Are you looking for an opportunity to renew your faith and serve others? Join us at the Florida-Bahamas Synod Assembly, June 8-10 in Orlando. Our theme this year is "Renewed in Christ," and our keynote speaker, Bishop Davenport from the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the ELCA, will inspire and challenge us to deepen our relationship with Christ.

The assembly will include meaningful worship services and networking opportunities with fellow Lutherans. In addition, attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a service project benefiting the Harbor House of Central Florida, which provides support and resources to survivors of domestic violence.

To learn more about the Florida-Bahamas Synod Assembly, including hotel information, registration details, the agenda, and more, please visit the website at fbsassembly.org. We look forward to seeing you there!

Save the Date: Transition Training

Are you a First Call Pastor, interested in Interim Ministry, or are serving a congregation that is in transition of some sort? If so, you might want to make note of the following:

Transition/Interim Ministry Training

Online, 9 a.m. to noon, July 24-28, 2023

Installations & Ordinations

Rev. Karin Albaugh will be installed as pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Groveland on April 23 at 2:00 p.m. Rev. Rob Carlson will preside.

Boundaries Workshop - May 11

Are you due for your triennial Boundaries workshop required for all rostered ministers? Join Rev. Ken Blythe and Rev. Kari Niedermaier for a fun day exploring the gift of boundaries, a gift that offers blessings to rostered ministers, their families, their congregations and the church. Substantial time will be given for group discussion, and open and honest conversation. The registration fee covers lunch, and all the resources that will be shared with participants. Click here for details and registration.

2023 Rostered Leaders Retreat

We have a gift for you! Through a generous grant from Lutheran Disaster Relief-US, the Florida-Bahamas Synod is offering a free healing and renewal retreat for rostered leaders. We recognize how difficult it has been these past two years to lead a congregation through the pandemic and hurricanes while trying to care for our own wellbeing. Many of us are tired and hurting. 

We are offering our second retreat on Monday, June 26 - Wednesday, June 28, 2023 in Clearwater Beach, Florida. The cost of all activities, meals, and housing (single room) and optional healing modalities are covered. The only thing you need to cover is your transportation to the event.

We will be housed at Sheraton Sand Key Resort. Events and sessions will take place at the hotel and surrounding areas.  

Our goal is to provide a safe and healing space for you to learn and experience spiritual practices and receive emotional and spiritual support both in individual and small group settings. All of this will be framed by the beauty of water, sun, and sand. 

There are different activities will be throughout the event such as dolphin tour and much more.

"Come to the Well” with an open heart, ready to receive the grace of God’s healing and unconditional love.

Spouses are welcome and the cost is $200 to cover meals and activities for the three days.

Please note that even though the event is free, a cancelation fee of $428.00 will be required if canceled after May 26, 2023 to cover the hotel room fee. Registration closes Thursday, May 25, 2023. Click here to register.

Global Mission News

"Blest be the tie that binds" is the theme for the Spring 2023 Global Mission Newsletter. Learn about the ties that were strengthened through recent visits to Cuba and Guyana. Share the newsletter with your congregation; have a Global Mission Sunday at your church; be part of this exciting ministry! For more information and to arrange a speaker to come to your congregation or conference, contact Pastor Katie Carroll, Global Mission table Chair, at revkhc@gmail.com. 

Click here to read the newsletter.

Mission Partners 100 Spring Appeal: Messiah Lutheran, Panama City

From Pastor Nicole Martin:

In 2018, Messiah Lutheran stepped relevantly into a more perfect story. A Perfect Storm. You might call it Michael, Hurricane Michael, but we call it Hope. It is hard to imagine a perfect storm as a period of transition, but it is our truth, and we have learned to embrace who we are because of it.

Our playground, as necessary evangelism tool, was damaged by Michael. Therefore, an important part of our congregation’s infrastructure of hospitality to young people and families was wounded. We are hoping that, with your help, the MP100 Grant can help us heal it, not just to replace what was there, but to make what seems to be “just a playground” become an even more significant space for community hospitality and spiritual renewal. What do we envision? “Play and Pray Adventures.” Click here to read more.

ZOOM for Rostered Ministers, "How to Work with Sex Offenders in Your Congregation"

Barbara Keller is leading a one hour Zoom seminar on “How to Work with Sex Offenders in Your Congregation” for rostered ministers Thursday, April 27, 2023 at 11 a.m. CST/12 noon EST. Participants who have additional questions can remain on Zoom to ask questions. Register by emailing kate.schnaath@elca.org. Participants will receive handouts and Zoom information and the call will be recorded for future use. 

Pictured above are dozens of shoes from Reformation, Orlando's Sunday School "Journey to the Cross” Shoe collection. The congregation helped by bringing in shoes for the local homeless shelter. They collected over 300 pairs of shoes. The kids had a blast organizing them! (Photo courtesy of Darlene Kaiser).

To feature your church in E-Spirit, email a photo and caption to comms@fbsynod.org.

Open Position: Holy Cross in Spring Hill Seeks Ministry Administrative Manager

The mission of Holy Cross Lutheran Church is to know, live, and share the love of Christ. After prayerful discernment, we are seeking a Ministry Administrative Manager (MAM) to assist us in our mission.

The MAM is called to support the mission of Holy Cross through efficient and effective management of the administrative tasks of the church. This position serves the church ministries and provides direct support to the Pastor. The MAM shall be creative, self-motivated, and passionate about ministry. A genuine love for the Lord and people is an expected intrinsic quality of all candidates. View the job description here.

