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I-K Synod Staff Transition Update
Interviews have been scheduled for a new position, Assistant to the Bishop for Discipleship. This rostered minister, either deacon or pastor, will serve full-time in the areas of lifelong faith formation, youth and young adult ministry, the programmatic aspects of Synod Assembly, and as the liaison from the bishop's office to our companion church in Indonesia, the HKBP. The person in this position will also represent the bishop's office in other ways, including, as is the case for Pastor Apel, presence with congregations and other ministries on Sundays and at other times.
For the time being, Pastor Judy Follis and Pastor Karen Husby have agreed to serve as interim stewards of call process and interim ministry. They will work closely with the bishop to address the needs of congregations in transition until we are again more fully staffed. Other folks have also agreed to take on some added responsibility as part of building the bridge that will take us into the future of synod staffing and ministries.
All of us who serve in synod ministry and leadership will appreciate your prayers and patience as we move through this transition. As we move forward together, it is inevitable that responses will be slower, glitches will develop, and some things will be confusing. Together we will trust in God's forgiving grace and the leading of the Spirit to move us through this bit of a wilderness toward the new things God continues to do among and through all of us across this great mission territory.
Thank you for your partnership and companionship on this incredible missional journey!
Peace be with you,
+Bill
Bill Gafkjen, Bishop
Our Newest Cross
Thank you to Faith Lutheran Church in Lexington, KY and
Rev. Mark Sloss for the latest cross given to the synod's collection. This cross is from Haiti, where they are strong advocates and supporters of Grace Mission Orphanage and Scholarship Fund.
2017 Chrism Liturgies From Bishop William O. Gafkjen:
The locations for these liturgies have been chosen after a great deal of conversation and thought. As we have moved away from ten such liturgies each Lent to four or five, we have tried to move them around in a way that ensures that as many folks as possible have access to one. Thanks to our geography, this is a challenging task which was complicated a bit this year by the effort to do up to four of the liturgies with our Episcopal sisters and brothers.
Read more or RSVP for your date and location
here.
Year-End Mission Support G
ifts (Benevolence)
Mission Investment Fund Synod Financial Services will be posting Fiscal Year 2016 gifts intended for 2016 through 2/13/17. If you have not paid your January giving please do so as soon as possible in order for it to be posted to the correct year.
Our fiscal year runs from February 1 through January 31. Please clearly indicate in which fiscal year you would like your gifts to be posted by including "2016" or "2017" on your remittance. If your gift is received after February 13, it will be posted to your 2017 giving.
If you ha
ve any questions please call the synod office and ask for Sylvia at 317-253-355 extension 313 or call the Mission Investment Fund Synod Financial Service
s at the toll free number 877-886-3522 for customer service.
I-K Yout
h Gathering
Formed in God's image, Reformed in the cross of Christ, Transformed in the Holy Spirit
The IYC is hosting another Synod Youth Day - this time at Resurrection Luthera
n Church on Saturday, February 18 from 9:30-3:00. The day is for 7th-12th graders and their adult faith mentors. Not only will you get a great insight into the
ELCA 2018 Youth Gathering in Houston but representatives from Cam
pus Ministry and Lutheran Outdoor Ministry will be able to help answer questions about faith & college and summer camp including jobs. There will be opportunities to learn how to lead a bible study, develop new or renewing prayer practices, Adults will have an opportunity for their own session with other adults bouncing ministry and parenting ideas related with teens.
The cost is $25 for the first 10; $5 for every additional person. register here or if you have questions email Julie Schuessler Peralta ([email protected] )
Growing Steward Lay Leaders Retreat
We are pleased to announce that our successful Growing Steward Leaders Retreats for rostered
ministers
are now being offered for lay leaders. Our first lay leader retreat will be held at
Faith
Lutheran Church, Jeffersonville, IN on Saturday, February 25
th
from 9 AM - 5 PM. There is no cost to attend: all costs are being paid through a grant from the Stewardship of Life Institute
and through your Mission Support to the IK Synod
. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP to
Carol Webb at
[email protected]
by Wednesday, February 22
nd
. We hope to see you there!
Discernment Retreat
Have you ever thought about serving in public ministry as a pastor or deacon? Is God calling you to explore new ways you can use your gifts in church leadership? Do you want to know more about what it means to be called to serve as a rostered minister in the ELCA? If you answered, "yes," to any of these questions, consider attending the next Discernment Retreat, March 3-4, 2017 in Mansfield, OH. This retreat is a collaboration of the synods in Region 6, and is strongly recommendation for anyone considering seminary or theological study for public ministry.
Click here for a registration flyer, deadline Feb. 15, 2017. Contact Rev. Heather Apel,
[email protected], with any questions.
