November 8, 2021
Weekly Update
announcements & events
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Young Adults in Global Mission - Exciting News!
After a two-year pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, the ELCA’s Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) program is preparing to send volunteers out into the world again! Applications are now open, and you can invite young adults on this journey abroad for the 2022-2023 program year.
If you know young adults aged 21 to 29, this is the time to reach out. Encourage them to apply for YAGM by the deadline of Feb.1, 2022. (Priority deadline is Jan. 15, 2022.) Talk to them personally about what this opportunity will mean for their faith, identity, career and understanding of God’s work in the world.
YAGM volunteers will begin in August 2022 and will be placed in one of nine country programs.
Through YAGM, young adults will 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 issues of wealth and poverty, racial privilege, gender privilege, economic disparity and globalization, all through the lens of faith. The deadline to apply is Feb. 1, 2022. Priority will be given to those who apply before Jan. 15, 2022. Learn more at ELCA.org/YAGM.
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Camp Lutherwood - Your input requested!
Lutherwood Camp and Retreat Center would love to have your input on how the camp could best meet your needs. Please take a few minutes to complete the applicable survey(s) below. THANK YOU!
This survey is intended to collect feedback from Children, Youth, and Family program leaders to help us best understand how to continue to improve our programs.
This survey is to collect feedback from partner congregation members to help us continue to improve our programs. Please share this survey with any congregation members who would be interested in providing feedback with us.
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Portico Fall Update
What does a clock have to do with wellness? With the end of daylight savings time, some people may experience feelings of sadness and sluggishness. An article from Boston University reports Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a type of depression related to changes in the seasons, affects an estimated 10 million Americans with women four times more likely to be diagnosed with it than men. Some of the treatments suggested for SAD include yoga, relaxation techniques and movement!
If you are covered by ELCA Primary Health Benefits, Burn Along, the online health and fitness benefit, has a wide variety of classes you can take at your convenience. Just some of the many topics include K-9 Fit Club; exercise with your dog, Fit Over 50; Lower Back Relief with Yoga, Nutrition, Cardio, Mindfulness and Dance classes. Sessions vary in length and skill from beginner to experienced.
And while you’re “Burning Along” don’t forget about the Podcasts: Being Here, hosted by Pastor Melissa Pohlman, found on MyPortico. New Podcast will be released soon that center around; Retirement: Navigating Your Next Chapter, Christian Conversations about Racial Justice, and Creative Approaches to Innovative Ministry. The new podcasts will be available on the Being Academy (via MyPortico) early next week, and on PorticoBenefits.org by the end of November for easy access for those without ELCA Primary Health coverage.
As we begin to prepare for the days that are coming, and plan for the holidays, may we find the cross of Jesus centered in our conversations and be reminded that we all live in the hope of God’s graciousness during these days of doing ministry in ways we never dreamed.
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Latest edition of LifeLines available
The next issue of LifeLines, the publication for supporters of ELCA World Hunger and Lutheran Disaster Response, will hit your mailbox soon, if it hasn’t already! It’s also available here.
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Bring Christmas to a Seafarer!
Each year, our partners at the Seattle Seafarers’ Center provides about 1,000 ditty bags stuffed with basic personal necessities to merchant seafarers. These bags are one way we help seafarers celebrate Christmas while they are far from home during the holiday season. Seafarers help make Christmas possible by transporting lots of stuff to the US.
Help make a seafarer's Christmas by providing them with a ditty bag to say thank you! Here is how you can participate: Make drawstring bags or knit hats; purchase basic supplies (e.g., shaving cream, body soap, and toothpaste) & drop those off at the Center; make a financial gift that will be used to purchase more supplies for ditty bags.
