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SYNOD & ELCA NEWS & NOTES
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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.
Our e-newsletter is distributed semi-monthly in two separate issues. One issue includes Pacifica Synod and ELCA news items, along with prayer requests. The second issue contains 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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The Synod Office will be closed on Monday, September 2 in observance of the Labor Day holiday. We will return to the office on Tuesday, September 3.
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The Pacifica Synod is pleased to announce that Pastor Brenda Bos has joined our staff as an Assistant to the Bishop for
 Leadership Support and Development. She will serve one-quarter time with the Synod, and will continue her three-quarter time call as Pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in San Clemente. Her first day as an Assistant to the Bishop was August 16.
Pastor Brenda is a graduate of Claremont School of Theology and PLTS, and has served Christ Lutheran, her first call, for the past five years. Prior to this, she worked as a producer for television shows. Pastor
Brenda and her wife Janis are the proud parents of an adult son and infant granddaughter. Her duties in the synod include working with Candidacy, Lutheran Retreats, Camps and Conferences, Campus Ministry, and congregations as identified by the Bishop.
You can contact her at
[email protected]. Please keep her and all the Synod staff in prayer, as we work with congregations and the Churchwide expression to share God's good news with all in our world.
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Registration Now Open for Theoasis 2019
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October 21-24, 2019
Embassy Suites, La Quinta
(Please note location change from last year)
"Unleashing the Saints
"
A joint church leaders' event (a theological oasis): Rostered leaders, professional lay church staff, youth leaders, church administrators, office managers, outdoor ministry leaders, worship leaders... all are welcome!
This year's speakers will be
Bishop Yvette Flunder, Founder and Senior Pastor, City of Refuge United Church of Christ and the Presiding Bishop of The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries
AND
Michael A. Mata, Community and Faith-Based Program Designer/Administrator and the former Director of the Transformational Urban Leadership Program at Azusa Pacific Seminary.
Visit the
Theoasis page for speakers' biographies and more information.
Costs (Program and three meals, excluding hotel):
$250 (rostered leader, lay staff, ministry partner)
$175 (retired rostered, interns, candidates
and non-rostered spouses)
$75 Optional Golf Tournament
Online registration is NOW open.
Receive a $25 discount when you register by September 21.
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God's Mission. God's Church.
Bishop's Gatherings 2019
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This fall's 2019 Bishop's Gatherings begin in September. Congregations are invited to send key lay leaders along with their pastors and deacons to a Bishop's Gathering. Other congregation members and friends are also welcome. You are welcome to attend the gathering on the date that works best for your schedule and location.
Below are the dates, times and locations of Bishop's Gatherings on the mainland. We are grateful to our deans and host congregations for their help in planning this time together.
There is NO cost to attend, however, pre-registration is
strongly encouraged
to assist our host congregations in planning.
Saturday, September 7
Big Bear Conference
10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
(Rostered Ministers @ 10:00 a.m./All at 11:00 a.m.)
First Lutheran Church
1207 W. Cypress Avenue, Redlands
Saturday, September 14
Saddleback AND Son & Surf Conferences
1:00 to 3:30 p.m.
(Rostered Ministers @ 1:00 p.m./All @ 2:00 p.m.)
Newport Harbor Lutheran Church
798 Dover Drive, Newport Beach
Sunday, September 15
East San Diego AND West San Diego Conferences
2:00 to 4:30 p.m.
(Rostered Ministers @ 2:00 p.m./All @ 3:00 p.m.)
Carlton Hills Lutheran Church
9735 Halberns Blvd., Santee
Saturday, September 21
Raincross Conference
1:00 to 3:30 p.m.
(Rostered Ministers @ 1:00 p.m./All @ 2:00 p.m.)
Eden Lutheran Church
4725 Brockton Avenue, Riverside
Saturday, October 5
Harvest Conference
9:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon
(Rostered Ministers @ 9:30 a.m./All @ 10:30 a.m.)
Lutheran Church of the Incarnation
16889 Espola Road, Poway
Sunday, October 13
Rejoice Conference
1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
(Rostered Ministers @ 1:30 p.m./All @ 2:30 p.m.)
Messiah Lutheran Church
4861 Liverpool Street, Yorba Linda
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ELCA Coaching Events in Pacifica Synod
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ELCA Coach Launch - Level 1
September 26-27
Pacifica Synod
1801 Park Court Place, Bldg. C, Santa Ana
What is coaching?
Coaching is an intentional relationship in which a trained coach uses powerful questions, strategic listening and accountability to uncover and utilize your strengths and insights to accomplish your goals.
How does ELCA Coach Launch equip coaches?
