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Home | Blog

Week of September 21, 2014

September 16, 2014 | NT–NL News By NT-NL Staff

Mission of the Month: Zambia

Left side of the image shows a smiling mother wearing her young child in a blue wrap; right side top image shows a green map of Africa against a black background, with Zambia highlighted in yellow. Right side bottom image shows the four grey brick walls of a church under construction in Zambia; the walls are not complete.

“Sometimes a church just needs bricks and mortar!”

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zambia is growing fast – so fast it needs more church buildings!

This young, vibrant church now has almost 6,000 members in 40 worshiping communities spread across four provinces. Of those 40 worshiping communities, only four have sturdy, weatherproof buildings.

“The rest meet in thatched pole-and-mud structures. There are instances when members would find themselves worshiping under a tree because their building collapsed in a windstorm,” says the Rev. Alfred Chana, senior pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zambia.

ELCA Missionary Arden Strasser describes it: “The fact is, sometimes in Africa, a church just needs bricks and
mortar to meet, especially during the rainy season.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zambia has proposed an exciting new initiative in partnership with the ELCA. With the support of ELCA members and congregations, together, we can build up to 15 permanent new church buildings in Zambia, starting with a leadership training center to support the pastors and evangelists who serve that growing church.

Find out more! Download the flier here. Want to get involved? Make a contribution to the Zambia project at community.ELCA.org/Zambia

Global Church Sunday, Sept. 21

How are you celebrating Global Church Sunday? Snap some pics and post them to Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! Tag them #GlobalNTNL!

ELCA_Global_Church_Sponsoship_BLOG

Take a virtual journey to Zimbabwe, Zambia and Tanzania this fall!

Come along with six ELCA travelers Sept. 25-Oct. 10 to learn about exciting new Global Ministries that are priorities of Always Being Made New: The Campaign for the ELCA.

Sign up here to receive blog stories and photos through “Stories of the Global Church.”


TableTalk Moral Injury 3NT-NL Table Talk: Moral Injury

September 23 • 9:30-3:30 Briarwood Retreat Center

How can we be better equipped to walk with those facing difficult decisions or who have lived through morally challenging events, such as withdrawing life support?

Join the Rev. Dr. Rita Brock, Co-Director of the Soul Repair Center at Brite Divinity School, to learn about pastoral care and moral injury.

Register online here (scroll down to see the registration form). Deadline to register is Friday, Sept. 19. Cost  is $12.

This Table Talk will also be live-streamed; the video will be available at NTNL.org and our YouTube channel, DiscipleLifeMission, or you can go to the links directly here:

bit.ly/NTNLMoralInjuryAM | bit.ly/NTNLMoralInjuryPM

Join the conversation at #NTNLTalk


White text at the top of the image reads: "Bishop's Convocation, October 27-29" Image of Dr. Rolf Jacobson. White text ta bottom of the image reads: "Turning Preaching Inside Out: Preaching & Worship as Faith Formation."Bishop’s Convocation October 27-29 Briarwood Retreat Center

Turning Preaching Inside Out:

Guest Speaker Dr. Rolf Jacobson

2014 Convocation Brochure Registration packet with mail-in registration available here.



The Board of the Directors of the Mission Endowment Fund and the Executive Director invite you to attend the

SEEDS THAT CHANGE – DINNER/FUND RAISERMEF

Saturday, October 11, 2014
Christ Lutheran Church, Dallas
4.00-7.00 p.m.
Silent/Live Auction
Dinner
Entertainment

Please use this form to make your reservations as soon as possible or contact Hattie Hammer, Executive Director, at 972-296-3703 or by email at hattie.hammer@sbcglobal.net.


northtexasgivingday-1402672427.9775-facebook-cover-image__2014On September 18, 2014, donations can be made 6 a.m. to midnight to more than 1,600 certified nonprofits listed on the new website NorthTexasGivingDay.org. Donations $25 and above will be amplified by $2 million in bonus funds and prizes.

Two organizations participating in North Texas Giving Day (where donations of $25 or more will be matched by sponsors) are Mosaic and Lutheran Social Services of the South!


Lutheran Men in Mission

LMM Leadership SummitGrey and blue text on white background reads: Lutheran Men in Mission: Building Men for Christ.

The Gulf Coast Synod will be hosting the 2014 Lutheran Men in Mission Leadership Summit on Saturday, October 18, at the Holiday Inn Express in Pearland.

