Ready to share a smile with someone special this Valentine’s Day?
Give honeybees ($20), a fruit-tree seedling ($10) or a piglet ($30) in honor of your valentine and help someone around the world overcome hunger and poverty. Each gift provides a sustainable source of food, income or both to help a family in need. This Valentine’s Day, you can share the love of Christ far and wide!
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Paycheck Protection Program Loans through ELCA Federal Credit Union |
With partnership and support from the Mission Investment Fund of the ELCA, the ELCA Federal Credit Union (FCU) is now offering the second round of Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans to congregations and ministries.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, these PPP loans offer much-needed relief by covering a congregation or ministry’s payroll and operating expenses.
Congregations and ministries can apply for a first-time PPP loan, and some may be eligible for a second loan. The FCU can assist any eligible ELCA congregation or ministry, even if it received its first PPP loan though a different lender. Borrowers will be able to apply for loan forgiveness following the terms of the loan.
To review eligibility requirements and apply for a PPP loan, please visit the ELCA FCU’s website, www.elcafcu.org/PPP. The ELCA FCU will be accepting loan applications through March 31, 2021, or until funding is exhausted.
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This information has been made available by the Mission Investment Fund of the ELCA. |
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The United As One COVID-19 Special Appeal continues to provide support to congregations during this pandemic.
Join the Florida-Bahamas Synod and lift up your neighboring congregations!
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Lenten Resources from ELCA World Hunger |
You're invited to study, pray, reflect and give during ELCA World Hunger’s 40 Days of Giving — for our families, our neighbors and communities around the world.
As the world has reeled from the effects of a deadly pandemic, we have seen the number of hungry people around the world rise, watched as food pantries and soup kitchens expanded to serve an ever-growing number of guests, and longed together for the time when we “will hunger no more, and thirst no more ... and God will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes” (Revelation 7:16-17). This very yearning is at the heart of who we are as church together. Yet our longing has never led to inertia or despair, despite the discouraging forecasts. We are an Easter people, ever journeying toward the cross but trusting in faith that God’s story does not end on that hill.
Click here for Lenten resources from ELCA World Hunger, including a Lenten calendar, study guide, action guide, and to subscribe to weekly emails.
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A Season of Hope from Lutheran World Relief |
As we approach Lent, so many of our neighbors around the world are longing to experience — to truly touch, hear, see, smell and taste — the hope that only Jesus can bring. Meanwhile, we know your congregation is restless and eager to be Christ’s hands and feet in a world reeling from hardship. During this sacred time, will you join LWR in serving our poorest neighbors by providing real, tangible hope?
We’ve also created a full suite of resources for congregational leaders called “Sensing Hope,” including a 5-week sermon series and small group guides — all of which can be used digitally or in-person to nurture hope and action in your congregation during these 40 days.
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Grief Matters Community Forums
February 2021 – Grief as a Natural Response to Loss
February 23, 6:30–7:30pm |
February 24, 12–1pm
This forum will focus on types of grief, the grief timeline and the uniquely personal ways individuals experience grief.
March 2021 – Love and Loss: Sorting Through the Feelings
March 23, 6:30–7:30pm |
March 24, 12–1pm
Grief is a whole range of emotions that have physical, emotional and spiritual
consequences. Learn helpful strategies to cope with your grief.
April 2021 – Supporting Grief: How to Best Support Someone Who Is Grieving
April 27, 6:30–7:30pm |
April 28, 12–1pm
Learn from those who have experienced grief what might be most helpful and what might not be.
These programs are free and open to all, thanks to a grant from The Morton Plant Mease Health Care Foundation. Email mpmbereavement@baycare.org to register or call (727) 462-7995.
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Register for the Faith Leadership Conference
February 12, 2021 at 9:30am to 3:30pm Eastern Time
Life in Faith Communities During and Beyond the COVID Pandemic: Physical Proximity, Virtual Connections, and Family Systems Theory
The coronavirus has limited the ability of faith communities to gather. This has been the case for nearly one year. Many people speak of too much direct contact with their immediate families while experiencing isolation from others. Some who live alone speak of isolation despite online contact.
