Upcoming events

Chance to help women exiting prisons and their families

Once again this year, a fundraiser will be held to benefit Empowering Life, the group that helps formerly incarcerated women and their families success in the community. The fun evening is from 7 to 9 Feb. 9 at St. Mark's by The Narrows Lutheran Church of Tacoma, 6730 N 17th St. For a suggested donation of $15, participants hear intimate stories from some of the woman, share in fabulous desserts, take part in a silent auction and enjoy the music of the Peninsula High School Jazz Band. To register, contact Joan Nelson at joan2nelson@comcast.net or 253-208-3307. Checks for $15 can be mailed to her at P.B. Box 1803, Gig Harbor, WA 98335. Nelson is seeking auction items.

Advocacy Day approaches as FAN voices legislative priorities

OLYMPIA — Faith Action Network, co-directed by the Rev. Paul Benz, has laid out its priorities as the 2013 legislative session gets underway.
Those priorities include working for legislation to:
— prevent wage theft;
— provide adequate funding for food assistance, farm-to-school programs, the Housing Trust Fund and the expansion of Medicaid;
— create enough revenue to balance the budget;
— support gun-control legislation and repeal of the death penalty; and
— improve immigration laws.
All are encouraged to come join the Inter-Faith Advocacy Day, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 20 starting at the United Churches of Olympia, 110 11th Ave. SE, Olympia. The day begins with worship and workshops. Then groups take their messages to the offices of their legislators. Registaer at bit.ly/IFAD2013. For more information about the day, email FAN at fan@fanwa.org or 206-625-9790.
Benz suggests congregations pray fervently for their lawmakers and regularly call them to share views on the free legislative hotline at 800-562-6000. FAN is a merger of the former Lutheran Public Policy Office and the Washington Association of Churches. Benz can be reached at benz@fanwa.org or 206-390-4133. To stay current on FAN's work in Olympia, go to www.fanwa.org.

Lutheran Community Services Northwest fundraiser coming

Lutheran Community Services Northwest's annual fundraising event takes place March 10 at the Landmark Convention Center in Tacoma. With the theme "Growing in Strength," the event for the social-service provider will start with at 12:30 p.m. social hour, followed by a buffet lunch. The program begins at 1:30 p.m. and ends at 3 p.m. For more information or to register, contact Lee Tenneboe at ltenneboe@lcsnw.org or 253-722-5694.

Mark your calendars for boundaries training

Barbara Keller, ELCA consultant for misconduct prevention, will lead required boundaries training for clergy, lay leaders and youth directors Friday and Saturday, April 5 and 6, at locations yet to be announced.
Training for clergy will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 5, at a cost of $30. Training for lay leaders will be from 9 a.m. to noon April 6, followed by training for youth directors. The cost for the April 6 sessions has not yet been announced. Look here for further details. To register, contact the synod office at swwsynod@plu.edu or 253-535-8301. The training is sponsored by the Southwestern and Northwest synods.

Pastoral-theology conference focuses on Book of Matthew

"God is with us: Preaching, teaching and living the Gospel of Matthew," is the title of the 2013 Pacific Lutheran University Conference on Pastoral Theology.
The conference takes place June 17 to 19 at the Tacoma university, and will precede a period starting in December 2013 when congregations will engage in the Gospel of Matthew. Pastoral scholars John Pilch of Georgetown University and the  Rev. Dr. Melinda Quivik of Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia will share the cultural context that shaped the gospel. Workshops will focus on congregational planning in 2013 and 2014. More information and registration is at www.plu.edu/congregations, 253-535-7424 or crel@plu.edu.