Preaching Survey
If you are currently a "working pastor" - preaching at least somewhat regularly - please consider helping out one of the LTS professors who is doing some serious research: The Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade, Assistant Professor of Preaching and Worship at Lexington Theological Seminary, has designed a questionnaire as part of a research project regarding how Mainline Protestant preachers serving congregations in the United States handle preaching sermons on controversial subjects. (Even if you do not preach on them, your input will be helpful to her.) The survey takes about 15-20 minutes to complete. Responses are being collected through Feb. 28, 2017. Her goal is to collect 1000 responses. You are invited to take the survey by clicking
here
For more information about this project, you can click please click
here:
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CONGREGATION NEWS
Prayer Concerns
During the weekly I-K Lutheran Center staff devotions we included these individuals and mission centers in our prayers:
Trinity, Linton, IN and
Rev. Doris Sparks
Trinity, Richmond, IN
and Rev. Daniel Nugent, vacancy
Trinity, Terre Haute, IN
and Rev. Dana Newhouse
Trinity, Union City, IN and
Rev. Robert Meckley, vacancy
Trinity, Valparaiso, IN and
Rev. Timothy Leitzke
Trinity, Wabash, IN and Rev. Alice Smith, vacancy
Rostered ministers
not under congregation call
Rev. James Hilleson - Chaplain/Director of Pastoral Call, Ball Memorial Hospital, Muncie, IN
Rev. Brian Johnson - Director of Campus Ministries, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN
Rev. Stan Sneeringer - Retired, Fort Wayne, IN
Rev. Russell Snyder - Retired, South Bend, IN
Rev. Joan Sorenson - Retired, Lexington, KY
Southwestern Minnesota Synod, Bishop Jon Anderson
Celebrations
You are invited to the ordination and installation of Karleen Jung to the ministry of Word and Sacrament at Grace and Glory Lutheran Church, Goshen, KY this coming Saturday, February 11 at 2:00 pm Eastern time. Rostered ministers may vest and process; the color of the day is red.
You are also invited to the consecration of Johannah Frey as the deaconess of the LDA on Saturday, February 25 at 1:00 p.m. at Cross and Crown Lutheran Church, Indianapolis, IN.
Condolences
We offer our love and prayers to the family Pastor Max Blankenburg, who passed away Sunday, February 5. Services are expected to be held at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Indianapolis this Saturday, February 11.
Please continue to lift up in prayer the family of Retired Pastor Richard D. "P.D." Dunning, who passed away, Friday, February 3, at his home. Services were held this past week in Syracuse.
Mission Support Giving Statements
Congregations, please be reminded that congregational giving statements summarizing Mission Support and designated giving are no longer generated by the IK Synod Office. Congregations are encouraged to access this information through Mission Investment Fund using the following instructions.
Instructions for assessing giving statements for the ministries in the IK Synod Ministries should navigate to
www.mif.elca.org/sfs and then select congregations. A link titled "Register" will appear at the top of the screen. The next page will prompt you to enter an "activation code" and the full tax id number for the ministry. The "activation code" was mailed to your ministry in a separate letter in late January 2016. If the letter has been misplaced, you can contact the Mission Investment Fund office at 877-886-3522. After entering the "activation code" and full tax id number, you will be directed to an account setup screen where the user id and password will be selected. Please note that each ministry will be allowed one login and therefore one login id and password. After completing the fields on the account setup screen, a confirmation email will be sent. This email includes a link that needs to be selected within 24 hours. After the link is selected, the account setup is finished and the ministry is ready to login to the Synod Financial Services website.
Employment Opportunity
King of Glory Lutheran Church (Carmel, Indiana) is seeking a part-time Music Minister to lead its current praise band Saturday evenings at 5:01 p.m. and Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m. This individual will select music based on scripture and the worship theme for that day. He/she will lead weekly practice for the praise band, which includes vocalists as well as instrumentalists.
Full resume here.
Indianapolis Pipe Organ Festival
Journey Through the Church Year
Please join us at St. Luke's United Methodist Church, Indianapolis, on Sunday, February 12 at 3:00 p.m. to hear several organists showcase music for the organ on the 80 rank Goulding & Wood organ. Performers include: Mark Herris, Heather Hinton, Michael Messina, Travis Person, Robert Shilling, and Dawn Waddell. More information and tickets may be purchased at
http://www.indyago.org/.
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CHURCH-WIDE NEWS
In her February column for Living Lutheran, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton lifts up the need for well-trained pastors and deacons. Where do we find these potential leaders? She says it's the "work of the entire church." Read her column in English at
here or in Spanish
here.
Candidacy Portal and Mobility Database Updated
Dear colleagues in ministry,
This email is to inform you that the Candidacy Portal and the Mobility Database System have been updated and are now available.
If you completed work on your RLP or MSP offline beginning Dec. 15 you can now log in and update your forms.
As a reminder, here is what you will see:
- The Rostered Leader Profile will be the Rostered Minister Profile.
- Those of you on the roster of ordained ministers will be referred to as a minister of word and sacrament.
- Those of you on a lay roster will be referred to as a minister of word and service.
This information has been sent to all bishops and synods. Please contact your synod office with any questions you may have. Thank you for your patience during this time of transition.
Wm Chris Boerger
Secretary
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
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