April 12, 2021
Weekly Update
announcements & events
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ELCA Domestic Hunger Grants |
Are you part of a ministry (or know of one) that draws on the strengths of its community to break the cycle of hunger and poverty for good?
Invite them to apply for a Domestic Hunger Grant!
Registration open NOW: March 17–May 5
Application: April 19–May 21
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NWWA Synod Grace Grants
Accepting Applications until May 1st!
Ideally, your grant proposal will show support of one or more of these four areas:
- Equity and Justice for Marginalized Communities
- Post-COVID Ministry Innovation
- Community and Inclusion
- Youth & Young Adult
Recipients will be announced at the Synod Assembly
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A Year of Discernment for Open Door Ministries:
A message from the board:
In theory, we know that organizations cannot and should not live forever without renewal. But in reality, many organizations tend to operate with the assumption that our primary goal is to keep our organization doing what it has always done.
Over the past six years, ODM's Board has become aware of a slow but steady decline in support and participation. This has been evidenced by difficulty in attracting new board members, recruiting individuals to take on leadership responsibilities, sustaining participation by RIC Congregations and Clergy and difficulty in maintaining ongoing financial support.
Recognizing these issues, ODM will enter into a year of discernment, pausing all ministry activities. During this year of discernment, with God’s Guidance, the Board will review the present status and work to identify what the future should look like. During this time, ODM will recognize and celebrate the progress made since ODM’s inception. Stepping back for a year of discernment and renewal does not mean that ODM is entering into a “sunset mode”. It allows a time to review where "we are" and "to listen to God’s call for us in the future".
ODM asks for your support and prayers. Please feel free to reach out to our Board with feedback and questions by sending suggestions and comments to Open Door Ministries at odm.elca@gmail.com. |
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Homes for high school foreign exchange students sought
Loving homes for high school foreign exchange students are being sought for the 2021-2022 school year. Families come in all shapes and sizes, and host families are no different, empty-nesters, retirees, families with young children or teens, single adults, you name it - can all provide loving supportive homes for high school exchange students. If your family can provide a place to sleep and study, and have enough food for three meals a day, please consider becoming a host family.
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Synod Meetings this week:
Team members, check your inbox for info & zoom links.
Transition Ministers
Monday, April 12 at 1pm
LiVE Planning Team
Tuesday, April 13 at 2pm
Synod Hunger Team
Tuesday, April 13 at 7pm
Children, Youth & Family Committee / Time 4 You
Thursday, April 15, 12noon-2pm
Personnel Committee
Thursday, April 15 at 12:30pm
Cluster Deans
Thursday, April 15 at 2pm
Executive Committee
Thursday, April 15 at 4pm
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Being Church - Weekly Online Gathering for ELCA Leaders
Wednesdays, 11am PST
This week: The Eisenhower Matrix, also referred to as Urgent-Important Matrix, helps you decide on and prioritize tasks by urgency and importance, sorting out less urgent and important tasks which you should either delegate or not do at all. The Rev. J. Dana Peterson, DEM for the Rocky Mountain Synod and Associate Certified Coach (ACC) with the International Coaching Federation, will be present with us next week to teach us about this concept and how to use it effectively. He has coached and consulted with pastors, congregations, and other organizations in the areas of transition, capital campaigns, organizational development, and personal and spiritual growth. He is a husband, father, grandfather, bass player, and motorcycle rider (not necessarily in that order).
You are invited to join this weekly online gathering designed to provide encouragement and support for ELCA leaders across the church. Participants will hear topical presentations related to how we are called to be Church, as well as have an opportunity to be in small group discussions with other ELCA leaders. This is where the magic happens. All of this is designed to help us process our emotions and thus create a space where we can each name our next most faithful step forward in our unique context. You are welcome to share this invitation with any other ELCA leader, rostered or lay.
We understand a number of folks are unable to make this day and time each week. We record the main session and debrief time. We share each recording with supporting documents here, typically by the following day: https://www.elcacoaching.org/being-church.
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BEGINS this week! Register today!
Interrogating Privilege in Church & Our Lives
Wednesdays, 6:30-8pm
April 14 - May 19
Cost: $50/person
The LiVE Project (Living into Vocational Engagement) is a new initiative of the NW WA Synod to accompany lay leaders in ways that encourage and deepen God’s calling for their lives.
This six-week course is designed specifically for lay leaders to open up transparent, and honest conversation around the ways privilege shapes and impacts our lives and communities of faith.
The learning facilitators for the course are Rev. Priscilla Paris Austin, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Seattle, and Dr. David Hahn, Dir. of Formation and Learning for the NW WA Synod.
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Developing a Foundation for Planned Gifts
Presented by the ELCA Foundation
Thursday, April 15, 10am Pacific Time via Zoom
Sign up here for the webinar:
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Lutheran Men In Mission Bold Gathering
Saturday, April 17, 9am-12noon
Registration is Free but Required.
