Balancing pastoral roles focus of convocation

SEABECK
Balancing roles of caring for members while leading congregations was the topic of study by pastors from the Southwestern Washington Synod examined at the annual Bishop's Convocation in late February.
Staying focused on Christ was the answer, speakers said.
"I believe and trust in my Lord Jesus," said the Rev. Loren Leapaldt of Christ Lutheran Church of Federal Way.
Besides Leapaldt, speakers included the Revs. Melanie Wallschlaeger, synod director for evangelical mission; Greg Kaurin of Messiah Lutheran Church of Auburn; John Rosenberg of Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd of Olympia; Bill Crabtree of Silverdale Lutheran Church; and Suzanne Appelo of Gull Harbor Lutheran Church.
The featured speaker was the Rev. Dr. Jim Christiansen, spiritual director for Consultation to Clergy.
In his annual bishop's report, Robert D. Hofstad said giving to the synod is 10 percent less than a year ago, due to the 2009 ELCA sexuality decision and a troubling economy. That has translated into cuts in synod-office staffing Hofstad will recommend to the synod council. He is recommending that assistants to the bishop the Revs. Valinda Morse and Ron Hoyum work 11 months of the year; the Rev. Don Fossum work one day a week instead of two, and the position of a part-time office assistant be cut.
The synod has lost five congregations since the decision, but has added six, and perhaps one more is in the future. New and emerging congregations include Living Stones Prison Congregation of Shelton; Light of Grace of Federal Way; the north campus of Messiah Lutheran Church of Vancouver; Peace Lutheran Fellowship of Port Ludlow; St. Christopher Community Church of Steamboat Island; and Federal Way Chinese Fellowship. Conversation is going on to start a preaching point in Kingston.
The bishop announced he has set up a fund to help pay salaries of pastors in congregations where giving is down.
Hofstad said the remainder of his term will be focused on redevelopment of existing congregations.

Wing dedicated for education-centered church

GIG HARBOR
Members of Agnus Dei Lutheran Church packed the sanctuary and flowed out into the narthex for the Jan. 23 service dedicating an education wing.
"All Are Welcome" was sung at full throttle as the congregation officially opened the 6,000-square-foot wing. The Rev. Sheryl Biegert led worshipers from room to room as they sang and prayed.
Years ago, the congregation made a commitment to become an education-centered church. Its Little Lambs preschool, a vibrant adult education program and a community-centered vacation Bible school magnified the need for more educational space.
Besides classrooms, the new space includes a conference room and parish hall.
In 2003, the congregation purchased 2.5 acres adjacent to the church, undertook a capital campaign that raised $600,000 and received a loan from the ELCA Mission Investment Fund. The total cost was $1.75 million, which included payment for future construction.
"This is a great day in the life of our congregation," Pastor Biegert said.

On the upcoming assembly, raffles and how you can help ....

Planners of the popular banquet at the upcoming assembly of the Southwestern Washington Synod are seeking raffle items to raise money for synod mission. If you have something to donate, call Pastor Valinda or Allison in the synod office at (253) 535-8300.

Music lovers will be happy to note that a jazz trio has been lined up for the banquet at this year's assembly, to take place May 18 and 19 at Grand Mound. The Rev. Peter Mohr will be the master of ceremonies. Ben Dobyns, pianist at Bethlehem Lutheran Church of Tacoma, will do duty on the 88's.

A recipient of the Bishop's Award recognizing outstanding service is to be announced at the banquet, too.

Stay tuned for more.

Major Planning Giving Workshops Coming in February and March

Pastors and congregational leaders are invited to come to one of seven workshops throughout the synod in February and March on "Congregational Planning Giving Leadership: Growing Leadership in the 21st Century."

The Rev. James Leistikow will lead the workshops to link leaders with resources and best practices for planned giving.

The effort is made possible by a $100,000 gift from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans to the Southwestern Washington Synod.

"This gift is timely and has the potential of making a difference for every congregation in our synod," Leistikow said, adding that the dollar amount of the gift will be multiplied many times in congregations for the benefit of mission and ministry. Leistikow is the grant director for the area.

