|
WEDNESDAY ROSTERED LEADERS CALL
|
|
|
|
Thank you for joining us for the Rostered Leader Call this week!
Here is the recording of the call.
Please join us for next week's call at the same link:
Zoom link
Meeting ID: 703 269 400
(no password needed)
|
|
|
Endorse the Common Table Reopening Statement! The Common Table is a gathering of interfaith leaders in Oregon who have committed to put aside their spiritual and political differences to re-discover what they have in common. Click here to add your name to this statement affirming:
"We will continue to prioritize public health, alongside the economic, spiritual, and psychological well-being of all our neighbors, especially the most vulnerable members of our society. We commit to doing so not just in loving prayer, but also through loving action."
|
|
|
|
PEER Grant Dollars are Still Available!
Looking for a way your congregation can act to relieve the pressure of the immense food insecurity facing our communities? Want to connect with our ecumenical partners and increase the good we can do?
Pandemic Emergency Economic Relief (PEER) is the Oregon Synod's financial response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In partnership with the NW Conference of the United Methodist Church (UMC) and The Presbytery of the Cascades we are encouraging local congregations to join with one another and community-based organizations, to offer grocery gift cards and other food or financial assistance to families most impacted during these times. Congregations raise funds and the local community organization, who has a direct relationship with the families, works to get assistance to where it is needed most. There are still funds available! Your congregation can learn more and APPLY HERE.
|
|
|
Ministry Leadership Circle: Getting Clear, Staying Connected, Keeping Calm
Join author Margaret Marcuson for a Ministry Leadership Circle. This group is open to rostered clergy and will focus on three critical aspects of sustainable leadership during these challenging (and sometimes lonely) times. Click here to find out more about the program and to enroll. |
|
|
|
Mediation Skills Training Institute for Church Leaders. Conflict is an inevitable and normal part of life, occurring in the home, church, school, and workplace. Mediation Skills Training Institute equips pastors and other church leaders with the skills necessary to deal effectively with interpersonal, congregational, and other forms of group conflict. Active and practical in focus, the daily sessions emphasize hands-on skills training and real-life role-plays based on the kinds of conflicts faced by participants. A $200 tuition discount is available for all sessions. Detailed information, including discount deadlines and a registration form, is available on the current MSTI brochure. While holding these events in person would have been the first choice, concern for the health and safety of everyone involved compels MSTI to proceed remotely via Zoom. Thanks so much in advance for your patience and understanding!
Available Sessions:
August 3-7
August 31-September 4
October 5-9
November 16-20
Register online. Please Note: Brown Paper Tickets charges a small non-refundable fee for this service. For more information about these and any of The Lombard Mennonite Peace Center's other training events — including workshop dates and the deadlines to receive a $200 discount — please visit our website.
|
|
|
|
We invite you to join the #FaithfulCensus Week of Action from June 1-5! Amid the COVID-19 crisis, there are new challenges to a full count of the nation, and it’s important that faith communities remain committed to getting out the count among historically undercounted and hard-to-count communities. This week is an opportunity for the faith community and partners to come together and encourage all people to be counted in the 2020 Census. Sign up to receive the #FaithfulCensus toolkit which contains social media content, including different focuses for each day of the week, a calendar of events, how partners can get involved, and links to more resources on the 2020 Census.
|
|
|
Oregon Synod Assembly 2020. Save the date! In response to current conditions, Synod Assembly this year has been rescheduled as an online 1-day event to take place on November 7th. More information to come!
|
|
|
Congratulations, Deacon Bonnie!
With gratitude, joy, and loss, the Oregon Synod office bids farewell to Deacon Bonnie who has been serving the synod as Transformation Leadership Initiative Facilitator as she departs for a new call to Central Lutheran Church community in Portland.
From Deacon Bonnie:
I am deeply grateful for the chance to participate in and facilitate the Transformational Leadership Initiative. Under the tutelage of Pr. Terry Moe and in the companionship of other pastors & organizers, I had the opportunity to explore the ways in which adaptive thinking and community organizing practices could be brought together at the intersections of clergy & lay, faith-based & secular, inter-denominational & inter-religious, building our capacity to act for the common good.
For the past 18 months I’ve had the privilege of serving as the Facilitator for this group. After ordination, that role became my first call. It has been a wonderful one where I have gotten to listen to, learn from, encourage and support four teams of funded organizers (clergy & lay working together) as they put into practice Transformational Leadership in their contexts and meet quarterly as a community of practice with other community organizers
I am grateful to the Oregon Synod, ELCA Churchwide and the United Methodist Church for making this work possible. Many of you have seen this work in action over the years as it has informed our synod’s approach to adaptive change.
