We are pleased to share with you the following news, information and ministry opportunities taking place within our synod. If you have items to share about the ministries happening through your congregation, please email Terri Robertson at  terrirobertson@pacificasynod.org. If you know of others who aren't receiving our emails, please share this with them and encourage them to sign up here.

Hotel Information

To take advantage of the discounted hotel rate at the Town & Country Resort of $139 per night, please book your stay directly  with the hotel by April 19, 2017. The link to reserve a room at this rate may be found here. You may also call the hotel reservation line at 800.772.8527. Be sure to reference Pacifica Synod when you call by phone in order to receive the discounted rate. This rate is available during the dates of May 8-13, 2017. Information about the Town & Country Resort may be found on their website at:

https://www.destinationhotels.com/town-country

If you need other information about the assembly itself - schedule, speakers, volunteer opportunities, youth and young adult activities, workshop information, etc. - please visit the Synod Assembly page on our website at  www.pacificasynod.org .

This year's Synod Assembly will include feature many photos of our varied ministries. We invite congregations to send digital photos of any ministries from your church to terrirobertson@pacificasynod.org. 

We would love to see God's Work. Our Hands. projects, VBS, choir, feeding programs, Christmas pageants, Global mission work, field trips, senior projects, community gardens, Bible studies, work days, community events, bike-a-thons, youth lock-ins, car washes, anything which shows how God is using your congregation to serve the world and each other. Close ups, action shots, group photos, anything would be valued. Please be sure to identify your congregation by name and city, and share which ministry you are highlighting. Thank you!

The Nominating Committee for the 2017 Pacifica Synod Assembly needs your help in surfacing names of persons able to serve our synod in an elected capacity. If you provide their contact information, the committee will make contact with the nominee to determine a willingness to serve. To meet the inclusivity requirement of our Synod Constitution (S6.04), we will accept nominees to fill the following council positions as shown below. We are seeking two nominees for each position. Designations male/female are made in an effort to provide 50/50 balance. Please contact Rachel Line by email at rachelline@pacificasynod.org for more information.

2017 Synod Council Positions To Be Filled:

Four-year term:

Treasurer (lay or clergy)

Three-year terms:

Hukilau Conference Lay (male)

Lay at Large (female, ethnic or English as a second language)

Big Bear Conference Clergy (female)

Saddleback Conference Lay (female)

Two-year term:

Youth Representative (age 20 or younger at time of election)

The application period for the Pacifica Synod Latino Ministry Endowment Fund Partnership Support Grants is now open until April 30, 2017.

The Pacifica Synod Latino Ministry Endowment Fund, formed from a
merger of the St. Mary's and Santa Ana Accounts by action of the Synod Council on March 12, 2005, provides assistance and support to congregations with existing Latino ministries and/or congregations intending to develop new Latino ministries. Congregations that can demonstrate financial need and have a defined plan for outreach may apply for a partnership support grant from the Pacifica Synod, Latino Ministry Endowment Fund (PS-LMEF).

To be considered for a grant, the congregation must:

When completed, the application will be reviewed by the Pacifica Synod Latino

Ministry Endowment Fund Task Force with approval of the grant by the Latino/Hispanic Ministry Team. Final approval is granted by the Pacifica Synod Council.

The availability of partnership support grants from this fund will vary from year to year based on a fixed percentage of the principle plus interest of the monies available in the PS-LMEF (Pacifica Synod Latino Ministry Endowment Fund).

Congregations may download an application  here. The completed grant application must be returned to the PSLHMT (Pacifica Synod Latino/Hispanic Ministry Team) Chairperson, Rev. Dr. Jonathan Doolittle at Clairemont Lutheran Church, 4271 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., San Diego, CA 92117 or by email to pastor.jon@clairemontlc.org by April 30, 2017.

ACCOMPANIMENT: One hundred eighty-five thousand families, 185,957 to be exact, have entered the United States on our southern border in the last 3 years alone. There are another 168,203 unaccompanied children that entered during this same period. Your congregation can accompany thee families and children as a Welcoming Congregation which makes a public commitment to provide pastoral and physical accompaniment of children and families through the difficult transition into life in the US. Since the assembly, the first Welcoming Congregations have been established in six synods for a total of 35 Welcoming Congregations from California to Texas to Wisconsin and Illinois.

ADVOCATE: Now more than ever, our voices as people of faith are urgently needed to protect the human rights of children and families as they reach our border. Go to ELCA Advocacy for the most recent action alerts.

LEARN about the all important work that our companions are doing in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala to address the root causes of migration by providing vocational training and psychological assistance to youth deported Mexico and the US. A short video of Suyapa Ucles, Program Director, CASM, Honduras is on the AMMPARO webpage under videos.

PRAY for migrant children and families and for guidance for the ELCA in all its expressions to be faithful to God's call.

GIVE to AMMPARO to support work by companions in Central America and partners in the US through the ELCA.

For more information about AMMPARO, visit our website or contact Mary Campbell, Program Director at mary.campbell@elca.org . Follow AMMPARO on Facebook.

Would you like to volunteer at the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering in Houston and help our young people grow in faith and encounter Christ? Serving the youth of this church is a vocational calling that requires careful discernment. The volunteer application process opens in May 2017 via links from our website. We have four categories of volunteers: Local Volunteers, Community Life, Gathering Volunteer Corps, and Servant Companions. Each group has the opportunity to contribute to the Gathering in fun and innovative ways, ranging from hospitality at our welcome booth, to walking along side our groups with their service-learning opportunities.

For more information on volunteering at the Gathering and the application process, sign up for this informational webinar here and tune in on Thursday, April 6 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific time. 

Come and join us at the 42nd annual Scandinavian Festival at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks on April 1 and 2, 2017. The Festival hours are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. This is sponsored by the Scandinavian American Cultural and Historical Foundation. For a downloadable flyer, click here. 

The annual festival of Nordic cultures features music, dancing, cooking and craft demonstrations, lectures, vendors and affordable activities for families of all ages!  Both days of the Festival are filled with music, dancing, food, lectures, demonstration, vendors and activities for young and old alike.   For more information, visit  http://www.scandinavianfest.org/ .

To register for this event, go to http://bit.ly/2k114GV.