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.

32nd Annual Pacifica Synod Assembly

"Oh Lord, Open My Ears:

Listening for God While Listening to Others"

Synod Assembly Online Registration Closes April 26

We are less than a month 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.

Online registration closes April 26. 

Discounted rates for the four participating hotels ends on April 24.

 

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 2019 Pacifica Synod Pre-Assembly Reports (a.k.a. Assembly Notebook) are now ready for download! The links to download the entire notebook or each section individually are posted on our Assembly web page.  Be patient if you are downloading the full notebook as the file is quite large. Be sure to check your print settings to ensure they are set to print duplex (two-sided) and in color (if desired.) If you would like to save paper, you are encouraged to download the notebook file to your tablet, laptop, or other device to view during the assembly. For those who ordered and paid for a notebook, yours will be in the mail 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].

April update from Pacifica Synod's AMMPARO Network:

AMMPARO is planning a trip to Tijuana, MX on June 7. We will make a visit to Casa Migrantes, Instituto Madre Asunta, among other places where we will encounter the experience of those who serve, and those who have come to the border in search of safety. Afterwards, we usually eat together as we close the day, at a local restaurant that serves up delicious food. 

Please contact Pr. Nate Allen ( [email protected]) if you are interested in attending. Please also indicate if you would be willing to drive a group around for the day. We are always grateful for your participation!

NOTE:  Through the end of February, AMMPARO has raised $8,017 to support the ministries at Instituto Madre Asunta. Because of your giving, IMA is better able to financially support their teacher, and (!!!) they are closer to being able to make additions to the space there, to accommodate their students. Their goal is $32,000. Thank you for enabling their ministry!

AMMPARO encourages all youth groups and youth to make an mission trip/excursion to Tijuana this summer with AMMPARO. From July 31 until August 2 (Wednesday - Friday), AMMPARO has planned an excursion to broaden awareness and experience of our young people in the church. The aim of this trip is to provide an opportunity to engage in ministry and learning with AMMPARO, as our work for our neighbors seeking refuge and asylum is work for many hands, hearts, and abilities. Overnights will be at Casa del Migrante. Pastors Nathan Allen and Karla Halvorson will chaperone, and other chaperones are welcome. More details are forthcoming. If your church has interest in taking part, please contact Pastor Nate Allen.

For more updates, visit the Pacifica Synod AMMPARO Network web page.

Join Lynn and Gerry Marecek (members of King of Glory Lutheran in Fountain Valley) as they lead a build team to the beautiful and historic city of Budapest, Hungary where the team will renovate municipality owned, run-down and vacant apartment buildings. You can make a world of difference for a family, by providing a "hand up" by working with them to build a simple, affordable, and decent home.

Change the life of families in Hungary and your life will be changed as well.  A wonderful team is coming together and there is a space for YOU on this team!  

Please join us!!!

For more info, contact team leader Lynn Marecek at [email protected] or 714.393.6642.

In her April column for Living Lutheran, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reminds us that "we-all created things-are family." As Earth Day nears on April 22, we should be "especially mindful of the gift of creation and our place in it." 

Read her column in English at https://bit.ly/2Un8jdj and in Spanish at https://bit.ly/2FNJYW5 .

The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) met at the Lutheran Center in Chicago April 4-7. The council, which serves as the ELCA's board of directors, took action on a variety of matters designed to help move the church's mission and ministries forward.

Council members voted to recommend to the 2019 Churchwide Assembly adoption of the proposed social statement "Faith, Sexism, and Justice: A Lutheran Call to Action" and the related implementing resolutions. They expressed appreciation to the task force and churchwide staff for their six years of service in development of the social statement. The ELCA 2019 Churchwide Assembly will meet in Milwaukee Aug. 5-10.

The council also recommended to the 2019 Churchwide Assembly the report and recommendations of the task force for strategic authentic diversity. This is in response to actions taken by the 2016 Churchwide Assembly directing the Church Council to develop a strategy to equip congregations and synods to work toward becoming a more authentically diverse church.

The council declined to consider "Trustworthy Servants of the People of God" and referred the document to the ELCA Domestic Mission unit for further review and redrafting. This document is intended to replace "Vision and Expectations," which outlines expectations the church has for rostered ministers. In their recommendation the council stated that further consideration of the document should involve a process that includes diverse voices from across the church. The council requested quarterly reports on the process and a draft for consideration by the fall 2020 meeting. Visitors to Church Council were invited to participate in conversations on "Trustworthy Servants of the People of God" during a committee meeting held prior to the council plenary session.

For a full report of April Church Council business items, click here.