Being Aware of Potential Scams
Please note that NT-NL staff, notably Bishop Gronberg, have had their emails spoofed a number of times. If you are ever unsure, please double-check the sending email address, not just the name of the sender. No one on synod staff, including the bishop, will ever ask you to personally send them gift cards or money in any type of “emergency.”
Please also watch out for these additional two scams:
Update from LuMin Denton
From Rev. Jim Rowe, Campus Pastor, LuMin Denton, pastor@lcmdenton.org:
“On Good Friday, preach Easter. And on Easter, preach Good Friday,” was the advice I received as a young pastor back in 2008 (or was it 2009? I forget) from a theologian whose name escapes me at the moment. Although their name no longer resides in my mind, the apt advice has remained. This advice has been on my mind lately as I begin my third year as pastor to the Lutheran Campus Ministry in Denton. All but nine months of my time serving the university communities in Denton has been in the midst of a pandemic and I have seen the startling effects of this pandemic on students, faculty, staff, and their families. The craving for community, the Zoom fatigue, the moments of relaxation, the joy of going maskless, and now the frustration with putting masks back on. For faculty, staff, and students alike it has been difficult to ride the changing tides of this pandemic and its emotional toll. Continue reading.
MEF Seeds That Change
Will you join your fellow Lutherans in a Synod-wide uplifting opportunity to inspire our NT-NL community? The Mission Endowment Fund is excited to bring you our 2nd virtual celebration and FUNdraiser, Gifted and Giving … How Grace Works. Talented individuals and congregational groups will share their moving stories about how they see God’s grace at work through the gifts they have received. More information can be found at our special website for this campaign: https://giftedandgiving.org/. We are featuring artists, actors, musicians, poets, choirs, instrumentalists, and more to showcase the talent that God gives us to share. These are people in our Synod that you may know. They are telling their stories in short videos, which will also be featured collectively in the premiere celebration on October 16 at 10:00 a.m with a homily by Bishop Gronberg. You can watch the videos of our talent here and stay tuned as the talented submissions grow. All donations made support MEF-sponsored community events such as the Texas Mobile Food Pantry at St. John, Wilson, and the Success Center tutoring school children at First Lutheran, Longview.
How can you support the grant giving ministry of the Mission Endowment Fund?
Make a donation: https://giftedandgiving.org/donate/
Apply for a 2022 grant: https://www.ntnl.org/ministries/mef/grant-application/
Questions? Contact Linda Ness at mef@ntnl.org
Featured Resources for September
Did you know that ELCA Coaching hosted over 60 online gatherings for leaders across the Church between March 2020 and April 2021? The informing question for each gathering: “How are we called to be church in this time?” From a range of topics and including a number of presenters from NT-NL, these weekly gatherings encouraged leaders to listen and learn and walk away with an action step. You can find the recordings (and supporting documents / links) here: https://www.elcacoaching.org/podcasts/media/series/being-church.
This week’s featured recording: Sharing Our Grief and Hope with One Another: Principles for Coaching Yourself Through Crisis and Stress
Save the Date
Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) Training
Saturday, October 9
Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) is like CPR training, in that the more people learn and practice these skills, the faster individuals struggling with thoughts of suicide can be supported and get appropriate help. QPR is a nationally used, evidenced based training that assists people in learning how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help. These three steps can help save a life, and it’s the same technique first responders and educators use with individuals contemplating suicide. QPR is suicide prevention training designed to give every person in our community the confidence and competence to help someone at risk for suicide. Parents, friends, neighbors, teachers, ministers, doctors, nurses, office supervisors, squad leaders, foremen, police officers, advisors, caseworkers, firefighters and other community members – anyone can learn these 3 simple steps that teach you how to recognize the warning signs, offer hope, and get help.
Due to the Covid-19 Delta variant, we are planning to host this QPR workshop online on October 9 from 1pm – 3pm.
This is a FREE Continuing Education opportunity (usually $30) covered by Public Witness through a generous Mission Endowment Fund Grant. Donations accepted for future opportunities. (Please designate Public Witness in the Note / memo field.)
Registration required. Limited to first twelve (12) registrants. If you register and are unable to attend for any reason, please notify jason@ntnl.org ASAP so that we can open that spot back up for someone else. If you attempt to register and the course is full, please email jason@ntnl.org to be added to a wait list.
Recent Blog Posts
Bishop Gronberg:
NT-NL Conferencia Latina Leaders Move To New Roles At Wartburg Seminary
(https://www.ntnl.org/nt-nl-conferencia-latina-leaders-move-to-new-roles-at-wartburg-seminary/ – published Aug. 31)
(https://www.ntnl.org/leaders-commit-to-learning-about-systemic-racism/ – published Aug. 31)
(https://www.ntnl.org/blessed-labor-day/ – published Sep. 6)
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:
Sep. 10-11: Synod Council meetings, Online and Briarwood
Sep. 11: Re-gathering worship at Briarwood
Sep. 12: Holy Trinity, Irving (Pastor Norma Cooper retirement)
Sep. 13: Church of Damascus Road Golf Outing
Sep. 19: Festival Worship at Santa Maria, Irving
Sep. 26: Trinity, Fort Worth, with TLU President Debbie Cottrell
Sep. 26: Mt. Olive, Dallas
Sep. 28: Churchwide Strategy Leadership Team, Online
Sep. 29-Oct. 2: Conference of Bishops, Online
Oct. 3: St. Paul, Crawford, 100th anniversary
Oct. 17: Immanuel, Killeen
Oct. 18-20: Leadership Convo (Briarwood and Online)
Oct. 24: PLMA and SSTE Graduation (@ Santa Maria, Irving)
Pastor Totzke:
Sep. 10-11: Synod Council meetings, Online and Briarwood
Sep. 11: Synod Re-gathering worship at Briarwood
Sep.12: Resurrection, Plano
Sep. 18: Faithful Innovation training, Abilene
Sep. 19: Redeemer, Greenville
Sep. 26: Holy Trinity, Irving
Sep. 27-30: Tri-synodical First Call Pastors retreat, Briarwood
Oct. 3: Advent, Arlington
Oct. 14-20: Vacation
Pastora Bañales:
Sep. 7: DEM’s meeting, Online
Sep. 10-11: Synod Council meetings, Online and Briarwood
Sep. 11: Synod Worship at Briarwood
Sep. 12: Steering Committee Adviento, Arlington
Sep. 13-15: NTNL Stewardship team and Kaleidoscope Conference
Sep. 19: First Sagrada Familia, Garland
Sep. 21: DEM’s meeting, Online
Sep. 22: NTNL Mission Developer & Redevelopers Gathering, Synod office
Sep. 23: ELCA Generosity Project Spanish team
Oct. 18-20: Leadership Convo (Briarwood and Online)
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:
- Sep. 10-11: Synod Council meetings, Online and Briarwood
- Sep. 11: MEF Board meeting, Briarwood
- Sep. 11: Public Witness Team meeting, Zoom
- 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
- Oct. 7: Transitional (Interim) Pastors monthly meeting, Zoom
- Oct. 9: Public Witness Team meeting, Zoom
- Oct. 12: White Supremacy & Racism: Facing Reality, Taking Responsibility – Cornel West, “A Genealogy of Modern Racism,” Zoom
- Oct. 16: Parish Lay Ministry Academy, Fall 2021, Course 2, Zoom
- Oct. 16: MEF Seeds That Change, Online
- Oct. 18-20: NT-NL Leadership Convocation, Briarwood and Online
- Oct. 23: NT-NL WELCA Virtual Convention, Online
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.