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SYNOD & ELCA NEWS & NOTES
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Changes to the Pacifica Synod e-News
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We are pleased to share with you the following news, information and ministry opportunities taking place within our synod and throughout the ELCA.
Beginning April 1, 2019 - our e-newsletter will be distributed semi-monthly in two separate issues. One issue will include Pacifica Synod and ELCA news items, along with prayer requests. The second issue will include ministry celebrations, events and opportunities, and positions within our synod and beyond.
If you have items to share about the ministries happening through your congregation, please email Terri Robertson at
[email protected]. If you know of others who aren't receiving our emails, please share this with them and encourage them to sign up
here.
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Pacifica Synod News & Resources
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Renewal of Ordination Vows - Encinitas - April 16
We thank St. Andrew's Episcopal Church for hosting this year's joint Episcopal-Lutheran (ELCA) gathering of clergy on the Tuesday of Holy Week.
Tuesday, April 16
St. Andrews Episcopal Church
890 Balour Drive
Encinitas, CA 92024
Worship begins at 10:30 a.m.
Clergy are invited to vest - purple stoles
Lunch following
We thank The Rev. Brenda Sol, Rector of St. Andrew's and Pastor Laura Ziehl of Bethlehem Lutheran Church (ELCA) for their gracious hospitality, and for sharing about the shared youth ministry of these two churches with us!
Why do we gather in Holy Week, when so many of us are stretched to the max? This
 gathering allows for bishops, priests, pastors and deacons to gather during one of the holiest and most demanding liturgical seasons of the Church Year. Together we join in worship with our brothers and sisters to contemplate Jesus' journey to the Cross. Together we are fed spiritually in the Eucharist, we renew our ordination vows, we receive the holy oils of chrism and unction blessed by our bishops (to bring back to our communities), and we break bread together.
Also called the Chrism Mass, this liturgy reminds us of our oneness in Christ. As clergy gather during Holy Week, we also remember the thousands of members of our diocese/synod in thanksgiving, praying that God continues to bless us to grow together as one Body in Christ's Name.
This event is brief and focused, so that all may quickly be on the road and return to their communities of faith.
Pacifica Synod Chrism Mass Service - April 17
All (rostered ministers and lay) are invited to be with us at the Lutheran Center for Mission & Learning in Santa Ana for our Synod Chrism Mass service as follows:
Wednesday, April 17
11:30 a.m.
Lutheran Center for Mission & Learning
1801 Park Court Place, Bldg. C, Santa Ana
This service will include worship, Holy Communion, Renewal of Vocation (a renewal of baptismal, ordination and consecration vows), and Blessing of the Oils. No RSVP is necessary. Chrism oils will be provided, however, please bring your own containers.
If you need Chrism oils prior to April 17, please contact the synod office.
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32nd Annual Pacifica Synod Assembly
"Oh Lord, Open My Ears:
Listening for God While Listening to Others"
Friday, May 10 to Saturday, May 11, 2019
Hope Lutheran Church,
Palm Desert
Synod Assembly Online Registration Now Open!
We are just two months away from our 2019 Pacifica Synod Assembly that will take place May 10-11 at Hope Lutheran Church in Palm Desert. We are pleased to provide you with a registration information document and worksheet which you can download by clicking
this link
. These instructions have also been mailed to each congregation. This information will guide you through our online registration process which is now open
. Please use the worksheet to assemble the information you will need BEFORE you go online to register. Once you have your information assembled, follow this
registration link
to begin the registration process.
If you need other information about the assembly itself - hotel information, schedule, special guests, nominations, youth and young adult voting members, etc. - please visit the Synod Assembly page on our Pacifica Synod website.
If you have questions or need help with the registration process, please contact Terri Robertson at the synod office at 714.692.2791 or by email at [email protected].
Pre-Assembly Reports (Assembly Notebook)
The Pre-Assembly Reports (a.k.a. Assembly Notebook) will be available to download approximately one month prior to the start date of the assembly - around April 10. Watch for an email to be sent to all congregations, rostered ministers and registered assembly participants. The links to download the entire notebook or each section individually will be posted on our
Assembly web page. For those who ordered and paid for a printed notebook, one will be mailed to you by April 15.
Budget and Resolutions Hearings by Video Conference - April 27
To better prepare yourself for discussion on Resolutions and the Synod Budget, once again this year there will be hearings offered
prior to the assembly using video conference via Go To Meeting on
Saturday, April 27th. There will be one session offered for each hearing, as follows:
Resolutions Hearing
10:00 to 11:00 a.m.
Budget Hearing
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Each session will last one hour and is limited to 25 participants.
Registration in advance is required. To register, please contact Terri Robertson by email at
[email protected]. Once registered, you will be sent a link with further instructions. For those who wish to attend in person, you may do so at the Lutheran Center for Mission & Learning in Santa Ana.
Resolutions and the budget will be found in the Pre-Assembly materials, scheduled to be available for download around April 10, 2019.
Providing Assembly Hospitality
As is our tradition, we invite congregation members to bake and bring donations of
 cookies for our hospitality room at the assembly. These baked goods sustain our voting members and guests throughout our time together. This is a great way to involve those who can't be with us at the assembly. Your cookie donations may be sent with your voting members and dropped off at Hope Lutheran when they arrive. Thank you for your faithful baking!
Youth and Young Adult Voting Members
Following the 2011 Synod Assembly, the Pacifica Synod Council approved the addition of one voting member for each congregation who brought a youth
 (Confirmed through age 17) or young adult (ages 18-30) as a voting member to synod assemblies. Congregations are encouraged to seek out youth or young adults who may be willing to serve as voting members and include them in congregational registration and housing arrangements.
