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FEATURED

A Message from Pastor Phil

Dear people of the Northwest Intermountain Synod,

The calendar has turned to 2025 and that means the NWIM Synod Assembly is just around the corner. This spring we’ll be gathering on May 3, 2025 via Zoom beginning at 9AM Pacific/10AM Mountain. The theme for the 2025 NWIM Synod Assembly is “Wellsprings of God’s Love.”

As myself and the other staff have traveled around the synod territory, we can’t help but notice all the ways God’s love is springing up in and through and among the folks of the NWIM Synod. During Assembly, you’ll have opportunity to see snippets of these lovely springs via brief videos highlighting different ministries and leaders. Keep an eye out for registration and election information, nomination and resolution submission forms that will be sent out next by February 3, 2025. The cost will be $50.00 per person. Registration is not refundable, but it is transferable. The day together will be shaped by prayer and action, there will be opportunities to worship and to connect with others from across the NWIM Synod and beyond.

I hope your congregation is able to send voting members to this critical and exciting gathering as a Synod. Congregations with 1-500 baptized members are able to send two (2) lay Assembly voting members; congregations with 501-1000 baptized members are able to send three (3) voting members; and those over 1000 members are able to send four (4) lay voting members. Additionally, each rostered leader on the active or retired roster are able to be voting members of the NWIM Synod Assembly along with members of the NWIM Synod Council.

Other important dates regarding Synod Assembly are:

• March 14, 2025 – Deadline for resolutions, memorials, and nominations. Any that are submitted after this date will not be included in the Pre-Assembly Packet of information.

• March 31, 2024 – Registration will close. It will launch in mid-February, so watch your inboxes!

• April 24, 26, and 28 – There will be an Assembly Orientation offered each of these days. It will take place at 6:30PM Pacific/7:30PM Mountain on the 24^th and 28^th and at 9:00AM/10:00AM on the 26^th

• April 26 – Hearings on the budget and resolutions/memorials will take place throughout the day beginning 10:10AM Pacific/11:10AM Mountain. A schedule of hearings will be sent out in April.

• May 3, 2025 – The Northwest Intermountain Synod Assembly beginning at 9:00AM Pacific/10:00AM Mountain.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Pastor Phil Misner

Congregation and Rostered Leader Resources

Synod “Wellsprings of Love” - Mission Support Information

Congregation 2025 Mission Intent Report form

Annual Report Covers For congregation use for annual meetings

Rostered Leader Report

Please note: Download the appropriate report and save it to your computer. Complete the report, save it and send it to: office@nwimsynod.org

2024 Annual Congregation Report - Form A (formerly known as Parochial Report)

Congregations should have received in the mail instructions for filing Form A. If you need access to submit your report, please call or email the synod office.

Synod’s Resource page found here

Save Money … Power Up Mission

A virtual workshop on energy rebates and offers

Tuesday, February 25

10AM Pacific /11AM Mountain

Learn how your congregation can save money now on energy-efficient upgrades that will lower monthly utility bills.

Join ELCA energy expert Rev. Dr. Jim Martin-Schramm and local church leaders to hear how Faith Lutheran in Leavenworth is saving money with new heat pumps; how Salem Lutheran in Spokane is saving money on new energy-efficient windows.

This win/win opportunity is especially beneficial for aging buildings on tight budgets.

Don’t miss the chance to take advantage of funds available this year!

Please share this invitation with Property Committees, Church Councils, Budget Committees, and anyone else invested in caring for God's creation through building and property decisions. Register here.

For questions or more information, contact EcoFaithNWIM@gmail.com

Brought to you by EcoFaith Action Network,

an ad-hoc ministry of the ELCA Northwest Intermountain Synod

Bishops Academy in Puerto Rico

Bishop Meggan Manlove

I am just finishing my first work trip of 2025: ELCA and ELCiCanada Bishops Academy in Puerto Rico. The Academy, held every two years in various locations, provides fellowship and continuing education for those of us called to serve as bishop in the United States and Canada.

Bishop Manlove’s full blog post on the Academy can be read HERE. 

Funds Raised for Rooted in Place

Thank You!

At the end of December we made one final ask for Rooted in Place, our offering recipient for the 2024 Regional Gatherings. Thanks to one major gift and many, many other donations, we can report that we collectively raised $21,293! THANK YOU for your generosity and support.

Rooted in Place brings together several vital realities:

• Gifted seminary students need internship sites that will prepare them to serve God’s church with creativity and energy.

• Some seminarians need to stay close to their home for internship for a variety of reasons.

• Congregations hosting interns greatly benefit from their ministry.

• The Northwest Intermountain Synod has ministries that would serve as exceptional training centers, yet don’t have the funding capacity to afford a seminary intern.

