Fund for Leaders Scholarship Application Invitation for Women
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An invitation from the Florida-Bahamas Synod Synodical Women's Organization (SWO) of the Women of the ELCA
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The Fund for Leaders Scholarship Application for the 2019-2020 academic year is available on our website,
www.flwelca.com. The deadline is midnight, December 31, 2018. Applications should be submitted to Tracy Moffatt, SWO President, 1944 Crestview Way, Naples, FL 34119 or electronically to tracymoffatt@aol.com.
The scholarship will be awarded by the decision of the FL-BA SWO board at their January 2019 board meeting using the following criteria:
- The applicant must be a student in the candidacy process attending one of the eight ELCA seminaries in either the Master of Divinity or Master of Arts program, or a student in an approved extension program of one of the ELCA seminaries and be enrolled in an approved program, such as the Theological Education for Emerging Ministries (TEEM) program.
- Preference will be given to residents of the Florida-Bahamas Synod.
- Preference will be given to female applicants.
- Preference will be given to an active member of a congregational unit of the Women of the ELCA.
- Applicant should exhibit faith qualities that empower others.
- Applicant should demonstrate leadership qualities in church and the community.
Thank you, Florida-Bahamas Women of the ELCA, for your generous support of our Fund for Leaders Scholarship! It is your financial support that allows us to make scholarships available which, in turn, reduce the amount of debt our recipients will have after leaving seminary.
If you would like to donate to the Fund for Leadership Scholarship, please send your donation to our Treasurer, Ann English, at 12060 Sonnet Avenue, Orlando, FL 32832. Be sure to indicate that it is for the Fund for Leaders Scholarship.
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This is one of 2 E-Spirit articles that will focus on the Fund for Leaders. Next week's article will be about this year's recipients of the ELCA's Fund for Leaders Scholarship.
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What is Church Growth?
by Pr. David Hansen
Growth is Holistic
Worship attendance is a helpful number to look at – but it is by no means the only number!
LEAD has been doing some great work around helping congregations figure out metrics that help to measure ministry in ways that make sense with their values.
Talking about growth has to take a holistic approach. Are we growing in numbers, discipleship, outreach, generosity, and relationship? They all work together.
Too often in the church we zero in on one of those sorts of measures over and against the others. A healthy approach to growth looks at them
all together – and the interplay between them. Some examples of this might be things like the percentage of members in worship each week, or the number of people involved in small groups, or the number of service hours spent in the community each week.
When we only consider one or two of these factors, we are only getting part of the picture. I have even watched as leaders lift one part of the picture, to distract from problems in other areas.
A healthy, growing church is honest and looks at all these factors together.
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Continuing Education Opportunity
The Society of the Holy Trinity: Florida Chapter invites you to this year's retreat (Nov. 5-6) at the San Pedro Retreat Center in Winter Park. Participants are most often, but not limited to, ELCA, LCMS, NALC, ELCM, or LCMC clergy, as well as
synodical & parish Deacons, Deacon Candidates, Diakonia participants and graduates, clergy of other traditions and laity are especially welcome
. You need not be a member of The Society of the Holy Trinity to attend. Lodging is single; handicapped rooms are available. Lodging, conference & dining room, and chapel are each in their own buildings.
MARTIN LUTHER'S THEOLOGY OF BEAUTY: A REAPPRAISAL
Many contemporary theologians seek to retrieve the concept of beauty as a way for people to encounter God. This groundbreaking book argues that while Martin Luther's view of beauty has often been ignored or underappreciated, it has much to contribute to that quest. Mark Mattes, one of today's leading Lutheran theologians, analyzes Luther's theological aesthetics and discusses its implications for music, art, and the contemplative life. Mattes shows that for Luther, the cross is the lens through which the beauty of God is refracted into the world.
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Sign Up for E-Spirit
E-Spirit is for anyone in the Florida-Bahamas Synod or who wants to stay informed about the synod. Please encourage people in your congregation to sign up. Here is a note you can copy and paste, post in your bulletin, or otherwise use to encourage people to sign up:
The easiest way to sign up to receive E-Spirit is to go to the synod web site (www.fbsynod.com), scroll down to the bottom, and click on the blue button that says "Newsletter". That will take you to a sign up form, where you can enter your contact information. Below the contact information, check the "Church members & friends" box to be added to the general distribution list. This will ensure you receive the weekly E-Spirit and any other information that is intended for a general audience.
Like the Synod Facebook page
Another great way to stay connected with the Florida-Bahamas Synod is by 'liking' the Synod Facebook page. Search for "Florida-Bahamas Synod, ELCA" in Facebook. We post to that page at least once--often more than once--a day. Posts may include cross-posting information from the ELCA or an ELCA ministry, sharing pictures and stories from other congregations in the synod, sharing prayers or resources for personal or congregational spiritual formation, and sharing information from the synod office.
Why don't I see the synod Facebook page in my feed?
If you know you have liked the Facebook page but do not often see it in your feed, you can turn on notifications so you get specifically notified when something posts to that page.
Make sure you have checked "following" at the top of the page, right next to where you see that you have 'liked' the page. From that drop-down menu, you can choose whether you want the posts to be 'default' or 'first' in your newsfeed. Also, the more you interact with the page, the more often it will show up on your feed. So the more often you click on it, like, share or comment on a photo, the more often you will see the activity from that page.
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Click on the calendar to go to the synod calendar to learn more about these events
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RSVP/Register for these events!
