![Preaching Planning Workshop [Image description: sepia-toned, slightly blurred image of an open Bible with a pair of eyeglasses resting on it, a legal pad and a pen, and a couple of crumpled sheets of paper, on a desk.]](https://149432795.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Preaching-workshop.png)
September 17, 2015 & January 14, 2016
Streng Leadership Center at Briarwood
Pastor Kendra Mohn (Trinity, Fort Worth) will offer two seasonal preaching planning workshops, one in September, which will focus on preparation for Advent and Christmas, and one in January, which will focus on Lent and Easter.
The workshops will be offered in-person and online. All participants will have exclusive access to the recording of the workshop.
Registration is $75 to attend in person, $50 to attend online. Register for the Sept. 17 event here.
Save the Date
2015 Bishop’s Convocation
Special Guest Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton
October 26-28 • Briarwood Retreat Center
Online registration coming soon.
Organizations are starting to consider which ELCA-Primary health benefit option to provide in 2016. You can prepare for a conversation about next year’s health benefits by thinking through how you’ve used benefits in 2015, and by understanding how benefits and costs will change next year.
Click here to see what’s changing in 2016.
Why Are Our Health Care Costs Going Up?
Join us for a webinar, Aug. 28, 10:30 – 11 a.m. (Central), to see what drives ELCA health contribution rates, such as market trends and our collective use of care. Invite other decision-makers to attend, too. Register here.
![A young adult's story of a year in Palestine. Contact AmyGulliksen@gmail.com to join the conversation. Offering hour-long, sacrament-inspired discussions following Sunday service." [Image description: photograph of a large tree in a field, with green grass. Brown hills can be seen in the distance. Above and below the image are black letterbox bars. The text is white script.]](https://149432795.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/AmyGulliksen-e1438808459720.jpg)
Amy Gulliksen, member of Grace (Carrollton), recently returned to the U.S. after spending a year in Palestine as a Young Adult in Global Mission (YAGM) and is looking forward to speaking to congregations about her year in the Holy Land.
Please contact her at AmyGulliksen@gmail.com
Reporting Procedures for Congregations
Clergy Financial Resources is offering you a free e-book. This PDF will cover a wide variety of church topics including recent developments, charitable gift reporting, employer reporting requirements and information reporting requirement.
To receive the “Reporting Procedures for Congregations” just follow these two steps:
1- Like Clergy Financial Resources on Facebook
2- Send them a Private Message and request the book
Private messages can be sent by clicking on the “Message” link on our cover photo. They will attach the ebook in their response.
Partnering in Faith: A Multi-Faith Summit on Domestic Abuse
Sponsored by Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse and the Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council
Wednesday, Sept. 2 • Houston, TX
Leaders of religious communities are often the first to be called upon for support and guidance when domestic abuse occurs. This groundbreaking summit, guided by a local multi-faith Advisory Council, provides a forum for collaboration amongst faith leaders to increase safety, support, and restoration for victims of domestic abuse.
There is no cost to attend and lunch will be provided. It will be held at Depelchin Children’s Center in Houston. Register online.
TLU Youth Worker Convo![[Image description: headshot of Andrew Root, a white male with bronw hair wearing a grey sweater over a white button-down shirt.]](https://149432795.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/andrew-root.jpg)
September 26-27, 2015
TLU Chapel of the Abiding Presence
Andrew Root, associate professor of Youth and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN, is the featured speaker for the youth workers who are on campus with their high school youth. Youth Ministers are encouraged to hear him and network with one another while also enjoying the activities, food and fun of the lock-in. The event costs $150 per person. The registration deadline is September 15.
Get more information and register at tlu.edu/youth-ministry.
Back to School
Does your congregation have a “Blessing of the Backpacks” to mark the beginning of the school year?
- Blessing of the Backpacks: 6 Tips for Success (buildingfaith.org)
- A Back-to-School Liturgy That’s Not A Blessing of the Backpacks (David Henson, patheos.com)
- A Blessing of the Cell Phones (MaryAnn McKibben Dana, theblueroom.org)
Classifieds:
Downsizing ministry… I have half a dozen Friar Tuck clergy shirts (black and various colors – two Anglican collar type). These are neck size 17 ½. I no longer fit into them. I am looking for someone who may be “expanding” their ministry and have 16–17” neck sizes that no longer fit and would like to trade. Please contact Scott Zimmerer at RevSEZ@GraceLutheranTX.org.
Reminders:
- First Call Theological Retreat, Sept. 28-30
- Boundaries Workshops, Oct. 20, 22, 27, or 29 (offered by TX-LA Gulf Coast Synod)
- Have you verified your contact info on our Pulpit Supply page?