![Preparing for Advent and Christmas: Preaching planning workshop [Image description: sepia-toned, slightly blurred photograph of an open Bible, a blank notepad, a pen, and some crumpled balls of paper on a desk. A pair of glasses sits atop the open Bible pages. The text is in black font.]](https://www.ntnl.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Preaching-workshop-Advent-Xmas.png)
September 17, 2015
Streng Leadership Center at Briarwood
“Back-to-School” season is not yet behind us, but Advent and Christmas will be here before we know it. Wouldn’t it be nice to have some help with that?
Pastor Kendra Mohn (Trinity, Fort Worth) will offer a seasonal preaching planning workshops on Thursday, September 17, which will focus on sermon and worship preparation for Advent and Christmas.
The workshop will be offered in-person, at the Streng Center at Briarwood, and online (link and password will be emailed to those registered).
All participants will have exclusive access to the video recording of the workshop.
Registration is $75 to attend in person, $50 to attend online. Register for the Preaching Planning Workshop here.
![NT-NL welcomes Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton | 2015 Bishop's Convocation, Oct. 26-28, Briarwoor Retreat Center [Image description: photo of Elizabeth Eaton, a white woman with short dark hair, smiling and leaning against a desk. She is dressed in a black skirt and black blouse with a clerical collar and a black blazer. She is wearing a large, golden bishop's cross. The right side of the image is a rad background with the title text in black; the event information is on the bottom right in white text.]](https://www.ntnl.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/2015-Bp-Convo-square-e1440103476364.png)
Registration now open! Register through Briarwood’s CampBrain website: briarwoodretreat.campbrainregistration.com
You will create an account to enter the system (or, if you have already registered yourself or someone else for a Briarwood event, use that same login information). Select “NT-NL Events” and then “Bishop’s Convocation.” (If you have questions about the registration process, please call Sharon at 940-241-2099 or email her at sharon@briarwoodretreat.org.)
Register soon! We are inviting our neighbors from the A-OK Synod to join us and our distinguished guest; if you want to stay at Briarwood register soon to snag your spot. “Overflow” housing will be available at a nearby hotel.
The Christ Evangelical Lutheran Mission Center at Briarwood will also host An Evening with the Presiding Bishop on Monday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 p.m. This event will be open to the public and will be live streamed; look for a bulletin insert and other promotional materials to be available soon.
![Lombard Mennonite Peace Center logo [Image description: stylized letters "LMPC"; the letter L is upper case, the other letters are lower case; the "m" sits inside the "L". The letter "p" has a cross rising from the vertical line of the "p" and an outline of a dive with a branch in its beak is in the circle of the "p", fwith its wings spread, flying downward.]](https://www.ntnl.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/lmpc-300x131.png)
Leadership and Anxiety in the Church:
A Family Systems Perspective
Presented by the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
King of Glory Lutheran Church
6411 LBJ Freeway, Dallas, TX
This workshop will help church leaders understand the roots of anxiety, the scapegoating process in church systems, triangles in relationships, and the importance of maintaining a non-anxious presence in the midst of conflict.
The coupon is for groups of four or more persons from the same congregation (no other groups, such as from a judicatory). To qualify for the discount, all individual registration forms for each person from the group must be mailed together with one check, no later than October 2, 2015.
Click here for brochure
Link to Church Group Discount Coupon (for groups of four or more from the same congregation)
Register online (for individual registrations, no group discount)
![A young adult's story of a year in Palestine. Contact AmyGulliksen@gmail.com to join the conversation. Offering hour-long, sacrament-inspired discussions following Sunday service." [Image description: photograph of a large tree in a field, with green grass. Brown hills can be seen in the distance. Above and below the image are black letterbox bars. The text is white script.]](https://www.ntnl.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/AmyGulliksen-e1438808459720.jpg)
Amy Gulliksen, member of Grace (Carrollton), recently returned to the U.S. after spending a year in Palestine as a Young Adult in Global Mission (YAGM) and is looking forward to speaking to congregations about her year in the Holy Land.
Please contact her at AmyGulliksen@gmail.com
Organizations are starting to consider which ELCA-Primary health benefit option to provide in 2016. You can prepare for a conversation about next year’s health benefits by thinking through how you’ve used benefits in 2015, and by understanding how benefits and costs will change next year.
Click here to see what’s changing in 2016.
Why Are Our Health Care Costs Going Up?
Join us for a webinar, Aug. 28, 10:30 – 11 a.m. (Central), to see what drives ELCA health contribution rates, such as market trends and our collective use of care. Invite other decision-makers to attend, too. Register here.
![Free Webinar: Campus Sexual Assault, A Roundtable Discussion - August 23, 2015, 11 a.m.-12 p.m. PT, FaithTrust Institute, www.FaithTrustInstitute.org [Image description: a yellow circle taking up most of the black background of the image, with the words written in black text.]](https://www.ntnl.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/campus-sexual-assault-300x300.jpg)
Join FaithTrust Institute’s webinar on August 25 to discuss the issue of Campus Sexual Assault with university faith leaders, including Rev. Dr. Lucy Forster-Smith of Harvard and Dr. Sara Koplik of Hillel at Univ. New Mexico.
What’s the role of the faith community in supporting what is one of the most active civil rights movements? How can we support victims and survivors? Bring your questions and ideas!
Register here: http://bit.ly/1IYykDn
Thanks to InFaith Community Foundation for sponsoring this roundtable conversation.
Partnering in Faith: A Multi-Faith Summit on Domestic Abuse
Sponsored by Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse and the Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council
Wednesday, Sept. 2 • Houston, TX
Leaders of religious communities are often the first to be called upon for support and guidance when domestic abuse occurs. This groundbreaking summit, guided by a local multi-faith Advisory Council, provides a forum for collaboration amongst faith leaders to increase safety, support, and restoration for victims of domestic abuse.
There is no cost to attend and lunch will be provided. It will be held at Depelchin Children’s Center in Houston. Register online.
Classifieds:
Downsizing ministry… I have half a dozen Friar Tuck clergy shirts (black and various colors – two Anglican collar type). These are neck size 17 ½. I no longer fit into them. I am looking for someone who may be “expanding” their ministry and have 16–17” neck sizes that no longer fit and would like to trade. Please contact Pr. Scott Zimmerer at RevSEZ@GraceLutheranTX.org.
Reminders:
- Table Talk: The Use of the Means of Grace, Sept. 29
- TLU Youth Worker Convo with Andrew Root, Sept. 26-27
- First Call Theological Retreat, Sept. 28-30
- Have you verified your contact info on our Pulpit Supply page?