In This Issue
ELCA Coach Training
ELCA Youth Gathering Registration Deadline
Annual Congregational (Parochial) Reports
Portico 2018 Live Well Challenge
Sundays and Seasons Survey
Assembly Nominations due ASAP
LSTC VP for Administration Position
2018 Mission Support Form
Congregational Remittance Form
Annual Report to the Bishop
Upcoming Events
ELCA Coach Training
Following up on the learning from our experience at NT-NL Leadership Convocation, we will be hosting an ELCA Coach Training event Monday-Tuesday, February 26-27, 8am-5pm both days. This will be an opportunity to learn more about coaching and begin the process (for those who desire) towards coaching certification. The event is limited in size (we are currently full but have begun a wait list in case we have any cancellations – email jason@ntnl.org to be added) and will be heavily subsidized by the ELCA and DiscipleLife Endowment Funds. The cost per person is only $100 for NT-NL members or $350 for all others. This cost will assist with materials and presenters and invites commitment from participants. Lodging options and costs are also available via Registration.
ELCA Youth Gathering Registration Deadline
The regular registration rate ends on February 15. Contact janellemiller@yahoo.com with any questions.
Annual Congregational (Parochial) Reports
We encourage you to file online. In either case, completed forms must be submitted by February 15, 2018.
Electronic filing
If you have access to the Internet, you can file the Annual Congregational Report Forms online. To complete Forms A and C, go to ELCA.org/congregationreport and type in your Congregation ID number and Password (found on the top right of Form A). After you have finished entering your data, you should print a PDF copy of both forms for your records.
Paper filing
If you do not file electronically, complete the paper forms and mail them to your synod office (the address can be found on the bottom right of Form C). Since only one copy of each form is included in this packet, make a copy for use as a worksheet before you begin. Remember to copy the completed forms for your records before returning the originals to your synod office.
Click here for complete General Instructions.
Portico 2018 Live Well Challenge
ELCA-Primary members and spouses, Portico’s 2018 Live Well Challenge invites you to strengthen your physical and financial well-being, and earn up to $400 wellness dollars!
Complete Your Biometric Screening by Nov. 30: Earn $200
This year, Portico is offering a more objective way to assess your physical health. A biometric screening gives you the facts about your health strengths and risks, so that you can discuss potential concerns with your doctor and make the right choices for you. Submit basic physical measurements (height, weight, blood pressure, waist circumference) and a blood sample, and in return, you’ll receive detailed results in a personalized booklet. Visit one of 2,200 Quest Patient Service Centers for your screening (by Nov. 30), or have your doctor gather your information and submit a form to Quest (by Nov. 15).
Learn about biometric screening.
Save or Implement Your Retirement Plan by Nov. 30: Earn $200
Creating and updating a retirement savings plan over time is how people save for the retirement they want. Portico’s Retirement Planning Tool is designed to help you create a customized retirement savings plan by combining information in our system with information you provide. Annually, it helps you determine if adjustments are needed, like increasing your savings, reallocating assets, or changing your planned retirement date. While the tool is easy to use, we know retirement planning can feel complicated and encourage you to cobrowse the tool with one of our in-house financial planners, at no out-of-pocket cost to you.
- Before you begin, gather financial statements for retirement accounts you hold outside the ELCA Retirement Plan.
- If you saved or implemented a plan last year, the tool retains any non-ELCA account information you previously entered.
- Save or implement your new or updated plan to earn wellness dollars.
Learn about the Retirement Planning Tool.
What Are Wellness Dollars?
Wellness dollars help you pay for eligible out-of-pocket medical, mental health, and dental costs, including doctor bills, glasses or contact lenses, and prescription drugs. Wellness dollars are credited to your personal wellness account or health savings account (HSA) within approximately two weeks of earning them.
Sundays and Seasons Survey
Dear Partners in Ministry:
We at Augsburg Fortress are beginning to plan for the next 3-year cycle of Sundays and Seasons worship planning resources (2020-2022). We would like to hear about what content you find most useful, and what we could add or improve in the future.
This survey is fairly comprehensive, and may take up to 30 minutes to complete, depending on the amount of detail you wish to provide in responses to several open-ended questions. Thank you in advance for your time and for your honest and constructive responses.
Near the end of the survey you will have an opportunity to provide the names and contact information for people you think would be excellent contributors and/or reviewers of Sundays and Seasons content (maybe you?).
Thank you for your anticipated feedback. We value your partnership in this ministry of publishing.
–The Sundays and Seasons editorial team
Assembly Nominations due ASAP
Elections at the Assembly
Synod Treasurer (4 year term)
Synod Council Positions (nominees come from the related conference – 4 year term)
Heart of Texas Conference – Lay Male and Lay Female (one 35 or under, and one 36 or over)
Conference Out West – Lay Male and Lay Female (one 35 or under, and one 36 or over)
Eastern Conference – Ordained
Latin@/Hispanic – Ordained
ELCA Churchwide Voting Members
Rostered Minister of Word and Sacrament – Female
Rostered Minister of Word and Sacrament – Male
Lay Female (preferably 35 or younger)
Lay Female (36 or older)
Lay Male (preferably 35 or younger)
Lay Male (36 or older)
To be considered for the slate of nominees for the ELCA Churchwide Assembly by the Synod’s Nominating Committee, please submit your vita ASAP. Please note the Nominating Committee will be building a slate that will hopefully represent all areas, ethnicities, and genders of the Synod. If you do not make the slate, you have the right to have your name submitted by a registered voting member of the assembly to the assembly floor, and a vita and photo will be needed at that time.
