Message from Bishop Gronberg
Dear Partners in Mission:
Happy New Year!
December 1st we celebrated Advent 1 and begin our preparation for Christ’s coming at Christmas. This is a season with many traditions and celebrations. It is also often a difficult season for those who are lonely, particularly those who have experienced loss in this time. So it is important that we be celebrative but also take seriously the needs of our neighbors.
On Sunday December 8th the bishops of ELCA Region 4 will be joining me as we participate in the annual celebration at San Gabriel-Alvarado to honor the celebrations of the Virgin of Guadalupe. This festival is an important cultural and spiritual event in the life of San Gabriel and the community there. I am glad to host my bishop colleagues so they can experience this event.
As we move into the Advent season and towards Christmas I pray your hearts will be moved by the biblical narrative as we hear of God’s great action in the world. And as we sing the magnificat may its challenge remind us that God has come to humble the proud and powerful, to lift of the lowly, and that is also our work as well.
#TogetherInMission,
Bishop Gronberg
Dancing Day: A Festival of Lessons and Carols
Join Zion Lutheran Church, Dallas on Sunday, December 8th at 6:00pm for a Lessons and Carols festival.
Annual German Church Service at Christ, Dallas
This church service is being arranged by the Johanniterorden, the Dallas Goethe Center and the Deutsche Kirche in Dallas and is being hosted by Christ Lutheran Church on Saturday, December 14th at 4:00pm. This service offers for English and German speakers a chance to experience a traditional church service in German language with traditional Advent songs. The service will also include a special children’s sermon and it will be followed by a reception afterwards with German cookies, cake and Stollen!
The service will be accompanied by singing performances of children of the German International School of Dallas and the Dallas Frohsinn Singer. The service will be presided by Rev. Ben Dueholm and Rev, Kurt Maerschel, Master of Divinity, MA who will also provide a special welcome for participating children.
Lutheran Summer Music Musical Advent Calendar
Since the nineteenth century, households and congregations have marked the days before Christmastide with many types of Advent calendars. The season of waiting and longing for the “already-but-not-yet” incarnation of Jesus unfolds amidst waning daylight in the Northern Hemisphere, a time of yearning for hope, joy, and peace.
Join LSM for a moment of music and reflection each day from December 1 to 24. Selections will be posted to the LSM Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube accounts and archived on their website.
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 6-9: Hosting Region 4 Bishops
December 8: Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe, San Gabriel, Alvarado
December 26-January 3: Family Vacation
Pastora Bañales:
December 3: Sembrando en los Margenes (Sowing in the Margins) project meeting
December 5: ELCA Spanish Coaching Team Meeting
December 8: Adviento, Arlington
December 9: Emanuel Community Center, Dallas
December 9: Sembrando en los Margenes (Sowing in the Margins) project meeting
December 11: Central, Dallas
December 12: DEM Monthly Meeting
December 14: First Sagrada Familia, Garland
December 16: PODER Latinx Young Adult Mission Developers Meeting
December 19: NT-NL DEM Advisory Team Meeting
December 23-January 3: Vacation
Pastor Fitting-Snyder:
December 8: Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe, San Gabriel, Alvarado
December 10-13: Vacation
December 15: St. Paul, Crawford
December 22: Shepherd King, Lubbock
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 14: Public Witness Team Meeting
- January 3-5: Peer Ministry Retreat, Calvary, Richland Hills
- January 11: Public Witness Team Meeting
- January 28: First Call Pastors Check-In, Zoom
Access our full online Calendar here. Updates made regularly.
Do you have news or announcements to share? Please submit to office@ntnl.org for consideration for upcoming editions of our weekly news.