In May, I received a call from Central Lutheran Church, Portland, as their Deacon for Faith Formation and Community Engagement. Installation information to come. I ask your prayers for the people of Central and the journey we are taking together. I also ask your prayers for the ongoing going work of the Transformational Leadership Initiative.
|
|
|
|
Synod Learning Day September 19, 2020. Save the Date! Please plan to join us as we gather as synod for an affordable, online, 1-day event of practical workshops and learning sessions. With topics from adaptive change, technology, heath care and equity, climate, racism, to stewardship there will be something for everyone. More information to come!
|
|
|
|
PPP Loan Forgiveness Applications Open. Applications are now available to apply for PPP Loan Forgiveness.Please refer to this helpful guide from the US Chamber of Commerce.
|
|
|
|
Bishop's Convocation 2020, October 12-14th Best Western Agate Beach, Newport. In response to the survey feedback we received after last year's convocation, this year's event is scheduled one week earlier, at the same location. Responses were even on whether to stay at the same location or move, so we stayed with the Best Western based on pricing and affordability. We plan to hold convocation elsewhere in 2021. Like everything, all plans are subject to change depending on the pandemic and we will communicate as early as possible and often regarding any changes. We look forward to this tie with you!
|
|
|
|
|
Presiding Bishop Eaton has provided a pre-recorded sermon for Trinity Sunday. Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton has rerecorded her national sermon and Gospel reading to share with the church on Sunday, June 7, The Holy Trinity. The video is available now on YouTube (view) and Vimeo (download). Links to the written transcript and videos with subtitles are posted in the video description. They can be found in English and Spanish. Please note that this email is only being shared with rostered ministers serving congregations, congregational and synod communicators, and synod bishops with the goal of sharing in unison at worship this weekend. Please refrain from sharing the recording on social media until June 7.
|
|
|
|
Remembering the Emanuel Nine. As part of the 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, voting members adopted a resolution designating June 17 to as a commemoration of the martyrdom of the Emanuel 9—the nine people shot and killed on June 17, 2015, during a Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. Click here for resources provided to help congregations mark this day. Many of these materials were recently produced for this first year of marking the commemoration; among the others are helpful ELCA websites and documents as well as resources from our ecumenical partners. In this time of pandemic, many will need to be adapted for virtual worship, online conversation, or individual reflection and devotion. You are invited to use them in whatever ways are most helpful for your local context.
|
|
|
Oregon Health Authority Guidance. OHA has replied to one of the most commonly asked questions from faith leaders. It is provided here for those of you as an additional consideration for opening.
Q: Can faith communities can hold multiple 25 person gatherings on the same campus, or in different rooms within the same building?
A: Under the Phase 1 statewide guidance, if there will be separate buildings and the people in the different buildings do not have to share and will not share common space while in the separate buildings, a faith gathering can have up to 25 people in each building as long as they can maintain a physical distance of 6 feet.
If the facility has rooms within the same building, and the faith leader(s) can prevent the people in each room from sharing common spaces while everyone is in the building, the gathering can be up 25 people in each room as long as they maintain a physical distance of 6 feet. That includes ensuring that individuals from different rooms will not share entrances or exits, restrooms, kitchens, or other common spaces while all in the same building.
Have you made your Congregation Health Plan in preparation for opening? You can find the planning guide here.
|
|
For Janet Parker and her wife Pr. Robyn Hartwig who have are in Texas, grieving the death of Janet's mother and making peace with the complexities of her burial on June 20th.
For Pr. Craig Johnson and his wife Karen who are at home now and continue to heal from COVID-19. Doctors have told Pr. Craig that it may take 2-3 months for his breathing to return to his pre-infection state. To support the family now, please do not reach out by phone, email or text. Pastor Craig would be tempted to respond, when what he really needs is to focus on his own recovery. Karen has asked for this favor specifically. Cards and letters are still gratefully accepted.
For SAM Annemarie Richardson from Cave Junction who just got out of the hospital after being treated for a perforated diverticulum.
For Pr. Michael Keys, for his daughter Rebecca and her spouse, and especially for their 5 year old son, Harry. Harry is back at home, but has lost significant weight and has daily chemo and radiation treatments. He was diagnosed with stage 4 rhabdomyosarcoma in April. Your prayers support, and encouragement are appreciated immensely!
|
|
|
|
|
|
