Mission of the Month: Zambia
“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!
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.”
NT-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
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 RAISER
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.
On 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 Summit
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 Retreat
Oct. 24-26
Briarwood Retreat Center
Download the registration brochure here.
ICYMI*:
*In Case You Missed It
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 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.
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.
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.
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