Headlines: Volunteer Update, Stewardship, Website Introduction, and more.
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The South Carolina Lutheran eNews
Volunteer Needs Update: Georgetown County Area
From Rev. Vickie Powell, Trinity, Georgetown
  
Georgetown County brought in All Hands Volunteers immediately in the week of flooding to assist with recovery. Anyone wishing to volunteer for Georgetown County can go to HANDS.ORG and click on SC then choose which area Georgetown or Columbia, etc. they wish to serve. They work with all denominations.
Stewardship in a Digital Age
Stewardship Symposium at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary of Lenoir-Rhyne University
  
January 29, 2016, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
(Registration opens November 16, 2015)
Adam J. Copeland, Center for Stewardship Leaders, Luther Seminary
  
While stewardship is an ancient concept, the context of contemporary ministry demands new approaches to how we approach stewardship today. Consider our digital age: congregation members give to the church via automatic bank draft; we can buy anything with the swipe of a smartphone app; cars can nearly drive themselves; and we welcome body-enhancing technologies-pacemakers, knee replacements, hearing aids, even eye glasses-that make us much more than flesh. Digital technologies are transforming how all humans live and to what Christians are called.
  
Stewardship in a digital age pushes us to new ways of electronic giving in congregations, but also to tackle new questions of how to steward technology itself. Grounded in the essentials of biblical stewardship, Copeland's presentations will address electronic giving tools like automatic bank drafts, crowdfunding, and digital storytelling. Additionally, he will consider how our digital age calls us to steward technology and develop a gospel-centered digital wisdom.
  
Presenter Bio:
Rev. Adam J. Copeland teaches at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota where he is director of the Center for Stewardship Leaders. An ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA), Copeland holds degrees from St. Olaf College and Columbia Theological Seminary. His ongoing PhD studies at North Dakota State University focuses on new media and religious rhetoric. Copeland's writings have appeared many books and journals including Journal for Preachers, Hybrid Pedagogy, Word and World, and the Journal of Religion and Popular Culture. He has written cover stories on stewardship for The Christian Century and The Lutheran magazine. He next book, Stewardship Made Whole: Faithful Stewardship for All of Life is under contract with Westminster John Knox. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife Megan.
  
This event offered by the Speakers and Events Committee, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary of Lenoir-Rhyne University, and the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary/Region 9 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Council for Stewardship Education.
  
Lutherans, Catholics 'on the way' to greater unity
By Melissa Ramirez Cooper, Associate Director, ELCA Publications and Public Relations
  
Drawing on 50 years of national and international dialogue, Lutherans and Catholics have made available Oct. 30 Declaration on the Way: Church, Ministry and Eucharist - a unique ecumenical document that marks a pathway toward greater unity between Catholics and Lutherans.
  
"Five hundred years ago wars were fought over the very issues about which Lutherans and Roman Catholics have now achieved consensus," said the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). "Church, ministry and Eucharist have been areas of disagreement and even separation between our two churches, and we still have work to do both theologically and pastorally as we examine the questions. The declaration is so exciting because it shows us 32 important points where already we can say there are not church-dividing issues between us, and it gives us both hope and direction for the future," she said.
  
"Pope Francis in his recent visit to the United States emphasized again and again the need for and importance of dialogue," said Bishop Denis J. Madden of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and Catholic co-chair of the task force creating the document. "This Declaration on the Way represents in concrete form an opportunity for Lutherans and Catholics to join together now in a unifying manner on a way finally to full communion."
  
At its heart are 32 "Statements of Agreement" where Lutherans and Catholics already have points of convergence on topics about church, ministry and Eucharist. The document also indicates differences that remain.
  
The declaration seeks reception of the Statement of Agreements from The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU). The LWF is a global communion of 145 churches in 98 countries worldwide. The ELCA is the communion's only member church from the United States.
  
The conclusion of the declaration invites the PCPCU and the LWF to create a process and timetable for addressing the remaining issues. It also suggests that the expansion of opportunities for Lutherans and Catholics to receive Holy Communion together would be a sign of the agreements already reached. In addition, the declaration urges Catholics and Lutherans at local levels to connect in "a deeper commitment to Christ and greater engagement and collaboration with one another," according to the declaration's executive summary.
  
Earlier this month the ELCA Conference of Bishops - an advisory body of the church -received and unanimously affirmed the Statements of Agreements. ELCA bishops requested that the ELCA Church Council accept them and forward the entire document to the 2016 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, the denomination's highest legislative body. The statements were also unanimously affirmed by the Bishops Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
  
  
You are invited to the Grace Gathering
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
  
Grace Gathering Invitation
Grace Gathering Invitation
Register Today
I invite you to the Grace Gathering to be held in partnership with the 2016 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in New Orleans Aug. 10-13. Grace Gathering will bring people together from across the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Participants will see the church in action, worship with Churchwide Assembly voting members, engage in experiential learning, and attend a variety of workshops that will equip congregations and synods with tools to prepare for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017.
  
