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March 9, 2022 |
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Time Change This WeekendA reminder to change your clocks as Daylight Savings Time begins this Sunday, March 13th. |
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Ukraine AidRev. Rachel Eskesen, ELCA Area Desk Director for Europe, and her husband Rev. Zach Courter, Associate in Ministry, have provided all of the ELCA with an update regarding the situation in Ukraine. They ask for our continued prayer for all partner churches in the region and all in Central and Eastern Europe who are impacted, as well as for a swift and merciful end to violence. They have put together a 2-minute video that you can watch here. Please feel free to share this on your social media feeds and with your congregation. For those of you wishing to financially support European partner churches who are doing the work on the ground to respond to the needs of refugees, you can donate here. Pastors Rachel and Zach have also provided a bulletin insert from ELCA Lutheran Disaster Response and an update document which summarizes the current responses of their European partner and ELCA support. All their provided resources are linked here. Should you have trouble accessing these resources, please contact Katy Miles-Wallace at idecoordinator@swtsynod.org |
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Boundless AdventureWhen the 2022 ELCA Youth Gathering was canceled, a team of youth workers decided to plan an alternative gathering. The Southwestern Texas Boundless
Sunday, 7/24 – 6:00 pm Arrival Contact your church organizer or Denise Blomquist, youth@pvlc.org, with questions. |
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Women's History Month: 16th Century Confessors of FaithThe Graduate Theological Union's Women's Studies in Religion department speaks with Rev. Dr. Kirsi Sterjna about women as confessors of faith in the 16th century! Rev. Dr. Kirsi Sterjna is the Professor of Lutheran History and Theology at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary of California Lutheran University in Berkeley, California, Core Doctoral Faculty at the Graduate Theological Union, and Docent in Helsinki University, Finland. She is also the author of Women and the Reformation, Lutheran Theology: A Grammar of Faith, No Greater Jewel: Thinking About Baptism with Luther and a contributor on several other publications. |
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Scholarships for Lutheran WomenWomen of the ELCA offers two categories of scholarships encompassing both Lutheran lay women and Lutheran women in ordained ministry. Learn more about their scholarship offerings on the WELCA website. |
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Coming Soon from the SynodCongregations should be on the lookout for a packet soon to be sent from the Synod Office. The packet will include 2021 annual statements, letters of gratitude in response to mission support giving, and a bookmark featuring the Synod's new vision statement. We hope that these items will help us to wrap up the last year while dreaming about how we might collectively follow in the footsteps of the Holy Spirit in successive years. Voting members and those who intend to visit Synod Assembly in New Braunfels should also be on the lookout for announcements regarding Synod Assembly registration in upcoming editions of eNews. |
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Synod Assembly OfferingThe 2022 synod assembly will be in New Braunfels June 10-12, and the theme is “Got Good News? Go with it!” Our inspiration is the story of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch found in Acts 8 where we see Philip eagerly answer the call of the Holy Spirit to get up and go down a wilderness road to meet a stranger. The stranger from Ethiopia reveals that he is struggling to understand scripture, and after some conversation, Philip is able to share the Good News of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. The Ethiopian asks to be baptized and returns home a changed man. God’s people have found themselves on wilderness roads many times when they are struggling or vulnerable, and those wilderness roads have taken on many different appearances. They tend to be places where God feels distant or the way forward is difficult or unknown. Still, disciples of the Lord are called to be faithful in the wilderness and find ways to share the Good News even in difficult circumstances which is why the designated 2022 assembly offering is the synod’s Evangelical Mission Endowment Fund. The purpose of the fund is to provide financial assistance for congregations, ministries, Synod Authorized Worshipping Communities (SAWCs), and SAWC Explorations in vulnerable settings, such as communities of poverty, that are dependent on financial assistance. We invite you to give generously to the synod assembly offering and join others in the synod as we realize our hope of raising $180,000 for the fund to help sustain these ministries. We are passionate about this work and would like a chance to speak with your council, stewardship or benevolence committees, congregation, or anyone who shares our passion for equipping ministries that change people’s lives about how to give and what impact your giving will have on our ministries. If you have any available openings for a brief presentation, please contact Pastor Lisa Hoelscher at pastorlisah@gmail.com or 830-379-9900 to arrange an in-person or virtual visit. If we do not hear from your congregation by March 15, Pastor Lisa will check in by phone. |
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Safe Gatherings Training UpdateIt was recently brought to the attention of the synod office that there are several parts of the Safe Gatherings boundaries training for Rostered Ministers and SAMs which do not align with the values of our synod and that, while likely well-intended, can impact particularly those who are from historically marginalized populations in a negative way. Recognizing this disparity in ideology and conviction, we will be writing a letter to Safe Gatherings to express our concern and will be selecting a new boundaries training. If you have yet to complete your boundaries training, are currently due for it, and are comfortable continuing with Safe Gatherings, please complete it with Safe Gatherings for the time being. If you are due for boundaries training and are uncomfortable with continuing with Safe Gatherings, please contact Deacon Darcy Mittelstaedt, Bishop's Associate for Leadership and Lifelong Faith Formation: dmittelstaedt@swtsynod.org Please, feel free to reach out with concerns or questions. |
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Cross Trails Gift of Faith GalaHelp us raise funds to keep camp affordable for all and make sure no one misses out because of the cost! This year's Gift of Faith Gala will be held as a hybrid event. There will be a gathering at Ebert Ranch where tickets can be pre-purchased online for the in-person event that will take place on Saturday, March 12th from 5-9 pm.
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