What a joy and inspiration to follow the adventures of these two from our synod this last summer as they biked across the United States.

Read the Living Lutheran article here: https://www.livinglutheran.org/2021/10/memories-worth-every-pedal/

ELCA Presiding Bishop Eaton's Living Lutheran October Article:

Silence: Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reminds us that spending time in silence is a spiritual discipline, a way of being in God’s presence.

Read her October column for Living Lutheran in English at https://bit.ly/3jfr8dL and in Spanish at https://bit.ly/3n5x8ab. 

Whether you want the pocket edition of the Small Catechism, the version with African-descent reflections, the study edition, the bilingual version or the gift edition, we have options!

If your whole congregation will be studying the Small Catechism, consider using the “By Heart” curriculum, which will generate meaningful conversations about the biblical and historical context of the Small Catechism, its link to the church’s faith, and its connection to Luther’s life and your life today.

Lutheran World Relief has created FREE, easy-to-use resources based on the RCL Advent texts from the Gospel of Luke, all available at lwr.org/advent:  

New resources are now available from ELCA World Hunger to enrich the life of your congregation this Advent season. As congregations across the ELCA creatively find new ways to worship online and in person and continue to support the work of important ministries, including ELCA World Hunger, we are eager to equip leaders with useful resources this season including: Advent Calendar, Study Guide and Action Guide. Find them HERE.

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.

To find out more, visit their website (https://www.mts-seattle.org/) or contact the Seattle Seafarers Center (office@mts-seattle.org).

"Helping people grow in their relationship with money so that they live healthy, whole-hearted lives as followers of Jesus is a key challenge today," says Rev. Larry Strenge, ELCA interim director of congregational stewardship. "‘6 Weeks on Money’ comes at this by looking at our values and continues to provide insights on our money relationship so that we can experience the joy of generosity!”

The ELCA has partnered with "6 Weeks on Money" founder Tim Schuster to provide ELCA members with a lower-cost option to take this six-week, online, self-directed course, individually or as a group.

Visit www.sixweeksonmoney.com/ELCA to learn more...

Enter ELCA-20 at checkout to save $20 off the $80 price.

Tues. Oct. 26, 10am-12noon - Synod Staff Meeting

Tues. Oct. 26, 1pm - Synod Ministry Leadership Wellness Webinar (see below)

Thurs. Oct. 28, 12:30pm-5pm - Candidacy Committee

Thurs. Oct. 28, 5:30pm - Synod Hunger Team (new day/time of the month - see below)

The legislature's Tax Structure Work Group is hosting town hall meetings to gather public input on six possible new tax scenarios for Washington State. The Group’s Scenario F includes a progressive income tax:

The North/Central Puget Sound Town Hall (legislative districts 1, 11, 21, 32, 34, 36, 37, 43, 46) will take place on Wednesday, October 27 - sign up here for the 2:30-4:00 or 6:30-8:00 session.

The South/East Puget Sound Town Hall (legislative districts 5, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 41, 45, 47, 48) will take place on Wednesday, November 3 - sign up here for the 2:30-4:00 or 6:30-8:00 session. Please email economicjustice@fanwa.org and let us know that you’ve signed up!

Annual Celebration - coming up on Sunday, November 21. See more information below in this email!

2021 Powell-Heller Conference for Holocaust Education 

“Holocaust Denial And Distortion” - featuring Dr. Yehuda Bauer and Dr. Christopher Browning

PLU’s mission to support the education of our students and larger community on issues of diversity and justice are intimately connected to the study of the tragedy of the Holocaust. Students can see that marginalization of a minority group, such as the Jews of Nazi Germany, can lead to life-threatening situations culminating in one of the world’s modern genocides. Issues of distortion and denial make the process of reconciliation and healing less likely and serve as an insult to the memory of all those whose lives were destroyed in the Holocaust. For more information and to register, visit plu.edu/holocaustconference.

The 16th Annual David & Marilyn Knutson Lecture 

"Bonhoeffer, the Church, and the Climate Question" - featuring Rev. Dr. James Martin-Schramm '81

Where virulent anti-Semitism was the most important issue facing the church in Bonhoeffer’s day, Martin-Schramm argues Bonhoeffer would have grave concerns about the impacts of climate change on present and future generations. The lecture explores tensions between patriotism and resistance and considers how God is at work in the world today among all who are striving for climate justice. For more information and to register, visit plu.edu/religion/events/knutson-lecture.

at Our Redeemer's Lutheran Church in Seattle

(Note: we are back at Our Redeemer's at 2400 NW 85th St, Seattle)

If your church/quilting/kit making group has not notified Rich Mathes that you are coming, please call Rich at 206-384-1183 or email to lwrmathes@aol.com. You may deliver your boxes on Friday Nov 5th between from 8am-2pm and Saturday Nov 6th between 8am - 11:30am. Please ask all drivers to wear masks for drop-off. If you would like to pick up fabric samples, please wear masks, and remain socially distanced in the Fellowship Hall. There will not be any food available on site this year. We still need a few more volunteers to help load the boxes; if you would be willing to help for two hours, please contact Rich at 206-384-1183.

Join our partners at ELCA Churchwide for a virtual gathering and a lively conversation with people who have a similar passion for sharing Christ’s love. Join Phil Hirsch, ELCA Executive Director for Christian Community and Leadership, and Louise Johnson, ELCA Executive for Administration, on Zoom Tuesday, November 9 at 5pm (Pacific time). As the ELCA seeks to engage new people, discern how you can share your gifts of interpersonal connection to help activate your community. Register here!

We appreciate your consideration and support. For information to attend or donate please visit www.camplutherwood.org. If you wish to make a donation, please call our office at 360-734-7652, email office@camplutherwood.org to arrange pick up or drop off. Thank you for your support!

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.

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.

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/

The SECOND fall Community Retreat from the LiVE Project - open to all!

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 -

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.

+ Let’s Talk About SOIGIE (Sex, Gender Identity, Gender Expression, and Sexual Orientation)

Read more & learn how to register here: https://www.reconcilingworks.org/trainings/