In This Edition
Message from Bishop Gronberg
Official Notice: 2023 NT-NL Synod Assembly
Updates from Portico Benefit Services
Intercultural Competence Training
Implicit Bias Training
RE:formation – Reimagining New Ministries
Grants for COVID Emergencies
10th Annual Herbener Lecture
MEF Grant Application Process Closes October 31
Clergy Ethics Online Course
Update from Laura Slezak
Courageous Leadership Series
FREE webinar: The 3 Biggest Problems in Kids Ministry & How to Solve Them
Celebration of Life: Bishop Philip L. Wahlberg
Memorial Service for Dailey Taylor
Save the Date: Service of Celebration of Ministry
Upcoming Events
Message from Bishop Gronberg
Dear NT-NL Leaders:
This past Wednesday night the story teller at my kids church told about Noah and the flood. He gave the kids little cocktail umbrellas and then used a spray bottle for rain. Those little umbrellas were no match and to their joyous laughter the kids got a bit wet.
While the children enjoyed the mist it was not lost on me how inadequate our abilities can often feel in the face of nature’s power. This past month we have seen hurricanes destroy homes and take lives in Puerto Rico and in Florida. I am so thankful that in response our synod disaster fund immediately could send $2,500 each to our partner synods. Yet in the face of such fury those funds can seem like cocktail umbrellas against a spray bottle.
With all we have been through the last several years as leaders we can feel that sense of inadequacy. From winter storms to just this past August we know the reality of flooding and the power of water against our attempts to contain it. We can feel literally and figuratively overwhelmed as we take honest looks at the sustainability of congregations across our territory. As we consider the history of synodical ministries like Briarwood and the future of camping ministry.
We have been and continue to serve in challenging times. And new situations arise that put to waste our best plans. Yet in the midst of this God continues to provide. New ministries are being started. The ordination of Pastor Veronika Czutor and the joining together of Bethany and Central give us hope for renewed vitality in that part of Dallas. We celebrate 75 years of God’s provision and gospel proclamation at Beautiful Savior-Amarillo and Calvary-San Angelo. These signs, like God’s rainbow after the flood, remind us we are never alone in this work. We do it together and most importantly we do it with God’s spirit guiding us.
So be encouraged in your work this fall. Enjoy the cooler temperatures that have come. Change is and always will be a part of God’s creation. And we rejoice in that for God continues to change us, and bring life from death.
In Christ,
Bishop Gronberg
Official Notice: 2023 NT-NL Synod Assembly
Save the Date! Our next NT-NL Synod Assembly will be April 28-29, 2023, in Shreveport, Louisiana. More details forthcoming.
Updates from Portico Benefit Services
Meet Your New Portico Regional Representative
After nearly a decade serving the ELCA as a Portico Regional Representative, Deacon Terri Endres put into practice much of what she’s been teaching and entered retirement. Starting October 3, our synod’s new Regional Rep will be Pastor Tim Schroeder. Tim most recently served at Peace Lutheran Church in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, and as a senior admissions counselor at Luther Seminary. While the Portico Customer Care Center (800.352.2628) remains the primary point of contact for benefit questions and processes, Portico’s Regional Reps provide education, encouragement, and a personal connection. Tim can be reached at tschroeder@porticobenefits.org.
Prepare for 2023 Annual Enrollment
As you prepare to make selections in October, keep these things in mind:
- The ELCA recommends two ELCA-Primary health benefit options: (1) Gold+, or (2) Silver+ with a monthly employer contribution to the member’s health savings account (HSA). Sponsoring employers will select the option they will offer their employees October 3-14. Your registered EmployerLink user can access the 2023 Decision Guide and their Custom Comparison Report to help determine 2023 costs and options. Note: any organization that does not make a selection will be assigned Silver+ (A) to offer their plan members the ability to choose the coverage that works best for them.
- Sponsored members, watch for an email from Portico with specific information about 2023 Annual Enrollment, including when your selection period will be open. Most – but not all – plan members will make their selection between October 20-27.
