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Christmas/Epiphany Appeal for Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sierra Leone

Dear NT-NL Leaders:

The global Covid-19 pandemic has changed our lives in profound ways both here in the United States and abroad. In Sierra Leone our partners in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sierra Leone have been steadfastly working to educate communities about health practices and particularly how viruses spread, provide economic opportunity for young people and women, and most importantly proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ, inviting others into life together. Because of their work during the Ebola crisis, the ELCSL is known and respected by community members, the Sierra Leone government, and NGOs.

Throughout 2020 I have shared with you ways that NT-NL has been able to financially support this work because of your generous gifts. Under Bishop Moses Kobba Momoh’s leadership, these gifts have gone to support programs aimed at developing the people of the church and country. Bishop Momoh has made several requests for funding of specific programs which you have supported with $27,000 in special gifts beyond our quarterly support for the ELCSL (the pictures in this post demonstrate some of the ways those funds have gone to use). I am so grateful when we can respond to these requests in a timely fashion. However, to do so in 2021 we need to replenish our designated fund for support of the ELCSL.

With our NT-NL Synod Executive team’s approval, we are inviting congregations to consider a special gift for the ELCSL designated fund during the Christmas and Epiphany festivals. As we celebrate the light of Christ coming among us it is appropriate to consider how we might share God’s abundance with our friends and fellow co-workers in the gospel in Sierra Leone. The NT-NL and ELCSL have had a strong and powerful partnership for over 30 years. Thank you for considering a special gift during this season. You can make that donation online [select “Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sierra Leone (ELCSL)”] or by sending the funds directly to the NT-NL office (680 Copper Canyon Rd, Argyle, TX 76226) and indicate ELCSL.

As you prepare for this Christmas like no other, know you are in my prayers, and while we wait, we do so in the hope and promise of the one who is to come, Immanuel, God with us.

In Mission Together:

Bishop Erik Gronberg

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Rooted Good’s Oikos Accelerator Letter of Invitation

Are you a congregation that has property or a building and is wondering how to make the best use of it? Is your congregation interested in increasing its impact in the community while also strengthening its financial resilience? The Oikos Accelerator might be just the right fit!

The Oikos Accelerator empowers congregations around the US to align money and mission by creatively using their buildings and property to further their mission and build financial resilience. This is particularly important during this age of COVID-19. By the end of the Oikos Accelerator, each organization will effectively design and launch a social enterprise that utilizes their church property in some form. Specifically, the Oikos Accelerator will help congregations:

• Understand your church’s changing context in terms of your ministry, local community, and financial model.
• Imagine how your core mission and theology shapes the use of buildings and property in light of this changing context.
• Bring your whole congregation on this journey together.
• Expand your capacity to experiment, try new things, learn from failure, and try again.
• Experiment with new, innovative uses of buildings and property that both further your mission and generate income.
• Launch a social enterprise utilizing your church property.

As part of the Oikos Accelerator churches will be:

1. Equipped with RootedGood tools and resources
2. Trained through our online accelerator course
3. Prepared to pitch your project to donors and funders
4. Connected to a greatly expanded network of learning partners and resource providers

The Oikos Accelerator will run for approximately fifteen months from March 2021 through May 2022. Fifty congregations will be selected for participation. Thanks to grant funding, the cost for participation is only $500 (even though the value of the program is more than $12,500). We are accepting applications on a rolling basis beginning in December through the first part of 2021. See the invitation letter for full details, which includes a link to the application.

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TLU’s Christmas Vespers

Christmas Vespers 2020, “Sing Darkness to Light,” marks the 80^th anniversary of this sacred service of music and word by the TLU Choirs and TLU instrumentalists. The pandemic has impacted the performing arts in a profound way, making live performances difficult and dangerous. Indeed, singing is one of the most dangerous activities during the coronavirus; but the TLU students have been dedicated to rehearsing and making music in a new normal. All vocal/wind/brass students rehearse in 30-minute blocks with no more than 9 students in the rehearsal at a time with a one hour vacancy before and after each rehearsal. All singing and playing is done masked and at a distance. Making music in this environment is difficult, but the students and faculty meet the challenge with commitment and passion.

