E-NEWS for Week of April 19, 2020
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ELCA Online Security Webinar, April 21
Do you receive emails asking you to send money or trying to trick you into giving up sensitive information?
Do you know what to do if your data or the congregation’s data has been breached?
Do you want to learn how best to protect yourself and the church from online threats?
Please join us on Tuesday, April 21, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Central Time for a free webinar for ELCA congregations and synods.
Chris Hueneke, information security advisor for the ELCA churchwide organization, will host the webinar, covering these topics and more.
You'll learn how to avoid phishing email attacks, protect sensitive data and prevent malware infections, and what to do if your data has been breached.
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Hunger Grant Zoom Training for Synod Church Hunger Programs April 29th
The Synod Hunger Committee, including certified grantwriter Beth Ann Johnson, Diane Armbrust (Committee Co-Chair) and Pastor Paul Benz (Faith Action Network Co-Director), will hold a free
Zoom meeting on Wednesday, April 29
th
at 12Noon to help our synod’s congregation hunger teams write a strong domestic hunger grant application.
We’ll also talk about how to strengthen your program and other funding sources. To register for this free Hunger Grant Application meeting, go to
http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=magpslfab&oeidk=a07eh19xlyed7a50255
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Four Ways COVID-19 May Affect Hunger
An article by Dr. Ryan Cumming, ELCA World Hunger Education Program Director
Since 2015, undernourishment around the world has been on the rise, after years of decline. In the latest estimates from the United Nations, more than 820 million people are undernourished. Even as we face the clear and present threat of coronavirus, we need to remain aware of the ongoing, persistent threat of hunger around the world. The current pandemic is revealing and exacerbating long-standing disparities – in income, access to health care, and social mobility. As the disease continues to spread, and as governments take steps to avert it, what might be the consequences for hunger?
Here are some of the things to keep an eye on when it comes to hunger in a pandemic.- F
or each of the following areas, Dr. Cumming has facts on What do we know? What should we be watching? What are we seeing so far?
Food Prices
Health Care Costs
Loss of Livelihoods
Social Safety Nets
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How can we have Congregational Meetings/Votes during Stay Home. Stay Healthy?
You can legally do all meetings/votes in Washington State over Zoom or another teleconference system, phone conference or in-person. You may not vote through email, unless you have a written resolution that you want people to vote on, then you email it to them, and people print it off, sign in and send it back to the church office for counting and record retention. It's a little slower process.You may not vote by proxy.
If you have people on Zoom that do not want to have their vote public, you can have one person designated with a cell phone number that you've publicized and the president or secretary would take the calls on that cell phone during the meeting time and add them to the vote count.
The notice for the regular congregational meetings is the same as pre-COVID-19, and the voting as above.
If you have received a written note from your voting members ahead of time stating that they agree to receive an email notice of all meeting dates, then you are fine. If not, then you'll need to either call or write each person to see if they'll accept email meeting notifications and keep a record of calls and approvals of such. Those who will accept the email notification will need to receive that notice within the required notice time period according to your constitution/bylaws. There are usually still some people that will want a phone call or letter as notification of the meeting date.
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Congregational Reports A & C are due
Two-thirds of our congregations have completed their ELCA Forms A & C. The 2019 data will be used to allocate voting members for the 2022 Churchwide Assembly, so it would be great to boost that submission rate. Online filing is available at
www.elca.org/congregationreport
.
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“For baptized Christians, civic engagement is a vital means of discipleship.”
The idea of government was already very much in focus because this was an election year, and the pandemic has focused it more so. But what does the ELCA teach about the nature and function of government in relation to God’s purposes? What is a faithful Lutheran response regarding citizenship and civic engagement?
To help guide our church on these questions, the 2019 Churchwide Assembly asked for the preparation of a social message. At this time, the message is in draft form. Through May 27, you are invited to provide feedback on how to strengthen the message.
I invite you to click
here
to read “A Draft Social Message on Government and Civic Engagement: Discipleship in a Democracy.” To offer feedback, please fill out the
survey
. You may also choose to email comments to
draftsocialmessage@elca.org
. The comment period ends May 27. To learn more about what social messages are, click
www.elca.org/socialmessages
.
In light of the feedback, the message will be revised and presented to the ELCA Church Council for a vote in June. Upon its adoption, the message and a study guide will be released over the summer, along with a Spanish translation.
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Runway "R" life-after-career, one-day retirement workshop on May 7th and June 4th is now online.
The Runway 'R' Life-After-Career, One-Day Retirement Workshop scheduled for May 7, 2020 in Seattle and June 4, 2020 in Spokane will
shift to a combined online workshop format
for both groups and meet via Zoom Online Conferencing. This workshop will meet Tuesday mornings 9-10:30am for four weeks-- Tuesday May 5, May 12, May 19, and May 26, 2020. If you are registered and this doesn't work with your schedule or preference, all registration fees will be gladly returned.
But: Register for the Runway R Online Workshop within a week and get $30 off registration fee. Fee will be $95 which includes all materials. This special pricing will also apply to all who have pre-registered as well.
For more information on the Runway 'R' online workshop, Tuesdays in May from
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Join the 75,000 Face Mask Challenge!
COVID-19 is threatening vulnerable communities, and Lutheran World Relief urgently needs cloth face masks to send to them.
The cloth mask you sew in your living room will provide love and protection to a neighbor in need halfway around the world.
How many will you make to help stop the spread? Sign up for more info.
www.lwr.org/masks
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Phone:
253-535-8300
A Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Rev. Richard E. Jaech, Bishop
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STAY CONNECTED
through Links
to the Synod's Social Media
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