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Featured Blog Post

Dear NT-NL Leaders:

As we enter this weekend into Holy Week my prayers and encouragement go forward with you. In many of our communities this year will mark the first time in several years that the celebrations of this Holy Week will look anything like they did in 2019. But of course they are and will be different. Because we are different. We have been changed by the experiences of the last two years. We are not and cannot be the same as we were before.

Yet change, transformation, is the heart of the good news of Easter. God’s incarnation into this world, nailed to a tree, buried in a tomb, doesn’t stay there. Death doesn’t win. And after two years of losses and griefs we are dying to be transformed. And the good news is Holy Week, the Triduum, the joy of Easter does just that. It transforms our death into life and invites us to live anew. To honor our griefs and losses. To take seriously the work we are called to do as church and society in the ways of justice and peace. But to ultimately know and trust that God’s new life is for us and for our neighbor.

So as you go about this work, know we go into this work together. Together as lay and rostered leaders, called to various tasks and roles in this time, we go into this work together. And so doing together the worship of the church, the telling of the story, the proclamation of the gospel will happen. God’s peace and hope be with you in these days to come. We are…

#InMissionTogether,

Bishop Gronberg

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Grand Opening of Jay’s Place

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2022 Synod Assembly Updates, Deadlines

You can register for Synod Assembly (April 29-30) here: https://tithe.ly/event-registration/#/4840947. Online registration closes April 17.

We are not offering the option of a Hard Copy of Assembly Reference Materials (previously called the Book of Reports) this year. All reports will be available online here: https://www.ntnl.org/2022-assembly-reference-materials/. Please note, there are a large number of reports we received over the past week, and those will all be uploaded by Friday. Then we will continue to add documents as we receive them.

Please also keep an eye on our event page for additional updates as we get closer to Assembly: https://www.ntnl.org/event/2022-ntnl-synod-assembly/

This will be an in-person only event. We will be taking pandemic precautions and be following the protocols of our host, King of Glory Lutheran Church (Dallas), and Dallas County. We appreciate your grace as we all navigate changing realities up to the last minute.

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Safe Gatherings Boundaries Training

Our synod has arranged for discounted Boundaries Training with Safe Gatherings.

Click here for instructions on how to register for this online course.

Friendly reminder: Rostered leaders are required to participate in boundaries training at least every three years.

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Texas Impact Special Opportunity for Pastors

From our friends at Texas Impact:

Texas Impact is partnering with the COVID Collaborative to promote COVID vaccines and boosters in our state. Overall, Texas has a 60% COVID vaccination rate. Texas vaccine uptake varies widely by county. As the attached map shows, many Texas counties have vaccination rates below 50%.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/covid-19-vaccine-doses.html

We now have a special opportunity to equip clergy to provide vaccine leadership in under-vaccinated communities. Through the COVID Collaborative, we are offering small-group, virtual, discussion-based training with state and national public health experts for clergy in Texas counties with low COVID vaccine uptake.

This is a great chance for clergy to ask questions; discuss concerns they have or that they have heard from congregation members; and learn how to get additional information that can help them provide pastoral care to their congregations.

We are hoping to schedule these meetings soon. As you probably know, there are concerns that another uptick in COVID cases in Europe may spell another surge in the US this spring.

Please let me know if you have questions or need additional information. Thanks as always for your faithful leadership and support!

Bee Moorhead
Executive Director
bee@texasimpact.org

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College of Pastoral Leaders Grants

From our friends at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary:

Dear colleagues,

As a Lutheran pastor serving at Austin Seminary, I’d like to draw your attention to the College of Pastoral Leaders.

The college makes two-year, $10,000 grants to small groups of pastors to pursue a self-designed program for renewal, vitality, and pastoral excellence. Over the years, many ELCA pastors have been awarded grants. The deadline for applications for the next group of cohorts is May 13, 2022.

Detailed information about the program and the process are found at: https://www.austinseminary.edu/lifelong-learning/collaborative-learning/college-of-pastoral-leaders

Yours,

Rev. Timothy D. Lincoln, PhD (he/his/him)

Director of the Mary B. and Robert J. Wright Learning and Information Center | Assistant Dean for Planning | Research Professor in Theological Education

Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary

tlincoln@austinseminary.edu

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ELCA Region 4 South Archives Brochure

The ELCA Region 4 South Archives is sending an informational brochure to all NT-NL Synod churches. Please look for it in the mail soon. The brochure gives information about the Archives: where it is located, what it is, why it exists, and how it can be beneficial. Contact information for the Region 4 South Archives, as well as for the churchwide ELCA Archives, is provided, both of which have an online presence. The brochure is made possible by a generous grant from the ELCA Archives.

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Courageous Leadership Series

Dear Faith Leaders,

We are mixing things up in 2022 as we continue to experiment and learn. You are invited to join us WEEKLY on Wednesdays at 1pm Central to hear from various leaders across the Church. We will continue with our theme of COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP. We have invited various ministries to host these gatherings through this next year, so it will be different each week. There will usually be time for small groups in breakout rooms so that leaders across the church can continue to learn from each other and leave each gathering with at least one action step.

For April 2022:
Week One (April 6) – Coaching – Choose Your Own Adventure (breakout rooms by topic)
Week Two (April 13) – Tammy Devine – Permission to BE
Week Three (April 20) – TBA
Week Four (April 27) – TBA

We are inviting you to bring a spirit of curiosity to these gatherings and to all aspects your life. What are you noticing? Where is Spirit moving? How might you be a part?

The login information can be found on the ELCA Coaching website: https://www.elcacoaching.org/events/courageous-leadership
Recordings from prior gatherings can be found here: https://www.elcacoaching.org/podcasts/media/series/courageous-leadership

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“Getting to Know the MEF” Sunday

The NT-NL Mission Endowment Fund (MEF) announces its first “Getting to Know the MEF” Sunday, May 15, 2022. Materials to share with your congregation will be available soon.

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21st Annual Bonhoeffer Lectures in Public Ethics