Lost Hate & Found Love:
Lost and Found 2018
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Lost and Found, the Virginia Synod youth event for 7th and 8th graders was held November 16-18 at Eagle Eyrie Baptist Convention Center in Lynchburg. This year nearly 200 youth and adult participants got to witness and live out the theme "Lost Hate & Found Love" based on Deuteronomy Matthew 5:43-45.
This year’s planning group made up by Matthew Arp (Resurrection, Fredericksburg), Skylar Duffy (Christ, Fredericksburg), Immanuel Durant (Christ, Fredericksburg), and Caitlin Schulz (Christ Roanoke) worked with Pastor Dave Delaney to plan nearly every element of the weekend. From scripture passage to t-shirt designs, the group got a say in the whole event making it uniquely suited to the middle schoolers in attendance.
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During the weekend, the crowd enjoyed the planning group’s skits, which was set around a group of participants at a Role-Playing Game Festival. The group made it to the final round of the tournament game called "SpoonFork" and the competition has been fierce. As our players gather, two of them are clearly old adversaries, each determined to outdo the other; for them, this is more than a game. Over the course of the skits, the other players become aware of the problem of labeling someone else as an enemy and failing to show kindness even in a game where the goal is to win. In the end, the players learned the real cost of labeling someone else as an enemy and realize they will have to work for all to finish the game in order for any of them to finish the game.
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Following each skit, Pastor Jonathan Hamman, the chaplain for the event, summarized the skit and offered ways that the stories told could relate to the lives of the middle schoolers, namely learning to “Love your enemies. Pray for your haters.”
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Bryan “Hep” Hepner and Tori Smith acted as the planning group advisers and helped the group prepare to get up on stage. In addition to working with the planning group, Tori and Hep planned and performed their own series of comedic skits for the middle schoolers. The pair entertained with “Old Testament Rivalry Lip-Sync Battles”, taking on the personas of Old Testament characters like Jonah and the Whale, Moses, and Pharaoh and more!
Following large group presentations, the participants at Lost and Found got the chance to break off into small groups, arranged by age group. In these small groups, participants were able to reflect on the weekend’s theme, the skits presented, and relate all of it back to their own faith life through conversation, games, and crafts. During the weekend, small groups got the chance to role play as well, creating fantasy characters and going on quests to turn their enemies in battle into friends. In addition to roleplaying, small groups also got to be creative, designing prayer posters which provided prayer for enemies and haters.
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Lost and Found 2018 was filled with laughter, fun, worship, and conversations that encouraged participants to remember to “Love your enemies. Pray for your haters.” Praying for one another is something that everyone can do, an important takeaway in this day and every day as we look beyond what divides and focus on God’s love in our lives.
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Holiday Graphic Resources
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This year to support your communication needs, we've created a number of Advent and Christmas graphics you can use in your congregation! Covering each week of Advent, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day there's plenty of resources available to use in your congregation!
These graphics can be used as part of your congregation's social media plan, printed off and displayed in and around your church, or any number of ways that best serve your congregation! From email headers to printable posters there plenty of opportunities to make use of our Advent and Christmas graphics!
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Sermons are available one month prior to the Sunday service they are to be shared during. View all the sermons shared
on the Virginia Synod website.
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Do You have an announcement, upcoming event or news story idea? Send it to Emily Pilat at
pilat@vasynod.org
and make sure to follow our
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Lutheran Disaster Response: Fires in California
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Wildfires continue to rage across California destroying over 6,400 homes and wiping out the town of Paradise, located north of Sacramento. Multiple deaths have been confirmed and large-scale, mandatory evacuations are in place for multiple communities across the state's impacted areas as first responders work to gain control of the fires.
Lutheran Disaster Response has already committed dollars for initial relief response. We will continue working with Lutheran Social Services of Northern California and the California synods to respond to these fires. As the fires are still raging, we continue to assess the ever-changing situation to determine the best ways to respond. Your gifts will help us deliver a robust response to address needs in the devastated communities.
