Gathering Together
Join us and folks from around the synod at Briarwood Leadership Center (Argyle, TX) on Saturday, September 11, 11am – 4pm, for lunch, worship, rock climbing, zipline, archery, field games, and a frozen treat! A great day for the whole family to enjoy!
The Rev. Christopher Otten, ELCA Director of Chaplaincy, will be present with us to preach. All ages are welcome.
Hybrid Church Webinar Series
Forced to scramble to go online in just a few weeks during the COVID pandemic, the church has discovered the online world is far more than a replacement for the yellow pages. It is a place where genuine community and real ministry happens. These sessions will be an overview of several areas of congregational ministry and reflect on how to begin to move every aspect of church life to a dual platform – on the ground and online. This “hybrid” kind of ministry will be the new norm for the next season in most congregations’ work. You will begin to reframe your thinking on a particular aspect of congregational ministry. Becoming a hybrid church is one path forward to both strengthen the church and reach new people with the gospel in bold, creative new ways. All are invited to this 5-week FREE series on Monday evenings beginning July 26 at 7 p.m. (CDT). You will hear from Dave Daubert, Deacon Kenny Champagne, and John Roberto. Here is the flyer with full details (https://bit.ly/3xoJXQI). Register here (https://bit.ly/2Ushjzy).
Featured Resources for July
Resources from ELCA Racial Justice
Explore and download a variety of resources designed to help congregations confront racism and move toward justice in church and society.
Recent Blog Posts
Bishop Gronberg:
(https://www.ntnl.org/gratitude-for-continued-ministry-in-july/ – published Jul. 15)
(https://www.ntnl.org/sunday-718/ – published Jul. 18)
Where in the world is?
Across a context as wide and different as NT-NL, the reality of Covid-19 is very different. As such, NT-NL synod staff are doing more in-person Sunday visits for worship and occasional meetings. However, as good stewards of time and travel dollars, we will be utilizing online meeting formats into our new hybrid future. Until we can assure everyone in attendance at a meeting are vaccinated, in order to protect those gathered, the synod staff will continue to wear masks unless preaching or presiding and sufficient social distancing can be provided.
Bishop Gronberg:
Jul. 18-24: Family Vacation
Aug. 29: King of Glory, Dallas
Pastor Totzke:
Jul. 25: Grace, Abilene, and Installation of Pr. Rachel Ringlaben at Emanuel, Dallas
Jul. 31: Joint Council Retreat for Central & Bethany at Central, Dallas
Aug. 5: Transitional/Interim Pastors meeting via Zoom
Aug. 7: Installation of Pr. Leah Lawson, Beautiful Savior, Amarillo
Aug. 8: Gloria Dei, Lubbock
Aug. 21: Candidacy Committee, Briarwood
Aug. 23-25: Leadership for Faithful Innovation (LFI) conference, Stillwater, MN
Aug. 26-30: Vacation
Pastora Bañales:
Jul. 20: Joy, Rockwall
Jul. 21: Santa Maria MacArthur, Irving
Jul. 28: First Sagrada Familia, Garland
Jul. 29: Money Matters/Asuntos de Dinero workshop (Thrivent)
Jul. 31: First Sagrada Familia, Garland
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:
- Jul. 20: White Supremacy & Racism: Facing Reality, Taking Responsibility – Kimberlé Crenshaw, “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex,” Zoom
- Aug. 3: White Supremacy & Racism: Facing Reality, Taking Responsibility – Enrique Dussel, “Eurocentrism and Modernity,” Zoom
- Aug. 5: Transitional (Interim) Pastors monthly meeting, Zoom
- Aug. 14: Public Witness Team meeting, Zoom
- Aug. 17: White Supremacy & Racism: Facing Reality, Taking Responsibility – Vine Deloria, Jr., “A Better Day for Indians,” Zoom
- Aug. 31: White Supremacy & Racism: Facing Reality, Taking Responsibility – Ian F. Haney López, “White by Law,” Zoom
- Sep. 2: Transitional (Interim) Pastors monthly meeting, Zoom
- Sep. 11: Synod Council meeting, Briarwood
- Sep. 11: Gathering Together, Briarwood
- Sep. 12: “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday
- Sep. 14: White Supremacy & Racism: Facing Reality, Taking Responsibility – Karen Brodkin Sacks, “How Did Jews Become White Folks?”, Zoom
- Sep. 18: Parish Lay Ministry Academy, Fall 2021, Course 1, Zoom
- Sep. 28: White Supremacy & Racism: Facing Reality, Taking Responsibility – Susannah Heschel, “The Slippery Yet Tenacious Nature of Racism”, Zoom
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 editions of our weekly news.