UPCOMING INSTALLATIONS

(and there are more to be announced soon!)

Rachel San Diego Ordination & Installation

Rachel (former intern at Immanuel, Seattle) has accepted the call to serve as one of the pastors at St. Matthew's in Renton. The ordination service will be held at St. Andrew's in San Mateo, CA on March 9 at 3pm; the installation service will be held Sunday, March 17 at 2pm at St. Matthew's. Rostered Ministers are invited to vest - color of the day is red, please arrive by 1:30pm. God bless this new ministry partnership!

Talks at the Desk - For Black History Month

African Descent Ministries of the ELCA celebrates Black History Month with “Talks at the Desk,” a four-part video series that will explore diverse expressions of the church. A new video will premiere each Wednesday in February at 7:30 pm Central time. Watch them live on YouTube or download them, along with a study guide, at elca.org/adm. Here is episode 3 of this Season 3!

Learn more HERE.

Reminder!

Congregational Reports due to the ELCA this week!

Each year, every congregation, synod-authorized worshiping community (SAWC), and new start in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is asked to provide information about its people, finances, and resources through the Annual Congregation Report.

If you have already submitted your Annual Congregation Report Form A, thank you! If you have yet to submit your Form A, please do so by this Friday, March 1.

Your congregation should have received its Annual Congregation Report packet through the mail in January. If you have misplaced or did not receive your packet, visit elca.org/reportinstructions to access Form A, an instructional document on how to complete the form and a financial stewardship worksheet.

Because the online form is generic, it will not include your congregation’s password. The quickest way to request that password is through elca.org/congregationreport. Click the “Request Login Info” button on this page and follow the instructions. Your password will be sent to the email your congregation has on file with the ELCA churchwide organization. If you do not have access to the internet, please contact your synod office for your password. The Office of the Secretary asks that your congregation submit its report online if possible. The system for online submission of Form A is accessible at elca.org/congregationreport.

Survey Invitation

The Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church (CRLC) has designed a survey to be shared throughout the ELCA. There are questions that apply to churchwide, synods and congregations - you are invited to participate here: Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church Survey (google.com)

More information about the commission can be found here:

Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church - Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (elca.org)

CYF Cohort

Monday, February 26, 6:30pm on zoom

Register here: https://forms.gle/4R8RVuiYUufBDeD9A. 

In this cohort session for leaders of children, youth and/or family ministries (CYF) we will be delving into the topic of volunteers. Together we’ll talk about recruiting strategies, training, and retention of volunteers. There are many ways to work with volunteers of all ages – come and share what works for you and learn from others in our synod of things that work for them. This will be a truly collaborative session! The CYF Cohort is a wonderful group of people who are learning and growing together.

If you have questions or need further information, please contact Becky at children@hslckirkland.org.

Lutherans Restoring Creation and ELCA World Hunger are eager to share a resource faith communities can use to start discussions and inspire community-based-solutions to grow climate justice, as part of the One Home, One Future collaborative.



Regenerating Life: How to Cool the Planet, Feed the World, and Live Happily Ever After offers attainable solutions to the climate crisis through an ecological approach that unpacks the social and environmental crises confronting us.



Join us Tuesday Feb 27th at 5pm (Pacific) for film highlights & discussion with the filmmaker, John Feldman. You can view the trailer here.

Register HERE to gain free temporary access to this three-part documentary film, to watch at your convenience before we spend an hour meeting with the filmmaker and considering how best to share this multifaceted resource within our communities. You are also encouraged to start planning a screening for a larger group gathering in your own context to imagine together what your community’s next most faithful step can be. There is a curriculum in development to help us grow into answering the call from this remarkable collection of voices across the globe.

Once you register for this event, look for a follow-up email with your private link to stream the film. Please be sure to join the online discussion, even if you don’t get a chance to watch it in entirety before we meet. We will be watching a few minutes of highlights together for a shared experience before starting the conversation with the filmmaker.

Abide in the Word Bible Study - continues!

Tuesdays, 7-8pm via Zoom

This is a year-long, Synod-wide weekly Bible Study that takes participants on a deeper dive into the coming Sunday's Lectionary text. Participants will have the chance to experience diverse perspectives and voices from various guest facilitators from across the synod.