This virtual Christmas Vespers will use some clips from Christmas Vespers 2019 in addition to performances recorded this semester during the coronavirus. You will see a stark difference between where our world was almost a year ago and today. No recording can take the place of a live performance; but, we hope that it will bring a bit of peace and light into your world.

A link to view the performance virtually on TLU’s YouTube channel will be available on Friday, December 4.

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Bold Gathering Online

Elvaughn Miles Riley was born and spent most of his life around Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Born into the Lutheran Church, his home congregation is Hephatha Lutheran, and he was a 3 year Lutheran camp counselor. He served our country and is a 5 year Navy veteran. Currently he is a community advocate, in school for political science, and working on a heavy equipment/machinery license.

Stories From The Heart – Bold Gathering
December 12 at 11am Central

Six speakers will be sharing their experiences and insights

No cost to register and watch from your own home
(donations are welcomed)

To Register, Click Here

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2020 Annual Report Covers

The new 2020 annual report covers are now available. Both can be found in the Stewardship resources here: https://www.elca.org/Resources/Stewardship#Leadership.

Direct links:

Pages version: https://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/2020_Annual_Report_cover.pdf

Spreads version: https://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/2020_Annual_Report_cover_spread.pdf

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Weekly Online Gatherings for ELCA Leaders

BEING CHURCH

Wednesdays, 1PM Central

This month’s schedule:

December 2 – The Sacred Work of Grief, Part 4: Sharing Grief in Community – Rev. Solveig Nilsen-Goodin

December 9 – NO GATHERING THIS WEEK

December 16 – Growing Young: Empathy – Rachel Alley and others

December 23 & 30 – NO GATHERINGS THESE WEEKS

You are invited to join this weekly online gathering designed to provide encouragement and support for ELCA leaders across the church. Participants will hear topical presentations related to how we are called to be Church, as well as have an opportunity to be in small group discussions with an ELCA group coach facilitating the conversation. This is where the magic happens. All of this is designed to help us process our emotions and thus create a space where we can each name our next most faithful step forward in our unique context. You are welcome to share this invitation with any other ELCA leader, rostered or lay. #ELCAChurchTogether

How have we been church, with individuals and with communities? How are we being church? How are we called to be church with all people, with creation, and in an ever-changing world?

We understand a number of folks are unable to make this day and time each week. We record the main session and the wrap-up time. We share each recording with supporting documents here by the following week: https://www.elcacoaching.org/podcasts/media.

You can find the login information and a list of upcoming topics and presenters on the home page of the ELCA Coaching website: https://www.elcacoaching.org/.

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MEF Grant Application Deadline Extended

Due to the continuing uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, the deadline for 2021 NT-NL Mission Endowment Fund grant applications has been extended to January 6, 2021. Email or call Linda Ness, Executive Director, with any questions you may have (mef@ntnl.org or 682-429-3446). Grants are determined by the MEF Board in February and awarded by early March each year. The guidelines and applications are available at this link: https://www.ntnl.org/ministries/mef/grant-application/.

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YAGM Application Now Open

Applications for the ELCA’s Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) program are now being accepted, and you can invite young adults on this journey abroad for the 2021-2022 program year.

If you know young adults ages 21 to 29, this is the time to reach out. Encourage them to apply for YAGM by the deadline of Jan. 15, 2021. Talk to them personally about what this opportunity will mean for their faith, identity, career and understanding of God’s work in the world.

YAGM volunteers will begin in August 2021 and will be placed in one of the country programs. As YAGM continues to monitor the COVID-19 situation and we communicate with our global companions, please know that the list of country programs for the 2021-2022 service year may change.

Through YAGM, young adults will learn what it means to serve in a spirit of accompaniment as they walk alongside global church companions. They’ll become immersed in a new community and form deep relationships. And they’ll confront issues of wealth and poverty, racial privilege, gender privilege, economic disparity and globalization, all through the lens of faith. Learn more at ELCA.org/YAGM.

