Pacifica Synod News & Notes
May 8, 2020
We share with you the following news, resources, information and event updates taking place within our synod and throughout the ELCA. If you have items or information to share, please email Terri Robertson at  terrirobertson@pacificasynod.org . If you know of others who aren't receiving our emails, please share this with them and encourage them to contact us using the above email or sign up here .
Current News & Resources
Upcoming Pacifica Synod
AMMPARO Events
The ELCA AMMPARO network stands for Accompanying Migrant Minors with Protection, Advocacy, Representation and Opportunities.  elca.org/ammparo
 
Upcoming Pacifica Synod AMMPARO Online Events


Virtual Journey to Healing Tour with Survivors of Torture
Come learn about our brothers and sisters from around the world and the process of healing!
Wednesday, May 13, 3:00 PM Pacific Time
Join Zoom Meeting   https://zoom.us/j/97931334793
Meeting ID: 979 3133 4793


Pacifica Synod AMMPARO Zoom Meeting
Saturday, May 16, 2020 10:00 AM Pacific Time
Meeting ID: 812 7494 8707
Password: AMMPARO

If you would like the additional resources provided from our last meeting, please contact Deacon Roberta Wall at  roberta_k_2000@yahoo.com.

Please contact  ammparonetworkinpacificasynod@gmail.com  for more information and how to connect with partners in Mexico.

Tracking Online Worship Attendance
This period of “social distancing” has demanded that congregations come up with creative online solutions for gathering the community in worship, whether through livestreaming, posting of recorded services, or both. This has led to many questions about how to track and report attendance when it comes time to fill out Form A next year. 

The ELCA Office of the Secretary has provided a resource with information to help congregations track online worship attendance. You may download the document here .

Lutheran Lobby Day
Wednesday, May 20
We will gather virtually with Lutherans from around the state for our second annual advocacy day. Our advocacy will focus on COVID-19 relief for California’s most impacted communities. Following a morning briefing, you will be scheduled for a virtual meeting with your California legislators. More information about Lobby Day may be found  here .

Click here  to register for Lobby Day.

Office Administrator Position
Faith Lutheran, Menifee
Faith Lutheran Church in Menifee seeks technology-savvy self-starter for the Part Time position of Office Administrator. To submit resume and/or request job description, email faithlutheranmenifee@gmail.com . No phone calls, please. Position open until filled. 

To download a position description, click here .

Webinars and Forums
Here to Serve
Weekly Online Gathering for ELCA Leaders
Here to Serve: Being Church in the Time of COVID-19
Weekly Online Gathering for ELCA Leaders
Wednesday, May 13 at 11:00 a.m. PDT

You are invited to join this weekly gathering designed to provide encouragement and support for ELCA leaders across the church and throughout society. Participants will hear topical presentations related to how we are called to be Church in the time of COVID-19, as well as an opportunity to be in small group discussions with an ELCA group coach facilitating the conversation. All of this is designed to help us process our feelings in this strange and fearful time and to create a space where we can each name our next most faithful step forward in our unique context.

Our guest speakers on May 13 will be  Bishop Paul Egensteiner with the Metropolitan New York Synod ,  Bishop Kristen Kuempel with the Northwestern Intermountain Synod , and  Bishop Yehiel Curry with the Metropolitan Chicago Synod .  Each will share the unique experience of COVID-19 in their contexts and how they see their people navigating the journey of grief and hope therein.

As an advocate for mutual learning and growth,  Bishop Egensteiner  “strives to make God the one that people see, and not me,” upholding positive change as the Lutheran Church increases and maintains its inclusive love and care for all of God’s children....Bishop Egensteiner expresses that in “being trustworthy, thoughtful and loving, changes come more easily and with more acceptance. This style leads to the willingness of the community to take greater risks and be more innovative.”

Bishop Kuempel  is a passionate supporter of campus and outdoor ministries, believing these are two areas where future faith leaders are born – leaders that will be well-equipped to face the changes that are sweeping across our culture and changing our churches in ways we still don’t entirely understand. She believes that technology is a tool that can be used to create community among vast distances and across various philosophies.

Bishop Curry 's life journey informs and influences his apprenticeship model of mentorship which maintains that you should make a friend before you try to make a member because it’s easier to quit on a denomination and harder to quit on a friend.


ELCA Coaching is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Being Church in the Time of COVID-19 - Weekly Gathering for ELCA Leaders
Time: May 13, 2020 01:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 180 439 412
Password: 648160

One tap mobile
+13462487799,,180439412#,,1#,648160# US (Houston)
+16699006833,,180439412#,,1#,648160# US (San Jose)

Dial by your location
    +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
    +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
    +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
    +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
    +1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
    +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
Meeting ID: 180 439 412
Password: 648160

Financial Resources for Congregations Forum
May 12 at 11:00 a.m.
The ELCA Domestic Mission Congregational Vitality Team is hosting a Financial Resources for Congregations during Crisis Forum for pastors and congregational leaders on Tuesday, May 12 at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time.

Topics for this Forum:

Payroll Protection Program , presented by Greg Truex, ELCA Credit Union
  • How congregations apply
  • How to qualify for loan forgiveness
  • How to work with ELCA Credit Union
Lutheran Disaster Response : Joe Young
ELCA Domestic Hunger grants:  Juliana Glassco
  • Application process now
  • Daily Bread grants waiting list
ELCA Vulnerable Congregations list and process : Ruben Duran
How to support congregations to set up online giving : Keith Mundy

Information to join the forum via Zoom may be found below.