This is a FREE LiVE offering! No registration needed!

YES, you may join in any week at this link: HERE.

Addiction & Ending It For Good

February 28, 10am-11am online

Webinar with author Christina Dent via Zoom

Sponsored by the Center of Addiction & Faith

Christina Dent is the founder of End it for Good, a nonprofit which invites people to support approaches to drugs and addiction that prioritize life, preserve families, and promote public safety. She supported a criminal justice approach to drugs for most of her life until she became a foster parent and saw how it negatively affected children and families. Her new book, Curious, is the story of her journey about how she changed her mind in favor of health-centered approaches to drugs and addiction. The host of webinar is George A Wood, Author, Speaker, Pastor at Sober Truth Project. The link to register is  https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2Q0SkriWTU6bR7jjCUVMSQ#/registration

Lent with Baldwin & Bonhoeffer

6-week Course via zoom

Thursdays in Lent, 7-8:30pm

What might Dietrich Bonhoeffer (a Lutheran German theologian) and James Baldwin (a Black, 20th century author and novelist) together have to prophetically speak to our current time? Through a combination of presentations, and brief selected readings, this co-facilitated course will invite a conversation for how these particular perspectives inform our lives as persons and communities of faith. Come join the conversation!

This 6-week course will meet via zoom Thursday nights during Lent (Feb 15th-March 21st), facilitated by Dr. Edward Donalson III and Dr. Dan Peterson. Registration: FREE for those whose church purchased the Congregational Bundle; $50 otherwise.

More info & to Register

SAVE THE DATE!

Join EDLARJ in Minneapolis for:

• community building
• racial justice education
• shaping the future of EDLARJ

Learn more and get registered HERE.

Women's Retreat

March 1-3 at Rainbow Lodge in North Bend

Join Saint Andrew's (Bellevue) and Our Savior (Issaquah) for this retreat.

Find the fillable form here

Check out the flyer:

Elementary Retreat

The theme is “Conversations with God”. Questions?

March 8-9 at Camp Lutherwood

Registration is open for the Elementary Retreat! Registration is through individual churches - reach out to your youth leader / church office to get registered! Each congregation and youth leader received the registration info on Feb 6.



The price for adults is $50 and youth are $70.

Questions about the retreat? Contact Sam at marty.martinez@camplutherwood.org. 

Concordia Choir (Moorhead, Minn) in Concert!

Hear one of the nation's finest college choirs perform in Seattle on Friday, March 8.

Michael Culloton conducts the 66-voice a cappella choir in a varied concert ranging from Renaissance motets to contemporary choral works. “You MUST see them - it’s an unforgettable experience!” says Eric Whitacre. You've seen their Emmy-winning Christmas concerts on television, now hear them live!

Tickets are available online at ConcordiaTickets.com or at the door.

Visit www.TheConcordiaChoir.org for complete information.

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Congregations are encouraged to share this announcement in their March newsletter. Concordia Choir has specific news releases, promotional paragraphs, photos, and graphics that they can download here: www.tinyurl.com/concordiachoirpromo

Columbia Choirs of Metropolitan Seattle Concert

Saturday, March 9, 7pm

at Faith Lutheran Church in Redmond

(9041 166th Ave NE, Redmond)

Fine Arts at Faith proudly presents Columbia Choirs of Metropolitan Seattle! Please join us as the adult choirs Con Brio and Concord sings a performance titled “Wild and Wonderful.” There is a suggested donation of $10 per person or $20 for a family of two or more. Cash or Checks made payable to Faith Lutheran Church will be accepted at the door. A reception will follow the event. Faith Lutheran Church is located at For more information, please visit our website or Facebook event: https://fb.me/e/9A69wPDY2

Discerning Vocation in Retirement

Tuesday, March 12, 4pm online

Please join us for a conversation with Dr. Samuel Torvend, Director of External Relations for The Wild Hope Center for Vocation. Entering retirement can be both exciting and a bit scary. It can produce a sense of relief from a life of work but also raise questions about the future. How, then, might we consider retirement a vocation, a calling, that gives meaning to our lives? In this conversation about retirement, we'll consider a different way of thinking and living one's life, a purposeful life beyond departure from the workforce. This discussion will be held via Zoom. REGISTER HERE. The link to join will be sent out on March 11.

