Pajama Project Proves Popular
Submitted by Jean Etsinger, Gloria Dei, Holmes Beach
After Beverly Ruis, a member of Gloria Dei Lutheran, Holmes Beach, did some reading about youngsters in foster care in Manatee County, she same up with a idea for a “quick Social Ministry project” – collecting new pajamas for girls and boys, toddlers through teen-agers.
Bev learned that many Manatee children and youth “come into foster care with only the clothes on their back” and knew this to be true from her own work for the courts in Michigan. “Clothing allowances only stretch so far, and pajamas usually don’t make it,” she said.
Bev contacted Alicia Graf, Manatee resource development coordinator of the Safe Children Coalition, which serves about 1,600 children in Manatee, Sarasota and DeSoto Counties. She got this response: “Absolutely, yes! Pajamas are always a hot item that we need for our children and always go quickly. We serve children from newborn to 18 years old in foster care, as well as a variety of other placements and living arrangements.”
It may seem hard to believe, Bev said in announcing the project, but “some of these kids have never had a new pair of pajamas.”
The drive got under way in early March, with pajamas to be brought to the church for blessing at worship on April 6 and 7. A week before that, three cardboard boxes were already packed with pajamas. The following week, three more. The final tally was 134 pairs of pajamas (well, truthfully, a few of the donations were nightgowns, but for the same intended purpose).
Bev pronounced the project “an amazing success,” adding, “It was an exciting process seeing so much support from our congregation and visitors. The staff at Safe Children’s Coalition was very happy and excited too. Alicia Graf told me they are already passing them out.”
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"God's work. Our hands." Sunday
"God's work. Our hands." Sunday is an opportunity to celebrate who we are as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America - one church, freed in Christ to serve and love our neighbor.
Read more
www.elca.org
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Double Check the Email Address for FBSynod email
The email extension for FBSynod staff is @fbsynod
.org. We are aware that some people are emailing us at @fbsynod
.com, which we do not receive regularly. Please make sure you are using @fbsynod.org when you are addressing emails to synod staff.
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Click on the calendar to go to the synod calendar to learn more about these events
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Thank you for your prayers for all who are preparing to be part of the Synod Assembly! We're looking forward to having a great time together. Please note that
the synod office will be closed on Monday, June 10 to give the staff a day to rest from the Assembly.
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ALOA Webinars
ALOA has much to offer Lutheran congregations in the area of Older Adult Ministry. In addition to the resources on our web site, ALOA is offering regular Webinars on key topics for Older Adult Ministry that are practical and
free of charge.
June Webinar #1
ALOA, Seniors in Transition
Wednesday, June 12, 2019
1:00 PM Eastern
Host is Mark Schoepp, Executive Director of ALOA. Mark will interview Chrislyn Carson about "Seniors in Transition" - a resource to help older adults make pro-active decisions about one of the hardest decisions older adults face: where they will live in the later years of life. The Webinar will go over the template to help congregations develop an interactive, eight week class for older adults from the church and community. The series of classes will explore options for staying at home and options for moving to a care facility of some kind
.
June Webinar
#2
ALOA - Congregational Health Ministries for Older Adults...and Everyone
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
12:00 PM Eastern
Host Mark Schoepp, Executive Director of ALOA, will interview Colleen Botcher, RN. Colleen is an active Nursing professional who serves a congregation as a volunteer Parish Nurse, and the New Jersey District as Parish Nurse Coordinator. Colleen will provide an overview of Parish nursing and Congregational Health Ministries, centered on Christ's healing love, stewardship of health, and community outreach - for older adults and any age.
Both webinars are free of charge, 60 minutes max.
While you are on ALOA's website, sign up for ALOA email to take advantage of a free congregational consultation on Older Adult Ministry. One name per month will be selected to receive an on-site, full day consultation with an evening outreach event, all free of charge. Sign up at
aloaserves.org
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June 5 -
Synod Council meeting
June 6-8 -
Synod Assembly
June 8 -
Storytelling training, Spirit of Joy, Orlando
June 10 - synod office closed
June 23 -
Installation of Pr. Doug Kings, Gloria Dei, Holmes Beach (9:30 a.m.)*
June 30 -
Installation of Pr. Richard Dow, Memorial Lutheran, St. Augustine (3:00 pm)*
July 25-28 -
Order of St. Luke International Conference, Orlando
July 29-31 -
Transition Ministry Training Retreat, Luther Springs
Aug. 5-10 -
ELCA Churchwide Assembly, Milwaukee, WI
Sept. 8 -
ELCA God's Work. Our Hands Sunday
*Rostered ministers are invited to vest and process at installation and ordination services. Red is worn for ordination, color of the day is worn for installations.
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ATTENTION Treasurers/Financial Assistants!!!
If you are a congregation Treasurer or work with church finances or are interested in this subject:
THE TREASURERS ARE CONVENING
Emails went out to the list of Treasurers that the Office of the Bishop has on file – if you didn’t receive one of those emails – this info is for you!
Treasurers from all over the Synod will gather on Saturdays in September and October at 6 locations around the Synod.
- September 21st – Hope, The Villages
- September 28th – St Paul – Sarasota
- October 5th – The Synod House – Tampa
- October 12th – Mision Luterana Sagrado Corazon – Miami
- October 19th – Spirit of Joy – Orlando
- October 26th – Messiah – Panama City
This gathering will take place from 8:30-12:30 to network, review current Best Practices, learn, share and connect. Please contact Michele Hilton at micheleh@fbsynod.org if you plan to attend.
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Get Ready for Synod Assembly:
Accessing Guidebook Materials
Guidebook:
our guidebook this year is available through the ELCA Organization & Events App. Download the app and search for this year's Assembly guide.
It will be helpful to make sure you can access the guidebook materials before arriving at Assembly. There have been some changes within the ELCA/Guidebook connection, so rather than accessing the assembly materials through the Guidebook app, you will need to access them through the ELCA Organization and Events App. Then you can search for our synod assembly and download the guidebook material. Please help the voting members from your congregation make sure they can access the material before arriving at Assembly. If you know you prefer worship materials in printed bulletin format, please print the worship services before arriving at Assembly. We will have extra volunteers ready to help with guidebook and technology glitches.
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