Thursday January 13th was a good and productive day to be in the offices of NT-NL Synod, ELCA. Pastor Kris Totzke was, as always, busy connecting with potential pastoral candidates for our congregations in the call process. Other staff members were busy attending to their tasks as well.
One of the major tasks accomplished today was by our bookkeeper/database manager Jeanne Heggen. She was able to gather giving statements for individuals who have donated to our work as synod in 2020 and prepare the letters to those donors. It is a joy then for me to take time to sign those letters and often write a note of personal thanks for their generosity. This is always inspiring to me and saw many new names this year of folks who donated to our NT-NL Disaster response.
I also was able to check in with my colleagues in the conference of bishops in our regular Thursday call. We heard a presentation on dealing with and growing through trauma from Dr. Betsy Stone. She is a brain expert and gave us some great ways to think about how to learn from the experience of our collective trauma during pandemic, civil discord, and the challenges of being church in this time.
In addition to NT-NL staff the small but faithful Briarwood Leadership Center staff. We continue to look for how to provide summer camping options as well as host groups while dealing with the continual deferred maintenance challenges and costs. If you have a group interested in utilizing Briarwood this spring please contact them and they will do their best to accommodate you with the reality of staffing constraints.
Finally, our staff worked together to assembly bulletins for a worship service at Bethany-Dallas on Sunday. This will be the final worship of Word and Sacrament in the sanctuary there. Bethany’s members have discerned to worship together with Central-Dallas while continuing their pre-school ministry at the Bethany campus. I look forward to being with them and you are welcome to join at 3:30pm on Sunday January 16th. #NTNL #InMissionTogether