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Message from Bishop Gronberg

Dear NT-NL Leaders:

Greetings to you in the name of Jesus Christ this Holy Week. As you lead your communities through the rites and rituals of this holiest of times know that you are in the prayers of all of us in the NT-NL Synod office and especially in my prayers as your bishop. Holy Week is a deep and powerful reminder of God’s love for all the world poured out in Jesus Christ. It is also a time when you need the Holy Spirit’s inspiration to tend to the many duties of the season. I am thankful for your work.

One of the realities of synod office life is that in especially busy seasons in congregational life, our phones ring less and emails decline. Which is giving us a chance to begin the process of preparing to relocate the synod offices. By mid-May we should be fully moved into space that is graciously being provided by Good Shepherd Lutheran, Irving, TX. Good Shepherd formerly operated a school and as such had space that we as synod will rent. It is centrally located in the Metroplex, close to DFW airport, and they have a fellowship hall and sanctuary that can provide space for rostered leader gatherings or other synod education events.

With the sale and paying off of the remaining debt on the Leadership Center building (approx. $500,000), this will also mean the synod is free of debt obligations as well. Thus reducing our facility costs by 50%. Our phone numbers and emails will remain the same. Starting May 1 you may send mail to Northern Texas-Northern Louisiana Synod, c/o Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 2620 W Grauwyler Rd, Irving TX, 75061.

Again, in this busy time God’s peace be with you and all who serve along with you.

#InMissionTogether,

Bishop Gronberg

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Briarwood Service of Thanksgiving and Transition

As Briarwood transitions, it will continue to fulfill its mission. And it is important to take time to give thanks for all the years and memories on the property at 670 Copper Canyon Rd, Argyle, TX 76226.

Sunday, April 16 – Worship begins at 3pm

Rain or Shine. Bishop Erik Gronberg preaching. Aaron Colwick and others providing music.

Please RSVP by April 10 so that we can prepare refreshments.

#InMissionTogether
Bishop Erik Gronberg

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Synod Assembly Registration and Hotel Deadlines

Additional updates have been made to the event page for our 2023 Assembly: https://www.ntnl.org/event/2023-nt-nl-synod-assembly/.

Registration for Assembly AND the hotel room block (at the guaranteed reduced rate) both close on Sunday, April 16, at 11:59pm Central. We highly recommend registering by the morning of Friday, April 14, so that if you need any support from synod staff with that process, there is time for us to respond. Friendly reminder: There will be NO on-site registration this year.

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Codex Sassoon on Display at SMU

SMU’s Bridwell Library and Sotheby’s invite you to view the Codex Sassoon in person:

April 18-20

Entry to the Codex Sassoon exhibit is FREE, but a ticket with a reserved time is REQUIRED.

Register here.

The rare 1,100-year-old Hebrew Bible will be exhibited in the United States for the first time at SMU’s Bridwell Library, the only university on the Codex Sassoon’s five-city international tour before it comes up for auction at Sotheby’s in New York in May.

The Bible, known as the Codex Sassoon, is named for its 1929 purchaser, David Solomon Sassoon, a renowned collector who assembled the most significant private collection of Judaica and Hebraica manuscripts in the world. The nearly 800-page Bible was carefully lettered by a master scribe in Hebrew on parchment. It includes 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, the earliest and most complete Hebrew Bible extant in the world.

Full details about the SMU exhibit can be found at the registration link.

For more information on the Codex Sassoon, please visit Sotheby’s online.

You can find the SMU press release here: World’s earliest most complete Hebrew Bible coming to SMU: Codex Sassoon will be displayed April 18-20 at SMU’s Bridwell Library.

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ELCA Advocacy Farm Bill Listening Sessions

The U.S. Congress is working to draft a new, five-year Farm Bill. “You may already know Farm Bill reauthorization is underway,” says John Johnson, ELCA Program Director for Domestic Policy. “This impacts all of us who eat, including those of us who struggle with hunger. Beyond our bellies, we’ll feel the impact of farm bill policy decisions through our vocations. Many of you work on farms, in businesses, and help to feed hungry people not only in the United States but around the world,” he observes.

The farm bill is legislation that is critical to addressing hunger in the United States and globally. It covers federal nutrition programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), environment, trade, foreign aid and rural development. The bill impacts the lives of Lutherans and their communities – among us are farmers and ranchers and Indigenous communities and global partners and low income Americans.

