Resources for effective church leaders
+ May 27, 2020
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Sing Along With ‘O Day Full of Grace”
Check out this amazing video of Lutheran vocalists and instrumentalists across the US
safely
collaborating on this hymn – with organ, strings and brass. This video is available now for you to share in Pentecost worship this Sunday.
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Bishop Asks Churches Not to Open Until July 1
While the five-county area may move to the “yellow” phase of reopening June 5, Bishop Davenport asks churches to move deliberately and make necessary adjustments before opening.
“I encourage you to refrain from indoors, in-person worship until at least July 1,” the bishop said in a
letter to the Synod
. “While we all long to worship in person, there remain significant health risks to our members and our communities.”
“As much as we know about COVID-19, there is much we do not yet understand. I urge you to make methodical, informed decisions not colored by the passions surrounding this issue. We will return to in-person worship, although for a while it may look very different from what we have been used to. Yet outside the walls, we continue to glorify Christ through our worship, teaching, and serving.”
Related:
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Communicators’ Zoom Call Thursday at 11
Lay and rostered leaders who work with communications, technology, and planning for re-opening are invited to join a Zoom call Thursday, May 28, at 11 am. Pastor Bob Fisher, assistant to the bishop for communications, is the host. Tune in to ask questions, share ideas, and learn what others are doing as online church.
Resources from last week’s call:
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Letter from Tanzania
Bishop Stephen Munga of the North Eastern Diocese, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, writes to our Bishop Davenport:
“I want to express our empathy, deep concerns and worries about this pandemic. We have been praying for you and will still remain in our prayers. As the media informs us, we see how hard countries are trying hard to keep the impact of the pandemic low. ...
“Here in Tanzania perhaps we are just at the beginning of the pandemic. We are struggling with it in many ways due to obvious factors at different levels of our society. … [Yet] we believe that there will come a time when this pandemic will pass, and things will come to normal.
“I would also like to thank you for standing together with us at this very difficult time. Let us continue to stand together in prayers and other kinds of support and surely the Lord will take us out of this shadow of death.”
“America’s Original Sin” - an online book discussion
The SEPA Synod Anti-racism Team invites you to online
conversations about race
based on the book - "America's Original Sin" by Jim Wallis.
These interactive discussions will take place on
Tuesday evenings, from 7pm-8:15pm
on June 9th, June 16th, June 23th, June 30th, July 7th and July 14th. They will be led by members of the SEPA Synod Anti- racism Team. You may participate in one or all of the conversations.
To join in these free interactive discussions
please register by sending an e-mail
to:
Antiracism@sepa.org
with your name and contact information. Space is limited, so please
register
before
Friday, June 5th for the first session. A link to connect to the conversation, along with further information will be sent to you prior to the discussion. The Team looks forward to your participation in this new venture.
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#SEPAstepsUP
Amid the coronavirus crisis, SEPA congregations are stepping up to continue or create ministries to serve their neighbors. Here are a couple of these stories.
What is your congregation doing to serve in this time? Send your information, stories and/or photos to Pastor
Bob Fisher
and we will publish them soon.
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Welcome Bread: Taking Sandwiches to the Street
The Welcome Bread project is taking off. Thanks to a growing list of partners, more than 2,000 PB&J sandwiches are being delivered each week to Project Home, which distributes them to individuals who are unhoused. The growing list of partners includes: Grace Lutheran (Hatfield); The Welcome Church; Hatfield Church of the Brethren; Christ Lutheran (Oreland); Jarrettown United Methodist; Advent Lutheran (Harleysville); St. John’s Lutheran (Ambler); Emmanuel Evangelical Congregational; St. Michael’s Lutheran (Sellersville); Trinity Lutheran (Perkasie), Kairos Communities, and Trinity Lutheran (Fairview Village).
Additionally, there are numerous people who are not affiliated with a local church who have made valuable contributions to Welcome Bread.
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Virtual Hike Urges Fitness in the Pandemic
St. Michael's in Sellersville is embarking on a Virtual Hike on the Appalachian Trail!