Here is the schedule:
6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 23, Christ Lutheran Church of Federal Way, 2501 SW 320th St.
6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 24, St. Andrew Lutheran Church of Vancouver, Wash., 5607 NE Gher Road
9 to 11 a.m. Feb. 26, St. Mark's by The Narrows of Tacoma, 6730 N. 17th St.
6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 28, Peace Lutheran Church of Puyallup, 214 Pioneer
6:30 to 8:30 p.m. March 1, Grace Lutheran Church of Port Townsend, 1120 Walker St.
6:30 to 8:30 p.m. March 3, Amazing Grace Lutheran Church of Aberdeen, 111 E Fourth St.
6:30 to 8:30 p.m. March 10, Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd of Olympia, 161 North St. SE

Attendance is free. Register online at:

http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/calendar/monthview?eso=001FXLrp52uYdJ3QkdHvfIRLw==http://&year=2011&month=1

or by contacting Lestikow at (425) 252-2021 or jim.leistikow@gail.com.

Rev. Randy Haas to be featured in The Lutheran

The Rev. Randy Haas working at his new call in Tacoma will be featured in the March issue of The Lutheran.
Haas, easily recognizable with Harley and head-to-toe tattoos, now is leading a rare two-point ministry in the heart of urban Tacoma, at Salishan Lutheran Mission and Hope Lutheran Church.
Don't miss it.

Bishop's Convocation next week

The 2011 Bishop's Convocation, "The Balancing Act of Pastoral Leadership," takes place Jan. 25 and 26 at the Seabeck Christian Conference Center. Participants will examine the many roles pastors are called to fill. The convocation will be preceded by a prayer retreat on Jan. 23 to 25 led by the Rev. Jim Christianson. The theme will be "Tending to the Holy: Practicing the Presence of God in Ministry." Contact the synod office for more information.

Faith-formation training slated for February in Vancouver

The next "Come to the Water" catechumenal-process training event will take place Feb. 18 and 19 at St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Vancouver, Wash. The event is appropriate for congregational teams that need resources to begin the catechumenal process, which is faith formation for newcomers and people who refreshers in faith basics. Featured speakers include Bishop Robert D. Hofstad and catechumenal author Ann McElligott.
The cost is $30 per person. Further information can be found at http://catechumenate.org/uploads/file/Water2011.pdf of by contacting the Rev. Martha Maier, maierm@comcast.net or (360) 892-7160.

Opportunity to serve in China

The Rev. Steven Ray of the Southwestern Washington Synod has announced three service opportunities for youth and adults in China this year through ChinaConnect, an independent Lutheran charitable group that Ray heads. They include an orphanage care project from June 16 to 28; an English-as-a-second language training project from July 2 to Aug. 1; and a youth culture and service project from July 13 to 28. Contact Ray at (253) 851-7643 or sray@chinaconnectonline.org. To learn more about ChinaConnect, visit www.chinaconnectonline.org.

From the parish nurses: Stewardship includes staying healthy

from Bruce Strade, executive director, Northwest Parish Nurse Ministries

When we think of stewardship within faith communities, what generally comes to mind is contributing money, utilizing talents, maintaining buildings and property and respecting and protecting the environment. Rarely is self-care or healthy living a stewardship emphasis. Yet if we are serious about being good stewards of God’s creation, then taking care of ourselves and being concerned about the well-being of others ought to be an essential ingredient in any stewardship program. That’s where health ministry comes in.

Health ministry is based on the premise that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, as the Psalmist states, and as such need to take responsibility for our health and make choices that will help us lead as full a life as possible. The emphasis is on wellness and wholeness, taking into consideration the physical, spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and relational components of good health. All work together to form a whole. When one area is hurting, all, in one way or another, hurt.