Young adults will find relevant opportunities for professional experience, including:

• Health and human rights: health care, HIV and AIDS, homelessness, immigration and refugees
• Education: fine arts, youth education, childhood education, working with people living with disabilities
• Environmental justice: agriculture and farming, development, environment
• Professional support: office work, communication, technology, finance
• Congregational ministry: children’s ministry, Christian education, youth ministry, congregational ministry, camp ministry

Around the world, host families, churches, workplaces and communities are ready to welcome YAGM volunteers.

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2021 Tri-Theological Conference

The 2021 Tri-Theological Conference with Professor Michael DeJonge

Co-sponsored by the Southwest Texas Synod, Gulf Coast Synod, Northern Texas-Northern Louisiana Synod, and Briarwood Leadership Center

Dietrich Bonhoeffer in conversation with his twin sister, Sabine

Bonhoeffer, Struggle, and Resistance
Monday, January 25, 2–4pm (all times Central)

The life of Lutheran pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945) is often interpreted through his participation in plots to assassinate Adolf Hitler. While his prayer and discernment led him to that point, his call for direct resistance to unjust actions of the state began much earlier. This session will introduce Bonhoeffer, his context, and his increasing calls for resistance, both within the church and in direct word and action against the state.

Bonhoeffer the Lutheran
Tuesday, January 26, 10am–Noon

Bonhoeffer has become a broadly popular figure throughout western Christianity. His stance against Adolf Hitler, the Third Reich, and accommodating elements within German Christianity cost him his life. Studies of his life and thought, however, have not always taken into account the specificity of his Lutheran commitments. How, for instance, does Lutheranism inform Bonhoeffer’s approach to pacifism and violence? What can that teach Lutherans about our tradition today?

Bonhoeffer’s Politics and Our Own
Tuesday, January 26, 2–4pm

Bonhoeffer is often referenced when people are seeking faithful responses to political crises. All sides of the US political spectrum have wondered if we are in a “Bonhoeffer moment.” Bonhoeffer’s historical, political, and cultural context was quite distinct from the early 21st-Century United States. In what ways can Bonhoeffer’s theological commitments help interpret political realities today? How can those insights inform faithful leadership and proclamation in the midst of current struggles?

Cost: $75 ($50 early-bird special until December 18)
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

Download a flyer here to share.

Michael P. DeJonge is Professor and Chair of Religious Studies at the University of South Florida. He researches the history of Christian thought and issues involving religion and politics.

DeJonge has been a Fulbright Scholar, a Fellow of the Berlin Program for Advanced German and European Studies, a Volkswagen/Mellon Fellow at the Leibniz-Institute for European History in Mainz, Germany, and Visiting Dietrich Bonhoeffer Professor of Theology and Ethics at Union Theological Seminary in New York.

His scholarship has focused on the twentieth-century German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, with monographs including Bonhoeffer’s Theological Formation (Oxford, 2012), Bonhoeffer’s Reception of Luther (Oxford, 2017), and Bonhoeffer on Resistance: The Word Against the Wheel (Oxford, 2018).

Event Structure

The conference organizers intend for this event to be directly relevant to your daily vocation and service in church and society. We are seeking to foster sustained, engaged conversation in addition to providing important content in Prof. DeJonge’s presentations.

Each of the conference’s scheduled sessions will include a breakout opportunity. In order to facilitate focused conversation, our request is that you come to the breakout session with one overarching question and one significant quote from the text assigned for that session.

Feel free to emphasize your personal responses and commitments as you engage the text. Our conversations will be enriched if you choose quotes that resonate with you and craft questions that are open-ended (questions that can’t be answered with a simple “yes” or “no”).

Like you, Bonhoeffer was a Christian leader deeply engaged with and challenged by his context. Your personal reflections on your life of service will carry us forward throughout our time together.

Intended Audience

This gathering is open for all people interested in the overarching topic, both lay and rostered. Our two-hour sessions will be structured to include a significant presentation from Prof. Michael DeJonge, ample time for discussion in breakout sessions, and time for sharing in plenary. Each session will have options for compact but in-depth reading intended to enrich conversation throughout the event.

This will be an online event. Full details can be found here: https://www.ntnl.org/event/2021-theological-conference/.