Blessings, friends, during this National Lutheran Schools Week! This special week is being celebrated by Lutheran schools under the theme “Making Disciples For Life” based on Matthew 28:18-20.

What a blessing that there are approximately 160,000 students attending 1,855 Lutheran schools around the country taught by over 21,000 educators, and they are all joining together along with YOU to praise and thank our gracious Lord for the training and preparation received in Lutheran schools! National Lutheran Schools Week provides us the opportunity to come together to celebrate one of God’s greatest gifts to His church, Lutheran schools. From its beginning, the LCMS, founded in 1847 with 12 congregations and 14 schools, has built schools. Education has always been a priority for Lutheran congregations. Schools have never been an after-thought for us.

What a joy and blessing it has been to see how our Lutheran schools keep excellent education on-going for their students, but more importantly, they continue to assure students that even though the world around us may change, our God and His love NEVER CHANGES! THANK YOU for your continued commitment to your students and families who need you now more than ever!

We celebrate together our rich heritage of Lutheran education, our Connectedness in Christ, and our freedom to share the precious Gospel of Jesus’ saving love in this country and especially in our communities!

The Pacific Southwest District is one of 35 districts in the LCMS. The PSD is blessed to have 90 preschools, 44 elementary schools, and 9 high schools in Arizona, Southern California, and Southern Nevada, plus our institution of higher learning, Concordia University Irvine. According to our 2022-23 statistics, we have over 20,000 students enrolled, infants through high school. Children enrolled in Lutheran schools in the Pacific Southwest District are from nearly all ethnic backgrounds.

Since our schools are essential “mission outposts”, sharing God’s love in Christ is central to everything we do and say, and our faith is integrated throughout the curriculum. As a result, many children are baptized, and families join the congregation and become active in the life of the church. Our 2021-22 statistics (based on 100% reporting) indicate that 416 children attending one of our district schools were baptized and 98 adults were confirmed in the faith. All glory to God!

My sincere thanks and appreciation to each of you for all you do each day to assure students and families that “For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” What an impact you make! What a wonderful Savior we serve! Celebrate the blessing of our Lutheran schools in the Pacific Southwest District and across the nation and world! Have a wonderful week in the Lord, celebrating together!

God’s grace and peace in Christ Jesus, the Master Teacher!

Please join us in praying and thanking God for the following schools this week:

Community Lutheran Preschool, Escondido, CA

Crean Lutheran High School, Irvine, CA

Little Palms School, Mesa, AZ

Below are photos from Community Lutheran Preschool, Escondido, CA:

Below are photos from Crean Lutheran High School, Irvine, CA:

The Crean Lutheran Saints football team finished their 2022 season with the most wins in Saints football history with an overall record of 10-2! They also placed second in the Empire League, the highest the team has ever finished!

Crean Lutheran High School graduated 203 students in 2022! CEO Jeffery Beavers (right) and Principal Dan Moyer (left) accompany Lux Christ Award recipient Emily Reed and the rest of the 2022 graduating class during the graduation worship service procession.

Crean Lutheran High School celebrated its 15th year in ministry during the 2021-2022 school year! This momentous milestone was celebrated at the 15-year celebration concert, "Thus Far". From the student art gallery in the lobby of the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall to the world premiere of Dr. Elliot Bark's "Thus Far" the Lord was praised by all!

Below are photos from Little Palms School, Mesa, AZ:

Little Palms children playing on their new playground

for the first time this morning!

PreK playing on our patio with hula hoops and scooters while the new playground was being constructed! 

Ms. Glenna & Ms. Kristina’s Preschool (3s/4s) class learning their letters during circle time! 

Reporting this past Friday from NCA (National Cheerleaders Association) High School Nationals in Dallas, Texas!

Orange Lutheran High School (Orange, CA) and Faith Lutheran High School (Las Vegas, NV) had the opportunity to share in a devotion and prayer after the Friday night pre-competition practice at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center! They enjoyed cheering each other on over the weekend!

We pray you are having an awesome week celebrating NLSW!

Please send your National Lutheran Schools Week pictures, stories, and baptism information to Rachel Klitzing by next Wednesday, February 1, so that we can highlight and celebrate God’s goodness with you and within the district!

Don't forget to use these hashtags on your social media posts for NLSW: #luthed #schoolministry #MDFL2023

As always, thank you for all that you do for Lutheran education. Have a great National Lutheran Schools Week!

Pictured below are 12 students, preschool through middle school, along with their families and sponsors, who were brought to the waters of Holy Baptism this morning at Christ Lutheran School, Costa Mesa, CA, at their National Lutheran Schools Week Baptism Chapel! To God be the glory!

This year’s PSD Hearts for Jesus unified mission project is Hope and Care Outreach. We know many schools use February to focus their offerings on the Hearts for Jesus project. If you haven’t yet, please go to the Hearts for Jesus page on Hope and Care’s website. Something new that has been added are prayer cards. These cards are downloadable in PDF form and have a picture, name, age, and grade of students in the different schools Hope and Care sponsors in Liberia. We want to encourage you to download these cards and share them with your classes and encourage them to pray for these students! 

