Hospital visit
On Tuesday I visited Deb C., Nessa's mom, at FTMC in Norwalk. It was my first visit to someone at FTMC in a long time. It was a regular stop for me on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays during my years at St. Peter. Nessa said that her mom would be released and going home sometime today. Keep her in your prayers.
Grace Castalia story
Last month I shared information about the Eastern Conference Pastors meeting at Grace in Castalia. I also shared photos of that meeting, showing Grace's recently completed new entrance, which includes a prayer chapel. Last Sunday the Sandusky Register ran a story about Grace and Pastor Katie. It's very much worth the read. You can find it here.
Different Contexts, Similar Challenges
That's the title of Dean Kleinhans' weekly "Trinity's New Beginnings" email. She reflects on a recent meeting of Lutheran leaders with Lutheran leaders from Germany, representing churches that have partnerships with ELCA synods. She sees the similiarites of the challenges that both groups face:
"All of us are wrestling with the question of how to communicate the relevance of the church – to non-members in general and to youth and young adults in particular. We believe that the church’s witness to the Good News of God’s grace in Jesus Christ is something the world desperately needs! Yet we have often been more comfortable speaking to ourselves than witnessing to others."
You can read all of Dr. Kleinhans' message here.
Be Sure to Register for Fall Gathering
Every fall our Bishop meets with members of synod congregations for worship, fellowship, and learning in five regional Gatherings. The closest gathering for us will be the one at St. John's, Oak Harbor (about a 35 minute drive). All Gatherings will start at 6:30 p.m. with worship, followed by a Bake-Off, and a time of learning. Bishop Daniel will kick-off the evening with the introduction of the Year of Scripture, after which attendees can choose to attend one of two presentations:
- People, Purpose, Parish, and Perspective: Resourcing for God’s Call with Sherry Krieger
- Removing the Barriers to Generosity in your Congregation: A Systematic Approach, Step 1 with Kent Wilson
I hope that St. John's has a good representation attending this meeting. Registration is requested, although not required, and will help the planning process for local hosts. To register, go here and scroll to the bottom and click the blue "Register Now" button.
Healthy Churches Faithful Pastors
Our adult study group, meeting on Sunday mornings at 9:00 am and Thursdays at 10:00 am had its first session, with about a dozen present for the Sunday session, and four for the Thursday session. The book that serves as the basis for our study, Healthy Churches Faithful Pastors has lots of excellent content, portions of which I share during the session. Problem is, by the time I cover the content, we're out of time. So that plan will be to cover the content in one session, and then review briefly the content the next week and do small group discussion the next session. If you haven't attended yet, it's never too late to join the discussion!
Ministry Matters
Ministry Matters™ is a non-profit entity launched in 2011 by The United Methodist Publishing House, based in Nashville, Tennessee, and aims to serve Christians of many denominations. Sometimes Terri will photocopy articles of interest from their website and share them through your mailbox.
A recent issue of their email newsletter featured a link to an essay by Dr. William Willimon. Dr. Willimon is on the faculty of Duke Divinity School, and has served as the Dean of the Divinity School Chapel, and as a bishop in the United Methodist Church. He is one of the most widely read and respected authors among Protestant pastors other church leaders, having written many books, preaching resources, and essays. His most recent Ministry Matters essay is entitled "Court Preachers," and speaks of the "love affair" of prominent evangelical leaders with President Trump. Willimon calls out such behavior, and reminds us that the task of preachers "at all times and places, is to be obedient to Jesus Christ as Lord rather than kowtowing and being obsequious to competing lordlets." You can read all of Willimon's essay here.
Meeting With Synod Staff regarding Endowment Fund
On Thursday at noon, synod staff, including Bishop Daniel, Sherry Krieger (Director of Leadership Development and Congregational Care), Pr. Kent Wilson (Director of Leadership Development and Congregational Vitality), and Jacob Henry (Synod Administrator) sat down with Shaun and Dennis (I arrived at about 12:25) for the synod's input on St. John's plans to create an endowment fund as one vehicle for the administration of the Ruth George bequest. Synod Staff encouraged St. John's to remember the synod and churchwise ministries in their plans for these funds, and provided information regarding other congregations in the synod which have created endowment funds. Bishop Daniel was very complimentary of the work that Shaun has done to get the St. John's books in order, and the research he has done on the options for creating an endowment fund at St. John's.
Congregational Information and Input Meetings
The Executive Team has scheduled four open meetings in October to inform the congregation about the large bequest from the George estate, and to receive their input regarding how to administer it. Here are the dates and times for the meetings:
- Thursday, October 11, 11:00 am
- Saturday, October 13, following 5:00 worship
- Sunday, October 14, following 10:00 worship
- Tuesday, October 16, 7:00 pm
Synod Interim Pastors meeting
Immediately following the meeting with the synod staff, I attended the synod interim pastors meeting. Those of us in the synod who are serving congregations, either as full or part time interims, or stated supply (weekend preaching with other limited duties), meet monthly, usually the third Thursday, from 1-3 pm. We share what is happening in our interim settings, and provide each other support, encouragement, and ideas that we can use in our own interim settings. Attendance has ranged from 5 to 12. There were 11 present for Thursday's meeting.
Bishop Daniel's weekly message
You can read it here.
ELCA Worship News September issue
It arrived in my inbox this afternoon, and you can read it here.
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