Rostered Ministry
Be Part of Someone's Discernment
| A Message From Bishop Meggan | |
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This summer our Episcopalian siblings are celebrating the 50th anniversary of women’s ordination in their denomination. The evening of Sunday, July 28 I was the guest of the Idaho Episcopal Diocese at Ascension in Twin Falls, ID. During the prayers of the people, the leader gave space for everyone gathered to name aloud a person or people who had been significant in their journey to public ministry or lay ministry.
This celebration came at the end of my trip to our congregations in Wyoming which came on the heels of the ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans. So, I was immediately transported back to the 1997 ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans when I served on a Hotel Life Team, which involved general hospitality and helping lead worship in the hotel each morning, including my first sermon. The last night of that Gathering was a huge party outside. I walked around with Pastor Marilyn Breckenridge, the head of our team, and during that walk she encouraged me to consider becoming a pastor. It was probably small to her, something I assume she did regularly, but to me it was something I still remember this many years later.
In our tradition, we talk about the internal and external call to ministry, and we affirm that both are necessary to the discernment process. Naming the possibility, as Pastor Breckenridge did, is right there in the Letter of Call all of us pastors receive: “to encourage persons to prepare for the ministry of the Gospel.” I have yet to install a deacon, but I assume it’s in their letter too. For most of us, nudges or invitations from rostered ministers were significant, but so too were seeds planted by other members of our faith communities. As important as it is for all of us to take seriously our callings as baptized children of God, so too is it important that we identify and name gifts for public/ordained ministry when they appear. One conversation can open an imagination and prepare it to be nourished by someone else.
In a recent email to rostered leaders, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton wrote, “Recently we have heard one thing loud and clear: our candidates and future seminarians need more opportunities for discernment. As we listen across the church to learn how the churchwide expression can best support you, a constant theme is the need for more discernment resources. Therefore, in partnership with all seven of our ELCA seminaries, we are launching online discernment groups.
Those who are interested can sign up, using the contact form located at elcaseminaries.org. While there, they can discover the unique educational opportunities each of our seminaries has to offer. As they explore the site, they might even find examples of church leadership they have never seen before. If they aren’t comfortable in a group setting, they can request to speak with a discernment mentor one-on-one. These new conversation-based resources expand upon our already existing discernment site, Journi.faith.”
Three of our ELCA Seminaries (PLTS, Wartburg, and Luther) will host an online discernment event for all of Region One (including our synod) Saturday, November 23 at 9-10:30am (Pacific), 10-11:30am (Mountain). Finally, the Northwest Intermountain Synod has its own Candidacy page, with information about the candidacy process, our Candidacy Committee, and other resources.
Who will you forward this email to? Who in your congregation have you been meaning to talk with about their gifts for public ministry? Whose discernment process have you already been a part of? Thank you!
Peace,
Bishop Meggan Manlove
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God's Great Mercy Stewardship Resources | |
Looking for themed materials to guide a stewardship ministry in your congregation? “God’s Great Mercy" resources bring together a variety of elements to assist congregations in moving toward year-round stewardship, and carrying out an effective annual response. This resource, created by retired ELCA Pastor Charles (Chick) Lane, is FREE on the ELCA website. Just follow this LINK. | |
Litanies, Prayers, and Preaching
during Wildfire Season + Season of Creation
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The Northwest Intermountain Synod has already experienced/is experiencing wildfires this summer: on the Yakama Indian Reservation; near Kendrick, Idaho; Bench Lake Fire near Luther Heights; Pioneer Fire near Chelan, WA; Durkee Fire northwest of Ontario, OR. And those are only the fires I am aware of.
The ELCA Worship Staff assembled Worship Resources in the face of Wildfires, which includes litanies and various prayers.
You also might look ahead to To Hope and Act with Creation: Season of Creation 2024. In the letter of Paul the apostle to the Romans, the biblical image pictures the Earth as a Mother, groaning as in childbirth (Rom 8:22). Francis of Assisi understood this when he referred to the Earth as our sister and our mother in his Canticle of Creatures. The times we live in show that we are not relating to the Earth as a gift from our Creator, but rather as a resource to be used.
And yet, there is hope and the expectation for a better future. To hope in a biblical context does not mean to stand still and quiet, but rather groaning, crying, and actively striving for new life amidst the struggles. Just as in childbirth, we go through a period of intense pain, but new life springs forth.
The season traditionally starts 1 September, the Day of Prayer for Creation, and ends 4 October, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology beloved by many Christian denominations.
Preachers, I encourage you to turn to the website Preaching for God’s World during the Season of Creation or anytime you want to preach with a creation care lens or ear.
-Bishop Meggan Manlove
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Church Council Members Monthly Check-in | |
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One way we hope to live into being Synod together is gathering those who serve on councils or boards of ministries for a monthly check-in with each other. We meet over Zoom on the 4th Tuesday of each month at 6:30pm PT/7:30pm MT. These check-ins are an opportunity for members of councils/boards to connect, pray together, share best practices, and more. Depending upon the size of the group, breakout rooms may be used so that people can have more time to share and be heard by others.