Invest in Your Emotional Health
Boost your emotional health this fall by joining a 30-minute webinar led by Learn to Live’s clinical team. Upcoming sessions focus on Managing Stress and Worry in Uncertain Times; Preserving Peace Throughout the School Year; and Building Stronger Social Connections. Learn more about these webinars offered throughout October, and use the code PORTICO to register.
Intercultural Competence Training
Offered by Wartburg Theological Seminary‘s Centro Teológico Luterano Multicultural (CTLM)
Vital Congregations – Vital Communities
This Intensive course is designed to enhance leadership competence in the development and support of Latinx ministries in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and among ecumenical partners. Those encouraged to attend are current practitioners, judicatory leaders, seminarians, church leaders planning to start new Latinx ministries, and those with coaching and/or supervisory roles among Latinx ministry leaders. Participants will explore foundational insights from socio-cultural, ecclesiastical, and historical Latinx experience, contextual theological tools, research results, diverse ministry models, and practical resources for new and existing congregations.
Presenter: Reverend Rubén Durán
- Wednesday October 12 – 5pm-8pm
- Thursday October 13 – 5pm-8pm
- Saturday October 15 –9am-12pm
This class will be delivered entirely as an online course.
Congregational fee: $600.00 | Individual fee: $250.00
Implicit Bias Training
For people who strive to see others as God sees them.
“We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of identity. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Research on “implicit bias” suggests that people can act on the basis of prejudice and stereotypes without intending to do so. While psychologists in the field of “implicit social cognition” study consumer products, self-esteem, food, alcohol, political values, and more, the most striking and well-known research has focused on implicit biases toward members of socially stigmatized groups, such as African-Americans, women, and the LGBTQIA2S+ community. For example, imagine Frank, who explicitly believes that women and men are equally suited for careers outside the home. Despite his explicitly egalitarian belief, Frank might nevertheless behave in any number of biased ways, from distrusting feedback from female co-workers to hiring equally qualified men over women. Part of the reason for Frank’s discriminatory behavior might be an implicit gender bias. Psychological research on implicit bias has grown steadily, raising metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical questions. – Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Training is FREE and open to the public.
Available online two dates and times: Monday, October 17, 2pm Eastern, OR Tuesday, October 18, 7pm Eastern
Offered by Kindling Faith: Center for Sabbath Rest and Formation (United Lutheran Seminary) and Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission
Click here for a flyer with full details.
RE:formation – Reimagining New Ministries
Isaiah 43:18-19 “Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?”
October 20 at 7:00 p.m. Central via Zoom
A virtual evening of inspiration for congregational leaders in the NT-NL Synod
How do you know if God is calling you to do something new? Who do you talk to when the Holy Spirit nudges at your heart? Do you have a passion to see new ministries emerge but aren’t sure what the next steps are to live into it?
You are invited to experience an evening of inspiring voices to help you envision what God is calling you to FORM. Bishop Erik Gronberg and DEM Irma Bañales, along with the Revs Sandy Chrostowski & Ruben Duran from the churchwide office, will host a one-hour web event to help you transform your ideas into action. Hear from fellow leaders who share a heart for the gospel and love for the people of God. Plan on walking away equipped to serve.
Goals:
· Hear stories from leaders who are forming new ministries
· Teach practical steps to start something new (ministry, event, worshiping community)
· Share specific leadership examples and traits that are helpful to get new things going
· Begin fostering a culture of planting new ministries
Please RSVP to irma@ntnl.org by Thursday, October 13. The Zoom link will be sent once we receive your confirmation.
Grants for COVID Emergencies
God’s mission in the world is served when vibrant leaders are supported in serving vital communities of faith.
Standing in the way of this goal is the heavy financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic experienced by many leaders and felt most profoundly by those serving in under-resourced communities.
Specifically, as a result of the pandemic, many leaders used up any personal savings they had built, had trouble affording housing or transportation, or had their work hours, salary, or retirement contributions reduced.
