On January 25, the Interim Pastors of the SWCA Synod met at the Lutheran Center in Glendale for peer training and mutual encouragement. Supporting, connecting, and guiding congregational leaders such as Interim Pastors is part of the ministry of the synod. 

 

A time of transition is both a challenging and potentially productive period for congregations. It is a time when the congregation has the opportunity to re-evaluate who it is - a time to ask: "What is God calling this congregation to be and to do in its next chapter of mission?" An Interim Pastor is an important part of this process of congregational discernment, not only taking care of the pastoral needs of the community but helping to guide the congregation through the necessary self-study of mission and identity.

As we enter the final year of  Always Being Made New: The Campaign for the ELCA , we're looking to the future of this church by highlighting the campaign's Leadership priority, including the ELCA Fund for Leaders and Youth and Young Adults.  We'd like you to join us!  

Earlier this month, all ELCA congregations received a kickoff packet, including a  bulletin insert  and  poster , to share the work of the campaign and these programs. The above video , For this Church and For Our Future , is another way to show your congregation the impact of Leadership ministries, specifically ELCA Fund for Leaders - and features Vicar Brenda Greenwald and Pastor Bill Hurst from First, Torrance! 

#Cometothetable and join us Wednesdays at the Lutheran Center in Glendale at 11:00 a.m. for fellowship and 11:30 a.m. for our mid-week Eucharist service! (We will not have fellowship on Ash Wednesday). If you would like to be a guest preacher, contact Samantha at [email protected]. 

 

People often go to church expecting to avoid the wilderness - but in fact, the church is more a place of wilderness survival than wilderness avoidance. On January 10, Thomas Richter, pastor of Shishmaref Lutheran in Alaska (which is encountering a wilderness of its own with climate change and rising sea levels) reminded us that the life of the believer is not free of struggle and attack from external and internal forces, and that God has promised to show up in the wilderness and darkness, where the light shines. 

 

Out of the cacophony of voices demanding out attention, how can we tell which voice is from God and intended for us? On January 24, Pastor Alexia Salvatierra talked about Jesus calling the first disciples, and how Martin Luther reminds us that that calling continues when we remember our baptism. God calls us from a scarcity framework to a place of abundance and generosity, and while facing oppression from a place of powerlessness might be beyond our capacity, it is not beyond God's. 

Jesus taught with "authority" - which means both the responsibility and ability to do what needs to be done. His followers were convinced by his authority, which superseded established laws and created new relationships. On January 31, Bishop Guy acknowledged that questions of authority can be hard to process, especially when people - and congregations - confuse authority with power. Power with force is alienating, but authority with love unifies us.