In This Issue
2020 Synod Assembly Location
Freed to Serve
Congregational Survey on Growing Stewards
Resources from Gathering First Fruits
Healthy Boundaries Training
MEF Save the Date Flyer & Bulletin Insert
Congratulations to Kristin Klade
FREE Women’s Clergy Shirts
Upcoming Ordination
Upcoming Events
2020 Synod Assembly Location
We are happy to share that we have confirmed Paul Quinn College in South Dallas for our 2020 Synod Assembly! We are excited to be hosted by the oldest HBCU (Historically Black College and University) in Texas, a college of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. This is an exciting partnership, and we look forward to our time together!
Freed to Serve
The Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary of Lenoir-Rhyne University has launched Freed to Serve, a program aimed at eliminating tuition costs for seminarians within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
“We know that many of our students come to seminary with debt from their undergraduate study,” said Rector and Dean of LTSS, the Rev. Dr. Mary Hinkle Shore. “We want to do everything we can not to add to that debt. This program is possible through the generosity of congregations, alumni, synods, and other donors who have earmarked their gifts specifically for student assistance.”
Freed to Serve funds will be available to full-time students of LTSS beginning in the fall of 2019. The scholarship provides full tuition support to ELCA members from any synod in the church. To be eligible, students must be in candidacy with their home synod. Freed to Serve scholarships will support those preparing for service on either the Word and Service or Word and Sacrament roster of ministers.
LTSS, founded in 1830, eventually found its permanent home in the Eau Claire neighborhood of north Columbia, South Carolina, in 1911. One of seven ELCA seminaries in the United States, LTSS is the only ELCA seminary in the southeast. It is now part of a thriving graduate campus of Lenoir-Rhyne University and also includes programs for students in counseling, occupational therapy, and human services. Rich in tradition and welcoming to seminarians from many denominations, LTSS boasts a dedicated, collegial faculty and a broad alumni base of distinguished regional and national church leaders. LTSS is designated as a Reconciling in Christ seminary and, as a seminary of the ELCA, is positioned to faithfully serve the synods of Region 9.
To learn more about Freed to Serve scholarships or to pursue studies at LTSS, contact The Rev. Jennifer L. Shimota, coordinator of seminary enrollment, at jennifer.shimota@lr.edu or 803.461.3297, or visit lr.edu/apply.
Congregational Survey on Growing Stewards
In his second letter to the church in Corinth, the apostle Paul challenged the believers there to re-imagine what it would be like for them to live out God’s grace through a spirit of generosity, gratitude, and sacrifice for the sake of others. This spirit of grace and gratitude can be discovered and nurtured in your congregation through participation in the Congregational Survey on Growing Stewards offered by the ELCA at no cost to congregations. This tool can help you understand how people in your faith community relate to discipleship, gratitude, generosity, and sharing so that you might grow good stewards. Please contact Neil Bullock for more information at 800-638-3522 (ext. 2884) or via email.
Resources from Gathering First Fruits
For the last decade, the Lilly Endowment has been funding work related to the dramatic changes in the economics of ministry. Grantees, including the ELCA churchwide organization, synods, and seminaries, have delved into issues such as inadequate personal/congregational financial literacy; economic realities of pastoral life including high educational debt, low pay and shrinking church budgets; underdeveloped theological understandings of faith and money; and the shroud of secrecy and shame surrounding conversations about money in the church. Watch presentations from Lilly’s “Gathering First Fruits: National Summit on the Economics of Ministry” event earlier this year, including University of Notre Dame Professor Matt Bloom on Fostering Wellbeing in Ministry, and a panel discussion on the larger economy featuring Marriott CEO (and lifelong Lutheran) Arne Sorenson.
Healthy Boundaries Training
Boundary Training: Healthy Relationships in Ministry
Monday, September 9 – 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
University Christian Church, 2720 S. University Dr., Fort Worth, TX
This Brite Divinity School training will cover such things as: discerning the importance of healthy boundaries for building community; identifying behavior in self and others that can potentially compromise healthy relationships; developing professional ethics that sustain ministry; examining the dynamics in communities where clergy misconduct has occurred; and creating strategies for maintaining healthy relationships with self, others, and God. This workshop is intended to meet boundary training criteria for ministerial standing; however, it is the participant’s responsibility to verify with their judicatory whether or not this workshop satisfies professional standing requirements.
A certificate will be given at the end of the workshop for six contact hours of continuing education in boundary training.
The workshop will be led by Dr. Timothy Robinson, Alberta H. and Harold L. Lunger Associate Professor of Spiritual Disciplines and Resources, at Brite and Rev. Christy Drechsel, Regional Executive, Christian Church in the Southwest (Disciples of Christ).
Registration is $20 for the day and does not include lunch. Online registration at: www.brite.edu/boundary. For more information, call 817.257.7589 or email h.neal@tcu.edu.
MEF Save the Date Flyer & Bulletin Insert
You are cordially invited to the 2019 NT-NL Mission Endowment Fund’s “Seeds That Change” FUNdraiser and Celebration!
The theme is “Share the Harvest.”
➢ You’re guaranteed a fun evening, complete with a meal of heavy hors d’oeuvres and beverages of your choice, including beer, wine, and soft drinks.
➢ Meet grant recipients and see the good the MEF does!
➢ Participate in live and silent auctions!
➢ Win drawings, gift cards, and prizes throughout the night!
➢ Be entertained by the exciting ethnic dance company Mexico Lindo!
All this for a single admission of $35, or a table for 8 for only $250! For tickets or to donate: https://www.ntnl.org/ministries/mef/seeds-fundraiser/.
Download a Save the Date bulletin insert.
Download a Save the Date flyer.
Congratulations to Kristin Klade
The Rev. Kristin Klade, and her husband John, welcomed Winifred Jeanne Klade on June 17!
FREE Women’s Clergy Shirts
Five 16” neckband collar | One 16.5” regular collar | Friar Tuck brand
If interested, contact Calvary Lutheran, Richland Hills, with your name, phone number, and mailing address, and they’ll mail the shirts to you. First come, first served.
Lauren Lys, Admin. Assistant | calvary@calvaryftw.org | 817-284-8724
Upcoming Ordination
Sarah Derrick, called to serve Faith, Flower Mound, will be ordained on August 16 in Lexington, SC.
Upcoming Events
Here are leadership highlights:
Aug. 10: Public Witness Team monthly meeting, Arlington, TX
Aug. 17: WELCA Annual Women’s/Girl’s Retreat, Grand Prairie, TX
Aug. 17: TUNE UP Worship Band Gathering, Sugar Land, TX
Aug. 31: ELCA Generosity Project workshop, Keller, TX
Sep. 8: “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday
Sep. 9: Boundary Training: Healthy Relationships in Ministry, Fort Worth, TX
Sep. 9: The Church of the Damascus Road Golf Outing, Fort Worth, TX
Sep. 13: Briarwood Golf Outing, Flower Mound, TX
Sep. 19-21: Synod Council Retreat, Argyle, TX
Sep. 20-21: The Art of Resilience: Latinx Public Witness for Troubled Times, Dallas, TX
Sep. 20-22: Middle School Retreat, Argyle, TX
Sep. 20-22: 2019 Addiction and Faith Conference, Bloomington, MN
Sep. 28: Panhandle Conference: Mental Health and Faith, Lubbock, TX
For a complete list of upcoming events in, and important to, our Synod, you can access our Calendar of Events online.