LiVE PROJECT - 2 more classes start this week!

We are excited to embark on the next year of the LiVE Project of the Northwest Washington Synod! YOU are invited!

There are a host of learning opportunities for lay, life-long learners. The theme for this year is Spirit Stirring. How is the Spirit stirring in your life? How is the Spirit informing your sense of call? 

All mini-courses (5-8 weeks) and the four one-day retreats explore how the Holy Spirit is igniting curiosity and fresh ways to integrate life, faith, and the public witness of the church. 

Individuals and Congregations have a few options to register.

Sign up (and save!) for the unlimited bundle and have access to ALL the 2022-2023 offerings - or register for each one class/retreat individually.

• The various fall mini-courses are listed below in the events section!
• Check out the full 2022-2023 offerings in the catalog.
• Learn more about the LiVE Project HERE.
• Register yourself or your congregation group ASAP - HERE

National Hispanic Heritage Month

September 15 - October 15

We give thanks to God for the gifts, contributions, and rich cultural diversity of our Latinx siblings and neighbors in Christ! We pray for the growth and vitality of the 147 Latino ministries across the ELCA as they share the gospel, equip leaders, promote inclusivity and diversity, and serve their neighbors.

We lift up in prayer our mission start ministry in Burlington, El Camino de Emaus, our bilingual congregation - Church of Steadfast Love (Seattle), and those congregations who are intentionally walking alongside the Latinx communities on our territory.  We lift up in prayer The Latino Ministries Association (Asociación Luterana de Ministerios Latinos E.L.C.A); find resources here: www.elca.org/Our-Work/Congregations-and-Synods/Ethnic-Specific-and-Multicultural-Ministries/Latino

2023 Compensation Guidelines 

For Rostered Ministers in the NW WA Synod

The NW WA Synod Personnel Committee is pleased to announce the second year of offering the one compensation worksheet for all rostered ministers. 

We are grateful for both the work of all rostered ministers and the congregations in our Synod. It indeed is our duty and our joy to partner in this work for the sake of Christ and the good news we share.

• View the Full Guidelines Document HERE
• Download the Compensation Worksheet HERE

We are woven together:

In her September column for Living Lutheran, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton writes: “In Christ we are individually members one of another. Sometimes we might feel like we are stuck with each other. This is the great mystery and beauty of the wounded body of Christ—we are woven together.”

Read her column in in Spanish at https://bit.ly/3f1BfDT or in English at https://bit.ly/3RUS2a5.

Centro Teológico Luterano Multicultural (CTLM)

Intercultural Competence Training

Vital Congregations - Vital Communities

Presenter: Rev. Rubén Durán

Wednesday October 12 / Thursday October 13 / and Saturday October 15

This class will be delivered entirely as an online course.

Congregational fee: $600.00 / Individual fee: $250.00

Learn more and register HERE

Free Piano!

Nativity Lutheran and Cross & Crown Lutheran (worshiping together at 10940 SE 168th St, Renton, WA, 98055) are giving away an upright piano, perfect for anyone starting to learn!

Free for the taking – all we ask is that you arrange your own pickup & transport!

Contact Evan in the church office for details: 425-228-5464 or nativitylcoffice@gmail.com

Installation Service

The Rev. Leslie Mahraun will be installed as Chaplain at The Hearthstone in Seattle on Tuesday, September 27 at 2pm at Hearthstone in the Gardens at the Cove. (Located in the alley behind the Cove East Apartments, of the Hearthstone Campus: 6850 Woodlawn Ave NE, Seattle. This event will only be open to public if weather permits it to be outdoors!)

ELCA Vital Congregations Training – Fall 2022

Is your congregation ready to take some steps (even small steps) toward renewal or revitalization? Are you ready to try some new things, share some ideas, gain a greater understanding of the broader mission, bring clarity about your own congregation’s mission, acquire knowledge on how to live that out in community, gain confidence to share what you have learned with the world, and find new allies from within a cohort of congregations? Then, you are invited to attend the 2022 Fall Session of the ELCA Vital Congregations Training! 

Rostered Ministers and congregation leaders are encouraged to attend as a team of 3–5 people for a 4-session training series. This will be a time of inspiration, learning, planning, sharing, experimenting, visioning, and implementing. This fast paced co-creative and co-experimental training is facilitated by leaders with experience in redeveloping congregations as well as added guest presenters from a variety of settings with a wealth of knowledge. These principles and more will be explored: focusing on Jesus and justice; being expectant of the Holy Spirit; living as disciples of Jesus; multiplying leaders who are young, diverse and bring fresh insights; and aligning with purpose and core values.

This FREE 4-session training series will be held on these Thursdays: October 6, October 20, November 3, and November 17. You may choose to attend either in the morning or the afternoon – whatever time works best for your team. The morning session is 10:30am-12noon (pacific time); the afternoon session is 4:30-6:00pm (pacific time.) All sessions will be recorded and available to all registered participants. NOTE: This training is for people who did NOT attend the Vital Congregations Re-BOOT Camp in Spring 2022 or 2021.

Get registered for FREE here!

Questions?

Please reach out to Director for Evangelical Mission, Rev. Herb Shao - dem2@lutheransnw.org

Faithfully Queer (and Allied) Speaker Series

at Burlington Lutheran Church

This Fall we’re hosting several dynamic speakers to share about their own faith journeys toward loving all people, especially LGBTQIA+. How can one have faith, hold to their faith tradition (including to the Bible), AND be queer or actively support queer folx? The Faithfully Queer (and Allied) speaker series seeks to address this question. Each event is 6:30-8pm.