Lutheran Men in Mission will be hosting another online event featuring six speakers discussing matters that men know matter.
There you can find more information and see all the archived videos from past Bold Gatherings.
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How Do I Read The Bible?
Sundays, 1pm-2:30pm
April 18 - June 13
Cost: $50/person
The LiVE Project, in partnership with Our Redeemer's Lutheran (Seattle) invites you into this 8-week course to come and curiously explore the Bible. To discover, hear, and be blessed directly. Individuals and congregational groups welcome!
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Ecumenical Advocacy Days (EAD)
April 18-21 - online!
The theme is: “God’s Earth and People Restored,” and will be a time of process and issue learning, worship, as well as Capitol Hill virtual visits with policymakers on climate impacts due to historic racial and colonial inequities.
In addition to being a sponsor, leaders from ELCA advocacy staff will present workshops at this event.
Scholarships for young adults (age 18-35) affiliated with ELCA congregations and ministries are available! Contact karen.krueger@elca.org for promo code.
Networking opportunity for Lutheran participants planned.
Consider taking part in Ecumenical Advocacy Days as we live into our baptismal covenant to serve all people, following the example of Jesus, and strive for justice and peace in all the earth.
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Earth Ministry Book Reflection & Discussion
Monday, April 19 at 6pm
Join the Earth Ministry community for their Earth Day gathering this year - spending time with the book Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Kimmerer brings her identity as an indigenous woman and also her knowledge as a botanist to her writing about what we can learn from the fauna we live alongside. Her book offers a lovely perspective on how to enter in to more of a reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. Braiding Sweetgrass was selected for our community read after being suggested by multiple members of the Earth Ministry community – thank you! We believe it is important that we take time to sit with indigenous wisdom regarding relations to Earth.
Please read the book on your own and then join us online for reflection and discussion on Monday, April 19 at 6pm Pacific. Now is the time to get the book and start reading! We encourage you to support your local bookstore or purchase Braiding Sweetgrass through Bookshop.
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Pacific Lutheran University – Knutson Lecture:
World Balance vs. Personal Salvation:
An American Indian Postcolonial Perspective
Tuesday, April 20, 7pm via Zoom Webinar
Rev. Dr. George “Tink” Tinker is Professor of American Indian Cultures and Religious Traditions at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado. Dr. Tinker will address the differences between the genuine equality of American Indian peoples and the hierarchical worldview of the eurochristian West. Given the eco-devastation threatening life today, and the historical trauma experienced by American Indian nations, the survival of American Indian cultures and values may make the difference for the survival of the Earth.
You are also invited to join PLU Chapel on Wednesday, April 21 at 10:30 a.m. via Zoom to hear Dr. Tinker deliver the message. For more information and to register for either opportunity, please visit plu.edu/religion/2021-knutson-lecture.
Learn about more excellent offerings from PLU here:
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Joyfully Aging Is NOT an Oxymoron!
April 22 at 9am
Dr. Rich Bimler shares his positive outlook for the second half of life. In a culture that sees aging as a disease, Joyfully Aging means changing the way we perceive older people, ourselves and others. Let’s discuss how we can joyfully age together.
Find out more and check out our previous webinars & resources at aloaserves.org
Each webinar features an expert in a subject pertaining to older adult ministry land providing information on available resources. All webinars are free and last approximately 60 minutes. If you can't be available for the live webinar, sign up anyway and we'll email you a link to the recording and associated resources.
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Ordination of Cindy Myatt
on Earth Day - Thursday, April 22 at 2pm
We are delighted to share that Cindy Myatt has been called to serve as a pastor/developer in our new mission start:
North Cascades Wild Church.
(Zoom Meeting ID: 820 1925 2511 / Passcode: Peace)
Live camera begins 15 minutes early.
God bless this new ministry partnership!
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Let Us be a Sign to You
Contributions of Lutheran Members of Arab & Middle Eastern Heritage to the ELCA
Thursday April 22, 4-5pm Pacific Time
As part of the National Arab American Heritage Month, join this educational zoom presentation.
Here is the agenda for the session: Introduction; Devotion based on Ezekiel 24:27 “You shall speak and no longer be silent. / In this way you shall be a sign to them; / and they shall know that I am the Lord;” Identity as a Christian in Arab/Middle East Communities; Presentation on Hospitality, Welcome and Support of Arab & Middle Eastern Members; On-the-ground working relationships with Muslim and Jewish communities; Q&A; Closing Reflection & Prayer
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Grünewald Guild in the City:
Seattle’s Olympic Sculpture Park
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April 24th, 11am – 1pm
Olympic Sculpture Park
2901 Western Avenue, Seattle
Join the Grünewald Guild’s NEW director, Brian Johnson, for this event. He will lead this art outing and conversation focusing on poems and sacred texts paired with the park sculptures. Bring a bagged lunch or make plans for lunch in the area. Register here. Cost is $10 general / $ 2 students |
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Bishop's Spring Convocation
Living into Authentic Diversity: Sharing Our Stories
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Monday-Wednesday, April 26-28, Online
Monday, 1-4pm | Tuesday, 9:30am-3:30pm | Wednesday: 9am-12noon
Rostered ministers, mission developers, and interns of the synod are invited to gather online over these days to explore diversity in the Church from the perspective of listening deeply to the uniqueness of our diverse journeys of faith. How do our familial/cultural/ denominational/personal identities and histories shape our experience of being Church Together? Following an introductory session with the Strategic Team For Authentic Diversity (STAD), we will be joined by keynote speaker the Rev. Lenny Duncan.
