Truth and Healing Movement Events

Find opportunities to learn the true history and current realities of our Indigenous neighbors. It is these truths, truths that have been ignored by most for hundreds of years, that will bring healing for both Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people.

Find webinars, book lists, and more HERE!

RECLAIM

September 14-17 in Minneapolis

RECLAIM is a gathering for people of African descent, brought to you by African Descent Ministries. Participants will build a tool kit for ministry as we move through a pandemic, climate change and an era of preserving healers' spiritual and emotional wellness.

The church needs healthy and whole preachers, teachers, professionals and young adults, all well-equipped with culturally relevant approaches to the word. Grounded in Scripture, RECLAIM will help participants feel embodied, emboldened and liberated in their identities.

Learn more HERE!

Synod Women's Organization

June Newsletter "The Echo" available

Inside this edition of the ECHO you will find information about the October 21 Synodical Convention and Gathering (including registration), a nomination form for SWO board members, the Triennial Scholarship recipients and so much more! Find it here.

Greetings from Wittenberg!

Rev. Erik Kindem (Peace Lutheran, West Seattle) is currently on sabbatical. He had the opportunity to visit the Wittenberg castle church complex - and Luther’s Garden. He and his wife Chris found the tree that was donated by the NW Washington Synod during the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation. Thank you, Kindems, for tidying up the sign - and sharing!

News from Camp Lutherwood!

We at Lutherwood (YOUR camp) are gearing up for summer and covet your prayers and assistance. While we have hired many great staff members, we could still use the following:

+ Volunteer nurses for a few more weeks. Come for a week or more. WA RN license preferred. Training provided.

+ Lifeguards – all summer or just weekends/Saturdays

+ Boat drivers – must be WA certified

+ Saturday cook – Experience preferred and must have food handler’s permit

+ Grandparents of the week – no certifications required! 😊 Just come be a presence for the youth!

+ Lawnmower… come for a day or all summer!

+ Volunteers – come for a day or week!

+ Quilt donations for summer staff – to know they are loved, cared for, and being prayed for.

Also, our facilities director, Keith, just took a new job. We wish him well on his new adventure! Please spread the word that we will be hiring someone to fill that role as soon as we find someone qualified. It is year-round full-time and involves living on site and managing all the grounds and facilities. Some certifications will be required or can be obtained such as WTPO to manage our water system. 

Please keep Lutherwood in your prayers as we continue moving through this interim time of getting Lutherwood situated to serve ALL of the Lutherans of Western Washington well into the future! This is YOUR camp! Thank you for your ongoing support, both financial and prayerful! Come to camp and spread the word!

Judy Engh, Interim Executive Director

Lutherwood Camp & Retreat Center

www.camplutherwood.org

NWWA Synod Trip to the Holy Land

January 14-25, 2024

You are invited to join with others in the NWWA Synod for a life-changing trip to the Holy Land. Not only will we visit holy sites, we will also meet with, talk with, and listen to those who live, work, laugh, worship, and struggle in this land. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) is one of our partners in the Lutheran World Federation. They are excited to share their stories with us. There is also an additional post-trip to Egypt that you are invited to sign up for, as well.

We want this to be a time for people to interact with and learn with the people of this land. Therefore, we are only taking twenty-four people. We hope that you will come and be a part of this important trip. Please click the link below to find out more information or reach out to me for any questions you might have.

https://www.eliastours.com/tours/northwest-washington-synod-holy-land-trip-with-bishop-shelley-bryan-wee-dr-rod-schofield

Lay Ministry Formation

Learn more at our final info meeting:

June 14, 6:30-7:30pm - Zoom Link

Our synod's Lay Ministry Formation is a NEW two-year formation process for lay leaders to discern and deepen their calling as a minister in context. This paid certificate program allows participants, through learning retreats and online cohort groups, to grow in their own spiritual leadership alongside professionally trained scholars.  



This program is required for those seeking to become a Synodically Authorized Lay Minister (SALM), serving local churches as lay ministers authorized by the Bishop. However, the program is also open to any lay leaders wishing to discern or pursue growth in their ministry context.

Juneteenth Items:

Songs of Black Folk Concert

Sunday, June 18 at the Paramount Theater, Seattle

Renowned performers and presenters will share a music tradition that began on the African continent, was transported to the Americas via slave ships, and took root in the daily sufferings of an enslaved Black people who chose to survive and fought to be free. The audience will be shown how Black musical culture has functioned as both a tool of resistance and as a powerful source of hope for a Black people who have endured four centuries of white supremacy and its relentless assault on Black lives. The concert features the rise of the Negro Spirituals and demonstrates how they have evolved into other Black musical genres including, blues, Gospel, jazz, R&B, Hip-Hop, and even spoken word. “The intent of SBF is to use music to connect the African American struggle for freedom, justice, dignity, and happiness with the struggles of other Americans who have had to fight their way from the margins of American society into the mainstream,” shares Reverend Dr. Leslie D. Braxton, Executive Director, Visionary and Founder, Songs of Black Folk. “SBF is a world-class fine arts production that features African-American talent, and is presented to the Pacific Northwest audience. Learn more and get tickets HERE.

