High School Gathering
January 18-19, 2020
Mount Olive, Dallas
9th-12th graders from around NT-NL will gather for a weekend of fellowship, worship, service, and a great speaker — D.J. Dent! Register by December 11 for a reduced fee! Click here for full details and to register.
Young Adults in Global Mission
Applications for the ELCA’s Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) program are now open, and you can invite young adults on this year-long journey abroad.
If you know young adults age 21 to 29, this is the time to reach out. Encourage them to apply for YAGM by the priority deadline of Jan. 15, 2020. Talk to them personally about what this opportunity will mean for their faith, identity, career, and understanding of God’s work in the world. You can also print out this poster to display in your congregation or ministry space.
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.
Volunteers will be placed in one of ten country programs:
Argentina and Uruguay
Australia
Central Europe
Jerusalem and the West Bank
Madagascar
Mexico
Nepal
Rwanda
Senegal
United Kingdom
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 with disabilities or who are differently abled
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.
Don’t wait — spread the word now! The priority deadline is Jan. 15, 2020. Applications will be open until Feb. 15, 2020.
Featured MEF Grant Recipient in 2019
The Mission Endowment Fund of NT-NL granted $80,000 in 2019 to underfunded or start up ministries in our Synod. New grants in the amount of $82,000 will be awarded in February 2020. Contact Linda Ness, mef@ntnl.org with questions.
This is the story of one of the ministries funded in 2019:
2019 MEF Grant Recipient – Mosaic
Equine therapy, horse finger-painting(!), Easter egg hunts, Valentine’s, Luau, and swim parties, movie nights, and eating out! All these “meaningful life experiences” are provided with care and compassion to the developmentally disabled clients of Mosaic with the help of the financial grant from the Mission Endowment Fund. Mosaic was formed July 1, 2003 by the consolidation of two Nebraska-born Lutheran ministries dedicated to the needs of people with disabilities. Bethphage began in 1913 in Axtell, Nebraska, and Martin Luther Homes began in 1925 in Sterling, Nebraska.
Mosaic has more than 100 years of experience loving and serving their neighbor, including people who had nowhere else to turn, especially people with disabilities. Financial support provided through the Mission Endowment Fund grant has allowed Mosaic to provide educational and enriching experiences for those Mosaic serves. Continue reading.
Featured Resources for December
Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust expresses ELCA teaching on human sexuality. The statement is grounded in the biblical witness to the relationship God establishes with creation as a model for relationships between human beings. God is absolutely trustworthy and faithful, and, therefore, with regard to sexuality, both human behavior and social structures are considered in relation to how they foster trust, commitment and protection for the flourishing and well-being of all people. In light of human sexuality as a gift and a trust, the statement considers the ways social structures and institutions shelter, sustain and protect personal, family and social relationships of love and trustworthiness.
With that as our context, we want to make you aware of these helpful resources from our full communion partners with the United Church of Christ (UCC):
Our Whole Lives, together with Sexuality and Our Faith, helps participants make informed and responsible decisions about their relationships, health and behavior in the context of their faith. It equips participants with accurate, age-appropriate information in six subject areas: human development, relationships, personal skills, sexual behavior, sexual health, and society and culture. It provides not only facts about anatomy and human development, but helps participants to clarify their values, build interpersonal skills and understand the social, emotional and spiritual aspects of sexuality.
Our Whole Lives is a series of sexuality education programs for six age groups: grades K-1, grades 4-6, grades 7-9, grades 10-12, Young Adults and Adults. The resources are written by professional sexuality educators and provide accurate information for parents, teachers and pastors to be used in the affirming and supportive setting of our churches.
Sexuality and our Faith is written by United Church of Christ and Unitarian Universalist Association members and is the accompanying resource used for each of the grade groups: grades K-1, grades 4-6, grades 7-9 and grades 10-12, Young Adults and Adults in the church setting.
Save the Date
Texas Interfaith Advocacy Days
February 16-18, 2020
Registration is now open for Texas Impact’s first annual Texas Interfaith Advocacy Days!
This 3-day civic engagement intensive will feature workshops to strengthen your advocacy skills; policy presentations on key issues; and opportunities to engage lawmakers directly, including a trip to the Texas Capitol.
Where in the world is?
Bishop Gronberg:
- Dec. 11: NT-NL/Briarwood All Staff Meeting and Advent Lunch
- Dec. 14: Public Witness Team meeting, Arlington
- Dec. 15: Children’s Christmas Pageant Volunteer
Pastor Totzke:
- (No visits planned this week)
Pastora Bañales:
- Dec. 9: Meeting with Congregational Vitality: Renewal Team
- Dec. 12: African American Congregations meeting, Community of Hope, Ft Worth
- Dec. 14: Bilingual Posada, Good Shepherd, Marshall
- Dec. 15: Hope, Springtown
Upcoming Events
- Dec. 14: Public Witness Team meeting, Arlington, TX
- Jan. 11: Public Witness Team meeting, Arlington, TX
- Jan. 18-19: NT-NL High School Gathering, Dallas, TX
- Jan. 25: ESET (SSTE) Módulo 6 (Día 1 de 5), Argyle, TX
- Jan. 25: PLMA Graduation, Arlington, TX
- Jan. 31-Feb. 1: Synod Council meeting, Argyle, TX
- Feb. 8: ESET (SSTE) Módulo 6 (Día 2 de 5), Argyle, TX
- Feb. 8: Public Witness Team meeting, Arlington, TX
- Feb. 11-13: Ignite the Church Conference, Orlando, FL
- Feb. 15: ESET (SSTE) Módulo 6 (Día 3 de 5), Argyle, TX
- Feb. 16-18: Texas Interfaith Advocacy Days, Austin, TX
- Feb. 22: ESET (SSTE) Módulo 6 (Día 4 de 5), Argyle, TX
- Feb. 22: Discovering Hope: Building Vitality in Your Congregation, Lubbock, TX
- Feb. 28-Mar. 1: NT-NL Peer Ministry Leadership Training, TBA
- Feb. 29: ESET (SSTE) Módulo 6 (Día 5 de 5), Argyle, TX
Access our full online Calendar here. Updates made regularly.
Do you have news or announcements to share? Please submit to Jason (jason@ntnl.org) for consideration for upcoming NT-NL News.