From the Bishop

Attention:  Congregations and Pastors in Transition

We have been informed that the ELCA portal for pastors' RLPs and congregations' MSPs will be unavailable December 15 through January 17.  This means that nobody will be able to post or download.  Please be aware of this.

ELCA Advent Devotion Resources - 1st Day of Advent, November 27

A variety of resources are available for you & your congregation as we wait in abundant hope for the birth of Jesus. Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton wrote one devotion in a four-part series with other ecumenical leaders.
ELCA World Hunger offers an Advent study with a focus on responding to hunger and poverty throughout the world. This study is available in both English and Spanish. Finally, there is a devotional that focuses on living out your baptismal calling during Advent and Christmas that focuses on the five gifts of discipleship.

St. Mark Lutheran Church, Child Care Fundraiser.  Anchorage - Dec 23rd , 4 - 9pm

St. Mark Lutheran Church is offering child care with Christmas story and activities, a very light evening meal, singing, and a snack for children 10yrs of age and younger. This is a fundraiser for their Mexico Mission Trip over spring break 2017. Registration Details Here.

Internship Opportunity- Vancouver, WA.  Applications due Jan 15th.

Messiah Lutheran Church in Vancouver, WA is offering two internships for full-time college students this summer. These are 10-12 week full-immersion experiences into the life of our healthy and growing congregation, and are part of our ministry as a teaching congregation of the Church. These students will be their 13th and 14th summer interns. The program is specifically designed as an opportunity for young adults to discern whether God may be calling them into professional church work (including ordained ministry) or to other vocational pursuits. It has been greatly appreciated by the previous summer interns, and immensely helpful to the larger church in that many of them have gone on to first-career pursuits within the Church. Housing and stipend are provided. More Details Here.

Emerson Eads of Christ Lutheran-Fairbanks

Currently working on his PHD at Notre Dame, his latest project includes a performance; Mass for the Oppressed, the world premiere of his De Profundis & arrangement of He's Got the Whole World In His Hands. It will be produced by Grammy Award Winning Producer Thom Moore who records cellist Zuill Bailey's cds. He asks for support for this project which will enable this recording to help fund the Alaska Innocence Project. It should be released in March of 2017. For those of you looking to contribute you can contribute here: Contribution Link. Every contribution gets a cd recording, and a mention on the cd jacket ( only if you wish to be named).

Byberg Preaching Workshop 2017.  January 16-18 in Cannon Beach, Oregon

"David J. Lose: Preaching in a Postmodern, Post-Christian World"
The Byberg Preaching Workshop is pleased to announce that the speaker for 2017 is David Lose. The Rev. Dr. David J. Lose is president of The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP). Lose assumed his duties at the start of the 2014-2015 academic year. He was Marbury Anderson Associate Professor of Biblical Preaching at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, before accepting the presidency at LTSP.  Registration Details here. Registrations due by December 31.

Crossroads, Redefining Your Vocational Vision Seminar.

Seattle, WA: Jan 24-25, 2017  &  Portland, OR: Feb 7-8, 2017
This workshop is designed specifically for church workers who may be asking questions about the next steps on their professional journey.  The Crossroads Seminar provides tools & resources that empower clergy & other church professionals to assess their core vocational strengths & interests, develop approaches to creatively apply these strengths in their current work, look at other vocational options where these strengths may apply, & develop a plan & strategy for navigating the road ahead with its various options. Details & Registration here.

Rooted in Christ: Connected in Comm unity. 1st of 4 Workshops - Feb 24-25, 2017

Join Us!  A discipleship & mission journey for the Alaska Synod.
Whether you've already participated in an October "Rooted" workshop & are interested in the cohort or if you haven't heard of "Rooted" at all, here's a summary of what we're doing & what's up next.  Contact Rev. Lisa Smith Fiegel, Director for Evangelical Mission, via e-mail or (907) 272-8899 for questions.

Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran, Juneau - Volunteer Invitation, June 26-30

A volunteer crew is invited to help with our summer lunch program this year. This is our sixth year operating a summer lunch program for the neighborhood. We feed, play, & read with about fifty youth a day Monday-Friday. Contact: Pastor Tari Stage-Harvey via e-mail or (907) 789-4093. More Details here.

The 2017 Annual Report to the Bishop modified forms for rostered ministers.

The 2017 Annual report to the bishop forms for rostered ministers have been posted on the ELCA website.  The link to the forms is located here.  The forms have been modified slightly from previous years.  Remember to save the form in your computer before filling it out & sending it to the Bishop via e-mail. Across this church, rostered leaders are asked to submit their personal report by February 15, 2017 .

Congregation Constitution Updating.

We have people ready to help your congregation update your constitution.  You will find a helpful resource by downloading the 2016 model constitution for congregations at elca.org.  Send your draft to the Alaska Synod office [email protected] for our review team to review and return to you.  The review team is well-practiced at constitution updating and want to help you.