How Loneliness Influences Health and What Nurses (and others!) Can Do to Help

Thursday, March 14, 4pm (Pacific)

Online

While the primary audience is nurses, others will learn from the presentation. We all know lonely people in our lives and in our worship communities. Dr. Theeke will offer some helpful interventions for all of us. See the flyer for more information and the registration link.  

Trio Animé Concert

Saturday, March 16, 7pm

at Saint Andrew's, Bellevue

Please join the Trio Animé for a delightful concert of chamber music masterpieces, featuring works by Max Bruch and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Trio Animé specializes in works written for this unique and beautiful instrumental combination. The trio includes Leslie Johnson, viola; Eliza Siracusan, clarinet; and Charles Enlow, piano. (Free will offering will be received)

Deciding whether seminary education is right for you?

April 5-7, 2024 – Signs Along the Way

In-person at the PLTS campus in Berkeley

+ Engage your sense of call

+ Explore the San Francisco Bay area and what it’s like to live and study at PLTS

+ Experience a PLTS class and connect with current students, faculty, and staff

+ Lodging and most meals are covered; travel assistance available to those who need it

Click here to register

Signs Along the Way is a great opportunity for folks to connect with current seminarians and other people in discernment, spend some time exploring their sense of call, and learn more about what seminary at PLTS might be like for them. People at all stages of discernment are welcome. PLTS covers two nights of lodging in a hotel, most meals throughout the weekend, and can provide some travel assistance for those who need it.

Bishop's Convocation

April 21-24 at Seabeck Conference Center

Mindful that we are in an election cycle fraught with discord and danger, Rostered Ministers, SALMs and Interns will share learning and discussion around the theme of Christian Nationalism - what it is, the real threats it presents to us both as citizens of a democracy and as Christian disciples, and what our role is as faith leaders in the public arena. We are delighted to welcome Dr. Seth Dowland and Rev. Dr. Rick Rouse to lead our sessions. Learn more and get registered here!

Middle School Retreat

April 26-27 | First Lutheran Richmond Beach

All middle school students are invited to join us for our 2nd annual middle school retreat! Our theme this year is Prayer – What is it? Why do we care? We’ll explore the theme using a variety of mediums and spend time at the beach on Saturday. The cost is $50 per student, adults are free. Registration begins March 1.

Questions? Contact Becky at children@hslckirkland.org.

May Youth Weekend at Holden!

May 17-19 (Friday - Sunday)

Theme: All Creation Groans Together: Love, Lament, and Action in a Climate Emergency

How can we live faithful lives when we are overloaded with climate grief and anxiety? How can we find motivation for meaningful action when the future is uncertain? Together we'll dive deep into our love for God's beloved creation, and learn how to find our way through the ruins.

Registration now! Find all the details here!

Synod Assembly is coming up soon!

Saturday, May 18, 9am-4pm

at Grace Lutheran Church in Des Moines

Doors open for check in and hospitality time at 8am

Our theme is from Psalm 121:1-2 | I lift up my eyes to the hills - from where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

We will gather to worship, hear reports and synod updates, vote on the upcoming budget, and to elect members to synod council, committees and the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

Online registration will open March 15 and close April 15

Congregations/Rostered Ministers received information last week to help get their voting members registered. If you did not see that email, contact Susan in the synod office ASAP!

• Volunteers needed for our check-in tables (7:45am-11am) - contact Susan@lutheransnw.org
• Nominations for Synod Council, Committee on Discipline, Consultation Committee and Voting Members for the ELCA Churchwide Assembly are open now through April 15.
• Resolutions to be considered are being received now through April 15.
• Ministry Partners & Committee Chairs should have received an email about participating in the assembly last week. Find the details on our website here: https://www.lutheransnw.org/pages/synod-assembly

Want an item included?

Email Susan Berg, Communications Administrator

All items due by 2pm on the prior Thursday

Northwest Washington Synod / ELCA

5519 Phinney Avenue North

Seattle, WA 98103

206-783-9292