Be a part of the response:
Pray
Please pray for the people who have been affected and those still in the path of wildfires in California. May God’s healing presence give them peace and hope in their time of need. Pray that God will deliver comfort to those who mourn the loss of loved ones and strength to those who are working diligently to contain the fires and care for affected communities.
Give
Gifts to “
U.S. Wildfires
” will be used to assist those affected by the wildfires until the response is complete.
Connect
To learn more about the situation and the ELCA’s response:
- Share this bulletin insert with your congregation and encourage support.
- Sign up to receive Lutheran Disaster Response alerts.
- Check the Lutheran Disaster Response blog.
- Like Lutheran Disaster Response on Facebook and follow @ELCALDR on Twitter.
- To download a PDF version of this situation report, click here.
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Winter Celebration is our annual weekend retreat for youth in grades 9 through 12 and their adult advisors. We have Large Group and Small Group gatherings that consist of singing, comedy, worship, faith sharing and presentations on our event theme. On Saturday afternoon during Free Time we will also hold out annual Talent Show and in the evenings you will have time to relax in your Cottage and talk with other youth and adults from your congregation and other congregations about how Winter Celebration is going.
For more information and to register for this event,
click here.
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Deck the Halls! 2018 Virginia Synod Christmas Decoration Contest
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Submissions are now open for the 2018 Virginia Synod Christmas Decoration Contest! Congregations and individuals are both welcome to enter their decorations in one of three categories:
Chrismons tree,
Christmas tree, or
Advent wreath for this year’s contest!
To enter send the best photo of your decoration to Emily Pilat at
pilat@vasynod.org
from now until
Monday, December 17th.
With your entry photo please include the following information:
- Your First and last name
- Your congregation name and location (ex. Christ Lutheran, Roanoke)
- The category for which you are entering (Chrismons tree, Christmas tree, or Advent wreath)
Only one entry per individual or congregation
(ie. if you submit a photo of your congregation’s Chrismons tree, a submission of your congregation’s advent wreath will not be counted as an entry)!
On
December 20th
one randomly selected winner for each category will be announced in that week’s edition of the Weekly Update. All three winners will receive a special prize!
If you have any questions about the Christmas Decoration Contest, please contact Emily Pilat at
pilat@vasynod.org
Best of luck to all who enter, and happy decorating!
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Caroline Furnace Lutheran Camp and Retreat Center Upcoming Events
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The 2019 Summer Staff application for Caroline Furnace is live! The online application can be found on their website, along with a shareable flyer. Academic internships are available as well. Call 540-449-0012 or email
tom@carolinefurnace.org for more information.
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Need a home for the Holidays?
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Plan a reunion or family retreat at Caroline Furnace Lutheran Camp and Retreat Center! Buttonwood Lodge is a wonderful place to catch up by the fireplace with your college friends or adult relatives, and the Farmhouse is a perfect family space for up to 25. Meals and activities can be provided upon request. (Meals that you don't have to cook, and activities that you don't have to plan!)
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Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Advocacy Office and Federal Chaplaincies invite you to join us on
Thursday December 6, 2018 from 4:30 to 7:00 PM in dedicating our new office located south of the U.S. Capitol building at at 218 D Street SE, First Floor Washington, DC 20003.
Special guests include ELCA Presiding Bishop, the Rev. Elizabeth Eaton and invited Lutheran Members of Congress.
Come and meet with our Lutheran advocacy staff; local ministries; interfaith partners; congressional staff; senior chaplains from the military services, Veterans Administration, and Bureau of Prisons; ELCA practicing chaplains; and more.
Please RSVP by email at washingtonoffice@elca.org by December 1, 2018
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Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
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Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton will lead a small delegation in a wreath laying ceremony at the
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
at Arlington National Cemetery. The event is open to the public and requires no reservation.
This ceremony follows the Changing of the Guard on Pearl Harbor Day,
Friday, December 7 at 11:00 am
. Lay members and rostered ministers of the ELCA are invited to attend. Bishop Humphrey is planning to attend.