This course will introduce you to coaching basics and give you and opportunity to practice. Upon completion, you will have a framework to begin using these skills in formal and informal coaching relationship.
Who should attend?
- Previously trained coaches seeking to update their skills.
- Leaders interested in growing coaching skills in order to encourage others to live into their God-given vision.
- Leaders working with those who want to move beyond stuck points to create new ways to accomplish God's purposes in the church and the world.
Event Fee
$250 per person
Event fee covers programming, resources and 2 lunches. Participants are responsible for travel and hotel costs.
Schedule
Thursday, September 26
Registration 8:00 a.m.
Training - 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Friday, September 27
Training - 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Click here for a downloadable brochure with complete event information.
Caring for Creation Coaching Orientation
Saturday, September 28
8:00 a.m. to noon
Hope Lutheran Church
29043 Vallejo Avenue, Temecula
What is your next step after completing ELCA CoachLaunch Level 1?
Many leaders are discovering an opportunity to use their new skills in a new area of ministry - Caring for Creation Coaching. This Level 2 training includes an orientation and seven sessions that will broaden and deepen your coaching skills, with educational and practical exercises that will prepare you to coach others in attaining their goals in this specific ministry. You will join a cohort of peers with similar interests and be accompanied by and experience ELCA Lab Coach. The fee for the orientation and seven sessions is $175, with some cost for additional materials.
For more information about this training, please
click here for a downloadable info sheet. To register for this event or for questions, please contact Pastor Janice Hawley, national coordinator for Caring for Creation Coaching at 913.226.3334 or by email at
[email protected].
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Lutherans Restoring Creating FREE Event - September 28
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Lutheran Night at Angel Stadium - September 14
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Just three more weeks...please don't forget to buy your tickets today! There are still discounted tickets available.
We invite you to join Lutheran Social Services at their inaugural Lutheran Night at Angels Stadium game, Saturday September 14th vs. the Tampa Bay Rays.
A post-game fireworks show and concert with R&B superstar Lauryn Hill of Sister Act II and Fugees fame will round out the evening.
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Now Accepting Applications for 2019-2020 Agape House Faith and Vocation Fellowship!
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Are you or do you know a young adult in the San Diego area who could benefit from a year of discernment and hands-on experience working in the community? The Agape House at San Diego State University has spots left for our 2019-2020 Faith and Vocation Fellowship cohort and would love to hook them up! This is a 10 hour-a-week volunteer position (with a living stipend) and includes mentoring and time with a peer cohort. Fellowships start in September. It is an AMAZING and powerful program. Fellows must be willing to work in church settings in the San Diego area but can be from any faith/spiritual/philosophical background. For a description of the position,
click here
. For more information or to nominate a young adult, please contact Dr. Melissa James at
[email protected]
.
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Stewardship Kaleidoscope Conference - Real Tools for Real Ministry
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Pacifica Synod pastors, lay leaders, judicatory staff and anyone who is looking to learn more about stewardship in today's church context are encouraged to attend this conference that will take place September 30 - October 2, 2019 in San Diego.
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Workshop for Congregational Treasurers & Administrators - October 12
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Workshop for Congregational Treasurers & Administrators
Saturday, October 12, 2019
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Lutheran Center for Mission & Learning
1801-C Parkcourt Place, Santa Ana
$10 per person, includes refreshments, lunch and all materials.
Visit our workshop web page for topics of the day and other information as it becomes available.
Pre-registration is required. Click here to register.
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Pacifica Women of the ELCA Annual Convention - November 1 & 2
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To download a PDF of this flyer,
click here
. The registration form for the gathering may be found
here
.
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Pacifica Synod Assembly 2020
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Mark your calendars for the 33rd Annual Pacifica Synod Assembly in 2020. We are excited to be welcomed by our university, California Lutheran University. Campus tours and workshops will take place on Thursday, May 28. Business will begin Friday, May 29 and conclude on Saturday, May 30.
Look for more details in the coming months.
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Accompanying Migrant Minors with Protection, Advocacy, Representation and Opportunities
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Tour, learn, share fellowship, and donate!
In early July, a team of 5 bilingual ELCA members of El Camino de Emaus, a ministry of the ELCA in Burlington, Washington, traveled to the Madre Asunta Shelter in Tijuana. Along with their pastor, Padre Emilio Benetiz and Mr. John Baker, this team worked with Pastor Nate Allen to coordinate this trip. While there, they worked with children and their mothers who reside at the shelter. When they returned home, they were so inspired by what they had experienced that they sent $6,000 through the Pacifica Synod to send to the shelter for the construction of a classroom. These funds were sent to Madre Asunta Shelter last week. We are grateful for their generosity and faithful service!
