This week we pray for:
St. Paul in Levelland (Pr. Amanda Ullrich)
Holy Trinity in Irving (Pr. Norma Cooper)
Augsburg Fortress Publishers
The 2015 NT-NL Prayer Partners can be found at ntnl.org/2015PrayerPartners or you can download the PDF here.
Truth to Power: Eradicating Racism
- Bringing together those disaffected throughout society with our faith communities and leaders to create a new network
- Creating authentic relationships between churches, civic organizations, and community activists
- Engaging and training in civic education
- Dismantling systems of oppression and surviving systems of oppression.
If you are in the Dallas area, you are welcome to join the event at the Christian Chapel CME Chruch, 14120 Noel Road, Dallas TX 75254. If you are not in the Dallas area, you can participate through the webcast at www.cctof.org.
Please consider attending this important event, whether in person or online.
Peer Ministry Adult Facilitator Training
March 6-7
9:00-5:00
Calvary Lutheran Church, Richland Hills
This event is for adult leaders interested in working with youth in the Peer Ministry Leadership program.
The cost is $200 per person or $500 for a team of people from a congregation. If cost is a factor, please contact Jonathan or Janelle because we don’t want it to be a limiting factor.
For more information, questions, or to register please contact Jonathan Lys at 979-255-4148 or jonathan.lys@sbcglobal.net or Janelle Miller at 817-726-7031 or janellemiller@yahoo.com.
RESCHEDULED: Tuesday, April 14
Thank you for your understanding last week when we had to postpone the Table Talk with Pr. Foss. Please mark your calendars with the new date, April 14!
Please register for this event here. If you had registered for the February 24 event and still plan to attend on April 14, please complete the registration form again—we cannot assume everyone who registered in February will be able to make the rescheduled date. Thank you!
Table Talks are funded by the DiscipleLife Alive! Leadership Formation Fund. To find out more about the 2015 Table Talk series, click here.
Sign Up Your Congregation or Camp Now for Lutheran Energy Stewards Initiative
ELCA congregations and camps can apply now (application deadline is May 1, 2015) for Energy Stewards Initiative (ESI), a one- to two-year national program with a new cycle beginning in June, sponsored by Lutherans Restoring Creation.
The program helps congregations track and reduce energy use on an online platform, lower their carbon footprint with the help of an action plan, and free up funds for other ministries.
The program offers bi-monthly webinars featuring energy experts and making available the shared wisdom of program leaders and other participants. To cover the cost of the online tracking program, ESI requests a fee of $10.00 a month. Administrative costs are covered by grants. Learn more and apply at Energy Stewards Initiative.
Lutherans Restoring Creation is a grass roots organization devoted to promoting care for creation throughout the ELCA.
Wartburg Youth Leadership School & ELCA Youth Gathering in Detroit
Youth are invited to experience the ultimate faith journey as they share in adventure, service, study, leading, and worship in a combined ten days as the participate in the Wartburg Youth Leadership School on the Wartburg Seminary campus and the ELCA Youth Gathering in Detroit, Michigan.
Participants consider the ULTIMATE YOU: Who claims You? Who Calls You? Who Sends You?
Through the setting of an intentional Christian community, the youth are challenged to live out the Gospel and ask themselves, “How am I being called to lead?”
Click here for a printable flyer and click here to learn more details about this ten day opportunity.
Which Three Youth Will You Nominate?
Do you have youth in your congregation that may already be leaders, or who have leadership potential? Please nominate them to participate in WYLS and the ELCA Youth Gathering. You may nominate up to three youth who have completed 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade. Click here for an online nomination form.
Transforming Congregations Through Spiritual Practice: Creating a Discipleship Community
The North American Association for the Catechumenate’s 2015 Annual Gathering
July 30-Aug. 1, 2015 • Baltimore, MD
The conference is for pastors, seminarians, musicians, and lay leaders who wish to gather for stellar worship, stimulating lectures on spiritual practice, workshops on various aspects of the Catechumenate, and a chance to network with ministry practitioners from all denominations across North America.
Featured speakers are the Rev. Dr. Jessicah Duckworth and the Rev. Paul Hoffman.
For more information and to register, please visit NAAC’s website.
2015 NT-NL Assembly Registration is now open!
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.
Registration for the family retreat is now open!
For more information on the retreat, contact Briarwood Program Director Aaron Colwick at aaron@briarwoodretreat.org.
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!
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.
Upcoming Events in the NT-NL Mission Area and Beyond:
- Mar. 5-6: Peer Ministry Adult Facilitator Training
- Mar. 7: Lutheran Men in Mission Annual Assembly
- Mar. 14: Truth to Power: Eradicating Racism presented by Churches United in Christ
- Mar. 22: Brunch at Briarwood
- Mar. 27-29: Into The Wilderness: Men’s Family Retreat at Briarwood
- Apr. 7-9: Senior Citizen’s Retreat
- Apr. 14: RESCHEDULED Table Talk: Reviving the Congregation with Pastor Michael Foss
- Apr. 21-May 8: In Search of Paul: An Aegean Odyssey A LEAD pilgrimage for rostered leaders and church professionals
- Apr. 24-26: NT-NL Mission Assembly
- Apr. 24-26: ¡SINAI! Family Retreat: Mountains & Valleys at Briarwood
- May 2: Briarwood Gala
- May 24-29: LSPS’s Spanish Language and Hispanic Ministry Intensive
- Jul. 15-19: 2015 ELCA Youth Gathering: Rise Up Together!
- Sep. 13: “God’s Work. Our Hands.” Sunday
- Sep. 29: Table Talk: The Use of the Means of Grace with Pastor Kevin Strickland *PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE IN THE DATE*
- Oct. 17: MEF “Seeds that Change” Dinner
- Oct. 26-28: 2015 Bishop’s Convocation with special guest Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton!
- Nov. 2: Portico Pre-Retirement Seminar
- Nov. 3: Portico Early/Mid-Career Financial Wellness Seminar
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!