Joshua Grant Program.

Joshua Grants are one year grants of $1,000-$5,000 to Lutheran congregations, organizations and agencies committed to launching new ministries of health and hope in their community. Proposals for the Joshua Grant Program are accepted year-round with grants awarded semi-annually. Next proposal deadline: Feb 29, 2017
  Visit Website here for additional proposal information.  To view recent grant recipients with detail of awarded ministry, click here.

LEAD Advent Resources for Home and Congregations 2016

Free print-ready resources for worship & reflection using texts from the Revised Common Lectionary which include; Weekly bulletin with liturgy and prayers, weekly images to color, & prayer prompts for praying with prayer beads.  These resources were created by LEAD featuring art by Vonda Drees, Director of the Grunewald Guild.  View Resources here.

Lutherans at work, because of you: Stories of Faith in Action are here!

Read all about fellow Lutherans & other partners in ministry making a difference & more in this year's Stories of Faith in Action, an annual publication of the ELCA churchwide office. These little booklets share inspirational stories of people making positive impact in the name of Jesus Christ, made possible by the generosity of people like you. Each Alaska Synod congregation will receive up to 30 free copies of the booklet. Point of contact: Lisa Smith Fiegel, director for evangelical mission, at E-mail or (907) 272-8899. More Details here.

The ELCA Resource Catalog

Just in time for Holiday gift giving or a jump-start to the new year for Synods and Congregations alike.  Make the online catalog of resources for members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America your first stop.  View Catalog here.

Selecting Management Software for your Congregation

Church Management Software (ChMS) can help with a range of administrative tasks in your congregation: member database, donation tracking, visitation logs, congregation finances, etc. If you are shopping for a new or replacement ChMS, the Congregational Resource Guide has an index of at least 11 articles, organizations or websites that can help in that selection process.  View Guide here.

Lutheran Outdoor Ministries offers Curriculum Package for VBS

Did you know that Lutheran Outdoor Ministries (LOM), a non-profit organization that supports the outdoor ministries of the ELCA, has a Vacation Bible School Curriculum for use by congregations?  LOM's curriculum from the last few years, including the 2017 theme, "The Water of Life," is available in a bundle for use in congregational VBS programs.  As Augsburg Fortress no longer produces an annual VBS curriculum, this could be a valuable tool for the congregations that you work with who are looking for a curriculum with a solid theological background.  Interested?  View Details here.

Yarn Donations.

Christ Lutheran Church-Soldotna regularly accepts yarn donations for the "Crocheting Their Way" Ministry.  The women at the Wildwood Pre-Trail Facility in Kenai, AK continue to create fantastic articles for our community.  Yarn donations are accepted & gathered at 128 N. Soldotna Ave, Soldotna, AK, (907) 262-4757.  Thank you for your support.

AK Child & Family regularly accepts yarn donations for residential treatment clients, community based programs & treatment foster homes for use in therapeutic craft-making projects.  Donations gladly accepted at 4600 Abbott Rd, Anchorage, AK.  Donations contact: Angie, (907) 346-2101.

Looking Ahead

2016
December 23:  Child Care Fundraiser - St. Mark Lutheran Church, Anchorage
2017
January 16-18:  Byberg Preaching Workshop 2017 - Cannon Beach, OR
January 24-25:  Crossroads, Redefining Your Vocational Vision Seminar - Seattle, WA
February 7-8:  Crossroads, Redefining Your Vocational Vision Seminar - Portland, OR
February 15:  2017 Annual Report due to Bishop
February 24-25:  Rooted in Christ: Connected in Community, 1st of 4 Workshops - Anch
February 24:  Congregation Council Workshop 101 (for those who haven't attended previously) - Anchorage
February 25:  Congregation Council Workshop 201 with Linda Babbitt on Congregational Vitality - Anchorage
July 13-16:  Tenth Triennial Women of the ELCA Gathering, All Anew - Minneapolis, MN
August 7-10:  Rostered Ministers Gathering, On The Way- Together! - Atlanta, GA

Standing Together- Veteran's Program. 1st Tuesday, Monthly.

Joy Lutheran, in partnership with the Chugiak- Eagle River Library, has launched "Standing Together," an effort to reach out to those veterans who may be positively connected through the reading of selected literature & discussion regarding the reading.  This is made possible by a grant from the Humanities Forum. Learn more here.

Join the December discussions.  In the Beginning. Crafting a Truly Fulfilling Life. The Aliens Are Coming. 3230 Lake Otis Parkway, Anchorage. View flyer here.

National Conference for Sacred Music. January 4-7, 2017

First Presbyterian Church, Charlotte, NC
Featuring Robert Hobby, Allen Hightower, Craig Mueller, Tom Shelton, Stephen Mitchell, & Mark Lawson. National Conference for Sacred Music is a unique conference designed to provide the practicing church musician with fresh new ideas to help create a vital, growing music ministry. Learn more.