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From Bishop Suarez:
The annual Conference on Ministry is a significant opportunity for us to gather as rostered ministers for learning, conversation, worship, and renewal. This year, I'm especially looking forward to gathering with you all and sharing the emerging vision for mission and ministry the Holy Spirit is laying on my heart. I'm looking forward to learning with you as we hear from David Hansen and Jessica Noonan from LEAD about vitality and leadership. I'm looking forward to, with you, getting up on the rooftop as we dwell in the story of Peter, and encountering God in new ways.
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Oct. 19-21 -
Confirmation Retreat, Luther Springs
Oct. 20 -
Retreat on Prayer, Mandarin, Jacksonville
Oct. 20 -
Blessing of the Animals, Hope, The Villages
Oct. 21 -
Installation of Pr. Deborah Geweke, Christ, Ft. Lauderdale (10:00 am)
Oct. 21 -
Organ Concert by Peace, Ft. Myers organist (at St. Columbkille Church, 2:00)
Oct. 21 -
Installation of Pr. Sandy Hutchens, Redeemer, Bradenton (3:00)
Oct. 23 -
Installation of Pr. Rani
Abdulmasih, Hope, The Villages (5:00 pm)--
CORRECTED TIME
Oct. 26 -
Trunk or Treat, Faith, Lehigh Acres (6 pm)
Oct. 27 -
Installation of Pr. Steve Winsor, Nativity, Palm Beach Gardens (11:00 am)
Oct. 27 -
Oktoberfest, Christ Our Redeemer, Temple Terrace
Oct. 28 -
Installation of Pr. Richard Leseganich, Messiah, Cape Coral (3:00 pm)
Oct. 28 -
Castle Church Brewery Blessing (4:00-7:30 pm)
Oct. 28 -
Service of Healing and Lament, Immanuel, Palm City (6:00 pm)
Nov. 5-7 - Conference on Ministry
Nov. 23 -
Thanksgiving Day Worship and Meal, Grace, Tallahassee (11:00)
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Updates from FBSynod YAGMs
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Three young adults from the Florida-Bahamas Synod are spending a year with the ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) program. They have been in their countries of service around 2 months. Please keep these young adults in your prayers. You can follow their journeys through their blogs (mentioned below). If you want to learn more about the YAGM program or make a donation to help support them in this experience,
click HERE
. For a flyer to share about these 3 YAGMs,
click HERE
.
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The Eucharist and the Stranger
Courtney Noya, Mexico
This poem means a lot to me. I think I’ve read it a hundred times over since I first heard it at YAGM orientation in Chicago. Sometimes I read it to myself, mulling over the meaning of each line; other times, I read it aloud and let the deepness sit in my chest. Today I read it and found myself thinking about how fitting it is for the migrants whom I work with on a daily basis and what it means for me to be able to pass on the whole story. I found myself thinking about the things I want to remember to tell.
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Your People Will Be My People
Stephen Bryant, Rwanda
This might give you a sense of my need for community. I have taken to walking around town, talking to market venders, talking to people at coffee shops and having conversations with people I meet on the street. This has become my routine for many days, and for when I get into a funk. I go to both the large and small open markets. I look at kitenge fabric, maybe buy fruits, or vegetables, but the main purpose of me going to these places is to interact with the people. This is one of the spaces where I find my passion.
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Blessed are the Pure in Spirit
Sean Bryant, Tanzania
Going back to the word “Mzungu” (white person/foreigner), it originally comes from the word “Zunguka”, which means “to wander.” I guess that some may take it to the place where, “All those who wander are not lost.” from J.R.R. Tolkien’s poem, but I want to dig a little further. Why do the people wander? It is great that “those who wander” can be located or that they are going somewhere and have reached enlightenment about themselves or others (if one was to define “found’ in that type of manner). Why are they wandering? To what end are they wandering and why do we care?
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A Prayer for YAGMs and other young adults (based on a prayer from the ELW, p. 83)
God of all good gifts, your Son gathered children into his arms and blessed them. Help us to understand young adults as they grow in knowledge of your world. Especially we pray for Courtney, Stephen and Sean as they serve their neighbors through the YAGM program. Give them compassion when they face temptations and experience failures. Teach us to encourage their search for truth and value in their lives. May they appreciate this experience with all of its joys and challenges. Help us to listen, pray for, and encourage them and all young adults, that we--together--may look for a better world than either we or they have known; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
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So Now What?
October Column from Bishop Eaton
So now what? Last year it was all Reformation all the time. On this 501st anniversary of the Reformation, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton uses her October Living Lutheran column to call on us to “refocus our attention on the gospel of our freedom, forgiveness and reconciliation given to us through God’s indescribable act of love in Christ’s death and resurrection.”
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Portico Benefit Annual Enrollment
It’s time to enter your organization’s 2019 health benefit option.
Congregations and organizations who sponsor employees through Portico: Choose the ELCA-Primary health benefits option you will offer for 2019 and
enter it on EmployerLink
before Oct. 26. You must do this even if you want to continue your current option, your plan members waive ELCA-Primary health benefits, or your plan members are eligible for ELCA Medicare-Primary coverage. There’s information to help your organization make its selection on EmployerLink — or call the Customer Care Center, 800.352.2876, for help.
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Advent Resources
Below are some great resources for the seasons of Advent. They can be used for families or for congregations.
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ELCA World Hunger: Advent Study 2018
This 4-session Advent study encourages individuals, families, or groups to connect the anticipation of Christ's birth with the work of World Hunger around the world.
Read more
download.elca.org
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Additional ELCA World Hunger resources for Advent include:
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- Panama City
- Working Retreat
- Synod Office
- Hope, The Villages--installation of Pr. Rani Abdulmasih.
- Nativity, Palm Beach Gardens--installation of Pr. Steve Winsor
- Castle Church--Dedication
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