Message from Bishop Gronberg

Dear Partners in Mission:

In this lectionary year during Lent we are treated to wonderful (and often long) stories from John’s Gospel. Stories that often take place in situations or with people on the edges, the margins. This past Sunday was no different. Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well is a dramatic tale of God’s engagement with real people in real situations. For whatever reasons this is a woman who knows what it is to live with loss. Who is willing to talk back and engage Jesus about his theological convictions over worship. Whose confession of faith about the coming of the Messiah leads Christ to say those powerful words “Ego eimi” or “I am (he).” Hearkening back to God’s encounter with Moses at the burning bush.

In this Lenten season we are, as I noted last week, invited to reflect on our griefs and losses. The reality of sin and the brokenness it brings into our lives. And yet right here, in the midst of Lent, we are given a drink of living water. Hearing again of our God who engages us where we are, and in baptism offers us the living water of identity as children of God and inheritors of eternal life. An identity that cannot be taken away but instead continues to enliven and enlighten us. The living Word of God who has come in the person of Jesus Christ.

In reading this I am reminded of Luther’s Small Catechism and his thoughts on baptism. When he asks, “How can water do such great things?” And of the course the answer is, it isn’t just the water, but as that woman at the well so many years ago experienced, it is water with the living Word of God that does it. That then, like her, sends us forth to tell others of this Good News.

So be encouraged in your Lenten season. As you Do Lent I pray it can be a time of honest reflection as well as a reminder of what God has done in and for us and that we are called to invite others to as well.

In Mission Together:

Bishop Gronberg

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ELCA Mission Support Memo

From our ELCA Mission Support Team:

Dear Friends in Christ,

It is with joy that we send you this February edition of our Mission Support Memo. We are excited to reinstate the monthly memo which will include a story showing how Mission Support is at work, provide ways to engage with our storytelling engagement and Mission Support endeavors, and allow us to share our gratitude.

This memo is a reminder of our gratitude for your generosity through Mission Support and a way for us to engage in each other’s ministries together.

Joy and hope from your Mission Support Team,
Karen Kretschmann, Coordinator for Storytelling Engagement
Nick Kiger, Director for Mission Support
Victoria Flood, Senior Director for Mission Support

PS – Our ELCA SOFIA is live so check it out too!

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FREE Webinar: ELCA Global Missions

From our partners at Wartburg Theological Seminary:

FREE Webinar: Thursday, March 16

Register online here.

The Center for Global Theologies, in cooperation with Wartburg Learning for Life, hosts Rahel Mwitula-Williams, ELCA Director for Global Mission Funding, for a public forum on global missions. Available via Zoom, the public forum is both for members of the Wartburg community and for all others interested in the ELCA’s work. All are welcome.

In addition to her work for the ELCA, Rahel Mwitula Williams is a nonprofit development executive who works with major donors within the United States and internationally. Rahel’s philosophy is that giving has no socioeconomic barriers, and she works with individuals, teams, and organizations to develop a culture and lifestyle of philanthropy. Rahel is the founder of ILAVA, a socially responsible lifestyle brand that helps grassroots women social entrepreneurs in Kenya and Tanzania to gain economic security. In April 2018, she presented at Northwestern University as a TEDx Speaker on the topic of “Redefining Philanthropy: Faces of Change Makers”:

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:

Mar. 15-18: Spring Break Vacation
Apr. 15: Parish Lay Ministry Academy (PLMA)
Apr. 21-22: Lutheran Men in Mission Annual Meeting
Apr. 23: 100^th Anniversary Celebration, First United, Dallas
Apr. 28-29: NT-NL Synod Assembly, Shreveport, LA

Pastor Totzke:

(As she transitions back from her sabbatical, which ended on February 28, visits are being added almost daily that may not be noted in the weekly news through March.)
Mar. 20-23: Bishop’s Associates Gathering, Minneapolis, MN
Mar. 28: First Call Pastors Check-in, Zoom
Apr. 6: Interim/Transitional Pastors, Zoom
Apr. 22: WELCA retreat for the Dallas Area Metro North conference, St. Luke’s, Richardson
Apr. 28-29: NT-NL Synod Assembly, Shreveport, LA

Pastora Bañales:

Mar. 15: Executive Committee, Santa Maria, Irving
Mar. 16: ELCA all staff meeting
Mar. 20: NT-NL Latino Pastors Meeting
Mar. 22-23: Latino Christian National Network, Dallas
Mar. 27: ELCA Candidacy Development Working Group
Apr. 28-29: NT-NL Synod Assembly, Shreveport, LA