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Week of Nov. 16, 2014

| NT–NL News By

Stained glass window with images of angelsAngels Heard On High

TLU’s annual Vespers service of word and music featuring the TLU Concert Choir, TLU Women’s Choir, Kantorei Chamber Choir and TLU Symphonic Winds and Percussion will be offered at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 5 and Saturday, Dec. 6 as well as on Sunday, Dec. 7 at 4 p.m. 

Tickets are free but required due to limited seating.  Vespers is also offered at St. Martin’s Lutheran Church in Austin on Sunday, Dec. 14 at 4 p.m. (no tickets required).

This year Vespers explores the role of the Messengers of God (angels) and the experience of “entertaining angels unawares.”

For more information and to reserve tickets, click here.

The Wall That Heals - Nov. 20-23, 2014

Thursday, Nov. 20-Sunday, Nov. 23
UT Dallas
Eugene McDermott Library East Lawn, Drive G
Parking in Lots C and D
Handicap parking in Lots G, C and Parking Structure I

Honor the fallen and reflect on Americans who served during the Vietnam War by visiting The Wall That Heals, a traveling 250-foot replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The four-day exhibit will include events and educational opportunities. The Wall also has a traveling visitors center which provides an excellent history of the American men and women who served in Vietnam.

There will be a public ceremony at 10:00 a.m. on Friday morning, November 21. To RSVP for the ceremony and request a parking permit, email visitthewall@utdallas.edu.

The Wall is open to the public and admission is free.

goodgiftsELCA Good Gifts: the Advent Tree Ornament Pack

Decorate your congregation’s Christmas tree with the ELCA Good Gifts Advent Tree Ornament Pack—goats, pigs, water jugs, fruit trees, and school fees!

One package contains 30 assorted ornaments of 15 different gifts ranging from $10-$500 each. Invite families to select ornaments representing the gifts they would like to give.

Each ornament allows an individual or family to personalize their ornament with their name and the year. They can take their ornament home as a reminder of their generosity!

Order your Advent Tree Ornament Pack here!

View the full ELCA Good Gifts catalog here

Join Richard Hammar for a no-cost webinar to learn how you can help prevent sexual misconduct

It’s unbearable to imagine such a crime could take place. Unfortunately, it does happen, at organizations just like yours, nearly every day.

Although the webinar focuses on places of worship, the content is equally relevant to schools and camps. And when it does occur, a series of inevitable questions start to bubble up: “How did I not know this was happening?” “What could I have done to prevent it?” “How can I help make sure it never happens again?”

We’ll answer those questions and more during Managing the Risk of Sexual Misconduct in Houses of Worship, an hour-long webinar sponsored by Church Mutual and led by attorney, CPA and author Richard Hammar.

Draft of a Social Message on Gender-Based Violence

The Draft of a Social Message on Gender-based Violence is available for reading and for public comment on the ELCA website until November 26.

Esta información también está disponible en español.

For information about the full span of work being done by the Women and Justice task force, visit the Women and Justice page.

The task force wants to hear from as many people as possible: men and women, adults and youth.

If you have any questions about how to hold a listening event, what materials are available, or how to provide feedback to the Task Force, please email criss@ntnl.org or call 214-637-6865.

2015 Tri-Synodical Theological Conference2015 Tri-Synodical: Love to tell the Story

January 26-28
New Braunfels, TX

God’s Story is a LOVE STORY, and it has captured the hearts of each of us. To tell it is to give life.

The Story is our life blood, yet many have let it flat line. Join us for theological conference this year as we get the blood pumping again!

Registration | Information | Speakers

West Africa Ebola Crisis: Donations Still Being CollectedFour member of a family stand outside their home in Sierra Leone with a sack of rice and other food supplies they have just received.

There is still so much to be done to help our brothers and sisters in Sierra Leone and west Africa. Please visit ntnl.org/ebola-crisis for updates.

Please consider making a donation or taking a special offering in your congregation, and also sharing that link with friends and family. Donations can be made through PayPal or by mail: NT-NL Mission Office, P.O. Box 560587, Dallas TX 75356-0587.

 

National Conference for Sacred Music

January 7-9, 2015
San Antonio, Texas

The National Conference for Sacred Music is a unique conference designed to provide the practicing Church Musician with fresh new ideas to help create a vital, growing music ministry. The emphasis of this conference is to provide a wide variety of new approaches to revitalize and reinvigorate the Church’s passion for music in worship.

For more information, see the registration link (scroll down for event details).

Lutheran Seminary Program of the Southwest logo: an open book with a red cross above it and a yellow sun rising behind it.Spanish Language and Hispanic Ministry Intensive

Lutheran Seminary Program in the Southwest will be hosting their Spanish Language and Hispanic Ministry Intensive on May 24-29, 2015.

The Intensive is a resource for Lutherans and those of other denominations who recognize the growing need for competency in the Spanish language and an understanding of Hispanic culture in light of the increasing Hispanic population in this country and in the church. The course focuses on the study of the Spanish language and on different aspects of Hispanic culture, ranging from cuisine to dancing.

Download the informational flier here. Download the registration form here.

Please contact Consuelo Reid at lsps@lsps.edu with any questions.

New! Level II Intensive

Building Congregational Capacity for Hispanic Ministry:
Misión en Comunidad/Mission in Community

This new Level II Intensive is designed for congregational leaders in those congregations where consideration is being given to starting Hispanic Ministry in their community.  Teams from congregations are encouraged to attend.  During this week teams will learn:

  • To increase capacity for doing Hispanic ministry
  • To learn several models for engaging in Hispanic ministry in congregational settings
  • To improve facility in Spanish language, especially liturgical Spanish
  • To build a cohort of colleagues preparing for Hispanic ministry within their community

The main presenter is the Rev. Rubén Durán with several outstanding guests sharing models for Hispanic Ministry.

Download the Level II Intensive flier here. For more information about LSPS, visit lsps.edu.

 

Called to be a Living Voice 2015Worship Jubilee of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Biennial Conference of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians

July 19-21, 2105 • Atlanta, GA

How is God calling the church today? And to what are Christians called?

For the first time, this gathering brings together two major national events in overlapping conferences: the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians will meet Sunday through Wednesday of this week. The third Worship Jubilee for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, following those held in 2000 and 2007, will meet Monday through Thursday.

Participants may register for one or both events, which will feature leading voices, practical workshops, diverse worship expressions in several of Atlanta’s city churches, and rich conversation. Visit LivingVoice2015.org for more information.

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!