Preacher for Synod Assembly

We are honored to have Richie Butler, Senior Pastor of the historic St. Luke “Community” United Methodist Church (Dallas) and Founder of Project Unity, as our preacher for this year’s Assembly! He is a recipient of the 2021 Martin Luther King Legacy Award, and a past recipient of the SMU Distinguished Alumni Emerging Leader Award, the Minority Business Leader award from the Dallas Business Journal, and Dallas Bar Association Martin Luther King, Jr. Justice Award recipient. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Richie launched Together We Test that providing 5 testing sites in underserved communities in North Texas which tested nearly 7,000. Richie holds degrees from Southern Methodist University and Harvard University, extended studies in Urban Planning at MIT, and was the recipient of a Ford Foundation Fellowship to study Art History and Political Science in Europe. Richie is married to Neisha Strambler-Butler and they have two children, Emily and Ford.

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Holy Voices: Gender Inequality and Climate Displacement

This Thursday, March 31, 7pm Eastern

From our friends at LIRS:

We’re reaching the end of Women’s History Month 2022, and we’re ending it by participating in one of the most important conversations of the 21st century: the intersection of climate, gender, and migration.

Gender and climate are profoundly intertwined, and women bear the brunt of the impacts of both sudden and slow-onset climate disasters. That’s why Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC), Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), and the Center for Climate Justice and Faith at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary are coming together to discuss the reasons why climate change-related disasters disproportionately harm women and girls. 

In our time together, we’ll cover the relationship between women’s equality and the climate crisis, and the critical need for women and girls to be at the center of solutions for addressing climate change-related disasters.

Our discussion will feature expert panelists including:

• • Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, President and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS)
  • Dr. Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, Christian ethicist and Director of the Center for Climate Justice and Faith at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary
  • Rabbi Jennie Rosenn, Jewish ethicist and Founder and CEO of Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action

You can join on Zoom (advance registration required) or Facebook Live!

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“Getting to Know the MEF” Sunday

The NT-NL Mission Endowment Fund (MEF) announces its first “Getting to Know the MEF” Sunday, May 15, 2022.

We are celebrating this grant-giving ministry which has awarded over ONE MILLION DOLLARS since 1996 to congregations in our Synod. Over the years, the ministries in these congregations have blessed and served countless lives! Our emphasis on that Sunday is to explain the grant application process and to encourage our congregational members to create Christ-centered ministries which could use seed money to get started. We are asking each of our churches to use the materials we will supply to promote this information on Sunday, May 15, during worship. In the near future, we will share an article for your newsletter, bulletin inserts, and a short (3 minute) video that can be shown during worship time. We are simply sharing the story of MEF, which the NT-NL is fortunate to have in place. This is NOT a fundraiser. We ask only for time in your worship on May 15 and for your prayers for continued success to change more lives in the name of Jesus Christ in the future. Please put this event on your church calendar. More information will follow.

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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. Given the rise of breakthrough infections and in order to protect those gathered, the synod staff will choose to wear masks as is deemed appropriate unless preaching or presiding and sufficient social distancing can be provided.

Bishop Gronberg:

Apr. 10: Church of Damascus Road, Jay’s Place Open House
Apr. 17: Easter Worship
Apr. 24: Our Savior’s, Norse: Retirement celebration for Rev. Bill Metting
Apr. 29: Synod Council meeting, Dallas
Apr. 29-30: 2022 NT-NL Synod Assembly, Dallas
May 13-14: Lutheran Men in Mission Board Meeting
May 15: “Getting to Know the MEF” Sunday
May 22: Hope, Springtown 40^th Anniversary

Pastor Totzke:

Mar. 29-Apr. 1: Leadership Edge Training Phase 2, Zoom
Apr. 2: Closing worship, DAMN Conference WELCA retreat
Apr. 3: Shepherd of Life, Arlington
Apr. 7: Transitional Pastors monthly meeting, Zoom
Apr. 17: Easter worship, Immanuel, Killeen
Apr. 23: Faithful Innovation training for COW conference, Calvary, San Angelo
Apr. 24: Trinity, Miles
Apr. 29: Synod Council meeting, Dallas
Apr. 29-30: 2022 NT-NL Synod Assembly, Dallas

Pastora Bañales:

Mar. 29-31: ELCA Candidacy Task Force, Chicago, IL
Apr. 4: ELCA CCL all staff convocation; NT-NL Renewal Team meeting
Apr. 5: Ecumenical group meeting
Apr. 7: Shared Ministries Evaluation (CoH, KoG, and Umoja)
Apr. 9: Teaching PLMA Spanish class
Apr. 10: Church of Damascus Road, Jay’s Place Open House
Apr. 14: Maundy Thursday service, Santa Maria de Guadalupe, Irving
Apr. 15: Holy Friday service, First Sagrada Familia, Garland
Apr. 17: Easter Sunday, Santa Maria de Guadalupe, Irving, and First Sagrada Familia, Garland
Apr. 19-21: Stewardship of Life Institute Board Meeting, Gettysburg, PA
Apr. 24: San Gabriel, Alvarado
Apr. 25: DEM’s Gathering planning team
Apr. 27: Evangelical Seminary in Mexico, Zoom
Apr. 29: Synod Council meeting, Dallas
Apr. 29-30: 2022 NT-NL Synod Assembly, Dallas