Oct ober 7: Jennifer Knapp Highly acclaimed for her contributions to the Christian Contemporary Music genre, Jennifer Knapp rocked religious conservatives with a very public “coming out” in 2010 through interviews with The Advocate, Reuters, Christianity Today and an appearance on Larry King LIVE. In doing so, she experienced firsthand the devastating effects religious prejudice has on the LGBTQ community and recognized something needed to change to turn the tide. In an effort to encourage constructive and uplifting dialogue in matters of LGBTQ faith, Jennifer established and now speaks and performs on behalf of the Inside Out Faith Foundation. An IOF event with Jennifer Knapp is part concert, part storytelling, part speaking and part audience interaction. Through her passionate music and disarming charm, she speaks of the challenges she and many others face in claiming their unique identity as LGBTQ people of faith. (Location is at the Lincoln Theater in Mt Vernon, 712 S 1st St.)

October 18: Tony Brown Pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church in Port Townsend, Tony Brown has experienced a solid share of church trauma. Having undergone conversion therapy in his adolescence to get rid of the gay, Tony has come out on the other side, happily married to a man, and serving in the church. He has an incredible story of faith and tenacity. At Burlington Lutheran Church.

November 4: our very own Xade Grant!

Xade will put on a concert to close out this series. He is a singer, songwriter and pianist who has performed throughout the Pacific Northwest as well as parts of the UK and Europe. Xade plays anything from worship to familiar contemporary songs and songs he wrote himself. His style has been likened to Elton John, Billy Joel and Michael W. Smith. Filled with abundant passion as he performs, it is his heartfelt desire to bring encouragement, joy and happiness to all who come to hear him perform. He resides in the Skagit Valley of Washington with his lifelong partner. At Burlington Lutheran Church.

Spirit Stirring & Story Telling 

A LiVE Project Day-Retreat

Saturday, October 8, 9am-3pm 

at Advent Lutheran Church, Mill Creek

Our personal and collective stories give the context for noticing the Holy Spirit in our lives. Through them, we discover the challenges and opportunities before us to give witness to God, and to be discerning of the responsibilities in the world to which we are called to engage. This first retreat invites us to hear the various ways the Spirit meets us in the stories we find ourselves in. 

Lunch will be provided. Childcare provided upon request.

Learn more and get registered HERE

Morning Art Retreat

Saturday, October 8

7400 Woodlawn - Center for Community, Arts, and Spirituality

(home of our mission start Emmaus Table)

Laurie Rudel, Artist/Spiritual Leader, Teaching Faculty with Grunewald Guild, will offer a retreat-paced time of art-making, sharing the intro basics of Zentangle. Producing is not the focus here, rather, resting and being is! 

(To learn more about Zentangle, see https://zentangle.com/pages/learn.)

To register, go to the Emmaus Table Donate page (www.7400woodlawn.org/donate), click Donate button and then find the Zentangle tab in the list. Registration is on a sliding scale, $30-60, covering materials and teaching fee. Please consider a heartfelt amount to support this offering and the work of 7400 Woodlawn - Center for Community, Arts, and Spirituality.

Online Boundaries Training

for Rostered Ministers

LeaderWise’s online boundaries training workshop is lively and interactive, full of reflection and conversation. Attendees have given us feedback that our boundaries training was a great experience, AND caused them to re-evaluate some of their own practices.

This live online boundaries training is 5 total hours split over 2 consecutive days (2.5 hours each day). Following the first session, participants are asked to engage in a bit of reflection work in preparation for the second session. This online boundaries training will be conducted via secure Zoom video conferencing. Cost is $78.

Two upcoming training sessions are scheduled for:

• October 12 and 13
• January 31 and Feb 1, 2023

Learn more and get registered here: https://www.leaderwise.org/boundaries-training

YES! This counts for the required periodic training (every three years)

Be sure to ask for the certificate of completion and email to laura@lutheransnw.org

SAVE THE DATE!!

Bright Stars of Bethlehem

Fundraising Evening

with Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb & Rick Steves

Wednesday, October 5, 7pm-9pm

at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lynnwood

Bright Stars of Bethlehem is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the health, education, and cultural and spiritual development of the people in the Middle East in order to promote peace and harmony in the region. Bright Stars impacts the lives of over 60,000 men, women, and children in Palestine. Born out of the vision of Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb and his outreach ministry in Bethlehem, Bright Stars is now more than fifteen years old. The staff and volunteer leadership work together to provide support to the Palestinian people to help grow hope in the midst of occupation.

REGISTER NOW for this special evening of updates and stories with founder of Dar a-Kalima University and co-founder of Bright Stars of Bethlehem, Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, and travel expert Rick Steves!

Planning Your Legacy

FREE webinar from ELCA Foundation

Wednesday, October 19, 2pm (Pacific)



Register Here

The current economic landscape may influence your estate planning and charitable giving. This free session will highlight a few key details of the current economic climate, give an overview of what you need for a solid estate plan, learn how you can leave a legacy to support ELCA-related ministries and save on taxes.  Learning Objectives:

• Learn about the current economic climate
• Discover what you need for a solid estate plan
• Explore the most popular ways you can leave a legacy to support ELCA-related ministries
• Learn how to save on taxes and be charitable

Make a Difference Day

At Camp Lutherwood in Bellingham

Saturday, October 22 – beginning at 9:30am

All ages, families, friends, and volunteers join us for National Make a Difference Day at Lutherwood. Join us for a day of fun around camp with work projects and cleaning up camp! Lunch will be provided.

Learn more and register here: https://www.camplutherwood.org/volunteer