To accompany leaders through what has been and may continue to be a time of financial challenge, Resourceful Servants offers the Grants for COVID Emergencies program. Through a generous donation from the Lilly Endowment, Inc., this program provides up to 200 ELCA leaders with one-time grants of $1,000 and membership in the ELCA Federal Credit Union.
This program is open to ELCA rostered ministers as well as those who lead congregations but are not ordained (for example, synod-authorized ministers, non-ordained mission developers, and leaders of communities in the Vulnerable and Vital Network or Homeless and Justice Network).
The most important factor in your decision to apply should be your assessment of your experience of financial challenge as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding won’t completely resolve any financial crisis, but we hope it will give leaders some stability and further equip them to engage in ministry for the sake of the world.
Before applying, please review the Grants for COVID Emergencies overview booklet.
After you have read through the booklet, you may complete the program application.
The due date to complete the application is October 23, 2022. If the number of applicants exceeds the number of grants to be awarded, participants will be chosen through a random selection process conducted electronically. If you are selected as a participant, you will be notified via email by November 4. (https://resourcefulservants.org/rostered-ministers/covid-emergencies/)
10th Annual Herbener Lecture
Becoming More Human Through Worship
Sunday, October 30
Guest Lecturer: Rev. Peter W. Marty
Those who make a practice of committing their lives to worship discover, over time, something interesting. When they leave worship they see an “outside world” that is smaller and more paltry than they had thought. Its politics are puny, its consumerism is hollow, its care for the weak is peripheral. The very assumptions of what constitutes the “Real World,” assumptions that typically guide our lives as shoppers, scientists, social workers, and sales associates suddenly become undone once we realize how the grandeur and mystery of God make us more whole than the more cramped outside world. We can do all kinds of things on our own, quite independently and self-sufficiently, thank you very much. But what we can never become without worship is fully human. Worship is where we figure out who we get to be in the presence of a God who gives and gives, and always out of love.
Begins at 4pm
Dinner by reservation begins at 5:30pm
Sung Evening Prayer begins at 6:30pm
FREE ADMISSION: Free-will donation will cover dinner
For full details and to register: http://www.luthercenter-northtexas.org/
MEF Grant Application Process Closes October 31
The 2023 Mission Endowment Fund (MEF) grant application process opened on September 1: https://www.ntnl.org/ministries/mef/grant-application/. Click here to review the updated grant guidelines. For consideration for funding in 2023, the Mission Endowment Fund (MEF) grant application is due by October 31, 2022.
Clergy Ethics Online Course
Decisions made in ordinary moments can have long-term positive or negative consequences. Clergy and ministerial leaders are often expected to make all the right decisions AND have all the right answers. Is it time for you to renew your ethics training?
FOR NT-NL LEADERS, REMEMBER THAT BOUNDARIES TRAINING WITHIN THE LAST 3 YEARS IS EXPECTED, AND THIS WILL BE REQUIRED TO ACTIVATE AN RMP.
The 2-hour “Clergy Ethics and Congregational Boundaries” course from Safe Gatherings, which has just been updated, is just $29 per user and includes:
· Introduction and review of the definitions of ethics and boundaries, including the importance of a code of conduct
· Ethical challenges faced by church and ministry leaders today, including technology, addictive behaviors, sexual abuse and misconduct, boundary awareness and abuse prevention, dual relationships, confidentiality, plagiarism, use of resources, and abuse of power
· Reflection points and faith-based scenarios
· Consequences of unethical behavior
For full details and to register: https://safegatherings.com/learn-more/clergy-ethics/
Update from Laura Slezak
Laura Slezak is the current ELCA missionary to Japan, in partnership with the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church. Here is her update from September.
Courageous Leadership Series
Dear Faith Leaders,
ELCA Coaching is 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. 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 October 2022:
Week One (October 5) – Choose Your Own Adventure (breakout rooms by topic)
Week Two (October 12) – Deacon Jess Liles and Rev. Joe Liles – Digital Ministry
Week Three (October 19) – TBA
Week Four (October 26) – 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
FREE Webinar: The 3 Biggest Problems in Kids Ministry & How to Solve Them
Tithely has partnered with Playlister to offer a free webinar on November 1 at 1pm Eastern to help your childrens’ ministry thrive:
In this webinar, we’ll discuss the top three biggest challenges in kids’ ministry today–safety, burnout, and volunteers–along with solutions to solve for them that will save you time and relieve anxiety.