Here is the story of Thomas and the blessing that comes from a Christian education in Liberia! Your offerings will specifically help contribute to tuition for other students like Thomas, waiting to go to school! $95 will send a student to school for one year. How many students will your school support? When you send your Hearts for Jesus contributions, please send this remittance form along with your check. Thank you!

The TLC Grant has been established by the former Trinity Lutheran Church in Reseda, CA, as an ongoing gift to School Ministries of the PSD, to be given for the enhancement of learning and the engagement of students in Lutheran schools of the District. The intent of the donors was that our schools be excellent because we serve an excellent God!

There are many ways in which you can strive for excellence and enhance student learning and engagement in our classrooms and within the school property itself. Priority will be given to those who have clearly described how the money will be used to start a new program or educational platform or enhance an existing one on your campus. This grant is a competitive grant based on the strength of the application. It is open to all schools, K-12. Since the inception of this grant in January 2016, $373,736.00 has been granted to 53 different schools in our district.

The grant application deadline is at NOON on January 31, 2023. Recipients will be announced in February with the grants awarded immediately. Grant applications are available twice annually – in January and August. In July 2023, you will receive information about the next opportunity to apply.

GRANT APPLICATION FORM

The PSD Director/Pastor/Principal Conference is tomorrow! Registration and check-in/fellowship/coffee is from 8:30-9:00 a.m. and the opening devotion starts promptly at 9:00 a.m.! Thanks to everyone who made this a priority!

After a horrific shooting Saturday evening in Monterey Park, CA, that killed 11 people and wounded nine others, the Lutheran Church Charities (LCC) K-9 Comfort Dogs and the Hearts of Mercy & Compassion Ministries were invited by Rev. Dr. Michael Gibson, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) Pacific Southwest District President, and Pastor Carl Kaye and Pastor Patrick Jow from Emmaus Lutheran Church and School in nearby Alhambra, California, to be present this week throughout the community.

LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs Lois (First Good Shepherd – Las Vegas, Nevada) and Salome (Faith Community – Las Vegas, Nevada), along with their ministry teams, were among several Comfort Dogs that traveled to Monterey Park to listen to those who are grieving, bringing them hope, comfort, and prayer.

The LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry and Hearts of Mercy & Compassion Ministry never charge those they serve as they bring the Mercy, Compassion, Presence and Proclamation of Jesus Christ to those suffering and in need. We know that comfort is needed to help this shocked and devastated community and the first responders who serve them.

Please save the date for our first LARS (Lutheran Area Resource Specialists) meeting of 2023 at the District Office next Tuesday, January 31, from 9:30 a.m. -1:00 p.m. Lunch will be included. We plan to discuss trends that we are seeing in Special Education as well as sharing our experiences from this school year. Please bring a best practice, great article, podcast, or website that is a helpful tool you use. Please RSVP to [email protected] so we have an accurate lunch count. We look forward to seeing you there!

Click here to read all about how God was at work through our schools and Operation Christmas Child in the latest #AroundthePSD article!

Please save the date for the 2023 Early Childhood Equipping Conferences:

March 4, 2023 - Christ Greenfield Lutheran School, Gilbert, AZ

March 18, 2023 - St. Paul’s Lutheran ECDC, Orange, CA

We will have exceptional presentations on Conscious Discipline. Nevada early childhood educators can choose to go to the Arizona or California conference for the event. We will have fabulous door prizes, too! 

Click here to read the most recent CAPSO (California Association of Private School Organizations) Midweek E-Mailer.

NWEA will be hosting two live webinars to share information about the MAP Growth Assessment, utilized by more than 20 Pacific Southwest District LCMS schools.

Who is this webinar for? School and educational leaders that are not yet MAP Growth users.

What will be presented? An overview of the MAP Growth assessment and how you can utilize the data to equip teachers and support student growth.

Jake Hollatz, principal at St. John’s Lutheran School in Orange, CA, will share ways their school has utilized MAP Growth over the years.

When: February 9 or March 9 from 10-11 a.m. PST. Pick the date that works best for you.

Click Here to register. Can’t attend live? Sign up and we will send you a copy of the recording!

• For a wonderful National Lutheran Schools Week for all of our schools! Thank you for all that you do! We are blessed to be able to share Christ's love with our students and their families!
• We pray for the Monterey Park community during this incredibly difficult time and for all of the first responders who heroically responded.
• Prayers from Community Lutheran Preschool, Escondido, CA: Our school needs prayers that the right teachers who have a love of children and passion to share God’s love will find their way to us and join our team. Please also pray for our families, children and staff to have good health and peace of mind each day to trust in God’s plan and enjoy what each day brings to us.
• Prayers from Little Palms School, Mesa, AZ: Please pray for healing and peace for Bailey, one of our staff, who was in a car accident last Saturday. We have a prayer of thanksgiving for our completed new playground! 

Schools we are praying for the week of January 29:

Mesquite Lutheran Preschool and Childcare, Mesquite, NV

Trinity Christian School and Preschool, Norwalk, CA 

Each week, prayers of thanksgiving and prayers for teachers, administrators, support staff, pastors, students, and families of the Lutheran schools, early childhood centers, and churches of the Pacific Southwest District are listed. To include names on the list, please send information to [email protected] by noon on Tuesdays.