cooperative program between the ELCA and The Episcopal Church, is a teaching ministry that gives church musicians an increased awareness, along with the tools and resources to enable congregations to sing well and participate actively in worship.
LPM is now offering some of their courses online so students can participate from wherever they live with a more flexible schedule. These courses are perfect for musicians of all levels who are new to a liturgical church or simply want to deepen their knowledge and understanding of their role as a leader of song in the church.
The upcoming courses include: - Hymnody of the Christian Church, winter 2017; Julie Grindle, instructor
- Developing a Philosophy of Church Music, spring 2017; Jennifer Baker-Trinity, instructor
- Liturgy and Music for Lutherans, spring 2017; Scott Weidler, instructor
To read more about these courses and for registration information, visit lpm-online.org.
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Help Spread the Word! ELCA Colleges and Universities
ELCA colleges and universities have a helpful website  - whygolutheran.org - for students and parents as they embark on the college search process. On the site families can: Help spread the word by downloading posters and bulletin inserts to incorporate in your congregational communications!
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News from around the Synod and Beyond
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Celebrations
Ordination:
Ryan Eikenbary - December 3, 2016, 2:00 pm at St John's Lutheran Church, Sacramento
Book Publishing:
Pastor John Rollefson (St. Francis, San Francisco), now retired in San Luis Obispo, is delighted to report the recent publication of his new book, Postils for Preaching: Commentaries on the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A. Copies are available from his publisher's website, wipfandstock.com, or after Dec. 1 on amazon.com. (Subsequent volumes for Year B and Year C are forthcoming.) The Rev. Barbara Lundblad, Emeritus Professor of Preaching at Union Seminary in NYC, writes in a cover blurb, "If you can read only one new book for this lectionary cycle, Postils for Preaching will not disappoint you." John himself describes his intention in writing as "to dip into a lifetime of that exegetical and homiletical 'bag of tricks' as Jesus himself obliquely recommended when he noted how "every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old" (Matt 13:52).
******************************************* 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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Letter from Synod Secretary Regarding Bylaws
An email was sent Tuesday, November 15 from Synod Secretary, Jeff Pennington, about changes to the synod bylaws. If you did not receive the email you may find his letter here.
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Take the Food Stamp Challenge! Eat on Only $6.47 a Day for 5 Days
Join LSS and many others across Northern CA and take the Food Stamp Challenge, sponsored by the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness. The goal of this challenge is to give participants a view of what life can be like for thousands of low-income people living on food stamps. Participants take the challenge for one week, living on $6.47 per day or $32.35 per week worth of food and beverages. Those taking the challenge are forced to make food shopping choices on a limited budget, and often realize how difficult it is to avoid hunger, afford nutritious foods and sustain healthy eating with limited funds. Share your photos and posts using the hashtag #foodstampchallenge. For more information, like us on Facebook, and sign up for our email blast: http://www.lssnorcal.org/whats-happening/join-our-email-list.html
Not interested in joining the Challenge, but still want to support our efforts? Donate $32.35 now to provide a weeks worth of groceries for one of our clients!
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God's Work, Our Hands Day Contest Voting is Open!
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.
Everyone, including your children, your extended family members, school teachers, your grumpy neighbor, everyone, is invited to vote in this contest. Voting will be open until December 15, 2016. You may vote in each category and you may vote more than once.
We will tally and announce the winning congregations in early 2017.
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Warner Trust Now Online
Information about the Warner Trust and the Grant Application are now available on the synod website. The deadline for applications is December 15.
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California Lutheran Executive Skills Workshop for Clergy/Church Workers
Jan. 9-13, 2017
Spirit in the Desert Retreat Center
Gain valuable and needed skills for pastors, leaders, administrators in congregational settings. Led by California Lutheran School of Management Faculty For the 3rd year, Spirit in the Desert Retreat Center & California Lutheran University are teaming up for what has become a very powerful and popular workshop - a week of continuing education with faculty from the School of Management.
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Amendments to the Model Constitution for Congregations
An email was sent Tuesday, October 11 from Synod Secretary, Jeff Pennington, about changes to the congregational constitutions following the 2016 Churchwide Assembly. If you did not receive the email you may find his letter here.
You can find the amendments and the new model constitution on the Resources page of the synod website under " For Congregations." |
Register for the SPSYC Retreats
The Sierra Pacific Synod Youth Committee is excited to invite your youth to the upcoming High School Retreat at Mt. Cross on February 24 - 26, 2017
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.
WYLE: One Day Pre-Event Multicultural Youth Leadership Event
June 27 - 28, 2017
The theme for the Western State Multicultural Youth Leadership Event (WYLE) is also "Dream Big!"
Within the framework of the story of Joseph (Genesis 37-50) youth will discover this complex character, who was brought out of the isolation of the pit and ultimately propelled to a leadership position in Egypt that not only saved his family but an entire nation. Joseph's dreams and his interpretation of dreams led him to a life and faith that was beyond his imagination. Together, with Christ our savior, we will teach youth of color to look beyond external circumstances and discover the "Dream" within. Cost: $100 Speakers: Rev. Yeheil Curry, Rev. Leila Ortiz Workshops: Social Justice Issues (Police Brutality, Dream Act, Lack of Resources), Racism, Breaking out of your Box, The Gospel According to Hip Hop Register at WSYG site and click the WYLE as an Add-on!
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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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