Message from Bishop Gronberg
Partners in Mission:
I pray you had a blessed Thanksgiving week. A time to give thanks and recognize the abundance God provides for us. One way we recognize that abundance is in our gifts to our congregation. When you give your offering to your congregation a portion of that gift is shared with our work as synod. This is called mission support. The synod uses those financial resources to maintain our staff, support congregations in transition, raise up new leaders, fund new ministries, support our partners in Sierra Leone, and many others.
We also then share 45% of these funds with our churchwide organization for their important work. Please take a look at these attached resources and share them with your community. We are called to do this work together. As you look at your end of year giving please support your congregations generously and encourage your community to share that abundance with the wider church.
If you are interested learning more about Mission Support you can watch this video. Or you can read more about how our synod’s Mission Support is making an impact here www.livinglutheran.org/sofia.
Lutheran Men in Mission Fall Ambassador-Gram
Click here to read about the happenings of Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM).
November Mission Support Memo
The November 2025 Mission Support memo celebrates stewardship in its many forms. Meet Rev. Tauna Roth, Pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in the East Central Synod of Wisconsin. She has a passion for connecting with people, collaborating with fellow congregations, learning together, and especially sharing food. She was awarded The Dr. Richard Lee Peterman Stewardship Award for 2025 from the ELCA Congregation and Synod Support Team and Stewardship ministry, an award celebrating our churches abundant and creative forms of stewardship.
In this memo learn how, “Is there going to be food?” can be the start to an important stewardship experience. You also do not want to miss the time to gather on Monday, Dec. 8, 6 p.m. CST, to explore, “Christmas Eve as a Missional Moment”. Join to wonder how we can use our large service times with glorious influxes of people to introduce new worshipers to the mission of our community and share stewardship-of-mission moments. The Congregation and Synod Support Team of the ELCA continues to be grateful for the many ways we connect across our church. Let us give thanks.
Featured Resources for December
Our friends at Compassionate Christianity offer an extensive array of FREE resources, such as Personal Nourishment and Spiritual Practices, Family and Pastoral Resources, Compassion in Action (including a partnership with How to Heal Our Divides), and so much more:
Resources for the Compassionate Christian Community
“Inclusive, welcoming, and affirming resources, reflecting the compassion Jesus modeled for us.”
Where in the world is?
NT-NL synod staff are excited to engage in-person on Sundays for worship. As good stewards of time and travel dollars, we will be utilizing online meeting formats in our new hybrid reality when possible. If you would like to schedule a meeting with the bishop or Synod staff please contact them directly.
Bishop Gronberg:
December 6: Texas Lutheran University: Verne Lundquist Athletic Center Dedication, Seguin
December 10: NT-NL Staff Christmas Lunch
December 17: Cantor Retirement Service, Trinity, Fort Worth
December 27-January 1: Family Vacation
January 4: Central, Dallas
January 5-7: Region 4 Bishops Gathering, Omaha, NE
January 18: Central, Dallas
January 24: Parish Lay Ministry Academy Graduation Service, Good Shepherd, Irving
January 31: Texas Lutheran University Corporation Board Meeting, Seguin
Pastora Bañales:
December 7: New Hope, Keller
December 10: NT-NL Staff Christmas Lunch
December 15: ELCA and SEMLA Online Spanish Coaching Team
December 16: First Sagrada Familia, Garland
December 18: ELC and UMC Fresh Expressions 2026 Planning Team
December 22-January 2: Vacation
Pastor Fitting-Snyder:
December 2: Roster Manuel Training, Zoom
December 3: Pathways Training with Luther Seminary, Zoom
December 7: Emmanuel, Granbury
December 14: Gloria Dei, Garland
December 21: Rejoice, Frisco
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:
- December 13: Public Witness Team Meeting
- December 18: NT-NL Youth Leader Lunch, Rejoice, Coppell
- January 2-4: NT-NL Peer Ministry Leadership Event, Calvary, Richland Hills
- January 10: Public Witness Team Meeting
- January 15: NT-NL Youth Leader Lunch, Rejoice, Coppell
- January 24: Parish Lay Ministry Academy Graduation, Good Shepherd, Irving
- January 27: First Call Pastors Check-In, Zoom
Access our full online Calendar here. Updates made regularly.
Save the Date
- April 24-25, 2026: Synod Assembly
Do you have news or announcements to share? Please submit to office@ntnl.org for consideration for upcoming editions of our weekly news.