Message from Bishop Gronberg
Thanks to all who made our “re-gathering” time together such a success.
Saturday Sept 11, 2021 started early for the NT-NL Synod, ELCA Executive Team. We gathered online and in person at Briarwood Leadership Center at 7:30am to prepare for the full synod council meeting at 8:30am. It was a productive morning of work and fellowship. Facilitated online with 11 members in person and 11 online. We were joined during the morning by our ELCA churchwide council member the Rev. Nick Billardello to help us understand how we are better connected as a church.

Having done our business we adjourned promptly at 11am to grab a bite of lunch before our “re-gathering” worship as synod at noon. there 150 members of our synod came together to worship, celebrate, lament, and give thanks that we could be together in this time. ELCA Director of Chaplaincy the Rev. Christopher Otten preached a challenging and hopeful word. Remembering and honoring the 20th anniversary of Sept 11, 2001. Click here for more photos and to continue reading.
Early Registration Deadline for Leadership Convo
At this time, we are planning for this to be a hybrid event, offered both in person (Briarwood Leadership Center, Argyle, TX) and online.
We will be focusing on how to capitalize on the new things you have been doing. How to turn our reactions and fast learnings in pandemic into more long term parts of our life. To live into the hybrid in person/online future that is a reality for us all.
To assist us in this work we will be led by Dr. Alicia Granholm. Dr. Granholm has two decades of experience in church leadership in mainline and non-denominational settings in the United States and abroad. Most recently she has been coaching four of our NT-NL congregations who are involved in the Leadership for Faithful Innovation Cohort that Bishop Gronberg highlighted in his 2021 synod assembly report. She will work with us on a theology of innovation as well as how to make new things become part of our life. Joining her will also be, living into our hybrid culture, online conversation partners that will enrich our time including Mikka McCracken, Executive Director for innovation with the ELCA Churchwide office.
Dr. Cláudio Carvalhaes is a professor of liturgy and worship at Union Seminary in New York. He will be joining us online to facilitate conversation about worship and life in our new reality. Carvalhaes, a native of Brazil, has both studied and is a cross cultural scholar. He will help us think theologically about our praxis of worship in person and online. To consider practices that engage all participants as much as possible in the liturgy, the “work of the people.” Dr. Carvalhaes is featured in this August 26 article: Ten Theology Books to Watch For.
It will be a good time for us to gather, think together, and learn. Click here for a tentative detailed schedule. (as of September 2)
Please register here: https://tithe.ly/event-registration/#/4182327. Early registration (half price = $25) ends TOMORROW, September 15. Regular registration = $50.
If you need overnight lodging (additional fee), please email jason@ntnl.org with your request, and we’ll be in touch closer to the event date.
Disclaimer: In the interest of safety and public health due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we reserve the right to enforce public health and safety measures, depending on the conditions at the time, at our discretion.
FEMA Expanded Eligibility
The FEMA Funeral Assistance program covers COVID-19 fatalities that occurred on or after January 20, 2020.
☎️ Apply by calling the FEMA hotline 9 A.M. – 9 P.M. ET, Mon-Fri: 844-684-6333 | TTY: 800-462-7585.
💻 Find eligibility information here: fema.gov/disaster/coronavirus/economic/funeral-assistance/faq
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: Truth and Healing for the Sake of Indigenous People (with Vance Blackfox)
Recent Blog Posts
Pastor Totzke:
(https://www.ntnl.org/gods-work-our-hands/ – published Sep. 12)
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. 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. 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. 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. 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.