Miami Churches Help Refugees from Nicaragua

by Rev. Dale A. Young

A phone call from Rev. Khader El-Yateem set in motion a scurry of activity to help resettle a family of four from Nicaragua. The father, a political refugee, and his daughter had been jailed in Nicaragua (they are journalists) and were soon to arrive at Miami International Airport. The father is one of 222 exiled from Nicaragua; many of them were taken from jail to the airport and sent out of the country without knowing where they were headed. Now, he is reunited with his wife, daughter, and nine-month-old grandchild. However, they have no family here, no place to stay, and no source of income. Could we help?

I picked up the family at the airport (two of their three suitcases didn’t show up) and took them to a hotel. The following day, I took them to a social service agency, where they selected clothes from a clothing closet and received food. Rev. Katie Carroll and Rev. Aaron Lauer (UCC Coral Gables) began calling around to organize resources and support. Soon, we provided the family with pre-paid cards for food, immigration counseling, transportation to agency meetings, and help with applications. The most daunting challenge is housing. The Synod paid for a couple of nights of the hotel stay, and the UCC and an area Lutheran Church provided more nights, but a permanent housing solution escaped us. A doctor friend purchased a health insurance plan for three months. An agency offered a job to the father, but he would need a driver’s license, meaning he would have to take a test and driver’s exam (still pending). The father has a work permit and social security number, but his wife and daughter will need a social security number and employment authorization. Without a local refugee resettlement agency, we are scrambling to help this family.

They were referred to our Synod office by an organization that helps victims of torture. Our ad hoc coalition of Miami churches has accepted the challenge to help with housing, food, clothing, transportation, and immigration counseling. Still, their saga’s psychological, emotional and spiritual wounds have yet to be addressed. I listen to the family’s story of exile, remembering the Biblical story of Mary and Joseph’s flight to Egypt to escape Herod and recognize that our Lord, as an infant, was a political refugee.

The family we are companioning during their resettlement is just one of approximately 80 Nicaraguans who are said to have arrived in the Miami area. The fortunate ones have family contacts, but we understand that many more are unhoused and are scrambling to survive. Once again, global dynamics brings home the poignancy of the Biblical question, “And who is our neighbor?”

Weitzel Adds Bible Study and Day with God to Renewing God's People Series

Retired Pastor Thomas L. Weitzel of Seminole has just added the Be Faithful Bible Study and A Day with God, two books in one volume, to his series of books on Renewing God's People, available at Amazon.com.

The Bible Study is based on the 10 items from the "Be Faithful" list that are featured in the first volume of the series, Renewing God's People For God-Led Ministries. This list serves as a foundation piece for parish renewal: 1. Put God first, 2. Seek & Do God’s Will, 3. Worship Weekly, 4. Pray Daily, 5. Study & Know God’s Word, 6. Love & Serve Others, 7. Tithe Thankfully, 8. Share the Gospel, 9. Participate at Church, 10. Repent Unfaithfulness.

Read more...

Announcing the Truth & Healing Movement

The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has announced the launch of the ELCA’s Truth and Healing Movement. The focus of the initiative is to increase the church’s understanding of the impacts of colonization on Indigenous people in past generations and in the present.

“We must be in better, right, and healthy relationships with the Indigenous people of Turtle Island,” said Eaton. “As we know, the truth and our knowing and embracing it, is the first step toward healing for all of us.” 

In 2016, the ELCA Churchwide Assembly adopted the Repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery. Following this action, Eaton commissioned a task force to lead the work outlined in the repudiation. The task force also developed “A Declaration of the ELCA to American Indian and Alaska Native People,” which confessed the church’s complicity in the oppression and genocide of Indigenous people and recommitted the ELCA to the work of Repudiation.

The ELCA’s Truth & Healing Movement will enlist and empower members to become involved in the areas of focus started by the task force: development of appropriate settler narrative from a Lutheran perspective; encouraging the ritual practice of land acknowledgement; understanding Lutheran participation in Indian Boarding Schools; and support for communities impacted by murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls. The movement will also offer ways to participate in the national Truth and Healing Movement.

Since the 1960s Lutherans have supported the American Indian Movement, working towards justice for and with Indigenous People. The ELCA’s Truth & Healing Movement commits this church to building and strengthening right relationships with our Indigenous neighbors.

Learn more about the ELCA’s Truth & Healing Movement. 

Click here to watch the video.

• 2023 Summer Programs at Luther Springs

• April 22: Space Coast Conference Women of the ELCA 2023 Spring Gathering

• May 11: What Every Nurse Needs to Know About Spiritual Care - Lutheran Faith Community Nurse Association 

• June 8-10: Synod Assembly - Caribe Royale Resort

• June 26-28: Rostered Leaders Retreat 

• September 10: "God's work. Our hands." Sunday: 10th Anniversary!

• September 18-27: ALOA 10-Day Tour of Greece: Walk in the footsteps of Paul 

• September 23: - diakonia graduation/retreat and conversation with the Bishop, St. Armands Key Lutheran Church - Retreat 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Graduation & Worship 5 p.m.

• October 16-18: Conference on Ministry featuring keynote speaker Tod Bolsinger. Location TBD.

• November 10-12: Save the date! Florida-Bahamas Women of the ELCA Fall Gathering