A health ministry program takes health care seriously and sees it as part of our response to God’s goodness and grace. It promotes a culture that encourages people to exercise regularly, eat nutritionally, maintain a healthy weight, and not smoke, one or all of which over 87% of the population in the United States fail to do. It recognizes that just as healing was central to Christ’s ministry, so also is the Body of Christ a healing community. By design and intent we are meant to live in relationship to one another. We are called to establish a place of nurture and support and create a context where people are validated and see themselves as partners in healing. Health Ministry upholds the power of prayer, values the contribution of medicine and health care professionals, connects people to community resources, provides reliable education and encourages self-responsibility. Health ministry puts CARE into health care.

If you already have a health ministry program, including the services of a Faith Community/Parish Nurse, you might want to:
• Schedule a Health Ministry Sunday to highlight the importance of health care and to thank the Faith Community/Parish Nurses/Health Ministers/Prayer Shawl Ministers, etc., for their service.
• Offer Services of Prayer for Healing and Wholeness as a vehicle of God’s healing presence and an expression of the church as a healing community.
• Make it a point to address health-related issues from the pulpit, in Bible study and through newsletter articles.
• Encourage funding for Health Ministry and explore the possibility of a paid Faith Community/Parish Nurse.

If you do not currently have a Health Ministry Program, you might target 2011 as the year to put one in place. To begin:
• Check out the webpage of Northwest Parish Nurse Ministries (www.npnm.org), especially the Toolkit section in Congregational Resources. Feel free to call us at: 503-413-4137. Your national faith community webpage might also have additional resources and information.
• Identify people interested in this ministry and put together a Health Ministry Committee. You might also invite a Faith Community/Parish Nurse in your area to talk about the health ministry program in his/her church.
• Develop a plan for a health ministry program and designate funds to send a member, possibly a licensed nurse, to the Basic Preparation for Faith Community Nurses and Health Ministers. Dates of classes are listed on the NPNM webpage.

Joan Chittister in her book of meditations on The Psalms states: To praise the Creator it is necessary to care for the creation. (p. 139) When we consider humankind as the crown of creation, made in the image of the Creator, then we have ample reason to praise God by taking good care of ourselves. So pour on the praise. Exercise good stewardship. Make health ministry a priority in 2011.

If your congregation has a website policy you're comfortable with ...

... let me know what it is. It's a current topic on conversation among the ELCA's communicators, and I'll let you know how it all comes out.

Rachel Pritchett, communicator
rachelpritchett@msn.com
(206) 498-0920, cell

As legislative session looms, a word from the Lutheran Public Policy Office

By the Rev. Paul Benz, director, Lutheran Public Policy Office of Washington, pbenz@lcsnw.org

As legislators convene Jan. 10 to consider the governor's just-released proposed biennial budget containing deep cuts, the Lutheran Public Policy Office urges you to leave the following message to all three of your legislators and the governor by calling the legislative hotline at (800) 562-6000.

As a person of faith I understand that you will be making deep cuts and eliminating critical programs that serve the poor & vulnerable and that protect our environment during the 2011 session. As you go through the process of making these difficult decisions please keep the poor and most vulnerable in mind, use a balanced approach, and consider other options that are being talked about. Our church will also be praying for you.

Be sure to pray during your prayers of the church on Sundays for the governor and your state legislators regularly during the 2011 session. List the hotline number in your bulletins. For more help, contact our director of congregational relations, David Hacker, at dhacker@lcsnnw.org.

People notes

To the Marshall Islands: The Rev. Jon Olson has resigned as associate pastor of Messiah of Auburn in order to serve as chaplain at Island Memorial Chapel on the Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific. The Rev. Greg Kaurin said, "Pray for Pastor Jon, Kim, Sophie, Gavin and the rest of their family, as well as those in the Marshall Islands who will be as blessed by his ministry as we were."

New organist: Dan Colgan is the new organist at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church of Olympia. He is a graduate of Westminster Choir College of Rider University of Princeton, N.J. He plans to teach organ, piano and voice in Olympia, as well.

