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Youth Retreat Gratitude!
Thank you to all who coordinated, led, and attended the recent Synod Youth Retreat at Camp Lutherwood! We give thanks to God for a GREAT weekend! (Interested in Children, Youth & Family events, collaboration & support in our synod? Be sure to connect wth other leaders from around the synod at the Time for You on Zoom this Thursday, Nov. 16 at 12noon - Zoom Link.
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We are hiring!
The Synod is looking for a new partner - in a contract position - to serve as the Director of Property for the Northwest Washington Synod. They will be responsible for real estate asset management, property management, dispositions and acquisitions, and providing congregational support.
Learn more HERE.
And please share with those qualified folks who might be interested!
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November is Native American Heritage Month
A meaningful way to honor this month would be to attend one of the ELCA Truth & Healing Movement Online Events. The following four events are free and require no pre-registration. You can attend as an individual or organization an watch party with your family, friends, or congregation.
(NOTE: Times on graphic are Eastern Time. The times on the ELCA website are Central Time.)
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ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission Invitation
The ELCA’s Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) program is ready for new volunteers! The YAGM team must find the next cohort of young Christians ready to step out into the future. Do you know one? If you know such a young adult, aged 21 to 35, this is the time to reach out. Applications are now accepted on a rolling basis, year-round. Those who apply by Feb. 1 will be considered for the service year beginning the following August. Priority will be given to those who apply before Jan. 15.
Talk personally to these young people about what this opportunity will mean for their faith, identity, career and understanding of God’s work in the world.
Through YAGM young adults learn what it means to serve in a spirit of accompaniment as they walk alongside global church companions. They’ll become immersed in a new community and form deep relationships. And they’ll confront poverty, racial privilege, gender privilege, globalization and economic disparity, all through the lens of faith. Learn more at ELCA.org/YAGM.
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Human Sexuality - Gift and Trust Study Process
After a seven-year process of discernment and dialogue across the ELCA, the 2009 Churchwide Assembly voted to adopt Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust as a social statement of the ELCA. In 2022, the Churchwide Assembly authorized two reconsiderations (see pages 4-5 and 11) of the social statement:
- A review of specific text references that “would consider the import that marriage legally is now a covenant between individuals;” review specific wording “in light of public acceptance of marriage of same-gender and gender-non-conforming couples;” and “consider references to diversity of family configurations;” and
- A possible revision that reconsiders the “church’s current concept of the four positions of bound conscience” found on pages 19-21 of Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust.
In response to these actions, a task force will begin working in 2024 on both reconsiderations. Throughout the process, the task force will be listening deeply and working closely with people across the ELCA. More information about the process and specific opportunities for joining the conversation will be shared as soon as possible.
The first step in this process is to gather a task force from across the church. This task force is intended to represent the diverse perspectives, identities, backgrounds, and contexts of ELCA members, including the diversity reflected in the four conscience-bound positions of the current social statement.
To learn more about these positions, follow the link to the full text of Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust. Below is a link to a description of the responsibilities and expectations of task members.
If you are interested in applying to be part of the task force, a link is provided below.
The application will be open until January 31, 2024. You can also use the link below to nominate someone else for the task force.
To learn more about what it means to be a member of a task force, please click here.
To apply to join the Human Sexuality Reconsiderations task force, please click here.
To nominate someone for the Human Sexuality Reconsiderations task force, please click here.
To read an FAQ about the reconsideration process, please click here.
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Share your input on Social Message on Gun-Related Violence and Trauma
The ELCA is currently working on a creating a social message about gun-related violence and trauma. Social messages are ELCA teaching documents that draw from existing social teaching but throw a fuller and sharper spotlight on a particular social issue. The draft’s themes focus on trauma, public health, and an ethic of shared responsibility for peacemaking, seeking to move beyond the strict polarization of gun rights vs. gun control.
A draft version of this social message is now available for your feedback. Please take the time, alone or with a group, to study the message draft and share your affirmations, concerns, and suggestions via this survey form. If you have any questions, comments, or need a printable version of the survey, please email draftsocialmessage@elca.org. Feedback is due by January 31, 2024. The draft will be revised in light of the public feedback and then considered for adoption by the ELCA Church Council in late March of 2024.
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Civil Rights Pilgrimage
All are welcome to participate in a transformative 10-day Civil Rights pilgrimage from Atlanta to Memphis - led by the Rev. Britt Olson, the Rev. Carla Robinson, and the Rev. Bryon Hansen September 30 – October 9, 2024. It is rooted in the movements for racial justice and the people of courage who have gone before us. We walk in their footsteps from Atlanta to Memphis as we strengthen our baptismal promise to “strive for justice and peace in all the earth.”