• Our 2024 Regional Gatherings were about finding new ways to fund ministry.

• Our 2024 Regional Gatherings were about place and knowing a location’s context.

Rooted in Place will allow the Northwest Intermountain Synod to provide partnership grants to vital ministry sites that will allow them to train the next generation of rostered ministers.

Interns will benefit as they receive vital experience. Internship congregations will benefit as they utilize the intern’s gifts. The whole church will benefit as these interns bring their new gifts to their ministry. THANK YOU!

SHARE is an acronym for Synodical Help and Response Endowment.

The SHARE Fund of the Northwest Intermountain Synod provides additional resources to help congregations and other outreach ministries during time of change and/or development and to provide for the spiritual and emotional support of those on the roster in our synod.

For read more information about the NWIM Synod SHARE Fund click here.

The 2025 SHARE grant application deadline is March 3, 2025 and is available here.

Please note:

• SHARE grants will not fund ordinary expenses for ministry
• Congregations must include a copy of their 2024 Congregational report Form A (parochial report)
• Funds are disbursed to the congregation/ministry organization and not to individuals
• Applicants who are awarded grants will be required to submit 

Seeking Congregational Ministry & Communications Coordinator 

Lord of Life - Kennewick, WA

Overview: This position serves full-time to assist Lord of Life Lutheran Church (LoL) in accomplishing its mission: As Lutheran Christians, Lord of Life invites all people, wherever they are on their spiritual journey, to worship God, serve others, and build community, in order to transform individuals, the Tri-Cities, and the world. The Congregational Ministry & Communications Coordinator primarily directs and leads programs for children (infant to 5 grade), youth (6th to 12th grades), and families (all ages) that strengthens their commitment to the church and growth in faith in Jesus Christ. They will also assist the Pastor in providing for other needs of the congregation. LoL seeks a professional leader who has a solid understanding of the foundations of the Christian faith, Lutheran tradition, and who has a strong desire to nurture young people in the Christian faith. We seek a person who generates new ideas and programs and who values a team concept of ministry. This position requires someone who has a passion for education, a gift for organization and communications, and experience in building and maintaining strong meaningful Children, Youth, and Family (CYF) programs through leadership and effective use of congregational volunteers.

For more information: https://www.thelordoflife.org/job-opportunity/

LA County Wildfire Disaster

Over the last few days, multiple wildfires have broken out across Los Angeles County in California, with over 100,000 people under evacuation orders.

Sparked by dry conditions, strong winds and a limited water supply, these fires have destroyed homes and businesses and have led to injuries and loss of life. This disaster is just one of many — including hurricanes, war and famine — to which Lutheran Disaster Response is still responding. Your gifts to Lutheran Disaster Response equip us to respond quickly and generously, wherever and whenever disaster may strike.

Firefighting efforts continue in Southern California, and we won’t know the full impact until the fires are extinguished. Even as these fires still burn, Lutheran Disaster Response is here to support the families and communities that will be rebuilding their lives.

The Faith Community’s

Call to Caregiving

Presented by Elizabeth Long, DNP, MSN in

Adult Health Critical Care, BSN

Sponsored by the Lutheran Faith Community Nurse Association

OBJECTIVES: At the end of this session:

• Participants will identify four potential ways faith community nurses can support family caregivers.

• Participants will be able to articulate two barriers to caregiver support in the faith community.

• Participants will identify two ways in which caregivers become disconnected from the faith community because of caregiving responsibilities.

DATE: January 23, 2025

TIME: 4-6 pm PT, 5-7 pm MT

Registration fee: $30 for LFCNA members/$50 for non-members    

Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust Reconsiderations

The 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly called for two reconsiderations of specific sections of the 2009 social statement Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust. As a first step in this process, a task force from across the ELCA has released draft edits to the sections of the social statement, which address possible word changes without altering the substantive meaning of the social statement. Your feedback is needed as the church considers the draft edits.

Resources, including a survey, FAQs and a discussion guide, are available at ELCA.org/Reconsiderations. Please provide feedback by January 31.

Read and respond.

Nominate Youth Musicians

2025 Lutheran Summer Music Academy & Festival

Youth musicians from across the country are headed to Valparaiso University this year for the 2025 Lutheran Summer Music Academy & Festival (LSM). Students in grades 8-12 will be immersed in a supportive community that nurtures their musical growth, and invites them to share their musical gifts in performance and in worship. With the Standard Enrollment deadline approaching on March 1, now is the perfect time to nominate students so their families can directly receive information and an invitation to apply.

Do you know young musicians who would thrive at LSM? Nominate them today at LSMacademy.org/nominate.