The ELCA has worship resources you may use either individually or corporately as we commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. Find those resources HERE.

We are proud to be a Reconciling in Christ synod and there are many opportunities for you and your church to join in and celebrate PRIDE this month. There are many different PRIDE events happening throughout June (and even July) across our Synod.

For several of these events, there is a Lutheran contact identified -- find that info on our website!

• Anacortes – June 17
• Everett Block Party– June 17
• Capitol Hill Trans-PRIDE Event – June 23
• Lake Stevens – June 24
• Mount Vernon Skagit Queer - June 24
• Seattle – June 25
• Bellingham – July 9

For bulletin inserts, contact for various parades and more...

check out our synod website at https://www.lutheransnw.org/pages/pride

ELCA Youth Gathering

NWWA Synod Information Sessions

Tuesday, June 20 | 11:45am – 12:45pm | Zoom Link

Wednesday, June 21 | 5:30-6:30pm | Zoom Link

Are you interested in finding out more about the ELCA Youth Gathering? Are you looking for information about what to expect at our 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans? Are you curious about our theme “Created to Be” or what MYLE and the tAble are?

Our Gathering Synod Champion, Becky Cole, has information to share and will answer your questions as part of this hour-long information session about the Youth Gathering in 2024. Although we are over a year away from this wonderful event, planning is essential, and registration begins in September! Please plan to join her on Tuesday, June 20 or Wednesday, June 21!

If you have questions, you can contact her directly at children@hslckirkland.org.

Candidacy Leadership Development Group - Invitation to join a hearing



In March 2022 a diverse group was appointed to examine and improve the ELCA candidacy process that equips rostered ministers for service in our church. This team is the Candidacy Leadership Development Working Group

In the last year we have spent much of our time hosting virtual and in-person listening sessions to learn the needs of our church. We also completed a survey for those excluded by the candidacy process. As we move forward, the working group is prioritizing feedback from our church.

All members of the ELCA are invited to hearings at which the working group will share its findings. There will also be an opportunity for response. More details will be shared at the hearings; you can find an executive summary of the team’s work here.

The hearings will be hosted via Zoom. Please mark your calendars for one of the following:

June 20, 4 pm

June 22, 10 am

June 26, 11 am

June 28, 7 pm

Thank you for your prayers for this group as we seek to increase proclamation of the gospel.

Events for Rostered Ministers & SALMS:

Retired Rostered Ministers Lunch

July 11, 11:30am-1:30pm at Advent Lutheran Church in Mill Creek.

All retired deacons and pastors...and spouses, widows, widowers...are invited to join the bishop and her staff as you connect with friends.

Please register by emailing Susan@lutheransnw.org by June 30.

Cluster Deans Dinner

Thursday, August 17, 4pm-8pm

Save the date - more info coming soon!

(Spouses/partners/families are invited, too)

New-to-the-Synod Dinner

October 5, 4pm-7:30pm

Rostered ministers and their spouses/partners who are new to the synod since Summer 2022, are invited to attend this dinner - look for more information mid summer!

Summer Family Camp

at Camp Casey Campground

July 14-16

Registration is OPEN!

We will be doing a multi-congregational family summer camp with our local Lutheran congregations! Come join the fun. Everyone is welcome! We are all FAMILY - So Family Camp means YOU!

We'll have music, camp games, crafts, free family time, evening vespers, closing worship, and much more! All nestled by the Fort Casey Campground beachfront. 

Registration is now - space is limited. RV's & tents sites available. Come for the day or come for the whole event. You do not reserve with Fort Casey individually. You must register using the QR link on the flyer. Spaces will fill fast, so register NOW!

Community Sing:

Songs in Your Body, on this Land.

7400 Woodlawn (Greenlake/Seattle) welcomes you to join us for song in Greenlake Park! Conie Borchardt and Liz Digitale Anderson, leaders/musicians from Music That Makes Community, will lead us!

Thursday, July 27 – 5pm Bring-Your-Own-Picnic

6pm-7:30pm Singing

Registration fee is $5-20, but no one will be turned away... Register here: https://www.facebook.com/events/112937045155351?ref=newsfeed, and use the COMMUNITY SING REGISTRATION in the drop down menu. In case of inclement weather, check back at our website www.7400woodlawn.org/events for location update. If you have questions, contact Harriet Platts at info@7400Woodlawn.org.