Council Members Monthly Check-In will take place on the fourth Tuesday. The Zoom information, which will remain the same for each check-in, is below.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89176429941?pwd=OENTWS9HdEVKZ2pBOEI5eHRPbzZpUT09
Meeting ID: 891 7642 9941
Passcode: 881268
One tap mobile
+16694449171,,89176429941#,,,,*881268# US
+16699006833,,89176429941#,,,,*881268# US (San Jose)
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/knWnic4b1
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Thriving Leadership
Cohort Groups Now Forming
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Are you looking for a new way to deepen your faith journey or for a deeper connection to God and others? Do you need something different to anchor you to your faith?
Discover a community that goes beyond surface connections.
Join a cohort grounded in spiritual practice—a different way to gather where there's nothing to do but show up.
Groups are led by a trained leader and meet over Zoom 9-12 times. These cohorts are set to start in the fall. There's no cost, just a commitment to the group.
Groups will meet at different times during the week – so you will be put into a group based on your availability and some of your preferences. Interest forms are now available!
Learn more and view our interest form here: https://bit.ly/TLFCohortGroupInterest
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Spirited Leadership 2024
Fall Cohort (zoom)
Facilitated by: Pastors James Aalgaard, Chris Boerger, & Dick Bruesehoff
Fee: $35 donation (can be adjusted according to need). Donations will be added to the Synod’s “Cultivating Leaders Fund” for further enrichment opportunities throughout the Synod.
Sept 9 (Mondays, 6:00 – 7:30 Pacific)
Sept 23
Oct 7
Oct 21
Nov 4
Nov 18
You have a story to tell! Through holy baptism and your own leadership, you are also invited into a story that is greater and more far-reaching than yourself. We invite you into a process, or cycle of spiritual awareness and intention as a leader in your faith community as you discern the leading of the Spirit of Christ.
During our zoom sessions, we will adopt spiritual practices new and old that can be used in our own ministry settings. We will hear ministry stories from one another and reflect together about the presence of the Spirit in all that happened (or didn’t!). We will also learn about and consider approaches to measuring ministry and assessing needs within our context.
Follow this link for more information and registration.
https://glcwen.org/spirited-leadership
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A Weekend with Marty Haugen
Emanuel Lutheran Church
Moscow, Idaho
October 11-13, 2024
You are invited to join in a weekend of exploration of music and arts in worship.
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BONHOEFFER WEEKEND
Grace Lutheran Church, Wenatchee, Washington
October 19–20, 2024
THEME: WITH COURAGE AND HUMILITY
Presenter: Dr. Mark Brocker
We hope you extend an invitation to others, and that you would join us for an educational weekend which will certainly spark conversation among us as a community. Dr. Mark Brocker is a Bonhoeffer scholar and retired ELCA pastor living in Oregon. Grace Lutheran will be hosting Mark and his spouse Donna. To learn more, please check out our website. We’re excited to have this learning opportunity here at Grace!
WORKSHOP:
“With Courage and Humility: Bonhoeffer’s Ethical Approach for Us Today”
[Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon]
LECTURE:
“The Political Responsibility of the Church”
[Saturday, 7:00–8:00 p.m.]
SERMON:
“A Miracle of Divine Mercy”
[Sunday, 10:30 a.m. Worship]
ADULT FORUM
“What Does It Mean to Tell the Truth?”
[Sunday, 12:00 noon – 1:00 p.m.]
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Surveys from the ELCA - the big WHY
Pastors, Deacons, Congregation Administrators are periodically receiving Pulse Surveys from the ELCA Research and Evaluation Team. These have taken the place of one of the forms we used to complete in January-February.
PLEASE COMPLETE THE SURVEYS!
Why? Pulse Surveys are one way for synods and the churchwide organization to learn about the perspectives, strengths, and development needs of ELCA congregations and worshiping communities. We hope the information collected can help foster conversations, inform adjustments needing to be made, and gain insight into the impact of those changes.
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Rewatch LSM 2024 in the LSM Livestream Archives | | Did you miss LSM 2024? Don’t worry! You are invited to revisit over 30 concerts, recitals, and worship services from LSM 2024 on demand in LSM’s Livestream With so many great performances and inspiring services, you don’t want to miss out. | |
3rd Annual Valborg Tollefsrud Educational Event |
Spiritual Care of the Dying:
The art of ministering to emotional and spiritual needs at end of life
August 22, 2024
4-6pm PT/5-7pm MT
- Registration fee: $30 for LFCNA members/ $ 50 for non-members
- Nursing contact hours provided upon successful completion of the event: 2.0
Presented by Cheryl Plummer, Deaconess, certified Deacon in the SE Michigan Synod of the ELCA, and Hospice Chaplain
Course Description: This presentation will address spiritual care of the dying. Assessment of the spiritual needs of the dying will be discussed. The gifts and challenges of ministry to the dying and their loved ones, how spirituality can bring comfort and peace, and stories from a long ministry in hospice will be shared. The importance of clergy, faith community nurses and congregations partnering in end-of-life care will be addressed. There will be an introduction to the communication tool, the Death Cafe, which helps encourage open dialogue about dying.
Objectives:
- Describe one assessment tool used for exploring the spiritual needs of the dying and their loved ones
- Name at least one gift and one challenge of ministering to the dying and their loved ones
- Articulate how tending the spiritual needs of another brings comfort and peace to them.
- Describe the communication tool "the Death Cafe"
- Describe how the Faith Community Nurse, clergy and the congregation partner in end-of-life care.
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Webinar: Grant Writing for Congregations | | | | |