The next ELCA Churchwide Assembly will be August 5-10, 2019, in Milwaukee, WI.
ELCA Church Council Members (nominees to be then voted on at the 2019 Churchwide Assembly)
TWO Rostered Ministers of Word and Sacrament
The NT-NL Synod is paired with the Arkansas Oklahoma (AOK) Synod in continuing resolution 19.02.C05. for the purpose of nominating two persons to the ELCA Church Council to be elected by the 2019 Churchwide Assembly. The nominating committee has assigned the category of Minister of Word and Sacrament to our synod for nomination.
We are looking for people who would bring a commitment to the work of this church in all of its expressions. It is important that those nominated can work with the other members of the Church Council in assuming the governance role that has been assigned to the council.
This means that our 2018 Synod Assembly will select two persons who fit this category. These persons will then be nominated to the Churchwide Assembly, which will elect one to a six-year term on the Church Council, beginning upon the conclusion of the 2019 Assembly.
The process that our synod uses to identify and nominate these people is not described in the constitution. What is required is that the Synod Assembly nominates them. That means there will need to be a vote of the assembly to place these two people in nomination. Once these names are presented to the assembly in Milwaukee, there is not provision for nominations from the floor for this position. The two people we nominate from our 2018 Synod Assembly will be the only two on the ballot for the 2019 Churchwide Assembly.
LSTC VP for Administration Position
The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) is seeking candidates for Vice President for Administration.
The Vice President for Administration is primarily responsible for stewarding the efficient and effective operation of this institution’s financial and physical resources, including those persons
employed to serve and support all aspects of its mission. The Vice President attends to this with a significant focus upon preserving the financial soundness of the seminary, while also realizing
other missional considerations are relevant. The Vice President serves as strategic advisor to the President and the Board of Directors, recommending the overall administrative goals, policies,
programs, and practices that will develop a sustainable economic model for ensuring the long-term viability of the seminary.
This position emerges from a reorganization that brings together previously separated finance and operations offices – partly to improve workflows and gain efficiencies, but mostly to seek
more unified, innovative, and strategic oversight of the many different institutional resources that support the core educational mission of the seminary. Having recently implemented major
improvements in reporting and forecasting (including software, accounting, policy, and staffing changes to support this), but still weathering financial stresses well-known across the field of
graduate theological education, we seek a Vice President who can help bring us to the next level of financial responsibility and planning.
For a full job description, please go to: https://www.lstc.edu/about/resources/employment
The mission of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is to form visionary leaders to bear witness to the good news of
Jesus Christ. We seek to build up the Body of Christ and work for a world of peace and justice that cares for the whole creation. LSTC is Christ-centered, responsive to its context, attentive
to diversity and committed to excellence.
Resumes should be submitted to Tom Utroske at Blue Note Search, tutroske@bluenotesearch.com.
2018 Mission Support Form
The 2018 Mission Support Form is now available on our website as a printable document and as an online form. Please submit after your congregational meeting.
Congregational Remittance Form
Beginning February 1, please use the Congregational Remittance Form on our website and submit directly to the Synod office. You may also access a printable form here. Friendly reminder that we are transitioning from MIF processing back to internal processing to continue to be good stewards of our resources.
Annual Report to the Bishop
The Annual Rostered / Authorized Leader Report for 2017-2018 is available online and should take no longer than 15-20 minutes to complete. Please file your report by April 15.
Upcoming Events
Here are leadership highlights:
Feb. 10: MEF Board meeting
Feb. 10: NT-NL African American History Celebration
Feb. 11-13: Lutheran Legislative Event
Feb. 24: Senior Fest 2018 (AOLA)
Feb. 25-27: LSTC Seminary Sampler
Feb. 26-27: ELCA Coach Training
Mar. 2-4: Spring Retreat for 4th, 5th, & 6th graders
Mar. 2-4: Peer Ministry (9th-12th graders)
Mar. 9-10: The Role of the Church in Undoing Racism
Mar. 17: PLMA, Spring 2018, Course 1
Apr. 3-5: Pathways to Generosity: Signs of Hope
Apr. 6-8: Pre-Gathering Event (youth)
Apr. 20-22: Family Retreat (all ages)
Apr. 21: PLMA, Spring 2018, Course 2
Apr. 21: 2018 Regional Interfaith Conference, Lubbock, TX
Apr. 27-28: 2018 Synod Assembly, Temple, TX
For a complete list of upcoming events in, and important to, our Synod, you can access our Calendar of Events online.