Tuesday May 12 at 1:00 – 2:00 pm Central Standard Time
Zoom link (not Teams)
 
Meeting ID: 833 4065 0142
Password: 901353
One tap mobile
+13126266799,,83340650142#,,1#,901353# US (Chicago)
+13017158592,,83340650142#,,1#,901353# US (Germantown)
 
Dial by your location
       +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
       +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
       +1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
       +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
       +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
       +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
       +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
Meeting ID: 833 4065 0142
Password: 901353
Find your local number:  https://us02web.zoom.us/u/k6eVTlnHk


"Perspectives on the Border"
Webinar Series on Immigration
May 13 & 14 - 1:00 p.m.
"Perspectives on the Border" webinar series on immigration is a partnership project with  Rev. Dr. Jay Alanis , the  Lutheran Seminary Program in the Southwest (LSPS) , and the following ELCA synods: Gulf Coast, Northern Texas-Northern Louisiana, Sierra Pacific, and Southwestern Texas.
 
There are two sessions, and we are offering both for only $50!
 
Session 1: Theological Perspectives on Immigration from the U.S. Mexico Borderlands (May 13, 1:00 p.m. Pacific)
 
The recent refugee and migrant crisis along the U.S. - Mexico border provides a window into the complex social, political, and cultural worldview of two neighbor nations, a location and human condition that calls for a theological response to how we treat 'the other.' The current pandemic has exacerbated the human response to migration. The webinar will offer theological perspectives on immigration as a border-crossing response of faith.
 
Session 2: Living in Third Spaces: Where the church meets asylum seekers
(May 14, 1:00 p.m. Pacific)
 
This webinar will explore liminal space as a third space of faithful living and offer theological perspectives on liminality as sacramental, eucharistic space where the church encounters the migrant other.
 
 
The sessions will run about an hour in length.
 
For additional context, we recommend you read this lecture by Rev. Dr. Jay Alanis:  “Borderland Ethics Sin Fronteras: Borderland Ethics Without Borders, Neighbor-Love in Liminal Spaces”

ELCA stewardTalk
Thursday, May 14 at 1:00 p.m.
ELCA stewardTalk
Reflections on Faith & Finances
in Times Such as This
A Conversation with Rev. Charles Lane
Thursday, May 14, at 1:00 PM PDT

We will talk about his book and connect to two response methods he has written:
  • Walk with Jesus
  • Because of God’s Great Mercy

To participate, simply link to:
Meeting ID: 319 941 5281
One tap mobile +13126266799,,3199415281# US (Chicago) +14702509358,,3199415281# US (Atlanta)

Feel free to invite others. This talk will be recorded and soon be placed in our new ELCA stewardShowcase at https://vimeo.com/showcase/5854136.
We will be adding more videos soon. 
 
Hope you will able to join us!
We Remember in Our Prayers
We ask that you hold the following people in your thoughts and prayers:

  • Reverend Robert Freistedt
  • Family and friends of Rev. Joe Ramnarine
  • Reverend Ron and Paula Rennegarbe
  • Those affected with the COVID-19 virus and those who have lost loved ones
  • Our healthcare providers, first responders, essential workers and all who continue to serve so that others can remain safely at home



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:

E. San Diego Conference - The Rev. Richard Vevia -  revvev@cox.net
W. San Diego Conf - The Rev. David Nagler -  pastordave@christpb.org
Harvest Conference - The Rev. David Jorstad -  pastorjorstadsmlc@yahoo.com
Raincross Conference - The Rev. Linda Brown -  pastor@edenlutheran.net
Big Bear Conference - The Rev. Matt Anderson -  pastormatt@trinityvictorville.org
Saddleback Conference - The Rev. Marty Jacobson -  pastormartyclcrsm@gmail.com
Son & Surf Conf - The Rev. Jennifer Schultz -  prjenniferblclosalamitos@gmail.com
Rejoice Conference - The Rev. Cate Luehr -  pastorcate@elclh.org
Hukilau Conference - The Rev. Kathryn Zurcher -  kzurcher002@luthersem.edu
Synod Event Updates
2020 Joint Synod Assembly
On March 18, 2020 - Bishops Andy Taylor and R. Guy Erwin issued the following statement regarding the 2020 Joint Synod Assembly scheduled for May 28-30 at California Lutheran University:

As we live into a new "abnormal" with COVID-19, social distancing, and cancelling of most events in our lives, we wish to inform you that the joint Pacifica and Southwest California Synod Assembly scheduled for the end of May has been postponed.

We are working with the Synod Assembly Planning team, the staffs of both synods, and California Lutheran University to see what options there may be to hold the assembly in August. While there will be questions on the postponement, we ask for your patience and prayers as the staffs and planning teams work out the details.
 
It seems everything is changing by the hour. But in the midst of this uncertainty, we hold on to the never changing love of God and the promise that we do not walk this untrodden path alone.

We will keep you informed as more details become available.
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Pacifica Synod - ELCA
Lutheran Center for Mission & Learning
1801 Park Court Place, Bldg. C, Santa Ana, CA 92701
714.692.2791