Early bird registration is $49 if registered by September 18. Regular registration fee is $69. Deadline is October 10. There is space for only 55-60 men. Register by mail using this form.


LMM One Year to Live RetreatOYTL Retreat Brochure TX Oct 2014

Oct. 24-26
Briarwood Retreat Center

Download the registration brochure here.


ICYMI*:

*In Case You Missed It

RiseUp Logo (300)Soft Registration for Rise Up Together: 2015 ELCA Youth Gathering is Now Open!

Each congregation should designate one primary adult leader, who will attend the Gathering and will be responsible for coordinating their youth group’s registration.

Primary adult leaders may begin entering Gathering participant information into the ELCA’s registration database in preparation for submission on Oct. 15, 2014. On Oct. 15, when registration officially opens, leaders can simply upload the information they have completed and they will be registered. (Don’t forget this second step!)


The NT-NL Lutheran Youth Organization leaders are collecting preliminary information from congregations planning on attending the Gathering in Detroit. Please fill out this quick form to let us know your plans!


Peer MinistryPeer Ministry Adult Facilitator Training

October 16-17
Calvary Lutheran Church in Richland Hills

Download the Peer Ministry facilitator training registration form here.


Peer Ministry Leadership Event (youth in grades 9-12)

February 20-22
Briarwood Retreat Center

Download the Peer Ministry Leadership Event registration brochure here!

Questions? Call Janelle Miller at 817-726-7031 or email NTNLYouthLeaders@yahoo.com.


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

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.


Four blue squares, with white icons depicting (clockwise from top left): a stick figure in a wheelchair, the outline of a head in profile, showing the person's brain, a stick figure walking with a cane, and two hands making the F handshape.Definitely-Abled Sunday: October 5

The first Sunday in October has been designated as “Definitely-Abled Sunday” to honor and include in worship all of our members, especially those who are differently-abled.

The resolution to observe this day, passed at the 2014 mission area assembly in April, reminds us that Jesus, throughout his ministry, sought to embrace and reincorporate the forgotten, the marginalized and the excluded as a sign of the arrival of God’s kingdom, and so taught us to do the same.

Read more here.


October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Please take a moment to read through some of the resources available here. Consider including victims and survivors of domestic abuse, as well as their abusers, in your prayers during worship.

Help us shatter the silence and break the cycle of abuse by encouraging victims and survivors to talk about their experiences. Contact your local domestic violence shelter for resources, fliers, and other information you can have available in the restrooms in your church building (and elsewhere!)

Texas Family Violence Centers and Organizations

Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence


The Fourth Annual Luther Lecture:  Luther Then, Bonhoeffer Now
Dr. Larry Rasmussen

Presented by the American Luther Research Center and the NT-NL Mission Area, ELCA

October 2, 2014 • 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church • 8011 Douglas Avenue • Dallas, Texas

RSVP by Monday, September 15 to Sandra Bauer at 972-241-3545 or sbauer@international-capital.com

Download the promotional flier here.


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

  • Sep. 21: Global Church Sunday
  • Sep. 23: NT-NL Table Talk: Moral Injury
  • Oct. 2: Luther Then, Bonhoeffer Now – Dr. Larry Rasmussen
  • Oct. 5: NT-NL’s Definitely-Abled Sunday
  • Oct. 10-12: NT-NL Synodical Women’s Organization Convention (Abilene, TX)
  • Oct. 11: MEF’s Seeds that Change Dinner
  • Oct. 16-17: Peer Ministry Adult Facilitator Training
  • Oct. 18: LMM Leadership Summit (Pearland, TX)
  • Oct. 24-26: Lutheran Men in Mission’s “One Year to Live” Retreat
  • Oct. 27-29: Bishop’s Convocation: Turning Preaching Inside Out
  • Nov. 9: Lutheran Campus Ministries Trivia Night
  • Nov. 14-16: Junior High Youth Gathering
  • Jan 16-18: High School Extravaganza
  • Jan. 26-28, 2015: Tri-Synodical Theological Conference
  • Feb. 20-22: Peer Ministry (for youth in grades 9-12)
  • Apr. 21-May 8, 2015: In Search of Paul: An Aegean Odyssey A LEAD pilgrimage for rostered leaders and church professionals
  • Apr. 24-26, 2015: NT-NL Mission Assembly
  • May 24-29, 2015: LSPS’s Spanish Language and Hispanic Ministry Intensive
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