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Synod Events this Week
Mon. Nov. 8 - 3pm - Living Stones Check In
Tues. Nov. 9, 10am-12noon - Synod Staff Meeting
Thurs. Nov. 11, 12noon-1pm - STAD
Thurs. Nov. 11, 4pm - Synod Executive Committee
Thurs. Nov. 11, 7pm - Synod Finance Team (members, see your email)
Sat. Nov. 13. 4pm - Lutherwood Auction
Sun. Nov. 14 - Rev. Jenna Bergeson Installation
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Living Stones Prison Congregation
Monthly Zoom Check-in
Monday, November 8, 3pm on Zoom
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Fifty and Better (FAB) FABulous Fall Lecture Series
NOW through December 14
The FABulous Fall Lecture Series lectures meet for 2 hours per lecture - both in person AND online! Students attending virtually use the chat function in zoom to submit questions. All lectures are recorded and available to watch by request.
All lectures are $10 each OR Bundle all lectures for $60!
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Giving Thanks in the Holy Land for Land, Rain, and Food
Saturday, November 13, 7:30am-8:30am PST via Zoom
Come hear from current students on how their cultural identities cultivate them to become Palestine’s next generation of peacebuilders. Register here for the Zoom webinar
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Befriending Your Nervous System
Saturday, November 13, 9am-12noon
at 7400 Woodlawn (In Seattle)
7400 Woodlawn is pleased to host Madeline Danaher, a gifted, wise/embodied teacher, for this Saturday morning retreat. In this introductory offering delve into the latest teaching on the vagus nerve (compassion nerve). Through didactic and embodied instruction:
· Learn about honoring your individual nervous system via the language it speaks.
· Begin to map your own system.
· Learn/experience engaging the breath as a resource.
· Gather insights to personal health strengths/challenges.
This offering will be 'in-person' for vaccinated registrants. Limited slots (15) to allow customized experience. Also, we intend to hold 25% of the registration slots for our BIPOC siblings.
Fee Range ($20-60) This range allows for support/acknowledgment of the gift of the instruction and makes such partner offerings available to all. Our intentions are that cost should not be a prohibiting factor. Please use your best efforts to pay the suggested donation or another heartfelt amount.
Watch a video about this here.
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Doing Justice: Israel/Palestine
Event Sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia
Saturday, November 13, 9am-4pm
This is a hybrid event: in person at St. Mark’s Cathedral OR online
Grounded in our belief that peace in Israel/Palestine cannot exist without justice for all – Israelis and Palestinians: Jews, Muslims, and Christians – this seminar will examine why and how we, as American citizens, must seek effective ways to end U.S. complicity in the dispossession and human rights violations of a people living under Israeli military and civil control. We will look at present living conditions for Palestinians in the occupied territories, as well as the legalization of an apartheid system of discriminatory laws that deny basic political rights, including peaceful protest. Learn more and register here.
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Free Online Concert
Featuring music for Advent, Christmas & Epiphany
Saturday, November 13 at 1pm
Church of the Apostles (Seattle) is hosting a free concert on Zoom (and Facebook) to share new music for the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, and the Sundays leading up to Lent.
The concert will feature original music by: Lacey Brown ( http://poorclaremusic.com/) and John Tirro ( https://www.johntirro.com/) with music from guests Zack Nyein and Ivar Hillesland. This event is sponsored by The Reverb Collective, which is a new online resource currently in development (thanks to grant funding from the NW Washington Synod). The goal of The Reverb Collective is to give voice to and support musicians and composers in the church who may otherwise not have an outlet to share their gifts with the broader Church. It will also provide communities with much-needed new musical resources to enrich their worship experiences. Future concerts will feature different guests as we continue to expand our network. |
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Annual Auction for Lutherwood
Saturday, November 13, 4pm-5:30pm
Lutherwood Camp and Retreat Center is having our
Annual Auction Online Program on November 13th 4:00pm - 5:30pm Online. Zoom information click here
Early Bidding is underway! Sign up for a bidding number click here. See Auction Catalog click here
Items include Kraken tickets, Felix Hernandez signed picture, and much much more. Items will be added up to the auction. Hope you will join the fun and support this vital ministry on our territory!
