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Featured Blog Post

NT-NL Leaders,

You may note that our March Leader news is being sent out on February 25th. That is because we know next week begins lent and an exceptionally busy season in your lives as leaders, lay and rostered. So we hope that by getting this to you today you will have time to note a few important things…

1) 2022 NT-NL Synod Assembly registration is ongoing and response has been strong. Note the early bird registration ends March 18th. Please get your assembly voting members registered as soon as you are able. Also we have now been able to confirm two hotel options for those desiring to stay close to the assembly site. We will have that hotel information posted on the event page as soon as we have received signed contracts from them.

2) This past week we had a good meeting with some NT-NL youth leaders regarding a summer event due to the cancellation of the ELCA gathering. There are a lot of different ideas for what to do but please keep your eyes out for potential options from both synod leaders and Briarwood Leadership Center.

3) We continue to seek a new director for the NT-NL Mission Endowment Fund. If you know someone with the gifts and callings to lead this important ministry of our synod, please encourage them to apply for this position by March 9th.

While we are grateful the Omicron wave of Covid-19 is in steep decline, the number of people dying from Covid-19 daily is still at significant levels. As you gather please do so aware of those who continue to minister and serve these individuals and their families. As so many things are “getting back to normal” it is easy to forget the reality of the suffering and grief around us. Lent is a good time to take a moment to slow down and reflect.

This has been a challenging season for us all. We look with hope to the future because we know the future is God. Knowing this we are called to live into our mission to serve and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. May God bless you in this work.

Bishop Gronberg

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Annual Rostered / Authorized Leader Report

If you are a Rostered Minister or Synodically Authorized Worship Leader, please complete this report to the bishop as soon as you are able: https://www.ntnl.org/annual-rostered-authorized-leader-report/.

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2022 Mission Support Report

Please have one leader from each congregation / worshiping community complete this report to the synod treasurer as soon as you are able: https://www.ntnl.org/mission-support/.

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2022 Synod Assembly Updates

You can register for Synod Assembly (April 29-30) here: https://tithe.ly/event-registration/#/4840947. Discounted pricing for registering early ends March 18.

We have negotiated room blocks and special rates with two nearby hotels. That information will be posted on the event page as soon as we have signed contracts from them.

Reminder: This will be an in-person only event. We will be taking pandemic precautions and be following the protocols of our host, King of Glory Lutheran Church (Dallas), and Dallas County. We appreciate your grace as we all navigate changing realities up to the last minute.

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MEF Executive Director Job Posting

The Executive Director of the Mission Endowment Fund is a part-time synod staff position responsible for working with the Board of Directors in oversight of this fund. The Executive Director position is appointed by the synod council, can be lay or rostered, and is accountable to the Board of the MEF and the Bishop of the NT-NL Synod. The individual needs to be organized, fluent in financial terminology, able to travel within the synod, a good connector, and work independently with little staff support while utilizing volunteer resources.

Click here for the full job description, which includes information on how to apply.

Applications are due by March 9, 2022.

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Briarwood Leadership Center conversation on Ukraine

Join Briarwood Leadership Center Director Robert Smith and University of North Texas Professor Vojin Majstorovic as they discuss the current conflict. (recorded February 17, 2022)

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Updates from Portico Benefit Services

COVID-19 At-Home Tests coverage: As of January 15, health plans are required to cover the cost of certain at-home test kits. Find details on this regularly updated page on myPortico.

Download and Share Hammar Tax Guides: Because congregations and clergy have unique reporting requirements, Portico offers complimentary access to two annually updated guides: Federal Reporting Requirements for Churches PDF and Clergy Tax Return Preparation Guide PDF.

Retirement Readiness On-Demand Series: Retirement may feel like (or even be) a long way off. Having a plan for retirement can increase confidence and peace of mind about the future. For those that missed the live Retirement Readiness Series workshops hosted by Fidelity, access to condensed video presentations is available here on myPortico. 

Questions? Reach out to the Customer Care Center at 800-352-2876 or your Portico Regional Representative, Deacon Terri Endres, at tendres@porticobenefits.org or  952-221-2000.

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“Houses of Hope” for Rural Congregations

Education Beyond the Walls (at Austin Seminary, a PCUSA theological school affiliated with one of our full communion partners) is excited to celebrate the Houses of Hope initiative for small town and rural congregations seeking to discover, or recover, hope in changing times. Houses of Hope is a place for people and congregations who feel restless, anxious, or stymied by how to best be the church in their communities, and curious about what their future stories might become. Small town and rural congregations in Texas and Oklahoma may apply through a discernment process. Those selected will engage in Building Hope, a year-long course of Christian practices and learning, ultimately growing to include their town or community. They will be partnered with a coach and with a small group of five other small town and rural congregations also discovering and sharing hope. This project is generously funded with a grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc.; selected congregations participate at no cost to themselves.

Gatherings of any size and from any location will be welcome to the Houses of Hope online community later this Fall when self-guided options become available.

Opportunities for gathering more information and keeping in the loop:

• Visit Our Houses of Hope.
• Join Our House online community.
• Drop them a line at info@ourhousesofhope.org.
• Attend one of the online Zoom information sessions offered Friday, March 11 at 10am, and Tuesday, March 22 at 6pm. (Reserve your spot via email at info@ourhousesofhope.org.)

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Courageous Leadership with ELCA Coaching

We are mixing things up in 2022 as we continue to experiment and learn. You are invited to join us WEEKLY on Wednesdays at 1pm Central to hear from various leaders across the Church. We will continue with our theme of COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP. We have invited various ministries to host these gatherings through this next year, so it will be different each week. There will usually be time for small groups in breakout rooms so that leaders across the church can continue to learn from each other and leave each gathering with at least one action step.

For March 2022:
Week One (March 2) – Coaching – Choose Your Own Adventure
Week Two (March 9) – ELCA Young Adults – Topic TBA
Week Three (March 16) – Josiah Benedict (Total Inclusion / Mission Builders) – Topic TBA
Week Four (March 23) – Jason O’Neill – How Are You? No, Really! Processing Grief
Week Five (March 30) – TBA

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?

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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FREE Courageous Faith Summit

25 voices | 5 days | April 4-8

 

How is our understanding of faith being reshaped, perhaps accelerated, by the pandemic? Do faith communities have a future and what kind of courage will that require? What kind of rituals will shape the future of spirituality? What are the big theological questions of our time? How do younger generations seek spirituality? Is there a future of courageous spirituality? If so, what does that look like?

In partnership with Homebrewed Christianity, Convergence will be speaking directly to faith leaders around the world who are leaning into this question with deep thinking and creative innovations. These are BIG questions, but it’s time to rethink everything. Join this five day summit and explore your own imagination as we create the future of spirituality together.

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21st Annual Bonhoeffer Lectures in Public Ethics