In This Issue
Youth Gathering Registration Deadline
2018 Synod Assembly Official Notice
Portico Updates, Deadline
CUIC Statement on Gun Violence and Mass Shootings
Perkins Fall Convocation
FREE Copier
Upcoming Events
Youth Gathering Registration Deadline
June 27 – July 1, 2018
Houston, TX
Early Bird Congregational Registration with reduced pricing closes November 15. Contact Janelle Miller with questions: janellemiller@yahoo.com or 817-726-7031.
2018 Synod Assembly Official Notice
Did you see our email announcement from Wednesday, October 25? You can access the full details of our upcoming Assembly here: https://www.ntnl.org/event/2018-synod-assembly/. This is also where we will make updates, include important links, etc.
Portico Updates, Deadline
Our new Regional Representative for Customer Outreach is Barbara Debski. You may reach her via email at bdebski@porticobenefits.org or via cell at 814-977-6189.
The Portico Customer Care Center can be reached via 800-352-2876 or mail@porticobenefits.org, Monday through Friday, 7:30am – 6pm (Central).
Portico Financial Planners can be reached via 800-922-4896, Monday through Friday, 7:30am – 6pm (Central).
Portico Care Coordinators (by Quantum Health) can be reached via 877-851-5656, Monday through Friday, 7:30am – 9pm (Central).
Wellness Dollars & Personal Wellness Account (administered by SelectAccount, an affiliate of BlueLink TPA)
Plan members and spouses or ESGPs with ELCA-Primary health benefits have until November 30 to earn $400 wellness dollars in 2017 and will have the opportunity to earn another $400 in 2018!
Employee Assistance Program (administered by Beacon Health Strategies, a partner of BlueLink TPA)
There are times when everyone feels overwhelmed. No matter what kind of difficulty you face, you’ve got a place to start with our Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Call EAP, 24/7, at 800.432.5155. You’ll speak directly with a master’s-level professional EAP counselor who can assess your situation and help you with next steps:
- Determining whether counseling may help you.
- You and covered family members may qualify for up to six in-person EAP counseling sessions per issue per year, at no cost to you, linking you to helpful agencies or support groups in your community.
- Finding an attorney. One no-cost, 30-minute telephone consultation with an attorney is covered; if you retain the attorney after the consult, the attorney may provide a 25% discount.
If you’re facing financial challenges, your ELCA benefits include free access to a range of financial counseling services provided by Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota (LSS) Financial Counseling. This non-profit, nationally recognized organization offers certified consumer credit counselors who can help you gain control of your finances.
You can turn to their counselors for help with financial issues including:
- Debt repayment options including debt management plans (DMP)
- Integrating faith, values, and stewardship with money decisions
- Student loan issues including borrowing, repayment, default, and consolidation
- Understanding credit reports and improving credit scores
- Personal and family money management and budgeting
- Mortgage default, foreclosure prevention, and predatory lending
- Consumer protection and preventing and resolving identity theft
- Home buying readiness, mortgage financing, and reverse mortgages
- Vehicle and other consumer loans including borrowing, repayment, default, and repossession
- Bankruptcy consequences and alternatives
Confidentiality
LSS Financial Counseling does not collect, use or disclose any of your non-public, personal information to any entity, organization or person. No information about you will be released to Portico Benefit Services without your written consent or legally mandating circumstances. Portico will receive quarterly summaries from LSS Financial Counseling that report numbers of members served, demographics and problem types; however, no individual member-identifying information will be shared.
How It Works
- Visit LSS Financial Counseling or call 800.528.2926 to schedule an appointment.
- You can arrange to meet with a counselor by phone from the convenience of your home or workplace.
- For online counseling and free educational resources, visit the LSS website.
- You’ll receive an objective assessment of your situation, including a detailed budget that explores your income, spending, assets, and debts. You’ll also receive an individualized case action plan that includes resources and coaching options to help you resolve your financial issues.
Note: Each household member has access to up to six sessions annually. Each session typically lasts 60 minutes.
Helpful Documents:
- Maintaining ELCA Benefit Coverage In Times of Transition
- Tax Advantage: Clergy Housing Allowance Excursion
CUIC Statement on Gun Violence and Mass Shootings
“As has happened too many times, the Body of Christ weeps over another evil act that has taken lives of 58 souls, as well as the life of the assailant in yet another mass shooting. This time, it was during an outdoor music festival attended by over 20,000 people in Las Vegas, Nevada. The impact is felt across our churches, schools, and workplaces. The shockwaves have been felt around the World, as the global community grieves the loss of so many lives.
To those lives lost, may God grant them eternal rest. To their families, we mourn with you and pray for your well-being. We also extend our compassion and prayers to the family of the assailant, for they are suffering too. We are deeply grateful for the police officers, first responders, medical care personnel, pastors and chaplains who are providing aid and assistance to victims and their families and friends.
Churches Uniting in Christ, in an unwavering, collective voice, call out to all our elected officials, once again, to enact sensible gun control laws in light of several high-profile shootings. During the eight-day period, beginning, on September 24, began with a church shooting at Burnette Church of Christ in Antioch, Tennessee and ended in two mass casualty shootings, the first in Lawrence, Kansas in which three people were killed and two injured and the horrific violence in Las Vegas which has left over 50 dead and hundreds injured. During this eight-day period over 62 people have been killed and well over 500 injured in eleven separate mass shootings (http://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shooting).”
Click here to read the full statement.
Perkins Fall Convocation
The Power of the Story: Perkins Fall Convocation on Creative Communication
November 13-14
Calling all poets, actors, preachers, writers and communicators of every variety!
This thirty-hour experience with stellar presenters will stimulate your imagination and inspiration. Registration for the entire day-and-a-half convocation includes plenary presentations by Anne Lamott, church leader and seminary president Marvin McMickle, Bible scholar and bestselling author N.T. Wright, Perkins preaching professors Alyce McKenzie and Wes Allen, and SMU playwright Will Power. Click here for full details and to register.
FREE Copier
Four Mile, Mabank, has a copier they recently stopped using that “still is very good, not fancy, but reliable.” Contact Joan Iker with questions and/or to arrange pick-up: grparent54@yahoo.com or 903-887-0833 (church) or 254-597-2738 (work).
Upcoming Events
Here are leadership highlights:
Nov. 4-5: North Texas Reformation Celebration
Nov. 11: Public Witness Team monthly meeting
Nov. 13-14: The Power of the Story: Perkins Fall Convocation on Creative Communication
Nov. 14-16: Young at Heart Retreat
Nov. 18: MEF Board meeting
Nov. 18: PLMA, Fall 2017, Course 3
Nov. 19: Lutheran Campus Ministry Trivia Challenge
Dec. 1-3: Winter Retreat for 4th, 5th, and 6th graders
Dec. 9: High School Service Day, DFW and Lubbock
Dec. 9: Public Witness Team monthly meeting
Through Dec. 15: Bridwell Library Exhibition: Martin Luther in the Age of Print (SMU | Perkins)
Dec. 27-28: NT-NL Christmas Break Young Adult Retreat
Jan. 19-21: Junior High Gathering
For a complete list of upcoming events in, and important to, our Synod, you can access our Calendar of Events online.