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Holy Cross Lutheran Church Celebration
Sunday, November 14, 9:30am
Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Lake Stevens is celebrating the 35th Anniversary of its building dedication on November 14th (original date 10/26/1986). We have invited all our former pastors back to celebrate in worship and fellowship. Founder/Developer Rev. Ernie Pihl, Rev. Jim Johnson (via video), Rev. Susan Kirlin-Hackett and Rev. Deb Mach. All are welcome to join us!
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Installation Service for
Pastor Jenna Bergeson
Sunday, November 14, 4pm
We give thanks to God as Pastor Jenna Bergeson is installed as Associate Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lynnwood.
God bless this ministry partnership!
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From our partners at The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) and Other + Wise:
‘On Our Way to Truth and Healing’
theme for 2021 Vine Deloria Jr. Theological Symposium
November 16 & 17 – Online
Register here for the online symposiums
It was a U.S. federal policy for nearly 100 years to enforce family separation by stealing away Native children and taking them to off-reservation Indian boarding schools for the purpose of eliminating identity through forced assimilation. Most of these schools were federally funded and operated. Many others were operated by the Catholic church and mainline Protestant denominations. This cruel attempt to decimate Indigenous children and families was made even more shameful by the very successful and shameful cover up by the Church and the federal government of their complicity and active participation in this practice. During the all-virtual 2021 Vine Deloria Jr Theological Symposium at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC), presenters will talk about the intersection of Indian boarding schools and theological/Christian education as well as the work being done across the United States to bring truth and healing. Other+Wise is a co-sponsor of the symposium.
NOTE: the times listed are PACIFIC:
The first night of the symposium features a keynote address by the Rev. Dr. R. Guy Erwin (Osage), president of United Lutheran Seminary, Philadelphia, Pa. The lecture takes place live Nov. 16, 3-4:30pm on Zoom. In this lecture, Erwin will take a closer look at the intersection of Indian boarding schools and theological/Christian education.
New to this year’s symposium are Learning Lunches. At 10am on Nov. 16, Christine Diindiisi McCleave (Anishinaabe), CEO, National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, leads ‘An Introduction to Indian Boarding Schools in the United States.’
At 10am on Nov. 17, the Learning Lunch with Kim Smith (Dine), Nia Ke Baa' and Indigenous Goddess Gang, is a discussion on ‘Creation and Climate Justice.’ The Vine Deloria Jr. Theological Symposium is adding a climate justice session each year.
Rev. Manuel Retamoza (Cherokee), pastor of St. Andrew's Lutheran Church, San Diego, Calif., will be the guest preacher for worship Nov. 17 at 9:15am
The 2021 Vine Deloria Jr. Theological Symposium concludes Nov. 17 with a 5pm panel presentation with Patsy Whitefoot (Yakama), elder, educator and consultant, and boarding school survivor; and Deborah Parker (Tulalip Tribes), director of policy and advocacy, National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition.
Learn more about the event and find full presenter biographies here. |
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One River, Ethics Matter Conference
November 17–18, 9am-12:30 each day – Online via Zoom
One River, Ethics Matter is an annual conference facilitated by the Ethics and Treaty Project. This year's conference will focus on the history of the Columbia River Treaty and the treaty review process now underway. The conference framework will emphasize social and environmental justice, collaboration towards the common good, and the need for truth and reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, and healing the river.
Some sessions will be treaty-specific and include discussions on ethics and the human relationship to water, while others will focus on broader, related topics such as:
- Foundational ethical relationships and responsibilities between humans and water, within an Indigenous worldview and Judeo-Christian teachings and practice
- History of the dam-building era and impacts of pervasive systemic racism, including missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and residential schools
- Indigenous food sovereignty and restoring salmon to the Okanagan and Upper Columbia rivers
- Rivers as our responsibility; moving forward together into a sustainable future
Alternating between locations in the US and Canada each year, the 2021 conference is being co-hosted by the Okanagan Nation Alliance and the University of British Columbia's Okanagan campus in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. Learn more & register here: https://riverethics.org/ethics-okanagan/
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Communal Spiritual Practices
The SECOND fall Community Retreat from the LiVE Project - open to all!
