 Warm welcomes
Bishop Rimbo and the synod staff appreciate the welcome hospitality provided by our local congregations and partner organizations as we visit and help proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ and share the mission of our ministries each week. In the past week, our staff was warmly received by the following communities: Holy Trinity, Bellerose; Good Shepherd, Levittown; Good Shepherd, Roosevelt; Holy Redeemer Brooklyn; Fordham, Bronx; First, Poughkeepsie; St. John, Poughkeepsie; and Holy Trinity, Manhattan. Thank you!
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 ELCA call process webpages Many community.elca.org pages will be down between December 15 and January 17. Candidates, rostered leaders, congregations and synod staff wanting to access the Candidacy Portal and/or Mobility pages will not be able to complete any new forms while the ELCA Churchwide Organization is in the process of updating their system. This includes forms such as candidacy applications, decision forms, rostered leader profiles, ministry site profiles, and reference forms. Forms submitted prior to December 15 will be accessible as read-only.
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 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
The year 2017 marks the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation, a year particularly significant to Lutherans, as the focus for this beginning was Martin Luther's posting of the 95 Theses. The theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2017 - "Reconciliation: The Love of Christ Compels Us" - intends to acknowledge this Reformation commemoration, even as it also invites all Christians to work for greater reconciliation within the body of Christ for the sake of a shared, courageous witness to God's love and justice in our troubled world. Our synod is hosting an ecumenical prayer service on January 18 at Holy Trinity, Manhattan. Learn more here and download a bulletin insert to share.
 "The Weekend"Do you have a passion for service and a love for the gospel? Are you interested in meeting others who are exploring their call? Are you wondering if the Philadelphia or Gettysburg campus of the new United Lutheran Seminary is the place for you to study? Then plan to attend "The Weekend" (February 3-5 at Philadelphia and April 7-9 at Gettysburg) where you'll have the chance to explore God's call on your life, meet current students, staff and faculty, explore the wide range of possibilities seminary has to offer and experience community life. For more details, visit here or contact Rev. Nate Preisinger.
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 Together in hope
We are people waiting in darkness during this Advent. So this Gospel Reading points to our profound dependence on God and on one another. This Gospel is the most quoted passage of the Bible in Lutheran confessional writings. The bottom line is Jesus teaching us that "apart from him" we can do nothing. Read Bishop Rimbo's full sermon from a recent Advent prayer service here.
 Where church meets world
"The Feast of Christ the King emerged from such a particular political scene, at the corner of church and state, it is a rather relevant feast to celebrate for us... [when] the Holy Father saw the fascist Benito Mussolini coming to power in Italy [he] decided to set the record straight: Christ is the King of the Universe, no politician, no ruler. Only Christ." Read Bishop Rimbo's full sermon from Christ the King Sunday here.
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- For the friends and family of Pastor Paul Alberti, who died in Christ on November 29
- For the friends and family of Allen Drege, father of Pastor Marsh Drege, who died in Christ
- For health and healing for Pastor Winston Bone
- For those affected by violence in their schools, workplaces, and homes
- For refugees and those who come to their aid
- For our partners in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land as they live amidst the continued Israeli-Palestinian conflict
- For health and healing for Ira Nebrasky, husband of Pastor ElizaBeth Nebrasky, who is undergoing treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma
- For ELCA Young Adult in Global Mission Renee Labat, serving in Argentina
- For ELCA missionary Rev. Martina Helmer-Pham Xuan serving in Germany
- For Bishop Mark Holmerud, the staff and people of the Sierra Pacific Synod
- For the care of God's creation
- For the unity of this church and its mission
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