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... We are an Easter people ...
Probably as a result of the week I've had, those are the
only words I can find to begin this message. ... We are
an Easter people ... My problem isn't what to write, but
rather, how to punctuate it. Should it end with a
period? An exclamation point? A question
mark? Different days ... and sometimes, different hours
of different days, lead me to different ways of punctuating
the statement. Maybe it's the same for you.
Sometimes, it is simply a fact. We are people who
center, base, build and live our lives on, in, around, and
with a promise kept in an empty tomb and a risen Savior.
That's just how it is and it is just who we are. We live
and breathe and work and play in the midst of the clear and
certain hope of the resurrection and that's just how it
is. We believe it. We live it. End of
statement. We are an Easter people.
Sometimes, it is a question. Sometimes, we look
around us and we see things happening that cause us to wonder,
maybe even doubt. How could God allow this or
that? How could a person who identifies him or herself
as a Christian behave in such a way or believe such a
thing? How could this have happened to me when I have
prayed for something else? We are an Easter
people?
Sometimes, it is a declaration! An
exclamation! This is usually accompanied by joy or peace
or clarity or maybe all three and more. Sometimes life
is amazing and filled to overflowing and the time is ripe and
rich and we actually notice and embrace these gifts. We
are an Easter people!
This past week, I have grieved, celebrated, struggled,
wondered, worked, prayed and laughed. Chances are, so
have you. Our details differ, but not the big
picture. And suddenly it is clear (again, for the first
time): it isn't so much about the punctuation as it is
about the message and the One who is that message. In it
all, through it all, together and individually:
we ARE an Easter people.?!
Christ is Risen! Risen indeed!
Alleluia!
The Rev. Nancy Feniuk Nelson
Bishop's Associate
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We remember in prayer .
. .
The
family and friends of Pastor Melissa Lundquist, and the
congregation of Faith, Elko, grieving Pastor
Lundquist's untimely death. A memorial service
will be held Saturday, April 24, at 2:00 p.m. at Faith
Lutheran Church, 1700 Stitzel Road, Elko, NV. A second
memorial service will be held Saturday, May 8, at 2:00 p.m. at
Clairemont Lutheran Church in San Diego, CA.
The family and friends of Pastor William C. Crouser,
grieving his death on Tuesday, April 20. A memorial
service will be held Saturday, May 1, at 10:30 a.m. at St.
Stephen's Lutheran Church, 2500 Soquel Avenue, Santa Cruz,
CA.
Pastor
Martin Wager (retired), recovering from kidney transplant
surgery
Pastor Dawn
Turnquist, recovering from surgery for a broken arm
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CONGREGATIONS IN
TRANSITION
Key:
(1)
New Vacancy
(2)
Seeking an interim pastor
(3)
Forming a call committee
(4)
Developing profile
(5)
Preparing slate of candidates
(6)
Interviewing
(7)
Calling
Congregation Interim
Pastor
Alameda, Immanuel
(3) Bruce
Johnson
Carmel, St. Philip
(6) Lee
Tyler
Carmichael, Gethsemane
(3) Stan Niemi
Cupertino, Bethel (Assoc.)