With the warmer weather, members are being encouraged to get outdoors for walking and wellness. On May 1, members began the virtual hike at the trail head at Springer Mountain in Georgia. Hikers log their daily steps/miles, and report them to the leader each week. The hike leader adds up the collective miles weekly, figures out where the group is along the trail, and posts pictures of the sights and peaks along the way. The goal is to reach Mount Katahdin in Maine, and then hike back to Georgia! The AT is around 2100 miles each way, for a total round-trip of about 4200 miles. The idea was inspired by a desire to encourage Wellness activities among congregation members during the COVID Pandemic, and by the Bible story about the Walk to Emmaus, where the disciples walked along the way together with Jesus. Last Fall, St. Michael's members "walked across America" in a similar fashion.
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Narrative Lectionary Curriculum On Sale
Bloom! Children's Ministry Curriculum will be $50 for all congregations this fall due to the financial impacts of COVID-19 on so many of us. To support you more in the event of sheltering-in-place again, we'll also include a Story Intro video that you can send to families to use at home. It can stand alone or you can use it as an introduction to other Bloom! activities that you can put together for families to use as well. I'll also be making Children's Sermon videos that you can either edit into a worship video, or that you can use to get ideas from. Bloom! follows the Narrative Lectionary for our Bible story sequence, though it is great for all congregations. We offer ideas for PreK-6th grade (in sections of PreK, K&1, 2&3, 4-6) as well as for large group and a Christmas program. Check out more about it at
www.bloominfaith.com
.
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Grieving Through COVID-19: A Lutheran Congregational Services Grief Counselor Shares Her Insights and How to Find Support
Sylvia Havlish, a professional grief counselor for over 40 years, knows first-hand how difficult life has been for those grieving through the unique circumstances of COVID-19. On a normal day, Sylvia hosts grief groups in partnership with
Lutheran Congregational Services (LCS)
for bereaved individuals. With these groups, Sylvia facilitates a safe space where individuals can explore their feelings of loss while learning the various stages of grief and how to journey through them. Sylvia and LCS hope to equip those grieving with the tools they need for healing and understanding.
Faith Leaders' Call With Montco Commissioners
In response to the rapidly evolving coronavirus situation, the Montgomery County Commissioners will be hosting an informational Webex on
Friday, May 29
th
at 12:30 pm
for faith-based organizations and houses of worship in Montgomery County. You can join via computer or phone, information is below:
Phone: 1-408-418-9388, Access code: 792 205 304
Webinars from Thrivent
Join the Thrivent Member Network: Mid-Atlantic Region on May 28th at 8:00 PM for an Exclusive Online Webinar, Retirement and Taxes, with Guest Speaker, Ed Slott.
This totally unique, entertaining and educational online webinar is for people who have spent a lifetime saving for retirement and now want to know how taxes will impact those savings… and what you can do about it.
PRIDE Month Worship Resources
June is PRIDE month, and Reconciling Works offers resources for your congregation to celebrate the diversity of the LGBTQIA+ community.
DEEPENING & EXPANDING ONLINE WORSHIP Living into your commitment to welcome during COVID-19:
A one-pager
designed to help you find creative and intentional ways to share your welcome, inclusion, and celebration of LGBTQIA+ people during your online worship.
PRIDE Prayer 2020: Every Sunday in June ReconcilingWorks has a prayer for your community to share in worship, online, and in your communication with your community.
Sharing on Social Media: Knowing people are finding community online, now more than ever, ReconcilingWorks will have daily posts and information about the LGBTQIA+ community for you to share on your social media streams throughout the month of June. Like and Follow ReconcilingWorks on Facebook and Instagram to be able to share these resources daily!
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Help Churches Challenged in This Crisis
You can help SEPA churches struggling in this difficult time by giving to our new COVID-19 Relief Fund.
And thanks to generous donors, there is still an opportunity to have your dollars doubled for the first $3,000 donated.
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Thank you
The Rev. Bob Fisher, assistant to the bishop for mission interpretation/communications
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