"Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy; to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." ~Jude 1:24-25

Christ Lutheran School and Preschool, La Mesa, CA

Faith Lutheran High School, La Verne, CA

Concordia Lutheran Preschool and Childcare, Chula Vista, CA

Below are photos from Christ Lutheran School and Preschool,

Click here to register for the conference. AWC registration will close this Friday, November 20, at noon. We will re-open the site for those who missed the conference but would like to watch the sessions on Monday, November 30.

The password to enter the Monday and Tuesday Keynote and Workshop presentations is the individual email address that was entered for you as you were registered. We encourage you to log onto the Conference Hub and test your password to be sure it works. If you get an error message, either: 1) Your email address was entered incorrectly; 2) Your registration hasn’t yet been paid; or 3) You have not yet registered for the conference. Please contact Kim Violette in the district office to correct the error. The deadline for payment to receive passwords before the conference begins is Friday at noon. If there are extenuating circumstances on receiving your payment by Friday, please contact the School Ministries office.

The Worship Service for the All Workers Conference will be live-streamed on Monday, November 23, beginning at 3:15 p.m. PST (4:15 p.m. in AZ). Worship will be streamed from Christ Lutheran Church in Costa Mesa, CA, led by Pastor Drew Ross with a message given by PSD President Mike Gibson. The streaming worship service will not include Holy Communion. We are encouraging churches, schools, and watch locations to safely share the Lord’s Supper together in those local settings after the conclusion of the online service. Please ask one of the local pastors to serve as the officiant. For more information, please see the Worship link on the AWC webpages at https://www.psd-lcms.org/awc-worship.

Worship Offering

This year's offering will go to help those who have been affected by disasters in the PSD. You can give using our online link, you can utilize Text-To-Give, or you can mail a check. For more information on giving in one of these three ways, please see the Worship Offering section on the Worship page of the AWC site, linked above.

Administrators, about a month ago, you were sent information regarding the Thankoffering along with a collection envelope for your staff. We want to encourage you to mail to the District Office the total amount collected (one dollar per year of service, per teacher) for this important scholarship fund for future church workers. If you didn’t get your envelope or if you need more assistance, please contact the School Ministries office.

The Hub is open! Take a look around to familiarize yourself with what is in store: https://www.awc2020.inspirmeetings.com/. 

Dr. John Townsend has handouts for his Keynote Session on Monday. Be sure to notice the link on his Keynote Description to download those handouts.

A big AWC THANK YOU to our Tier Sponsors:

We pray you are having a tremendous day sharing God's love through your service to others in a variety of ways today. We'd love to see pictures of your students in action so we can share them on our Facebook page and in the next edition of Connections. Please email photos to [email protected]. Thank you!

This was shared with us by Faith Lutheran Academy and Preschool in Las Vegas, NV. We praise the Lord for His work through the Holy Spirit!

On March 17th, 2020, our schools and church were closed. Like many others in our nation, we were faced with fear and anxiety, wondering what was to become of our schools and church during the pandemic. Our staff worked tirelessly to stay connected to our families, attending meetings on state protocols and regulations, and working together to give support and advice to one another. At first, we suffered disappointment knowing we would not be able to provide many of the gatherings, events, and services to our families that we normally would throughout the school year. However, our schools and church were able to continue services if not in person, via social media and the internet. As we continued to move forward, putting our trust in God and His plan, we were reminded of the blessings we had been gifted. When we were finally able to open our schools in August, we continued to serve over 650 students. We continued to look for new ways to connect with our families. One outreach was sending letters to our families with new alternatives to our Baptism Chapel. The response was amazing and we are overjoyed to be celebrating 17 baptisms today at Faith Lutheran Academy and Faith Lutheran Preschool.

Matthew 28:19-20

20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Counting our blessings,

Pastor Craig, Senior Pastor

Diana Bartholomew, FLA Principal

Tonia Tate, FLP Director

Please mark your calendar now to join us for the December meeting of Admission Directors on Tuesday, December 8, from 1:30-2:30pm. If you haven’t been receiving the Zoom invitations, please contact Kim Violette in the School Ministries office to be sure we have your correct contact information.

From Lutheran Hour Ministries:

On New Year's Day 2021, The Tournament of Roses will have a 2-hour TV special during the normal TV time. The Petal Pushers® are expected to be included in the segment on volunteering.

Petal Pusher® clothing and other merchandise continues to be available online. 

We would like to remind you that School Consultancies are still available even in this time of COVID. Consultancies provide school administrators the opportunity to receive counsel on a strategic question facing their school. The administrator is able to move forward from the process with new perspectives on their challenge and a new support team to encourage them through implementation of the process outcome. Consultancies will safely be held according to state and local guidelines. For more information, a link to sign up for the process, and a testimonial video, please see the Consultancy Session Protocol on the Administrators Resource Guide page of our School Ministries website.

Abiding Savior Lutheran School and Early Childhood Center, Lake Forest, CA

Grace Lutheran School and Preschool, Lancaster, CA

Circle of Love Lutheran Preschool, Manhattan Beach, CA

Each week, prayers of thanksgiving and prayers for teachers, administrators, support staff, pastors, students, and families of the Lutheran schools, early childhood centers, and churches of the Pacific Southwest District are listed. To include names on the list, please send information to [email protected] by noon on Tuesday of each week.