(4)
Lori Eickmann Ferndale, Fortuna (1)
Kelseyville, Galilee
(5) Denis Eucalyptus
Lodi, St. Paul (Assoc.) (6)
Los Gatos, Faith (1
Lincoln, Grace
(3) Mary
Adelsberger
Marysville, Faith
(6) Kirk
Shipley
Merced, Shepherd of the Valley (5)
Mi-Wuk Village, Mt. Calvary (4)
Eric
Yochheim
Novato, All Saints
(3) Ray
Wade
Oakland, Bethlehem (3)
Orland, First (3)
Petaluma (Assoc.) (1)
Rio Linda, Calvary
(6) Todd
Eckblad
Sacramento, St. Paul
(3) Mike
Kerrick
Salinas, El Buen Pastor (5)
Salinas, Good Shepherd
(3) Bill Embree
San Carlos, Holy
Trinity (4)
LaVinnia
Pierson San Francisco, Our Savior (4)
David
Rohrer San Leandro, St. James
(5) Ruth Lesher
Woodland, American
(1) Dick
Smith
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MINISTRY/ROSTER
CHANGES
Magnus
B. Anderson - deceased
Jane
Blakely - transferred to South Carolina Synod
Lori
Eickmann (newly ordained) - to Interim Ministry
James Elder
(newly ordained) - to Pella, Selma
Richard
L. Foster (retired) - transferred to South Dakota Synod
James
Goldsmith - to Assistant to the Bishop/Director of Mission
Support
Owen
Grams - deceased
Jerayne
Gray-Reneberg - on leave from call
Marcus
Hess - to Interim Ministry (from Southwest California
Synod)
Endel
Kallas - to retirement
Franklin
"Del" Kjorvestad - deceased
Adolph
Kohler - deceased
Dean
Lindqust - deceased
Melissa
Lundquist - deceased
Sylvia
Mueller - to Light of Christ, Turlock (from Central Southern
Illinois Synod)
Dean
Nelson - to on leave from call
Daniel
Powell (newly ordained) - to Christ, Reedley
Ronald
Rentner - to St. Stephen's, El Dorado Hills
Mary Sanders - to on leave from
call
David Schick - to
Immanuel, Los Altos (from Grand Canyon
Synod)
Debra Slifer - to on leave from call
Raymond Waespi (newly ordained) - to Good
Shepherd South Asian Ministry, Fremont |
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Some
of our attendees believe they can save a few dollars by
staying at other hotels a mile or two away from the host
property. By doing so, they don't help offset all of
the many expenses related to putting on a Synod
Assembly. If we don't meet our contracted sleeping
room commitment, it increases the synod's exposure to
financial penalties. In addition, staying at the
Assembly hotel is more convenient and comes with
"perks." (For
instance, valet
parking or
hotel shuttle to/from the Silver Legacy is just
$3
per night.)
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Workshop information is available at Workshops
Info. Start planning the workshops
your team will attend! -
May 1
- Deadline for Issues of Conscience.
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Requests for Assembly subsidies can no
longer be considered.
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Every congregation is asked to bring
TEN
DOZEN
cookies or some other non-perishable, healthy alternative.
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Bring your favorite coffee and water
containers to be refilled at the refreshment area or in your
room.
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Thursday night dinner and Friday box lunch
are included in your registration fee. Guests must
register for the meals to be included.
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A monetary offering will be divided between
local (Nevada released prisoner re-entry program) and
international ministries (Lutheran World Relief for Haiti
and Darfur, and Lutheran Malaria Relief). Please
encourage your congregation council to support these worthy
ministries and send a check with you.
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There will be a breakfast on Friday morning
featuring Nevada Supreme Court Justice James Hardesty.
He will discuss the re-entry program noted above.
Tickets at $20 each; reservations must be made by May
4. For a downloadable form go to www.loppca.org/.
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An in-kind offering will be new, packaged
socks, underwear and toiletries for hundreds of needy and
homeless children K-12 in Washoe County, Nevada.
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Onsite check-in will be at the Silver Legacy
on the lower level.
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A Green Assembly - there will be no
information packets distributed; Assembly information is
posted on the SPS
website and ministries/ agencies will have
information in the Display area. -
Woven Image
will present a concert on Friday night at 8:00. A free
will offering will be received that will help women in India
to become more independent.
-
Please remember that the costs for the
Assembly are "balanced" among the total number of voting
members who are expected
to attend; each congregation is obligated to register
and pay for the same number of voting members which
was listed in the registration letter you received from the
Synod office.
