July 28, 2020
For more information, visit www.fbsynod.com
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Bishop's Synod Address for the Last Week of July
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First, I want to take a moment and thank all the congregations that have introduced virtual fellowship, coffee hours, and Bible studies during this pandemic. I recently received a very nice email from Pat Dasler, who wrote that during her church’s online devotions, “
we have time to share, and it has provided the opportunity to get to know people in new and sometimes more deep ways than the Sunday morning coffee hours we have done for years.” Thank you to our leaders who continue to provide fellowship opportunities, even from a distance.
I also want to thank all those who continue to donate to our United As One appeal. Your gifts continue to make a difference across our synod at ministries like Faith Food Pantry, who have used the relief grant to operate their pantry twice a week, as well as offer hot meals to families every Wednesday throughout the month of July...
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A Thank You from a Grant Recipient Congregation
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"Our Faith Food Pantry [of Faith Evangelical Lutheran in Lehigh Acres] has been offering a drive-thru, no contact Food Pantry in which we create pre-made bags of food and hand them out. Thanks to your grant, our social ministry team has been able to stock our shelves with items many families have needed but have not been able to afford. Families have been extremely grateful for the large quantity of supplies we have been able to give while also offering them peace of mind by keeping them safe within their vehicle.
We have also used some of the grant money to offer a free hot meal every Wednesday during the month of July. We now serve almost 100 meals every week! Many families have become regulars over the past 3 weeks and are excited to see what we have for them, while offering their thanks that we are helping alleviate some of the financial burdens they are facing. Many are looking forward to our meatball subs this week!
We as a church are committed to continuing our service to our community and want to thank you again for the grant funds that are helping us in our mission."
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Your Gifts Make a Difference!
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NovusWay Camps
Day of Giving
Wednesday, July 29, 2020 – LIVE on camp Facebook and YouTube channels starting at 8:00am with Morning Watch!
As part of the Light the Fire Appeal for Summer Camp 2021, NovusWay is hosting a Day of Giving on Wednesday, July 29
th 2020. Camp staff will be live at the top of every hour from each of their social media pages on Facebook and YouTube.
The day will begin with Morning Watch at 8:00am. Camp stories and updates will be shared all day. The day will close with a Campfire at 7:00pm and Vespers at 8:00pm. We invite you to join in all day long, because you never know who will visit that day!
To learn more, please visit the NovusWay website!
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Youth Gathering Postponed Until 2022
After much prayer and consideration, the ELCA has decided to postpone next summer’s ELCA Youth Gathering to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2022 ELCA Youth Gathering will be held July 24-28, 2022, in Minneapolis, with the two pre-events, the Multicultural Youth Leadership Event (MYLE) and the tAble, scheduled for July 21-24, 2022. To learn more about the postponement and the 2022 Gathering,
please click here.
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New Video Resource
from Pr. Rob Carlson,
Assistant to the Bishop & Director for Evangelical Mission
A new video resource from Pr. Rob Carlson has been shared to help you navigate the life cycle of your congregation. This video, titled Congregational Life-Cycles, is now available!
As Vitality is a spiritual strategic process for congregations, it's good to see a schematic for what it looks like over a period of time. We have borrowed and altered for our purposes a typical life-cycle anticipated for most any organization.
This video will offer information about future-think as we see the process unfold.
Typically, the life-cycle is a 3-5 year process before full Vitality is actually reached in a congregation. It is important to see how participation happens over the short term into the long term. There is an anticipation that the Vitality process will repeat itself within a congregation every 4-5 years so that we can stay current with “what God hopes for us”.
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Save The Date!
Let’s Talk!
Rostered Leaders Online Gathering with Bishop Suárez
August 20
th
10:00am
Join Bishop Suárez, special guests, and coaches from throughout the Florida-Bahamas Synod for a virtual Rostered Leaders gathering on August 20
th
.
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When Congregations Bless One Another,
Ministry Flourishes
A beautiful example of congregations supporting one another in ministry has been shared from within our synod.
Holy Spirit Lutheran of Juno Beach recently gifted $50,000 to Living Faith Lutheran in Port St. Lucie to help establish their new location.
The generous gift will help LFC build a "ministry tool", a new worship center to house their growing congregation.
Pastor Frank Wagner of Holy Spirit presented a check to Pastor Maryanne Kehlenbach of Living Faith while standing on the property of the future Living Faith worship building. Pastor Frank expressed that he wished other congregations in the Florida-Bahamas Synod may share in "the joy of allowing other congregations to be birthed".
Pastor Maryanne expressed, "We can't wait for the day when we can do the same for another new start congregation."
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Diakonia Graduation & Fall Semester Postponed
For the safety of our diakonia students, the 2020 diakonia graduation originally scheduled for August 15
th, as well as the fall semester, have been postponed until after the first of the year 2021. If you have any questions, please contact Peggy Aiello, Chair of the Steering Committee, at peggyaiello@gmail.com. For more information on diakonia,
please visit our synod website by clicking here.
We look forward to gathering together again when it is safe to do so!
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Taking Steps to Protect Mail-In Offerings
The Florida-Bahamas Synod has received reports of offerings being stolen from congregational mailboxes. It appears that thieves are targeting church buildings knowing that worship is now digital and offerings are thus being mailed.
Please be sure to routinely empty your mailbox. Do not leave mail in your box for extended periods of time. If possible, encourage your members to give online. If you suspect any theft has occurred, please contact police immediately.
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Helpful Articles for Leaders
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How to lead when things are falling apart by
Shannon Hopkins
I have spent my entire ministry believing that disruption can be a good thing. Maybe that’s hard to accept in the midst of a pandemic. But when things are disrupted, something new can break in.
My ministry was born out of a frustration that too often we perpetuate models that no longer apply to the world in which we live, excluding and leaving people behind. To me, that is the antithesis of the hope of the gospel.
I have spent over 20 years pursuing alternatives, the last 15 alongside entrepreneurs faced with intractable challenges and systems that just aren’t working. I founded Matryoshka Haus, a nonprofit that was part incubator, part community, part training organization.
Yet after training entrepreneurs to tackle
wicked problems
and think in new ways, Matryoshka Haus found itself in a place where its model was no longer working. We had to do what we have advised others to do: we had to pivot...
Click here to read the entire article.
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Remembering those behind bars during COVID-19
by Wayne Gallipo
“‘And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me’” (Matthew 25:39-40).
I am a pastor serving
St. Dysmas of South Dakota
, an ELCA congregation inside the walls of the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls, S.D. The men in my congregation come from a wide variety of racial, social and economic backgrounds and are in prison for a wide range of reasons.
South Dakota is approximately 87% white and 9% native, but as of March 31, there were 1,732 white males in the South Dakota prison system and 1,032 Native Americans. I will not dig deep into the reasons for this disparity, but it certainly reflects a severe problem in our society and justice system.
One interesting thing about serving this congregation is that the worshipers come from many different religious backgrounds. A typical worship service comprises men raised as Lutherans (of all kinds), Baptists, Reformed Christians, Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists, Messianic Jews and Orthodox Jews. There are men with no prior religious affiliation and Native Americans who participate in traditional sweat lodges. I am committed to serving all the men, regardless of their faith, and I find beauty in this diversity as we acknowledge one God, expressed and heard in many traditions...
Click here to read the entire article.
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Click on the calendar icon to see more
events on the Synod calendar
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September 26
- Bishop's Visit, Lord of Life, Miami
October 10
- Bishop's Visit, Advent, Melbourne
*Rostered ministers are invited to vest and process at installation and ordination services. Red is worn for ordination, color of the day is worn for installations.
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