And, you know that when you get a couple thousand Lutherans together the singing will be great!
  
As a synod bishop, I was always delighted by the wonder and excitement of first-time synod assembly attendees. People were happily surprised by the scope of the work we do as the ELCA. They found the worship inspiring and were energized by being around so many other Lutherans. So I thought, why not make it possible for people to have the same kind of experience at a churchwide assembly.
  
The partnership of the Grace Gathering and the 2016 Churchwide Assembly will provide a place for all members to prepare for the Reformation anniversary - which is an opportunity to rejoice in the life-giving, liberating power of the gospel - by connecting, reflecting on and discovering ways the Reformation continues to guide us today.
  
Registration for the Grace Gathering opens today. Learn more and register at www.ELCA.org/GraceGathering.
  
I hope to see you there!
  
God's blessings,
Rev. Elizabeth Eaton
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Wild Women Weekends at Lutheridge
By Kara Beck, Publications, NovusWay Ministries
  
You may print a copy of the Wild Women Registration Letter and Rules here
  
You may print a copy of the group registration spreadsheet here
  
Adult women of all ages and life situations have five opportunities to gain vision and strength for the new year. Bring a group to deepen fellowship with women you know or come alone to find kindred spirits with Wild Women from across the southeast. The program for next year will focus on MAKING DECISIONS. Each one of us makes countless decisions every day. Many times we don't even realize we are making them. But once in a while we are faced with a decision that stops us in our tracks. Options loom large before us, and we do not know what to choose. How do people of faith make decisions? What are the Biblical Models for making difficult decisions? What wisdom do contemporary Christian thinkers and our sisters in faith follow in determining God's will for their lives?These are the questions we will explore at the 2016 Wild Women's Weekends at Lutheridge. We'll study Rahab from the Old Testament and Jesus' geneology in the New Testament. Climbing Jesus's family tree and rappeling off the walls of Jerico will help us learn to take risks and make faithful decisions in our own lives. Enjoy storytelling, crafts, singing, and more ~ all in the beauty of the Blue Ridge mountains! Let God touch your heart and quicken your soul. Become a Wild Woman at Lutheridge! Group Registration is from August 15 through October 1 (Please contact the registration office for your registration form or visit the website). Individual registration will open on October 1. Additional information about registration will be available online, please call with questions.
  
Leader: Pastor Mary Canniff-Kuhn, Lutheridge Program Director & Storyteller
  
$214.00 per person
  
Download the Program Packet here!
Tidbits
Bach, Beer, and Friends
On November 13th, 2015 at 5:30 p.m., Ebenezer Lutheran Church, Patrons and Friends of the Arts at Ebenezer will present a free concert in the beautiful Ebenezer sanctuary of two of Bach's masterpieces, 'Goldberg Variations' and 'The Art of Fugue'. These will be performed solo at the piano by Matthew C. Ganong, and were composed during the last decade of the composer's life, representing the full fruition of his creative powers. Along with the music, there will be River Rat craft beers/soda and food from the Wurst Wagen for sale around the spreading oak in the church courtyard making it a real celebration! During the many intermissions people will be able to come and go from the sanctuary as they wish, to hear music or relax outside and enjoy some German-style fare. This event affords the unique opportunity to enjoy these masterworks of the Baroque era in a mellow and beautiful setting, under the historic oak in downtown Columbia's historic Ebenezer Lutheran Church. Please come and enjoy an offering of Bach, Beer, and Friends under the influence of 'Goldberg Variations' and 'The Art of Fugue'!
  
Workshop for interested middle and high school music students in the midlands
Patrons and Friends of the Arts at Ebenezer, Inc. will host an open workshop for interested middle and high school music students in the midlands on Tuesday, November 10 from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. in the Ebenezer sanctuary. Matthew Ganong, featured artist at the upcoming November 13th Bach performance, will be at the keyboard to play, and in the pew to listen, to future musicians as he energizes, coaches, encourages, and gently critiques those students who wish to enhance their musical talents. All are welcome.
  
2015 Gifts of Hope Now Open
Gifts of Hope is an alternative gift-giving program in the ELCA South Carolina Synod. This Christmas give gifts to family and friends that really matter. Give hope.
  
Fall 2015 Archival Survey: Issue 21 is now available
This is the newsletter of the James R. Crumley Jr. Archives, Region 9, ELCA, Columbia, South Carolina.
  
Introduction to the new website
An introduction to the new Synod website. Visit http://scsynod.com to check it out. Questions? Contact Neal at the Synod Office or reach out on Twitter at @scsynod or @nealffischer.
And a time to laugh...
Who was the greatest comedian in the Bible?
Samson because he brought the house down.
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