How do we have the viable emotional contact needed to function well as faith communities? How can we best fulfill our purposes as communities of faith during this time and beyond?
We will look at these questions through concepts of Bowen theory: togetherness and individuality, and differentiation of self (which develops in relationship with others).
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Bread for the World Offering Black History Month Sermon Series: Advocacy in Worship |
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Black History Month is a time we celebrate Black excellence, especially in the faith and justice arena. Historically, the Black church has been a place of refuge and engagement for justice that includes advocating against hunger and poverty. Join us to be inspired by the messages of God’s love delivered by young adult Black faith leaders and engage in the noble legacy of what has become known as the Black Church.
Follow Bread for the World’s Facebook page and click on the live video presentation at the times below. Videos will be archived on this blog post as they happen. Bookmark this page to view at your convenience.
God’s Love in a Broken World: Part I - Thursday, Feb. 11, 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT)
Featuring Pastor Austin Young, St. Paul AME Zion Baptist Church, Pennsylvania; and Rev. Britni Johnson, Gethsemane Baptist Church Washington, D.C.
God’s Love in a Broken World: Part II - Thursday, Feb. 18, 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT)
Featuring Pastor Jameson McLaughlin, a Ph.D. candidate at Regent University; and Pastor Rickdrieka Sanders, Senior Pastor at Christian Methodist Episcopal, Alabama.
God’s Love in a Broken World: Part III - Thursday, Feb. 25, 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT)
Featuring Pastor Chance Lynch, Faith Church, North Carolina; and Pastor Rose Archer, St. Mary CME, Florida.
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New Issues of the Parish Paper Now Available! |
The Parish Paper has released their March and April 2021 issues! Click the titles below to access the articles.
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Have you completed Boundaries Training?
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Review of We’re Better Than This by Elijah Cummings
The following review was written by Pr. Janice Mynchenberg and published in the Journal of Lutheran Ethics. Ordained in 1988, the Rev. Dr. Janice Mynchenberg has served the majority of her years of ministry as a trained interim specialist. She has worked with ELCA and UCC congregations in Wisconsin, Tennessee, Alabama, and Washington
D. C. as well as serving as an ecumenical chaplain in a retirement community for three years. She is currently serving as the pastor of Epiphany Lutheran Church in Oveido, Florida.
This posthumously published autobiography invites its reader to experience the moral force of Elijah Cummings’ life and be inspired by his example. Knowing that his time on earth was nearing its end, the congressman and Chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform worked on this book. He was determined to leave a legacy that shared his deepest convictions, strongest motivations, and passionate commitment to loving his God and his neighbors in his vocation as an attorney and legislator. He hoped he could inspire his future readers to accept the torch he was passing to them as he finished his stretch of the race God calls upon each of us to run.
The lessons he wants us to learn and to embody aren’t new: every human life is a precious gift from God; we’re put here on earth to care for one another; life is short so don’t fritter it away; practice compassion and kindness in your dealings with others – including your adversaries; fight the good fight at all times and trust that the good will ultimately prevail, no matter how great the obstacles in its path...
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Important Reports Reminder
2021 is here, and reports are due soon! You can submit Annual Ministers Reports to reports@fbsynod.org. By clicking here, you can download the report which corresponds to your roster status. You will need to download the form, fill it out, save it to their computers, and attach to an e-mail to reports@fbsynod.org.
Click here to access the Mission Support form on our website. This form is submitted right through the website, and can be used if your card hasn’t been returned to the synod office.
Every congregation submits an annual Parochial Report. For Parochial reports, please visit the ELCA website here. You will need your congregation ID number and a password. If you have misplaced the password, please call the synod office.
If you need assistance, please contact the Synod office. If you have trouble submitting your email, please contact Ileana at ileanas@fbsynod.org.
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The 2021 Conference on Ministry has been scheduled for June 16th & 17th, from 1:00pm to 5:00pm EST on both days.
This event will be held virtually. More information and registration details will be coming soon!
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The 2021 Florida-Bahamas Synod Assembly will be held from
September 17th to 19th (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday). We plan for this event to be held in person. Please continue to pray that we will be able to safely gather.
More information and registration details will be coming soon!
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