BUT that’s not all! The first 200 Tithely customers that sign up for Playlister will also receive a free Apple TV for their kids’ ministry, along with a free Playlister screen for a year! (Promo code shared in the webinar.)Sign up for the free webinar here.
Celebration of Life: Bishop Philip L. Wahlberg
A CELEBRATION OF LIFE
is scheduled for
Reverend Philip L. Wahlberg
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2022
2:00 p.m.
Gethsemane Lutheran Church
200 W. Anderson Lane
Austin, Texas 78752
A reception with light snacks will be provided following the Celebration event.
Those unable to attend or who are unavailable are encouraged to live-stream the service.
Live-streaming information will be on the Gethsemane website the day of the service: http://gethsemaneaustin.org
The following email address is provided for two purposes:
1. To notify the family and Gethsemane Lutheran that you are planning to attend and how many will be with you.
(If your plans change, it would be appreciated if you would use the email address to notify the family and congregation.)
2. To share a special memory of Pastor/Bishop Wahlberg for the family’s understanding of your connection with him.
Email: PLWAHL2022@gmail.com
Memorial Service for Dailey Taylor
A memorial service for Dailey Taylor, husband of Rev. Vicki Taylor, will be on Saturday, November 12, at 2pm, at King of Glory Lutheran, Dallas, TX.
The family requests that donations in honor of Dailey may be made to the NT-NL Mission Endowment Fund that will provide ongoing and sustaining missional support. You may donate online (https://tithe.ly/give_new/www/#/tithely/give-one-time/1183611 – select Mission Endowment Fund from the dropdown menu and notate “In honor of Dailey Taylor” in the Note/memo section) or by mailing a check, made out to “NT-NL Synod, ELCA” with “Mission Endowment Fund” in the memo line, to the synod office: NT-NL Synod, 680 Copper Canyon Rd, Argyle, TX 76226.
Save the Date: Service of Celebration of Ministry
The congregation of Calvary, Richland Hills, would like to invite you to Save the Date of Sunday, August 25, 2024, for a Service of Celebration of Ministry for the Reverend Phillip R. Heinze upon his retirement. This is tentatively scheduled for 4pm. We prayerfully hope that you will be able to join us. Details will be forthcoming.
Upcoming Events
With the ever-changing guidelines and recommendations in our world right now, as we maintain physical distance in social solidarity, please keep in mind these events may be moved online, postponed, or cancelled:
- Oct. 5: Courageous Leadership – Coaching – Choose Your Own Adventure (breakout rooms by topic), Zoom
- Oct. 6: Transitional Pastors monthly meeting, Zoom
- Oct. 7-8: 2022 NTNL-SWO Fall Retreat, St. Matthew, Waco
- Oct. 7-9: Fall 2022 LMM National Bold Gathering, Ashland, Nebraska
- Oct. 8: Public Witness Team meeting, Zoom
- Oct. 12: Courageous Leadership – Deacon Jess Liles and Rev. Joe Liles – Digital Ministry, Zoom
- Oct. 12-15: Intercultural Competence Training, Online
- Oct. 15: Parish Lay Ministry Academy, Fall 2022, Course 2, Hybrid
- Oct. 17: Implicit Bias Training, Online
- Oct. 18: Implicit Bias Training, Online
- Oct. 19: Courageous Leadership – TBA, Zoom
- Oct. 20: RE:formation – Reimagining New Ministries, Zoom
- Oct. 26: Courageous Leadership – TBA, Zoom
- Oct. 30: The Tenth Annual Herbener Lecture: Becoming More Human Through Worship, Dallas
For a complete list of upcoming events, you can access our Calendar of Events online.