The trip is hosted by the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, Circles of Color, and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. Itinerary, cost, and registration information can be found on the pilgrimage website here:
https://circlesofcolor.org/crpilgrimage/. A non-refundable $200 payment is due by November 30, 2023 to secure your place on the Pilgrimage.
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Synod Events This Week:
Mon-Thurs, Nov 13-16 - First Call Theological Education Event in Idaho
Mon, Nov 13, 4:30pm Synod Finance Committee
Tues, Nov 14, 10am-12noon - Synod Staff Meeting
Tues, Nov 14, 7pm-8pm - LiVE Abide Bible Study - see below
Wed, Nov 15, 6:30pm-8 - Sovereignty Spirituality - see below
Thurs, Nov 16, 12noon - Time for You - CYF Ministry Gathering - Zoom Link
Sat, Nov 18, 9-3 - LiVE Retreat - see below
Sat, Nov 18, 9-3 - Synod Council at Mission to Seafarers & First, West Seattle
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Abide in the Word Bible Study - continues!
Tuesdays, 7-8pm via Zoom
This is a year-long, Synod-wide weekly Bible Study that takes participants on a deeper dive into the coming Sunday's Lectionary text. Participants will have the chance to experience diverse perspectives and voices from various guest facilitators from across the synod.
This is a FREE LiVE offering! No registration needed!
YES, you may join in any week at this link: HERE.
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Sovereignty Spirituality
We continue Wednesday Nov. 15, 6:30pm-8pm on Zoom
(missed earlier weeks? they are recorded so you can catch up!)
Dr. Beverly Wallace & Dr. Kelly Sherman-Conroy are leading this LiVE Project course that explores spirituality from a place of reclaiming one’s Christian identity in light of one’s ethnic identity (Indigenous and Womanist/black women), and how those particular identities, in fact, might help us to image life anew as Christians in todays’ complex world. Learn more here.
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Our next LiVE Project Retreat is coming up this week!
Get registered ASAP!!
Waiting for God Retreat: Reimagining Church Vitality
Saturday, November 18, 9am-3pm
at Saint Andrew's Lutheran Church in Bellevue
As a pre-Advent retreat, we’ll explore how the practice of waiting offers space for vitality and renewal. At our September retreat with Dr. Michael Chan we heard that faith communities today struggle to practice curiosity in the midst of anxiety. In an age of anxiety around declining church resources, how do we reimagine what it means to be Church created in God's image?
Guided by the four Sunday Scriptures of Advent, we will intentionally explore a more expansive understanding of how Jesus accompanies us in our anxieties and fears about the future of the church, giving us renewed energy, purpose and focus. Learn more and register here.
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Learn to Construct a Narrative Budget for Your Community: Step by Step!
Monday, November 27, 4:30-5:30pm (Pacific Time)
You’ve heard about narrative budgets. You’ve probably even seen some examples or a
demonstration explaining what they are, how they’re assembled and why they work to convey your
community’s impact. Rev. Tim Brown, director of congregational stewardship, will lead a webinar
going step by step through how to create a narrative budget. Bring your current (2023) budget and
pieces of your projected (2024) budget, and get ready to do some work in real time to start the
narrative budget process. Over the course of 45 minutes (with plenty of time for questions), this
webinar will prepare you to present a narrative budget for your next annual meeting. Pastors, council
members, stewardship teams and all other interested parties are welcome to attend.
Join the Zoom here! (Meeting ID: 813 1042 0337 Passcode: 327160)
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Calling all lefse lovers!
Lefse Making Classes
at Kent Lutheran Church
Learn how to make Lefse and take home a sampling of your work. You can join this hands-on class whether you are a beginner or a seasoned pro. Contact the Church office 253-852-2057 or jhelgeson43@gmail.com to reserve your spot as space is limited!
Classes offered at these times:
Friday, November 17 @ 2:30 pm
Friday, December 8 @ 2:30 pm
Saturday, December 9 @ 10:00 am
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Pacific Lutheran University Christmas Concerts
Join us for a beloved Northwest tradition as the PLU Choir of the West, University Chorale, and University Symphony Orchestra present our annual Christmas concert. Works by Dan Forrest, John Rutter, Caroline Shaw, Rosephanye Powell, and Mack Wilberg highlight our traditional carols and seasonal favorites. Tickets for this special Christmas celebration are on sale now. General admission tickets are $40. Discounts are available for senior citizens, military, children, and PLU alumni/students/faculty/staff. For more information, call 253-535-7602 or go to plu.edu/christmas.
Lagerquist Concert Hall, PLU
Saturday, December 2 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, December 3 at 2:00 pm
Saturday, December 9 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, December 10 at 2:00 pm
Benaroya Concert Hall, Seattle
Monday, December 4 at 7:30 pm
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Want an item included?
All items due by 2pm on the prior Thursday
Northwest Washington Synod / ELCA
5519 Phinney Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98103
206-783-9292
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