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ELCA.org
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Upcoming Events
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2010
April 26-28 LSA Annual
Conference - Sacramento
May 5 Synod Council
May 6-8 Synod Assembly
Silver Legacy Hotel
Reno, NV
May 27 Council of Deans Meeting
Trinity, Pleasanton
June 25-26 Synod Council
July 11-16 Mt. Cross
Shalom Camp
September 18 District B Fall
Assembly 10:00 - 3:00
Resurrection, Granite Bay
September 24-25 Synod
Council
September 30 - October 5
Conference of
Bishops
October 12-14 Professional
Leaders Conference
Granlibakken Resort, Tahoe City
October 16 District E Fall
Assembly 10:00 - 3:00
Shepherd of the
Valley, Merced
October 17 District C Fall
Assembly 2:00 - 5:00 pm
St. Mark's, San Francisco
October 23 District A Fall
Assembly 10:00 - 3:00
Our Savior's, Lafayette
November 6 District D Fall
Assembly 10:00 - 3:00
Advent, Morgan Hill
2011
January 5-9 Bishop's
Academy
January 19-20 Council of
Deans Retreat - Christ the
King Retreat Center,
Citrus Heights, CA
February 28 - March 1 Retired
Clergy/Spouse/Lay
Rostered//Widows/Widowers
Retreat
March 3-8 Conference of
Bishops
May 12 Synod Council
May 13-15 Synod Assembly
Hyatt Regency Airport
Burlingame, CA
August 14-20 Churchwide
Assembly - Orlando,
FL
September 29 October 4
Conference of Bishops
2012
January 5-9 Bishop's
Academy
January 18-19 Council of Deans
Retreat - Christ the
King
Retreat Center, Citrus
Heights
July 18-22 ELCA Youth Gathering
New Orleans, LA
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THRIVENT
FINANCIAL
MEMBERS
TO HELP DISTRIBUTE UP TO
$2 MILLION
DOLLARS TO CHARITIES
Members
of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans will soon help choose
where to direct up to $2 million in charitable funds as part
of a new program called "Thrivent
ChoiceSM."
Between
April 19 - May 21, 2010, all Thrivent Financial members age 16
and older will be able to vote to distribute $1 million among
10 national charitable organizations. If at least
350,000 Thrivent members vote, Thrivent Financial will add an
additional $1 million to the funds
distributed. The funds will be distributed to
organizations based on the percentage of total votes they
receive.
For
more information, go to Thrivent.
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LUTHERAN
VOLUNTEER CORPS POSITION
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Bay Area Coordinator - Applications due April
26, 2010
Puget Sound Coordinator - Applications due April
29, 2010
The Lutheran Volunteer Corps seeks creative,
collaborative leaders and organizers to coordinate LVC's local
work in the Bay Area (Oakland, Berkeley and San Francisco) and
Puget Sound (Seattle and Tacoma). These full-time,
paying positions support LVC Volunteers, coordinate local
support committees, manage our local resources and speak on
behalf of LVC in congregations and a variety of
settings.
Requirements: excellent
inter-personal and communication skills; ability to articulate
the journey to justice in the context of Christian and other
faith traditions; experience working against institutional
racism. LVC wel-comes and affirms gay, lesbian, bisexual
and transgendered leaders in all aspects of LVC. Job
descriptions are available at
LVC
Jobs.
Bay Area
Coordinator: The compensation is
$35,500 per year, plus medical and dental benefits.
Please send a resume and cover letter to Joanne Otte, Program
Director at LVC Program Director.
Puget Sound Coordinator: The compensation
is $33,000 per year, plus medical and dental benefits. Please send a resume
and cover letter to the Rev. Michael Wilker, Executive
Director at Director.
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ASCENSION DAY SERVICE AT STANFORD
MEMORIAL CHURCH
Please save the date for the Episcopal
Lutheran Ascension Day service Thursday, May 13th, at Stanford
Memorial Church. This evening service features the Rev.
Herb Chilstrom as preacher and Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves as
celebrant. Clergy are invited to vest and process (the
color of the day is white). There will be a reception
following the service. If your choir is interested in
being part of a mass-choir, please contact the Rev. Greg
Schaefer at Pastor Greg.
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SECOND
MILE GIVING
The Second Mile Giving recipient for the
month of April is Pacific Lutheran Theological
Seminary. Please lift up this impor-tant
ministry partner for extra support in your congregation.
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Sierra
Pacific Synod 