Synod welcomes new worshipping community

By the Rev. Melanie Wallschlaeger, director for evangelical mission

Congregations of the ELCA and Southwestern Washington Synod often navigate rough seas when facing a variety of issues.
In the past 18 months, several synod congregations have charted their place and course with the Synod and ELCA. The Synod’s most recently formed worshipping community is Peace Lutheran Fellowship (PLF) in Port Ludlow. PLF chose its name based on their desired Christian community. In the turbulent waters of congregational life, PLF was formed to be a community of peace--a community of worship, and a community of service and generosity (over 25 percent of offerings support ministries to God and neighbor). Different perspectives are not only welcomed in the fellowship, but valued.
Numerous worshippers, community members, pastors and synod staff have shared their prayers, leadership and resources to help anchor this community committed both to the shared ministry of the ELCA, and the Port Ludlow/Eastern Jefferson County area. PLF is now a Synod Authorized Worshipping Community (SAWC), which means PLF agrees to a governance structure and joins a missional fleet of the Synod, having received some funding from both the Churchwide Organization and the “1000 Friends” initiative. This funding, combined with its own resources, provides opportunity for PLF to a call a half-time pastor as a partner in moving where the Holy Spirit will direct the PLF sails. A call committee will soon begin interviews. Please remember PLF in your prayers as you are remembered in theirs.
Peace Lutheran Fellowship is another example of how a significant piece of mission is searching for where God’s Spirit blows. Learn more about the movement of God at PLF at www.peacelutheranfellowship.org

At New Year's, a reflection on the church year

By Bishop Robert D. Hofstad
Southwestern Washington Synod

The Church Year. Every Christian knows it. Even if he or she thinks they don’t … they know it! Why? Because our culture knows it. Christmas is December 25th! Easter…that’s in March or April, isn’t it? ... something about Jesus! Even Halloween has something to do with the church, doesn’t it? All of us know there is an annual cycle of the church year … even if we think we don’t know.
The Church Year — Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter and Pentecost — serves to take us back to the events of Jesus’ life so we 
will not forget them. This is reason enough to celebrate. But there is 
more ... much more! If looking back is the only function of the Church
Year, we have lost, perhaps, the most important gift.
The Church Year mirrors the cycle of life. Not simply life in general, but specifically our life in Jesus Christ. The Church Year does
take us back to events of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, but more importantly the Church Year points to Jesus living forward into the 
present and the future. When we celebrate Christmas, the gift of God’s Incarnation in Jesus Christ — God active in the “stuff” of life — God becomes a reality in our life. As we celebrate Easter, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ becomes our own death and resurrection. 
We celebrate our baptism into Christ and our resurrection by the forgiveness of sins. Over and over again as we travel through the
Church Year we experience a death and resurrection in our own life.
How does the Church Year evoke death and resurrection at other 
times? In Advent the waiting and anticipation of the season become reflections of our own life as we await release from the worries and 
burdens that hold us fast. In the darkness of Epiphany we come to understand the darkness in which we live — both as individuals and in our world — and we come to see the light of Christ breaking 
through that darkness. In Lent we come to know the “miniature” deaths we experience each and every day and our being “called forth”to new life from the waters of Holy Baptism. And in the Pentecost season, the Holy Spirit comes to us — just as to the disciples on 
Pentecost Day — bestowing the “fire” of faith and the “breath” of new hope in Jesus Christ.
Our journey through the Church Year is, in fact, a recurring experience of “pascha” — passing over from life to death, and from death to new life again. Each and every season and festival of the Church Year has its own coloring and shading, yet the Gospel proclamation remains firmly in place: Jesus Christ — by his own death and resurrection, by repentance and the forgiveness of our sins, and through the proclamation of the Word and celebration of the Sacraments — brings us to new life from out of the clutches of death.
The Church Year enfolds us into the cycle of life: Life — Death — Resurrection. Not by itself, of course. There is also the daily reading of scripture, regular worship and prayers, and even the exercise of our own ministry — our baptismal calling to love God and serve our neighbor. These also bring both death and resurrection to life. And the Church year does the same. It is a precious gift! A gift from God in Christ through the Holy Spirit throughout each and every day of life.
Thanks be to God!