A Message from Bishop Erwin -
2020 Bishop's Colloquy & Boundaries Workshop
RESCHEDULED
Due to concerns surrounding the Coronavirus (Covid-19) and following the guidance of medical professionals, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and State of California, the 2020 Bishop’s Colloquy (March 15 – 16) and Boundaries Workshop (March 17) will be postponed. As of this writing, the Bishop’s Colloquy will take place June 7 – 8, 2020 with the same theme, keynote speaker, and workshop leader. The Boundaries Workshop will take place June 9, 2020. Both will take place at the Lutheran Center in Glendale.
 
Those who have registered for the Colloquy and/or Boundaries Workshop will remain registered for the new date. If you have registered and cannot attend the new date, please let Samantha Henderson in the synod office know (shenderson@socalsynod.org) and any registration fee you have paid will be refunded. You can register for the June 7 - 8 Colloquy here. If you are attending the Boundaries Workshop only, you can register here .
 
Thank you for your understanding. Coronavirus Resources for Congregations can be found on the synod website  here .

Tune in for a COVID-19 Update from the LA Department of Public Health on Wednesday, March 11 at 11:15 a.m. on Facebook Live here .
Bishop's Colloquy
for Pastors and Deacons
Sunday, June 7 - Monday, June 8
Boundaries Workshop Tuesday, June 9
Faithfulness, Diversity,
& the Challenge of Change
Keynote Speaker:
The Rev. Lenny Duncan
Lenny Duncan (he/him), author of Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the US , is a follower of Jesus Christ and is in a passionate love affair with grace. Lenny spent most of his teens homeless after leaving home at age 13. He has spent time in all 48 contiguous states, sleeping by the side of the highway or in penthouses along the way. He has been a prisoner of war in the so-called war on drugs. After systemic oppression or drugs didn't kill him, Lenny found himself in a strange place: the church. 

Lenny has been everything from high school drop out, drug dealer, sex worker, street corner poet, hitchhiker, dharma bum, small town drifter, seminarian, political activists, father, pastor, lover, public theologian, and writer. Now he parties dead sober and thrives in NYC. 

In March 2018 the Metro New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America issued Lenny a call to serve the people of Jehu's Table as a mission developer (church planter). He is also a frequent voice at the intersection where the cries of the oppressed meet the Church. He pays special attention to Black Liberation movements in his work, but lifts up the many intersections with other marginalized peoples as well. Lenny is a queer pastor and serves as Chaplain to the board of Reconciling Works. believes that the reason the ELCA has remained so white is a theological problem, not a sociological one. He holds a Master of Divinity from United Lutheran Seminary.
Workshop Leader:
Ravi Verma
Ravi Verma is a spiritual director and has worked professionally with churches and lay leaders for over twenty-five years. Ravi’s passion is to work with individuals and groups to build bridges between parts of ourselves, with others and the cosmos based on our connection to the Divine. Ravi, born in India, now teaches at Stillpoint, and works with corporations, retreat centers, and non-profits on issues of spiritual development.  Ravi is a current member of the coordinating Council of Spiritual Directors International, the first global learning network of spiritual directors in history.

Stillpoint is an open, inclusive community that exists to form deeply grounded spiritual directors, and to live together in a contemplative life of faith, spiritual practice, and action.
Schedule of Colloquy Events
All events will take place at the Lutheran Center in Glendale
The registration fee of $99 includes the optional Boundaries Workshop
on Tuesday, June 9

Lodging is not included. Click here for a list of area hotels .

Sunday, June 7

5:00 p.m. | Check-in
6:00 p.m. | Keynote: The Rev. Lenny Duncan
7:30 p.m. | Dinner

Monday, June 8

8:30 a.m. | Continental Breakfast & Registration
9:30 a.m. | Morning Prayers
10:00 a.m. | Keynote: The Rev. Lenny Duncan
11:15 a.m. | Discussion
Noon | Lunch
1:00 p.m. | Workshop: Ravi Verma
2:00 p.m. | Breakout Groups
3:00 p.m. | Chrism Mass with Renewal of Vows & Blessing of Anointing Oils
5:00 p.m. | Dinner
6:00 p.m. | Prayer for Travel & Rest (Fellowship following)

Tuesday, June 9

10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. | Boundaries Workshop with The Rev, Terry Tuvey Allen (Lunch included)
Attending the Boundaries Workshop only? Register here.
Southwest California Synod of the ELCA| (818) 507-9591| news@socalsynod.org| www.socalsynod.org