Message from Bishop Gronberg
You are invited to join the NT-NL Synod Council in worship Friday, September 8 at 7:00 pm. The worship will be led by Bishop Gronberg and Pastor Kathryn Saunders-Allen of Good Shepherd-Irving and held in the sanctuary of Good Shepherd.
This service of Holy Communion will be a great opportunity for you to see where the new synod offices are located, interact with your synod council and worship together. We encourage you to join us. No RSVP required
MEF Sunday is September 17th
The Mission Endowment Fund celebrates MEF Sunday on September 17, 2023!
MEF Sunday serves as a reminder to our congregations of the amazing work facilitated within our Synod by the Mission Endowment Fund. Our event coincides with North Texas Giving Day, which serves as reminder to metroplex residents that we must support & serve our communities. Giving days, like this, are amazing reminders that God calls us to serve in whatever manner possible – wherever possible. All monies raised by the Mission Endowment Fund are channeled back into programs within the NTNL through the annual MEF grant award program.
Ministries facilitated by our NTNL churches, like food pantries, children and youth ministries, prison ministry, music programs, community outreach, and programs to build our LatinX congregations, have funding from sources within their congregation, but many rely on our annual grant program to begin or to sustain their ministry. The pandemic & recent inflation – among other things – hit our neighborhoods hard. Giving Days, like this, enable our church programs to grow the good and to invest in our church families.
Our annual grant program will begin accepting applications this fall! This is another chance for the MEF to fund amazing ministries. Applications for the 2024 grant program will be accessible on our webpage on October 1, 2023.
When making donations during this Giving Day event, click here and choose Mission Endowment Fund.
Thank you for celebrating MEF Sunday!!
Centro Teológico Luterano Multicultural October Intensive
Is there a growing Latine community in your area? How is your church equipping itself to enhance its cross-cultural ministry among Latine people? Ruben Duran, Senior Advisor for New Ministry
Development in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, will be leading CTLM’s October Intensive on “Latine Ministry Competency”. Three sessions will be held on October 5: 5pm – 8pm October 6: 5pm – 8pm and October 7: 9am – 12pm. Registration can be completed on CTLM’s website.
Featured Resources for September
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month —a time to raise awareness of this stigmatized, and often taboo, topic. September is used to shift public perception, spread hope and share vital information to people affected by suicide. The goal of the National Alliance on Mental Illness and other advocacy groups is to ensure that individuals, friends and families have access to the resources they need to discuss suicide prevention and to seek help.
For more information and resources for Suicide Prevention Awareness Month go to the National Alliance on Mental Illness’ website.
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text 988, go to 988lifeline.org/chat or text NAMI to 741-741
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:
Sep 8-9th: Synod Council, Synod Office
Sep 9: Ordination of Mallory Morris, Calvary, Richland Hills
Sep 10th: Bethel-Avoca Confirmation
Sep 17th: Redeemer-Greenville Fellowship Hall Dedication
Sep 23rd: Ordination of Cheryl Herreid, Rejoice, Coppell
Sep 25th: King of Glory-Dallas 65th Anniversary
Sep 26-30th: Conference of Bishops
Pastor Totzke:
Sep 7: Transitional/Interim Pastors, Zoom
Sep 8-9th: Synod Council, Synod Office
Sep 9: PLMA
Sep 9: Ordination of Mallory Morris, Calvary, Richland Hills
Sep 10: Messiah, Weatherford – 20th Anniversary
Sep 17: New Hope, Keller
Sep 23: COW Conference Gathering
Sep 24: Grace, Slaton 100th Anniversary
Sep 25-27: Tri-Synodical First Call Pastors Retreat, Gonzales, TX
Pastora Bañales:
(As she transitions back from her sabbatical, which ended on August 31, visits are being added almost daily that may not be noted in the weekly news through September.)
Sep 8-9th: Synod Council, Synod Office
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 7: Transitional Pastors monthly meeting, Zoom
- Sep 9: Public Witness Team Meeting, Zoom
- Sep 9: Parish Lay Ministry Academy, Fall 2023, Course 1, Zoom
- Sep 17: MEF Sunday
- Sep 26: First Call Pastors Check-in, Zoom
- Sep 28: Cultivating Compassion Session 9: Unsettling Truths, Online
Access our full online Calendar here. Updates made regularly.
Do you have news or announcements to share? Please submit to office@ntnl.org for consideration for upcoming editions of our weekly news.