Survivors of Torture is hosting a luncheon on September 10th to raise funds for their transformative and life-giving programs. Survivors was started by Lutheran pastors in San Diego, and aims to provide psychological and spiritual needs as well as medical and legal resources for victims of human trafficking and persons who have been harmed while seeking asylum or refuge. All are welcome to attend and take a seat at a table. Contact
[email protected] for more information. To learn more about Surivors of Torture in San Diego, tours are available by group request. Set one up with AMMPARO, and we'll take care of the organizing!!!
Please prayerfully consider learning more and participating with AMMPARO on tours, mission trips, and in mutual ministry with our partners in Mexico, including: Iglesia Luterana Mexicana (the Lutheran Church of Mexico), Casa de Migrante in Tijuana (a shelter and transformative program for migrant men), Instituto Madre Asunta in Tijuana (a shelter and school for migrant women and their children), Sirviendo Unidos para Baja California (a Lutheran organization that builds houses right outside of Tijuana), or Lantern Hill Ministries in Ensenada (a shelter and school ministry started by two pastors from the United States). Lantern Hill / Linterna del Camino on Facebook. School supplies, monies, food, and clothing are very much appreciated to enable these ministries.
For more updates, visit the Pacifica Synod AMMPARO Network
web page.
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Gun Violence Prevention Resources for Congregations
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The recent horrific mass shootings in our country have once again focused the nation's attention on the epidemic of gun violence. While mass shootings receive wide media focus, this is an epidemic that results in the deaths of an average of 92 people, every single day, in our country.
Gun violence takes a number of forms: mass shootings, suicides (nearly 2/3 of all gun deaths), unintentional shootings, (often by young children), and homicides, often connected with situations of domestic abuse. Each form of gun violence requires distinct prevention strategies. Communities of faith are called by our sacred text and our baptismal covenant to address all forms of gun violence.
The Joint Episcopal-Lutheran Gun Violence Prevention Task Force of the Diocese of Los Angeles and the Southwest California Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has assembled a wide range of resources to engage parishes in gun violence prevention. These resources are available on the Diocese website.
https://diocesela.org/gun-violence-prevention/
A toolkit for very specific actions that parishes can take is available here:
The co-chairs of the Episcopal Gun Violence Prevention Task Force are available to serve as resources and can provide materials, including gun locks, to your parish.
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From the Presiding Bishop
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Our common witness.
In her August column for Living Lutheran, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reflects on the Lutheran movement. As we move forward as a church, she wonders: "What will our Lutheran identity be in the ELCA?"
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2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly
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Churchwide Assembly Summary of Actions
More than 900 voting members met August 5-10 at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee for the ELCA 2019 Churchwide Assembly. This was the 15th gathering of the assembly, which is the primary decision-making body of the church. In addition to participating in worship and Bible studies, voting members deliberated and took actions regarding the work of the church.
Read a summary of the key decisions that were made to further the mission and ministry of the church.
Sanctuary Denomination
Voting members of the 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly approved a memorial that declares the ELCA a
sanctuary denomination. The ELCA is the first North American denomination to declare itself a sanctuary church body. As a sanctuary church, the ELCA is committed to serving and supporting migrant children and families in communities across the country. The ways we practice sanctuary will look different for everyone, but welcoming people is not a political issue for us - it is a matter of faith. Talking points, videos, posters and educational resources are available at
ELCA.org/SanctuaryChurch.
Elections
- Reelected on the first ballot the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton to a six-year term as ELCA presiding bishop.
- Elected Deacon Sue Rothmeyer to a six-year term as ELCA secretary. Rothmeyer, currently serving as Executive for Administration with the Office of the Secretary, was installed during the assembly's closing worship on August 10 and will begin her term November 1.
Churchwide Assembly Photo Albums
Browse hundreds of photos from each day of the 2019 Churchwide Assembly in Milwaukee. You can find these albums on the ELCA's Facebook page.
Pacifica Synod Churchwide Assembly Voting Members
We are grateful to our nine Pacifica Synod Churchwide Assembly voting members: Bishop Andy Taylor, Synod Council Vice-President Lori Herman (St. Andrew's, San Diego), Pastor Golf Chutimapongrat (Thai Shepherd of the Hills, Whittier), Gordon Gertner (Lutheran Church of Our Savior, San Bernardino), Kenneth Gililand (Christ, San Clemente), Manuel Glenn Retamoza (St. Andrew's, San Diego), Hayley Nadolny (St. Olaf, Garden Grove), Pastor Laura Ziehl (Bethlehem, Encinitas), and Pastor Kathryn Zurcher (St. John, Kailua), for the gift of their time and faithful service!