We will also hear stories of four local leaders (Rev. Diakonda Gurning, Rosario Aguilar, Rev. Sam Sseba, and Elizabeth Stitt). We will have time to reflect together on both the gifts and the challenges these stories bring to us. Learn more and register here.
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Co-Creating the Post-COVID World
The world is different - leaders and congregations need to adapt and discern what the Spirit is doing. Collaboration is crucial. Developing life-iving patterns of ministry and ways of engaging our communities.
Join ONE of thes conversations about the role of the church in the transformation of our communities, facilitated by Rev. Dr. Ray Pickett, Rector at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and Desta Goehner, Director of Congregational Relations at Cal Lutheran.
Tuesday, April 27, 10 – 11:30am
Zoom ID: 967 1041 7452
OR
Wednesday, April 28, 6:30 – 9 pm,
(Spanish Interpretation available/ Interpretación al español disponible)
Zoom ID: 979 4607 9412
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The Practice of Authentic Allyship |
Course Materials open April 20
Course materials include videos and documents for you to prepare for our live sessions
Live Sessions on Zoom
April 27, May 4, and May 11
6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Description:
When human rights are at risk, people need to stand together. But how do we stand with each other in a way that truly puts people who are vulnerable first? How do we make the vulnerable the “center of the universe” without compromising our own?
Today many are confronting the reality of how our caste system impacts people of color, LGBTQ+, and our society as a whole.
Being an authentic ally is more than wearing a flag pin. It is not something we claim for ourselves, but rather a recognition by groups that we are consistently and effectively supporting in their work for human and civil rights.
IN THIS COURSE, YOU WILL LEARN:
- learn what authentic allyship is, what it is not, and key skills, strategies and awarenesses to stand with others
- gain a better understanding of the caste system in the US and how it impacts all of us
- practice sharing your own story of why you want to stand as an ally
- learn some guidelines for conversation with your family and your groups
Standing with and for each other is not an addition to our lives. It doesn’t take-a-way from us individually. It is a key part of what it means to be human and provides hope for a more just and equitable world for all of us. As Ellie Wiesel said, “Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must — at that moment — become the center of the universe.”
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Lutheran World Relief (LWR) Update & Seattle Spring Ingathering |
April 29 - May 1 at First Lutheran Church in Bothell
The Spring Ingathering will be a modified Covid19 Ingathering process. Churches/quilting groups need to reserve a delivery spot by calling/emailing Rich Mathes at 206-384-1183, or email lwrmathes@aol.com. The incoming cars and trucks will be staggered; drivers and passengers must wear masks and are to remain in their vehicles as much as possible. The church building is not open for use by drivers or passengers.
HELP US KEEP YOU IN THE LOOP: If your quilting group, or church, or kit-assembly group has not received your instructions, loading form, or newsletter, please notify Rich at either contact above.
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Lutheran Campus Ministry Sunday!
Sunday, May 2
First to Worship Planners: a pre-recorded video worship service will be made available - five Lutheran Campus Ministries, their pastors and students will be leading this service, as well as music contributed from 5 congregations from around the state.
Second - On Sunday, May 2 at 11:30am - join Pastor Chelsea Globe of UW Lutherans for a region-wide education time to discuss campus ministry, young adult ministry, and how your congregation can get involved!
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Read the Koran in Four Weeks
Mondays in May (3, 10, 17, 24), 7pm-9pm via Zoom
Check out this unique class taught by Pastor Marshall, First of West Seattle, four times a year since 2003. The cost is $20 --- which covers sending you in the mail your own copy of an approved English translation of the Koran.
Call or email to register or ask questions. Pastor Marshall at (206) 935-6530 or deogloria@foxinternet.com. For more information on the class (including a half hour video interview) and some student recommendations, see flcws.org, “Reading the Koran with Pastor Marshall.”
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Synod Women's Organization
Spring Retreat (virtual!)
CHOOSE JOY
with keynote speaker: Stacy Kitahata,
Co-Executive Director of Holden Village
Saturday, May 22, 9am-12noon
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Faith Action Network Spring Summits!
Choose from Sunday, May 23 and
Sunday, June 6, 2pm-4pm Online
At the Summit you can gather virtually with advocates in your region and in your issue area of interest and begin to consider what steps we might take together in the year ahead. This event is open to advocates across the state, and the content and breakouts will be the same each Sunday. See the flyer here and register for one of the dates below:
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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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