Be sure to mark your calendar for the Pacific Southwest District Fall Pastors’ Conference that will be held October 3-6, 2021 at the Embassy Suites in Scottsdale, Arizona. Details to Follow!

Lutheran High School, La Verne, CA is excited to announce that it has a new principal, Kit Hittinger! Mrs. Hittinger will guide the school in the direction of continued growth of Academic Excellence and the support of our families and students. Mrs. Hittinger has 18 years of experience in the administration of schools and 14 years as a teacher. She comes with a tremendous passion and vision for Lutheran High. God's blessings to Mrs. Hittinger and Lutheran High School, LaVerne!

The Lutheran Legal League (L3) is made up of actively practicing attorneys who regularly attend worship in a Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Simply stated, L3 is a unique fraternal organization of Christ-filled attorneys who desire to assist our Synodical churches, schools, ministries, missions and LCMS members with their legal needs. L3 is NOT a referral company but rather wants to serve our God by helping our brothers and sisters within the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

L3 is in need of more member attorneys in the Pacific Southwest District. Learn more about L3 on their website, and begin registration at their attorney registration page. There is no membership fee, and membership is open to attorneys who (1) are active members of an LCMS congregation; (2) who are licensed to practice law in their respective state; and (3) who have a desire and interest in providing their unique legal services to an LCMS entity/member. L3 also does not require its attorneys to provide services exclusively pro bono – all engagements are between the attorney and the ministry or member.

L3 is especially in need of an Arizona litigation attorney at this time. If you fit this description, or can recommend someone you know who fits the above requirements, please contact Rusty Huseman at RustyH@lutheranlegalleague.org.

On April 23 Ron Van Blarcom shared a Zoom workshop for Pastors and Administrators titled “The Equality Act and the Expansion of Sexual Orientation / Gender Identity (SOGI) Laws.” Ron Van Blarcom has been a practicing California lawyer for over 30 years and, since 2009, he has served as in-house General Counsel to Concordia University, Irvine. CA. In service to the University, he has been directly involved in Title IX, discrimination and religious freedom issues. If you would like to view a recording of his presentation please fill out the form at this link. NOTE: This material is for your use, or the use of your colleagues at your church or school. Please do not share links to the video or PDF publicly via email, social media or other channels.

Redeemer Lutheran Church, Huntington Beach, CA is hosting a Breakfast Bible Study on Saturday, May 8 at 9:00 am featuring Dan van Voorhis, PhD on “Creedal Christianity: Finding the Common Denominator”. Dr. van Voorhis is an author, historian, professor and speaker at 1517. After receiving his PhD in Modern History from the University of St. Andrews, Dr. van Voorhis spent 11 years teaching history and political thought at Concordia University, Irvine and was most recently as the Assistant Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. He will walk through the history and content of the three “ecumenical creeds” (Apostles’ Creed, Nicene Creed and Athanasian Creed) explaining their significance for today. Breakfast starts at 8:30 am followed by the presentation at 9:00 am. COVID-19 precautions will be followed. RSVP to the Church office at churchoffice@redeemer-lutheran.net or call 714-846-6330. For those who prefer Zoom, the link is posted on our website under Events, Upcoming Events.

St. Johns Lutheran Church, Orange, CA will be hosting a Life Group Leader coaching session for all new and experienced Life group leaders on Saturday, May 15 at 9:00 am, via Zoom. Please join us as Allen White, Life Group Consultant, author, speaker, and trainer shares his knowledge and expertise on all things life groups. We are excited to dig deeper into creating healthy life groups in person and online, and growing our life group ministry. Allen also has two books available, “Leading Healthy Groups” and “Leading Online Small Groups”. For more information, please contact Deanne Zimpelmann at dzimpelmann@stjohnsorange.org or check out the website.

Sharing the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ does not have to be stressful while trying to memorize long outlines or sales pitches. We invite you to listen to Dr. Espinosa as he presents a “triangle” from God’s Word that leads to engaging others for Christ: Perspective, People, and Place on Saturday, May 22, 8:00-11:00 am at Christ Lutheran Church, Brea, CA. It is an approach that focuses on loving people, and then just speaking simple truth in application to where people are at. All of this done while also understanding the secularism of our culture today. Rev. Alfonso Espinosa holds a Ph.D. in Theology and M.A. in Christian Apologetics. Faith That Engages the Culture book will be available to purchase at the event for a special conference price of $10.

The theme for this year’s JH Camp is Equipped. 2 Timothy 3:17 says, “so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” At camp this year, we will explore and respond to God’s Word by feeling fully, thinking critically, and doing justly. Jesus is far and away our best example of this: he felt with his heart when he had compassion; he reasoned with his head when he confronted evil, apathy, and pride; he used his hands to heal people and extend mercy to them.

JH Camp will be held May 27-30 at Tonto Rim Christian Camp in Payson, AZ. Registration information is available at psd-youthandfamily.org/camp. 

Our goal at JH Camp is for all of us to be much more equipped to feel, think, and do like Jesus did. We’ll do this through lots of experiential learning, meaningful messages, and intentional processing of ideas with peers and adult leaders. For more information, please contact DCE Dave Minster at dminster@gstempe.org.