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ELCA Advocacy Update - August 2019
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From Regina Q. Banks, Lutheran Office of Public Policy- California (LOPP-CA)
SUMMER LEGISLATIVE VISITS: Summer is an excellent time to meet with federal, state and local policy officials while they are back home in their districts. LOPP-CA would like to highlight just such an opportunity taken. Lutheran Church of the Master in Sacramento, CA hosted a beautiful community meeting with elected officials on the Sacramento City Council and command representatives from the Sacramento City Police Department and local social service agencies to address the homelessness issue in their South Land Park community. Pr. Linda Boston and Councilman Steve Hansen did a great job of engaging the nearly 100 participants who came out on a hot Wednesday evening on July 24th. It is a beginning to their local advocacy and LOPP-CA has vowed to walk with them. Is your congregation interested in beginning an advocacy project? Contact us and we would be proud to walk with you.
HUNGER LEADERS' GATHERING 2019: LOPP-CA participated with ministries across the country (and touching
 locations across the globe) in the Hunger Leaders' Gathering hosted by Central Lutheran Church of Minneapolis, Minnesota July 18-21. The Hunger Leaders' Gathering is a conference of ELCA World Hunger Grant recipients. ELCA World Hunger Grants amount to LOPP-CA's single largest funding source and a source of ministry support and guidance. It was a blessing to get together with fellow recipients and World Hunger staff to share best practices and network. Standby for word on new initiatives from California!
MISSION SUPPORT LETTER: Be on the lookout for a letter going to congregations asking for additional mission support. The work we do here at LOPP-CA is dependent upon you and your congregation's generosity. Please consider blessing our ministry with an additional gift today. Instructions can be found in the mail, or at our website:
www.lutheranpublicpolicyca.org
For a PDF version of the full ELCA Advocacy Update, click here.
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ELCA Youth Ministry Network Extravaganza 2020
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Main Event: January 31 to February 3, 2020
Intensive Care Courses: January 30 & 31, 2020
Hyatt Regency, Orange County - Anaheim, CA
The Extravaganza is the annual gathering of children, youth and family ministry leaders from across the ELCA. It is so much more than a conference: it's space to be stretched, it's worship, it's inspiring speakers, it's learning from colleagues across the country, it's sharing your insights with others, it's informative and transformative. The Extravaganza is renewing, educational and connects you with others...then sends you home strengthened for the ministry to which you have been called.
The Extravaganza is for the professional and the volunteer. It is for the old and the young. It is for the urban, the suburban and the rural. It is for pastors, it is for lay people. It is for all adult leaders who share in the adventure we call children, youth and family ministry! The Extravaganza is hosted by the ELCA Youth Ministry Network.
Registration opens August 1. For more information, please visit the
event website.
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Prepare Now for "God's work. Our hands." Sunday - September 8
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On Sunday, Sept. 8, congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will come together for "God's work. Our hands." Sunday. We hope you plan to join us!
As church, we are guided by our life in Christ to share the love of Jesus and serve our neighbors. On "God's work. Our hands." Sunday we join together as one church to help restore and reconcile communities in Jesus' name.
* Planning toolkit
* Worship resource
* Posters, door hangers and postcards
If you're looking for ideas, ELCA Advocacy has prepared information on several ideas, including customizable letters
in three areas and supporting resources to prompt timely discussion and action. Click here to download this info.
If your congregation cannot participate on September 8, please consider another day for your service activities.
Don't forget to share your congregation's participation with us! Send your stories and photos to
[email protected] so that together we can celebrate what God accomplishes through you.
A hymn titled "God's Work, Our Hands" was selected as the winning entry in the ELCA's "God's work. Our hands." Sunday hymn contest. The selected hymn, written by Wayne Wold, references the official tagline of the ELCA and expresses how the people of this church live in service for the life of the world. The
selected hymn
includes music to a familiar tune as well as music to an original composition. The hymn is available as a year-round worship resource.
Sharing the love of Christ through service to our neighbors is work you do every day. We look forward to "God's work. Our hands." Sunday and doing this work together again this year.
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We ask that you hold the following people and congregations in prayer:
- For those in the path of Hurricane Dorian.
- For the family and friends of Pastor Darryl Adams, on his passing.
- For the family and friends of Jared Jacobsen, Director of Music at First, San Diego, on his passing.
- For those affected by the gun violence in Gilroy, El Paso and Dayton.
- For Pastor Carol Reed.
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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