Registration Now Open
Briarwood Retreat Center
October 14-16
Speaker: Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Rick Lynch – He is formerly the commanding officer of Fort Hood and an active member of Immanuel, Killeen.
Topic: Adaptive Leadership in challenging times
Our Leadership Convocation, this year and beyond, is open to ALL! You don’t need to be a rostered minister in the ELCA to be able to attend. Everyone is welcome!
30 Years!
Our Synod Administrator, Tyna Oslie, celebrates 30 years with the NT-NL Synod today! We are grateful for her dedicated service to this synod, our leaders, and worshiping communities. If you would like to congratulate Tyna directly, you may email her at tyna@ntnl.org or call her at 940-241-2099 ext. 109.
Culture of Generosity
Congregations as cultures of generosity
The centrality of relationships
At an Ecumenical Stewardship Center event in Dallas this past spring, speaker Aimee Laramore gave a terrific, down-to-earth presentation on congregations as cultures of generosity. Laramore is a person of faith with a background in development and faith-based fundraising. She covered a number of topics, but the core of her message was about the importance of relationships, meeting people where they are, being truly interested in how they are doing, talking about money without always asking for any, and celebrating all the ways people make a difference, including outside of the church. She asked how our congregations can help people see themselves as benefactors. What if we didn’t limit our storytelling to just how giving makes the world out there better but also cultivate stories by givers about how generosity has blessed their lives?
Laramore mentioned her friend and mentor William Enright, the founding director of the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving, part of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University. Enright recently authored a book worth reading titled “Kitchen Table Giving: Reimagining How Congregations Connect With Their Donors,” in which he shares a similar relational approach. Here is a review of the book by the Center for Stewardship Leaders at Luther Seminary.
Featured Resources for September
The ELCA has FREE Congregational Communications Tools for Christmas.
The ELCA offers a place of welcome for all seeking a congregational home. Your congregation can extend an invitation to neighbors and the surrounding community through the use of these customizable communications tools. Download and use these free tools today.
Save the Date
Briarwood Fall Festival and Thrivent Cook-Off
Briarwood Retreat Center
October 6
The festival and cook-off will be a fun-filled family day at Briarwood! There will games available for children of all ages, tours of the camp, and the Annual Meeting of the Advisory Board. We will also have the usual treats, cotton candy, snow cones, popcorn, and sodas, along with treats provided by the various cooking teams, available throughout the day!
The Cooking for Christ Cook-off is sponsored by Thrivent Financial. Teams will compete in three categories: beef brisket, spare ribs, and chicken. The Judging Panel consists of representatives from each registered team. Prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in each category, and Grand Carnivore.
Tickets for the event cost $10 per person and can be purchased from participating congregations or online. Space for the Cook-off is limited, so turn in a Registration Form and $100 Registration Fee, payable to Briarwood. For more information or registration forms, please contact the Briarwood office at bw@briarwoodretreat.org or call 940.241.2099.
Where in the world is?
Bishop Gronberg:
- Sep. 9: Sanctuary dedication, Calvary, Richland Hills
Pastor Totzke:
- Sep. 9: St. Matthew, Waco
Pastora Bañales:
- (No visits planned this week)
Upcoming Events
- Sep. 9: “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday
- Sep. 15: PLMA Fall 2018, Course 1, Briarwood
- Sep. 17: Boundary Training: Healthy Relationships in Ministry, Fort Worth, TX
- Sep. 20-22: Synod Council meetings, Briarwood
- Sep. 21-23: Middle School Retreat, Briarwood
- Sep. 22: MEF Board meeting, Briarwood
- Sep. 24: The Church of the Damascus Road Golf Outing and Fund Raiser, Fort Worth, TX
- Sep. 24-26: 2018 First Call Retreat, Briarwood
- Sep. 28-30: Addiction & Faith Conference, Bloomington, MN
- Sep. 29: Panhandle Fall Conference: An introduction to The Generosity Project, Wilson, TX
- Oct. 2: Mosaic Partners in Possibilities fundraiser lunch, San Angelo, TX
- Oct. 4: OLOGY The Symposium: A Dialogue Between Psychology and Theology, Richardson, TX
- Oct. 6: Fall Festival & Thrivent Cook-Off, Briarwood
- Oct. 12: Teaching Fish to Walk: Church Systems and Adaptive Challenges, Dallas, TX
- Oct. 14: The Eighth Annual Herbener Lecture: “A Latino Immigrant Reads Luther”, Dallas, TX
- Oct. 14-16: NT-NL Leadership Convocation, Briarwood
- Oct. 15: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue: The ABC’s of Theology and Criminal Justice Reform and How They Impact the Lives of School Children of Color, Dallas, TX
Access our full online Calendar here. Updates made regularly.
Do you have news or announcements to share? Please submit to the Synod office (office@ntnl.org) for consideration for upcoming NT-NL News.