June 7, 2021
Weekly Update
announcements & events
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Worship Resources for
Upcoming Special Services
Find resources for your congregation to commemorate and celebrate:
Emmanuel Nine Commemoration (June 17)
Juneteenth Celebration (June 19)
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Faith Action Network is committed to promoting COVID-19 vaccine awareness & equitable distribution
One way you can help is to commit to a Vaccine Awareness Weekend during the month of June. This can include preaching during a service, hosting an education hour or resource table, making a vaccine breakout group for discussion on Zoom, hosting a mobile vaccine clinic or the new vaccine Care-A-Van, sharing a video, hosting a youth event, or other creative ideas you have for spreading awareness!
Please fill out this form to let us know if you can host an event during the month of June, and we will help you find the resources you need for a successful event. Now that vaccines are more widely available, your voice as a trusted leader in your faith community can help those hesitant to receive the vaccine find the resources they need to choose vaccination.
Be sure to visit our Vaccine Equity Toolkit on our website with resources and links to share in your community. We just added a video of encouragement from the WA Secretary of Health, Dr. Umair Shah - go check it out and keep encouraging your communities to get vaccinated!
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Join LIRS in Calling for Protection for Afghan Allies
In the next few days, or at most weeks, President Biden will be deciding if/when we will be evacuating the Afghan Allies of our US military (and their families) out of Afghanistan before the withdrawal in Sept – or leave them to face certain death. They served as translators, drivers, etc. to protect our troops. Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services is strongly advocating for the lives of these thousands of people to be protected. For two decades, the U.S. Government has employed Afghan allies to serve alongside U.S. troops, diplomats, and other government employees. These allies and their families soon became the targets of anti-American violence. They continue to be threatened, abducted, targeted, and killed for their allegiance to the U.S. and NATO mission.
On this page – www.lirs.org/emergency-evacuation-afghan-allies-action-alert is a summary of the issue. There is a clear advocacy action included. The downloadable toolkit at the bottom of the page is an excellent source of information with talking points, a story, prayers and a longer explanation of ways to get involved. |
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World Refugee Day
Join LIRS in Celebrating World Refugee Day!
World Refugee Day is June 20, but LIRS is honoring our refugee neighbors all month long! Together with our partners and communities around the world, we celebrate the incredible resilience and courage of refugees here in America and recognize the overwhelming adversity faced by nearly 80 million people displaced worldwide.
We invite you to download our World Refugee Day 2021 toolkit to learn more about refugees, to advocate for compassionate policy solutions, to share and uplift their voices, and to support the critical work of welcome.
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Mini-Grant Opportunity
Install a water bottle refill station
Wise water consumption and reducing plastic pollution are important to us as people of faith. Earth Ministry is partnering with Zero Waste Washington and Seattle Public Utilities to help houses of worship upgrade their drinking fountains.
Congregations within the Seattle City limits are eligible to apply for a mini-grant to install a water bottle refill station or retrofit an existing drinking fountain at your location.
This mini-grant will cover up to $1,200 of the cost of a new water bottle refill station or retrofit attachment. Refill stations help encourage community members to bring and fill reusable water bottles, saving water and reducing the use of plastic bottles. The mini-grant program is being managed by Zero Waste Washington. Your congregation would decide which upgrade or retrofit option works best for you, work with a vendor to purchase and install it, and then receive a reimbursement of up to $1,200. Installation costs are not included.
If you think this opportunity would be of interest to your congregation, forward this email to your leadership and facilities committees. Please ask the appropriate contact from your congregation to email me at jessica@earthministry.org for more information and to receive the application.
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Resources Available
Check out their resources for personal reflection, group studies, and retreats.
Be sure to look at Gather's FREE Summer Bible Study:
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Grünewald Guild Seeks Cook(s)
The Grünewald Guild is an arts education nonprofit retreat center near the Wenatchee River in the Plain Valley of Washington. Their 2021 Summer Session will run from July 11- Sept 4.
They are seeking to hire cooks in two week blocks.
Applicants should contact Executive Director Brian Johnson directly ( director@grunewaldguild.com) or the call the Guild at 509-763-3693.
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Opportunities at Holden Village!
Come enjoy the wilderness with us, and invite your friends who have yet to experience the wonder that is Holden!
Modified Summer Program, July 12-September 4
Learn about volunteer/staff opportunities here:
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Synod Events/Meetings this Week:
Team members, check your inbox for info & zoom links.
Synod Hunger Team
Tuesday, June 8, 7pm
Meeting ID: 815 296 9746 / Passcode: 595620
STAD Meeting for Rostered Ministers
Thursday, June 10 at 2pm
Executive Committee
Thursday, June 10 at 4pm
Sean Avery Ordination
Friday, June 11 at 6:30pm - see info below
Bp. Shelley Wickstrom (Alaska Synod) presiding
Luke Morgan Allgeyer Ordination
Sunday, June 13, 10:30am - see info below
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Pacific Lutheran University's
Summer Series in Pastoral Theology
Join colleagues and fellow congregational leaders in this year's virtual Summer Series in Pastoral Theology: Ministry in a Secular Age, featuring Dr. Andrew Root of Luther Seminary. Dr. Root will be facilitating the following conversations (all at 3:30pm Pacific, via Zoom):
Final session tomorrow, Tuesday, June 8 - "The Congregation in a Secular Age" - Register HERE. |
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TWO upcoming Ordinations!