Please keep in mind, the walk from the Visitors Center to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is about 10 minutes up hill. Make sure you're wearing comfortable shoes and can make the journey. Also, the tour tram stops at both locations.
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The ELCA is invited to join the global community on Dec. 1 to commemorate World AIDS Day. This is a day for a time of remembrance, awareness and commitment to action, especially in our calling to a strong and faithful response that’s set forward in the ELCA Strategy on HIV and AIDS. Go to
ELCA.org/hiv for World AIDS Day resources, including a bulletin insert, worship resources and a video message from Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton.
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2019 Ignite the Church Conference
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The Ignite the Church Conference is an annual gathering on
February 19-21, 2019
that seeks to further Kingdom impacting conversation among leaders that will ignite the Church and help it live out its heritage of renewal in the years ahead! Speakers include Bishop Pedro Suarez, Florida Bahamas Synod, Rev. Dr. John Herman, and Beth Lewis, President and CEO Emeritus of 1517 Media. All proceeds from the event support the ELCA Fund for Leaders. For more information, check out their website:
ignitethechurch.net
.
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Many of us have questions about God and our faith, but don’t always know where to go with them. Many of us would love to talk about our faith, but there isn’t always an easy place to do that. You don’t exactly ask someone across the lunch table at school, “Someone told me ‘Everything happens for a reason.’ That would mean God planned all those school shootings. What do you think?” Bishops’ School is your opportunity to be with people like you – people who want to talk about God, to think theologically. In addition to interactive classroom times, small group gatherings, and service projects, there will be plenty of time for making new friends and having fun! Bishops’ School 2019 takes place at Lenoir-Rhyne University.
For more information and to submit a nomination for Bishop's School,
click here.
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Explore and apply for opportunities available with the churchwide organization or global service on the ELCA Job Board at
elca.atsondemand.com
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ELCA Foundation Director of Gift Planning
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T
here are two key responsibilities for this leadership position:
- Through the direct supervision of a national staff of about 20 regional gift planners (coaching and managing), lead and manage a robust fund-raising program to identify, cultivate, solicit and steward prospective donors of current and planned gifts;
- Manage the business relationships with ministry partner organizations through on-site visits.
This position is located in Chicago and reports to the Executive Vice President of the Foundation. It requires about 30% travel, visiting regional gift planners, donors, and ministry partnerships.
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Organist Position, St. John Lutheran in Abingdon
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St. John Lutheran Church, Abingdon. is seeking an Organist/Pianist, primarily for the 11:00 AM Worship Service. We are a small, friendly congregation and music is a very important part of the ministry. Part-time duties include playing for Sunday morning Worship at 11:00 AM and a 10:00 am Sunday morning Choir rehearsal and occasionally a Wednesday evening rehearsal. The Organ is a three manual Allen Digital Organ. If interested please contact the church office at 276-692-6215 or email:
stjohnlutheran@stjohnabingdon.comcastbiz.net
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Part-Time Director of Worship & Music- Emmanuel, Virginia Beach
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Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Virginia Beach is searching for a part-time Director of Worship & Music to coordinate and oversee the Worship and Music ministry in our congregation. Work with the Pastor to provide leadership for the musicians, choirs, musical groups, and lay ministry team while bolstering people's connection to God through worship and music. The Director position is part time (approximately 25 hours a week). If interested, please email your resume to
admin@elvb.org
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Rector and Dean of the Seminary- Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary
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Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (LTSS) of Lenoir-Rhyne University welcomes nominations and applications for a dynamic and innovative leader to serve in the position of Rector and Dean of the Seminary beginning as early as January 2, 2019 and no later than June 3, 2019. The Rector and Dean of the Seminary is a full-time appointment reporting directly to the President of Lenoir-Rhyne University. The primary duties of this position are to serve as the lead academic and church administrator for LTSS and to further develop LTSS as an exemplary seminary within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) and among its ecumenical partners.
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If you have a position opening you would like posted, please email Emily Pilat at
pilat@vasynod.org.
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Stay Connected with the Virginia Synod:
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