We are steadily approaching Spring, 5PF-sters! Hang in there!

5PF VOLUME ONE ISSUE SEVENTEEN makes its way through the digital ether on Friday, March 15th, 2024, the Ides of March, commemorating the messy death of Julius Caesar. It's not a church holiday, but somehow everyone knows about it anyway. Watch for an Ides-themed random debate on that day.

If you've already subscribed to 5PFS by hitting the button at the bottom of the page, good for you! Thanks very much! If not, you're taking an awful risk that one Friday you'll wake up and there will be no 5PF in your email box. Why take that chance? Go ahead and subscribe today! To UN-subscribe, please send a request to our circulation department at delaney@vasynod.org.

Our last Random Debate was about what phrase would make the best Lenten greeting. Only a very few chose "Have a nice fast," which is understandable. But the remaining 88% were exactly evenly split between "Have a blessed Lent" and "Thanks for admiring my sackcloth and ashes, but it's really nothing special." It's nice to see that this sentiment, which so accurately represents the humility that should go with one's Lenten discipline, garnered so much attention.

For our next Random Debate, we ask about the month of March. Here in the southern Appalachians and Piedmont, our worst weather of the year sometimes happens in March, even if we've had a mild winter to this point. So it seems like a matter of perspective, which leads us to this week's Random Debate:

THIS WEEK'S RANDOM DEBATE:

Is March more a continuation of Winter or the opening days of Spring?

March is still Winter - stop kidding yourself.

March is basically Spring with a few insignificant exceptions. Cheer up!

The 5 Petals for Vol. 1 Issue 16 of 5PF...

Seventh Day (or "7th Day"), our annual faith-sharing event for 5th-6th graders and their adult leaders, is upon us! Nearly 100 youth and adults will gather at Eagle Eyrie conference center in Lynchburg starting TOMORROW, March 2 for this weekend of friend-making, story telling, singing, moving around, and worshiping together. So we invite prayers from all of our loyal 5PF readers (and the non-loyal ones too, now that you mention it) for a safe and joyous weekend together!

Our intrepid 5PF team of crack journalists will be there and report on the whole experience for the next issue!

Announcements & Reminders

-->SUNDAY, March 11th is the last to day to pre-register for BISHOP'S DAY on Saturday, March 16th from 1:30-4:00 at Grace Lutheran Church in Waynesboro. This event is an opportunity for youth in 7th-12th grades and their pastors or youth leaders to spend an afternoon with Bishop Milton, Dave Delaney, and members of the Synod Staff to discuss our vocation as Christians and discern where God may be calling us, especially if they may be thinking about the possibility of public ministry as a pastor, deacon, or other professional leadership in the church. There is no cost, but we're asking for pre-registration so that we can plan for enough materials. For more details and a link to the pre-registration page, click here and scroll down to the "Bishop's Day" section.

--> The Virginia Synod and the Synod's Lutheran Youth Organization Board will be offering our Youth Assembly for 7th-12th graders and adults who come with them on Saturday, May 25th from 9:30am-3:30pm! The event will allow youth to gather at one of four places around the Synod and be linked via Zoom for our worship, singing, and discussion! Our four locations are:

-College Lutheran, Salem

-Christ the King, Richmond

-Muhlenberg, Harrisonburg

-Trinity, Newport News

More information about cost, who attends, and links for registration will be sent out and published in 5PF very soon!

--> Adults who will be group leaders at Youth Events must complete the Information Sheet and Background Check permission form each year. Here are links to those forms and additional information:

-Opportunities for Small Group Leaders in 2023-2024

-2023-2024 Small Group Leader Information Sheet

-Permission to Conduct a Background Check

-What it means to be a (Young) Adult at a Synod Youth Event

Lutheran Student Movement is just what its name suggests - a student-led community of Lutheran young adults from colleges and universities who love to be in relationship with each other and like to be on the move, making their way to God's promised future alongside the whole church! Incidentally, this group recently celebrated its 100th anniversary of life and work!

Following the pandemic, LSM has renewed its schedule of national and regional gatherings for anyone who is part of a Lutheran Campus Ministry anywhere, whether they are Lutheran or not! Of particular interest to us in Virginia is the upcoming Region 9 Spring Retreat at Camp Kinard in South Carolina, April 5th-7th. The cost is only $20 and promises to be an exciting time to gather with others for faith-sharing and inspiration. Registration closes March 18th.

For more complete information and the online registration form, click this link.

We are repeating the introductory announcement for this year's Virginia Synod KAIROS event, our summertime, week-long faith-sharing experience for youth who will be in 9th-12th grades in the fall. It is held at Roanoke College in Salem, VA and is especially for young people who are already committed to a life of faith to be part of a unique Christian community for an entire week, to have a fresh experience of the grace and presence of God in that community, and to develop habits for discipleship that can be taken home as they live out their baptismal call to be followers of Jesus. Kairos is different from our weekend events in that congregations do not send advisors with youth; the event staff serves as small group leaders and dorm advisors for the week. We enjoy lots of singing and skits and fun and friend-making, prayers, and worship, plus participants gather in small groups that meet throughout the week. There are so many beloved features of Kairos: event theme t-shirts, Open Talent Mic Show, faith testimonies, comic relief, reflection time, prayer stations, speed friending, t-shirt fashion show, and more!

(“Kairos” is the New Testament Greek word for “special time.” It is used whenever God’s people want to talk about a time of change, of renewal, of God’s special work in the believer and the community.)

This year's event will be June 23-28 (Sunday evening to Friday noon).

Complete information about Kairos, including instructions for registering, are available under the youth ministry tab at the Virginia Synod website (www.vasynod.org) or by clicking here.

1. Every four years we have a leap year,

adding a day - 29th February.

2. Let’s think of those who look back and wish they had an extra day or more time:

- those who have too little time for what they are expected to do;

- those who have lost a sense of balance and proportion in their lives;

- those who feel that they have made a mess of everything and would like to be able to start again.

3. We pray, too, for those who might wish for less time:

- those who are worried about what might happen;

- those who are in despair;

- those who suffer hours of pain and illness;

- those who are in prison or are being tortured;

- those who wish to die.

4. On all these people, Lord, we ask your blessing.

(from our friends at prayingeachday.org)

Keep up with all things VA Synod Youth and Young Adult Ministry by following us on Instagram and liking our Facebook page! Snapshots of each edition of 5PF will be posted there on publication day!

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To provide feedback ... ask questions ... obtain more info on any of this ... contact Dave Delaney, Virginia Synod Director for Youth and Young Adult Ministries: delaney@vasynod.org