Sean Avery (a word & sacrament candidate) has accepted a call to serve as pastor at Joy Lutheran Church in Eagle River, Alaska! Service will be Friday, June 11 at 6:30pm at Christ the Servant. Attendance is limited - please join via Facebook Livestream here:
Luke Morgan Allgeyer (a word and service candidate) has been called to serve as a chaplain at Providence Hospice of Seattle. Service will be Sunday, June 13 at 10:30am at Columbia City Church of Hope in Seattle. Attendance is limited, you may join by zoom here.
God bless these two new ministers - and the ministries they will serve!
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Suicide Intervention Training
John and Shirley Swanson, members of our synod, are certified LivingWorks trainers and are hosting a 2-day suicide intervention workshop (ASIST) at the Stanwood American Legion June 16-17, 8AM-4PM.
Participants must attend both days to complete the training and receive a certificate. Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) is a world renowned training that is highly interactive that builds suicide intervention skills and confidence. During the course of the two days participants will learn how to recognize those who may have thoughts of suicide, how to ask clearly, directly and non-judgmentally about thoughts of suicide, and how to work with a person to create safety from suicide.
Veterans and their family members, as well as those who work with Veterans, have first priority, but the training is open to anyone. Pre-registration is required. To pre-register email ASIST.Lifeguard@yahoo.com (note the period after ASIST).
The trainers are waiving their fee, but there is a $50 fee to cover the cost of materials that can be paid at check in. We are limiting attendance to 25 participants. ASIST is a CEU-eligible training recognized by many agencies. More information about ASIST, CEUs and other LivingWorks programs can be viewed at www.LivingWorks.net.
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Adult Lutherans Organized for Action Webinar:
Grandparents in Mission
June 17, 2021 – 9am (Pacific)
Grandparenting these days is much more than looking for ways to spoil our grandchildren! Explore how grandparents can see and understand their role spiritually and how we can pass on our faith and influence the spiritual life of our grandchildren. He'll share ideas, resources and mission opportunities for grandparents. Register HERE. Find out more and check out our previous webinars & resources at aloaserves.org
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Welcome Summer – Welcome Wild!
Saturday, June 19, 9am to 12noon
(Optional social time Friday 6:30pm-8pm)
Join Emmaus Table at 7400 Woodlawn for a restoring experience honoring creation as a spiritual practice.
The morning will include both Zoom time and outdoor time in a setting of your choice.
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Organizing and Advocacy: Eco-justice and Sustainability in Infrastructure
Tuesday, June 22, 11am (Pacific)
A free webinar offering training and current insights for people passionate about a more just world. With pressing awareness of change needed for livable and sustainable communities, and with policy discussion on infrastructure shaping that change, join us to inform what you can do. Learn more and register here: http://bit.ly/organizingandadvocacy
Presented by The Organizing for Mission Cohort, using the arts and skills of community organizing to develop and redevelop gospel-centric communities that act for the sake of the world. Shaped by the ELCA’s social teaching documents and the experiences of its congregations, ministries, and partners, the ELCA advocates to end world hunger and stand up for policies that create opportunities to overcome poverty, promote peace and dignity, preserve God’s creation and promote racial and gender justice. Expertise from both networks will come together in this presentation and expand our capacity to respond to the challenges of our times. Background at https://ELCA.org/Our-Work/Publicly-Engaged-Church/Congregation-based-Community-Organizing and https://ELCA.org/advocacy.
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United States of Grace with author Lenny Duncan
Wednesday, June 23, 6pm online
The author of Dear Church, the ELCA Pastor of Jubilee Collective in Vancouver, Washington, and active in various other religious and social good works, Lenny Duncan has his own story to tell in his newest book, United States of Grace: A Memoir of Homelessness, Addiction, Incarceration, and Hope (Broadleaf Books). Rev. Duncan will appear in conversation with Rev. Tim Phillips, Lead Pastor at Seattle First Baptist Church.
“Lenny Duncan weaves together history and memoir in a book rooted in journeys across the beautiful and bruising landscape of the United States, where the pointed stare of a Black mama at the Greyhound station and a voice whispering sobriety at a Grateful Dead show become ciphers of ordinary grace. In this astounding book that is both fierce and generous, jagged and hopeful, Duncan makes space for the thorny topography of addiction, freedom, sexuality, despair, and race, refusing to flatten the path for our comfort. Instead, he invites us to walk with him, to see what he sees, to inhabit the adventure and heartbreak of a Black life in a country built for Black destruction. A book written with tenderness and joy, United States of Grace points us toward prophetic signposts of what is possible for America, if we have the courage to imagine it together. --Melissa Florer-Bixler.
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Advocacy Summer School
In a fresh format, five skill-building and issue-informing virtual sessions are planned on Wednesdays beginning at 11am Pacific. Pick 1 or take all 5!
Each is presented in 30 minutes, followed by an optional 15-minute Q&A time.
August 11 – What is faith-based advocacy?
August 18 – How do I approach policy makers?
August 25 – How do I use media for impact?
September 1 – Let’s talk: About the Holy Land
September 8 – Let’s talk: About immigration
Registration details will be coming soon!
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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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