(did not attend the first retreat? no problem - you may still register for this one!)
Saturday, November 20, 9am-1pm
in person at Advent Lutheran Church in Mill Creek
The second of our Fall retreats introduce participants to spiritual practices as a central place from which to create responsible social action in our world. We will experience and reflect on how ‘the exam’ spiritual practices of Ignatius of Loyola, and lectio Divina offer communities of faith support and accountability to being present in Christ for the life of the world. If the central call of vocation, in Christ, is learning to discover our lives in and for our neighbors, and not merely in the individualizing peace that it creates for our own spirits, we must reframe spiritual practices as communal in order to engage peace and justice through the Spirit in our broader neighborhoods, and world.
How to register -
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If you are part of the 2021-2022 cohort, the cost of this retreat is included in your fee! Simply RSVP to the event on the LiVE Network (mighty network site) OR email Dr. David Hahn and let him know that you will be attending: david@lutheransnw.org.
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If you are NOT part of the cohort, you are most welcome to attend! Please register and pay the $50 fee ONLINE HERE. (note - YAGMs, use your discount code and get 50% off!)
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Faith Action Network's Annual Celebration
Sunday, November 21, 5:30 online
Join us for a festive evening as we celebrate our 10th birthday and Paul Benz's years of service to justice across WA, while also looking towards our future together!
Tickets are by donation, and the YouTube event link will be sent out to those who register before November 21. Learn more at our event webpage and register at: bit.ly/FANDinner2021.
In the meantime, here are some opportunities to make it special:
- Host a Watch Party! Gather a small group of your family, housemates, and friends to watch the event together—we’ll be sending tips on how to safely do that and make it festive; let us know when you register.
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Sponsor the Celebration! Email degooyer@fanwa.org for sponsorship information. We are so grateful to those who have already pledged their sponsorship, posted weekly at our event webpage!
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Volunteer! Help support Watch Parties! Contact fan@fanwa.org to offer your services.
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Ministry Leadership Wellness Webinars
Tuesday, November 23, 1pm
(4th Tues. of the month through March 22)
These monthly webinars are open to ALL rostered and lay leaders in our synod for free - as part of a Synod Grant with Living Well! The interactive webinars will be designed to implement specific holistic wellness strategies within the ministry setting as a way to assist with stress management, maximize engagement, self-care, and self-compassion. Find the zoom link at the webpage below...
Resources available from the first Ministry Leadership Wellness Webinar held last Tuesday
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2022 Ignite the Church Conference
Seismic Shifts:
Where do we go from here?
February 8-10 in Orlando and Virtual
Since February 2020 and before, the Church has been enduring unprecedented seismic shifts. In response, a new hybrid version of the conference will gather this February (in-person in Orlando AND online) yo reflect on the theme: SEISMIC SHIFTS: Where Do We Go From Here?
Four large group sessions will focus on the following shifts:
- Public Church with Robin Steinke and Winston Persaud
- Hybrid Church with Joe and Jess Liles
- Adaptive Church with Tod Bolsinger
- Thriving Church with Stephanie Spellers
Ten 90-minute workshops will dig deeper into these shifts to offer encouragement, inspiration, and challenge for church leaders. To register and learn more about the presenters, workshop options, and other details go to www.IgniteTheChurch.net. Register to attend by November 30 to access the lowest $99 In-Person rate.
The Online option will provide live and recorded access to each large group session.
The Online option is FREE with a suggested donation of $30 to the ELCA Fund for Leaders.
All proceeds continue to benefit the ELCA Fund for Leaders.
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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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