Congress is preparing to reauthorize the bill in 2023. Each reauthorization provides an opportunity to improve or expand programs that ensure access to fresh and healthy food while addressing root causes of hunger.

ELCA farm bill listening sessions are virtual gatherings where ministry leaders, members of congregations, and those with valuable lived experiences gather our opinions and experiences informed by faith values on stewardship, justice and serving our neighbor. This input will equip one another and the many communities of this church for farm bill advocacy that reflects those values, including our ELCA Witness in Society advocacy staff. These viewpoints, opportunities, concerns and hopes for a future farm bill will inform ELCA advocacy and help shape the ultimate law that Congress passes.

At this time, three 1.5-hour listening sessions are scheduled in April 2023. Register for any, but each session will feature some discussion specific to the region of a particular time zone.

• Eastern & Central Time Zone focus
  Tuesday, April 18 – 6 p.m. ET | 5 p.m. CT
  Register – https://bit.ly/ELCAfarmbilllisteningEasternCentral
  
• Pacific Time Zone focus
  Friday, April 21 – 12 noon PT (3 p.m. ET)
  Register – https://bit.ly/ELCAfarmbilllisteningPacific
• Mountain Time Zone focus
  Tuesday, April 25 – 6 p.m. MT (8 p.m. ET)
  Register – https://bit.ly/ELCAfarmbilllisteningMountain

Full details can be found here: https://blogs.elca.org/advocacy/elca-farm-bill-listening-sessions/

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Luther’s Small Catechism | El Catecismo Menor de Lutero

1517 Media (Augsburg Fortress) is now offering Luther’s Small Catechism / El Catecismo Menor de Lutero as a phone-based AND web-based app.

View the web-based app here: https://catechism.augsburgfortress.org/. | For the phone-based app, find download instructions here: https://www.augsburgfortress.org/store/product/9781506422237/Luthers-Small-Catechism-App.

Ver la aplicación basada en la web aquí: https://catechism.augsburgfortress.org/. Para El Catecismo Menor de Lutero, haz clic en Configuración y selecciona Español. | Para la aplicación para teléfono, encuentre las instrucciones de descarga (en Inglés) aquí: https://www.augsburgfortress.org/store/product/9781506422237/Luthers-Small-Catechism-App.

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Updates from Laura Slezak

Laura Slezak is the current ELCA missionary to Japan, in partnership with the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church. Here is her update from February, and here is her update from March.

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Courageous Leadership Series

Dear Faith Leaders,

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?

ELCA Coaching is experimenting and learning as we continue with our theme of COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP. Join us WEEKLY on Wednesdays at 1pm Central. There will be time for small groups in breakout rooms so that leaders across the church can learn from each other and leave each gathering with at least one action step.

For April 2023:
Week One (April 5) – Coaching – Choose Your Own Adventure (breakout rooms by topic)
Week Two (April 12) – Presenter(s) and Topic TBA
Week Three (April 19) – Kelly McGonigal – Surprising Facts About Stress
Week Four (April 26) – Presenter(s) and Topic TBA

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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How to Work with Sex Offenders in Your Congregation

Barbara Keller, ELCA Misconduct Prevention, is leading a one hour Zoom seminar on “How to Work with Sex Offenders in Your Congregation.” This session is open to all ELCA Rostered Ministers. Resources will be provided. Participants who have additional questions can remain on Zoom to ask directly. The call will be recorded for future use. Please register by emailing kate.schnaath@elca.org.

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Are You Using Canva?

There has been a growing interest in the use of Canva among our congregations. This is great, because Canva is an online graphic design and digital production platform that has made designing flyers, social media posts, and other products much easier than before. As a non-profit agency, congregations can use this tool for free. However, it’s important to list your congregation as the non-profit entity, not the ELCA. This is because the non-profit account limits the number of emails that can be associated with the account. If you have any questions, visit Canva.com/help and the company will be able to help you verify your status and get you set up.

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Warehouse Sale on Digital Pianos & Organs

Romeo Music, a music technology company out of Lewisville, is having a warehouse sale on digital pianos and organs, from April 17-21 at 122 E Valley Ridge Blvd Suite D, Lewisville, TX 75057. For more information, contact Vanessa at 214-244-4677 or vanessa@romeomusic.net. (Vanessa is also the director of music ministries at Abiding Grace Lutheran Church, Southlake.)