Message from Bishop Gronberg
Dear Partners in Mission:
Last Thursday I had the opportunity to participate in one of our NT-NL 2022 ELCA Youth Gathering information sessions. Due to demand, a third information session has been scheduled for tonight, June 8th at 8pm. The information is below. I encourage anyone interested in learning about the gathering to please take note of this option. The ELCA Youth Gathering is an amazing experience for young people and their adult leaders. NT-NL is blessed to have Janelle Miller (Calvary, Richland Hills) as our synod gathering coordinator and the Rev. Adam Stockton (Rejoice, Frisco) as our Synod Day coordinator. These leaders will help us to have an amazing experience. There will again be a bishop’s group (for congregations with 3 or less participants and lacking an adult leader) so if you are interested in that opportunity, please contact me at BpGronberg@ntnl.org. Please take advantage of this unique and amazing experience offered to our young people.
The Reintroduction – Paul Quinn College
On June 15, 4:00 – 9:00 pm, join us and learn what Paul Quinn College, the site for our 2022 Synod Assembly, has been doing for the last 15 months.
They will be presenting:
– Their first new buildings in 40 years;
– The staffs of KIPP Oak Cliff and the Dr. Frederick Douglass Haynes, III Global Academy;
– The Bishop 5 + 1 Reunion Revival;
– Campus tours (including the new PQC running trail);
– Free COVID-19 vaccine clinic;
– Food trucks;
– and their annual Dallas Symphony Orchestra Summer Concert!
ALL FOR FREE! REGISTER TO ATTEND!
Church Together – Apart: Our Response to COVID-19
Thanks to your gifts to the ELCA COVID-19 Response Fund, the church has adapted its ministry to continue to serve those in need around the world. To learn more and donate, visit ELCA.org/covidresponse. You can also learn more through the eight videos in this playlist:
Featured Resources for June
LIRS (Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service) invites you and your congregation to infuse new meaning into the phrase welcome the stranger. Join us in celebrating the resilience and courage of refugees and migrants in America — and in your own community!
Migrant and Refugee Sunday (pick a Sunday in June)
World Refugee Day – June 20
2021 theme: Together we heal, learn and shine
World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honour refugees around the globe. It falls each year on June 20 and celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution. World Refugee Day is an occasion to build empathy and understanding for their plight and to recognize their resilience in rebuilding their lives.
World Refugee Day was held globally for the first time on June 20, 2001, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. It was originally known as Africa Refugee Day, before the United Nations General Assembly officially designated it as an international day in December 2000.
If you have questions or would like to share your plans for World Refugee Day, please contact hqwrd@unhcr.org. Access the World Refugee Day toolkit here.
Recent Blog Posts
Bishop Gronberg:
(https://www.ntnl.org/a-busy-and-blessed-thursday/ – published Jun. 3)
Big Time on the First Weekend of June: MEF, ELCSL, TLCFW and beyond
(https://www.ntnl.org/big-time-on-the-first-weekend-of-june-mef-elcsl-tlcfw-and-beyond/ – published Jun. 6)
(https://www.ntnl.org/connecting-high-school-seniors-with-campus-ministry/ – published Jun. 6)
Pastor Totzke:
(https://www.ntnl.org/creative-out-of-the-box-thinking/ – published Jun. 7)
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:
Jun. 20: Family Baptism, Milwaukee, WI
Jun. 27: Ascension, Garland
Pastor Totzke:
Jun. 12: Faithful Innovation training, Conference Out West, Zoom
Jun. 13: Grace, Carrollton
Jun. 17-22: Vacation time
Jul. 1: Interim/Transitional Pastors monthly meeting
Jul. 4: St. Matthew, Waco
Pastora Bañales:
Jun. 9: ELCA Boundaries training
Jun. 10: ELCA Congregational Vitality – Revitalizing Training, followed by LIRS Orientation
Jun. 12: XV celebration, Santa Maria (McArthur), Irving
Jun. 22: LIRS Virtual Advocacy Day for World Refugee Day
Jun. 24: ELCA Congregational Community & Leadership all staff meeting
Jun. 27: Umoja International Chapel, Fort Worth
Jun. 29: Joy, Rockwall
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:
- Jun. 8: White Supremacy & Racism: Facing Reality, Taking Responsibility – Derrick Bell, “Chronicle of the Constitutional Contradiction,” Zoom
- Jun. 12: Public Witness Team meeting, Online
- Jun. 22: White Supremacy & Racism: Facing Reality, Taking Responsibility – Selections from Bernestine Singley, ed., When Race Becomes Real: Black and White Writers Confront Their Personal Histories, Zoom
- Jul. 1: Transitional (Interim) Pastors monthly meeting, Zoom
- Jul. 6: White Supremacy & Racism: Facing Reality, Taking Responsibility – Derrick Bell, “The Space Traders,” 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.