After worship ends on Friday evening, the Synod Youth Team will be hosting dinner together in the community. All youth attending the assembly are invited to be with us for this fellowship time. In order for us to plan for the meal,
youth interested in participating are asked to make arrangements in advance by contacting Terri Robertson by May 1 by email at
[email protected].
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PLTS Big Give during Cal Lutheran Giving Day
Wednesday, April 3
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Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary is participating in its first ever Big Give as part of California Lutheran University's Giving Day on Wednesday April 3rd. Our goal is to raise $20,000 in 24 hours. This day is all about you! You can choose to support the seminary in two ways. Your gift to the Seminary Fund will go to where the need is greatest today at PLTS and your gift will be matched by Phyllis and Herbert Anderson. Your gift to the Seminex endowed faculty chair in biblical studies supports theological education of the future and will be matched by Mary Gundelach.
You can participate in these ways:
2. Collect an offering on Sunday March 31 or Wednesday April 3.
No matter which day you choose, please send Sara Wilson, Associate Director of
 Seminary Relations, an email at
[email protected] with your congregation's name, city/state, Giving Day total dollars collected, and any specific designation by 11:59 pm on April 3rd to be counted toward our matching challenges and Giving Day event. Mail your contribution check to PLTS, 2000 Center Street Berkeley, CA 94704 with Giving Day in the memo line and we will promptly put it too good use and send our thanks.
Note: All undesignated gifts will be split 50/50 between the two initiatives. Gifts will be matched up to $10,000 in total gifts for each initiative.
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Lutheran Social Services - Lutheran Night at Dodger Stadium
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All tickets must be purchased by June 1 by visiting
All tickets purchased by the deadline will be guaranteed in our reserved Lutheran Night Section. There is also a dedicated link that allows you to select your exact seat location, regardless of group size, so that any combination of family and friends can sit together.
For additional questions or info please contact Daniella Baltazar at 323.224.1594 or by email at [email protected]
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I-Lert Flood Preparedness Information
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Helping Our Neighbors Facing Disasters
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Friends,
As I write you this, many of our neighbors around the world are facing disasters, including:
- In Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, where Cyclone Idai has caused massive destruction and flooding that have killed more than 200 people, with the death toll expected to rise. Aid workers are rushing to rescue trapped survivors. News reports estimate that 1.5 million people will be affected by the cyclone.
- In the United States, where heavy rainfall and rapid snow melt have caused major flooding across several states. At least three people have died, and hundreds of homes and businesses have been affected. With more rain and warmer weather expected, more flooding may happen soon.
- In Madagascar, where a measles outbreak has led to 800,000 reported cases and an estimated 900 deaths since October 2018, worsened by food shortages and drought. Children are most at risk.
The donations we receive to Lutheran Disaster Response's general fund mean that we can respond quickly whenever and wherever disaster strikes.
Unfortunately, not every disaster that should be front-page news makes the headlines. But even when they don't, we can still accompany our neighbors, with your help.
With gratitude for your partnership in ministry,
The Rev. Daniel Rift
Director, ELCA World Hunger and Lutheran Disaster Response Funding
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
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2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly Volunteers Needed
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The ELCA Churchwide Assembly, the primary decision-making body of the church, is a process of communal spiritual discernment. Finding ourselves in Christ, the fifteenth Churchwide Assembly will be a time for us to be the living body of Christ guided by the Spirit and conformed to God's will.
We will meet at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 5-10, 2019 to discuss and make decisions about how to go about God's work as a church. This year the assembly will gather under the theme "We are church."
The Greater Milwaukee Synod is the host synod for the 2019 Churchwide Assembly and they need volunteers to help this event run smoothly. About 600 volunteers will be recruited in the coming months to usher, iron albs, provide technology assistance to voting members, monitor doors, greet visitors and much more. Please read about all the ways you can help on their volunteer positions page and visit the ELCA Churchwide Assembly page to learn more.
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Resources for Faith Formation - Christian Education Network
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The Christian Education Network of the ELCA includes both professional and diversely gifted volunteers who are involved in lifelong faith formation ministries through congregations and many of our ELCA and partner organizations in a variety of roles. CENetwork members are linked by our mission to support one another in our callings so "...that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love..." (Col. 2:2) To read more about the CENetwork, please click
here
.
In support of the ELCA initiative "Living our Baptism: Five Gifts of Discipleship," the Christian Education Network of the ELCA is curating resources on their website http://www.faithfulteaching.org.
New resources for people of all ages and learning styles are available along with links to other sites. Just click on the "Living Our Baptism tab on their website. In addition, check out their Facebook group, where you can post questions and share resources! Mentoring opportunities also are available.
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We ask that you hold the following people and congregations in prayer:
- The family of Pastor Frank Gearhart
- Pastor Carol Reed
- Pastor Richard Vevia
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In our synod e-newsletter, prayer requests may be shared for our synod's rostered ministers, spouses, key lay leaders and congregations.
Prayer requests included are subject to the following guidelines:
- Only the names of those to be prayed for will be included in our communications. Additional information (with permission) may be shared with the bishop or synod staff, but will not be publicized.
- Those being prayed for must have provided the requester with explicit permission for their names to be shared with the synod.
- Names will remain in the synod communications for one month, unless we are notified by the Conference Prayer Coordinator to extend the request.
- Prayers MUST be added through your Conference Prayer Coordinator, who will submit the prayers to the synod office for distribution.
The following people are serving as your Conference Prayer Coordinators:
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