eNews March 23, 2022

March 23, 2022

A Service of Prayer for the War in Ukraine

The Southwestern Texas Synod Staff have put together a service of prayer for the war in Ukraine to be used in the home, with prayer groups, and in congregations. Service materials include a video and a bulletin. The bulletin is available in a booklet and flyer format. Many thanks to Deacon Darcy Mittelstaedt and Rev. Lisa Hoelscher for putting this service together and to Rev. Chris Steubing for his contribution of original music!

Click for Video - Online

Click for Video - Download

Click for Bulletin

Click for Booklet

Tornado Relief

We are grieved to hear and see the impact of recent storms on our area. We continue to pray for all who have been impacted that they find safety, food, shelter, and that all which has been damaged or destroyed might be swiftly repaired and rebuilt.

In order to aid those impacted by the storm please consider giving at the link below.

For more infomation visit:

https://tithe.ly/give_new/www/#/tithely/give-one-time/2649188?giving_to=SWTS%20Disaster%20Response

Click for SWT Synod Disaster Response

College of Pastoral Leaders

Designed to reinvigorate your vocation, the College of Pastoral Leaders makes two-year, $10,000 grants to small groups of pastors to be pursue a self-designed program for renewal, vitality, and pastoral excellence.

Accepting Applications through May 13!

For more infomation visit:

https://www.austinseminary.edu/lifelong-learning/collaborative-learning/college-of-pastoral-leaders

Click to Learn more

Synod Assembly Registration Now Available

Got Good News? Go With It!

We know you have been eagerly awaiting and the time has come for assembly registration to open!

Thank you for patience with our delay and know that we have been working hard to find sponsors to keep costs down and to find the easiest format for you to register for assembly.

Registration for voting members will be $180 until May 15^th when it increases to $250. So, register early!

Registration for visitors will be $45. Those who want to watch from home may do so via Facebook Live.

*There will be a non-refundable fee of $25 assessed for any cancelations received before May 15, 2022. No refunds will be issued beginning on May 15, 2022. However, you may substitute one attendee for another.

For all things assembly, please make sure you visit https://www.swtsynod.org/pages/assembly. There will be updates posted online leading up to the assembly and more following the assembly. Contact info@swtsynod.org with any questions.

For more infomation visit:

https://www.swtsynod.org/pages/assembly

Click for More About Synod Assembly

ELCA Region-4 South Archives Brochure

The ELCA Region 4-South Archives is sending an informational brochure to all the Southwestern Texas Synod churches. Please look for it in your mail soon. The brochure gives information about the Archives: where it is located, what it is, why it exists, and how it can be beneficial. Contact information for the Region 4-South Archives as well as for the churchwide ELCA Archives is provided, both of which have an online presence. The brochure is made possible by a generous grant from the ELCA Archives.

New Foundation Position Open

Lutheran Foundation of the Southwest has a full-time position opening for an associate gift planner for the Southwestern Texas Synod. The associate gift planner will be responsible for cultivating legacy gifts and presenting opportunities for long-term ministry investments in the LFSW Multi Asset Fund and ELCA Ministry Growth Fund. The associate gift planner will report to Deacon John Dellis, director of legacy planning and senior gift planner for the synod, and will be expected to reside in the territory of the synod.

For more information contact Deacon Dellis at (830) 305-2758 or jdellis@lfsw.org

Migration without Borders: Imagining Ourselves as Immigrants

In mainstream political discourse, immigration is framed as a social crisis rather than a social opportunity. Moreover, immigrants are assigned the permanent status of foreigner and thereby made to occupy peripheral geographies. But as Christians we know that the Bible conveys a counter-narrative about the sanctity of human migration. Rather than view migration as a social problem, can we view it in terms of the freedom of movement the God has given to all creation? Can we expand our vision of migration to include ourselves as part of the migration story that Scripture teaches us?

Join Professor Gregory Cuéllar and discover the ways that migrant communities are manifesting the poetic productivity of the sacred in our midst. Find your way into a more expansive story about the immigrant experience. Reclaim and remember the hope of God, Emmanuel. We will learn through study and conversation online and through an immersive experience among immigrants in the gateway city of Houston, Texas.

Two Online Sessions: Tuesday, April 12, 6:00-8:00 p.m. and Tuesday, April 19, 6:00-8:00 p.m. via Zoom
Immersive Travel Seminar, Houston, Texas: April 29 at 1:00 p.m. - May 1 at Noon
Cost: $375 includes Friday and Saturday single-occupancy hotel room plus meals Friday evening through breakfast Sunday.

For more infomation visit:

https://www.austinseminary.edu/lifelong-learning/practicing-theology-in-public/migration-without-borders-imagining-ourselves-as-immigrants

Click to Learn More

TLU Spring Choir Tour

The TLU Choir will be performing their Spring Tour, Of Eternal Love Begotten, at Trinity Lutheran, Ft. Worth on March 24; St. John, Bartlett on March 25; and the Texas Lutheran University Chapel of Abiding Presence, Seguin on March 29.

All concerts will begin at 7 p.m.

For more infomation visit:

https://www.tlu.edu/events/spring-choir-tour-2022

Click for Additional Information