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Week of Feb. 9, 2015

| NT–NL News By

This week we pray for:

Common Grace Mission in Stephenville (Fr. Curt Norman)
First United in Dallas (Pr. Russell Vardell)
ELCA Seminaries, especially LSTC, Wartburg, Trinity, and LSPS in Austin

The 2015 NT-NL Prayer Partners can be found at ntnl.org/2015PrayerPartners or you can download the PDF here.

Bishop Kanouse announces his intent to retire June 2016

Please visit ntnl.org/bishopelection to read Bishop Kanouse’s letter announcing his intent to retire as Bishop of NT-NL in June 2016. This page will be updated as the bishop election process develops.

2015 NT-NL Assembly Registration is now open!Silhouette figures wander on a yellow background (representing the desert of Sinai); to the left there is a small tree or large bush, mostly bare branches, with large red swirls behind it, symbolizing fire. The word "SINAI" is written in green on the top right.

Please go to ntnl.org/2015assemblyregistration to register for the ¡SINAI!, the 2015 NT-NL Mission Assembly, April 24-26 in Lewisville.

You will need to create an account by entering your email address and a password.

The same weekend as the assembly, Briarwood will be hosting a Family Retreat: Mountains & Valleys. The retreat and assembly are two separate events, though we will come together on Saturday, April 25, for the Dedication of the new Center for Mission at Briarwood.

The family retreat will be a time for families to explore together how they can support each other in their faith formation. The retreat will focus on Rich Melheim’s FAITH5 (Faith Action In The Home), and how those tools can help families as they embark on their faith journeys together.

Download a promotional flier for the ¡SINAI! Family Retreat here!

Registration for the family retreat will open later this month. For more information, contact Briarwood Program Director Aaron Colwick at aaron@briarwoodretreat.org.

NT-NL Table Talk: Reviving the Congregation with the Rev. Dr. Michael Foss

Tuesday, February 24
9:30-3:30

The Streng Center
at the Mission Center at Briarwood

How do congregations thrive and grow? How do pastors and lay leaders experience the on-going presence of the Holy Spirit in ways that renew them personally while giving them vision for the future?

Join the Rev. Dr. Michael Foss as he leads conversations on these topics, focusing on leadership, partnerships, and building a culture of energy, focus, and momentum.

Register here. Registration deadline is Friday, Feb. 20.

Cost is $12 for lunch, payable to Briarwood the day of the event.

34th Annual Rural Ministry Conference: Practicing Care in Rural Congregations & Communities, March 1-3, 2015 in Dubuque, Iowa
Click image for more information on the 34th Annual Rural Ministry Conference

 Read the ELCA Advocacy Update for February 2015

In this month’s edition:

  • ELCA Advocacy priorities for 2015: addressing root causes of poverty and injustice internationally, caring for all of God’s creation, and standing with our communities facing poverty and struggling with hunger and disease
  • Update from Lutheran Office for World Community at the United Nations
  • ELCA Hunger Leadership Gathering
  • Advocacy events and initiatives across the country

Lutheran Campus Ministries

Do you know any Lutheran students at the University of Texas at Austin, or who plan to start in the fall?

Tell them the Kohn-Hutter Scholarship provides about $40,000 annually for Lutheran UT students: the application deadline is March 31, 2015. Apply on LCM’s website: www.lcmaustin.org. The Leon G. Bohls Family Scholarship also provides support for UT students active in LCM.

Lutheran Campus Ministries nationwide create community in Christ. We pray for and invite students to join us around the Table, for both physical and spiritual nourishment.

Please refer students to campus ministries at: www.namegatheringproject.org. Don’t forget to begin asking graduating high school seniors where they’ll go to college!

Churchwide Assembly Voting Members

NT-NL will send seven voting members to the 2016 Churchwide Assembly. If you are interested in being a voting member, find more information, and the vita form, here. Nominees will be voted on at the 2015 Assembly.

The mission office has moved!window1square_1

The new address for all mail is:

680 Copper Canyon Rd.
Argyle, TX 76226

Phone: 940-241-2099

Please note we will also be discontinuing the use of the P.O. Box; all mail will need to come directly to the above address.

There are still giving opportunities available to finish out the landscaping around the building and to furnish the Streng Leadership Center.

Please visit NTNL.org/donate-now for more information on the new special gifting and naming opportunities for the Center for Mission at Briarwood.

2015 Lutheran Legislative Event

Registration extended through Feb. 10!

povert justice task force

Sponsored by the Poverty & Justice Task Force of the ELCA’s Southwestern Texas Synod; program planned by Texas Impact.

Participating synods: Southwestern Texas, Northern Texas-Northern Louisiana, Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast

February 15-17, 2015
Gethsemane Lutheran Church, Austin, Texas

Do you wonder why our Texas legislators sometimes don’t understand issues of importance to Lutherans? Would you like to help them understand those issues? If so, now’s your opportunity to impact the legislative process!

Download the 2015 Lutheran Legislative Event bulletin insert for more information.

Theologial Education for Emerging Ministries (TEEM)

Lutheran Seminary Program of the Southwest logo: an open book with a red cross above it and a yellow sun rising behind it.The TEEM program provides alternative preparation for those who will provide pastoral ministry in emerging ministry contexts throughout the church. The TEEM program at the Lutheran Seminary Program in the Southwest is focused on preparing leaders for cross-cultural Hispanic ministries. Candidates for the TEEM program are nominated by their synods and approved by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The TEEM program consists of 3-4 days of intensive courses 4 times per year in Austin, TX while the student is immersed in ministry throughout the course of the program. To learn more click here.

Para cursos de TEEM en español, haga clic aquí

Upcoming retreats:

Bless It or Block It!: WELCA Retreat at Grace in Carrollton, April 11th, 2015

Jill Miller will explore the idea of letting go of our own agendas to truthfully seek out God’s will and purpose for our lives.

For retreat information contact Ginny Grundei at ggrundei51@gmail.com.

My Faith Journey: Emmanuel Ladies’ Retreat at Emmanuel in Granbury, Feb. 28 from 9:00-2:00

Featuring award-winning author and inspirational speaker Lisa Wingate.

For retreat information contact Janet Railsback at 254-396-0321 or Carri Lewis at 817-271-6410.

NT-NL LMM Annual Assembly, March 7

For more information contact Dick Wenzel at dick-wentzel@sbcglobal.net.

Upcoming Events in the NT-NL Mission Area and Beyond:

Do you have news or announcements to share? Please submit them to Criss Forshay (criss@ntnl.org) for consideration for our next Briefings. Don’t forget to include a picture or logo!