For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

The world will tell us that Christmas is a time for presents. As Christians we know that Christmas is a time for presence - God's greatest gift - Immanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23). Jesus, the very presence of God in our midst!

We pray that each of you are filled with the presence of God this Advent season, and through His presence you reach out to those God has called you to touch in your ministry.

Please join us in praying and thanking God for the following schools this week:

St. John’s Preschool, El Segundo, CA

Bethany Lutheran School and Preschool, Long Beach, CA

Mt. Olive Lutheran Preschool/Kindergarten, Poway, CA

Below are photos from St. John’s Preschool, El Segundo, CA:

Toddlers exploring different art mediums.

The 2 year old class decorating their classroom Christmas tree.

Mrs Harvey applied for and won a grant from Kinetca and used the grant money for an all new multicultural, cozy library corner.

Below are photos from Bethany Lutheran School and Preschool,

Long Beach, CA:

Preschool Trike-A-Thon

 Outdoor art and exploration with shaving cream

TK Thanksgiving Feast, Charlie Brown style!

2024-2025 All School Photo

3^rd grade recess

K-8 Bear Team

Below are photos from Mt. Olive Lutheran Preschool, Poway, CA:

AWC PHOTOS

Check out these AWC photos taken by Stuart Gardner, Director of Community Life at Christ, La Mesa. Thank you, Stuart!

Day 1

Day 2 Morning

Day 2 Breakouts

Banquet

THANKOFFERING

Thank you so much to all who have generously given to the Thankoffering. A total of $2,820.52 so far will go toward children of PSD church workers pursuing an undergraduate church work degree at one of our Concordia Universities. You can still contribute until December 15! Click here for the Thankoffering PayPal page.

ELECTION RESULTS

Congratulations to the newly elected members of the 2025 LEC Committee:

1st Vice President: Meredith Binnie

2nd Vice President: Jenny Lark

Secretary/Jubilarian Coordinator: Cynthia Spiva

Treasurer/Registrar: Jonathan Orr

Program Chair: Amy Blain

Thank you to all who voted. Welcome to these new members! We’re excited to reconvene our LEC Committee in January.

LOOKING AHEAD – 2025

Plan now to attend LEC November 23-25, 2025, back at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown!

The TLC Grant has been established by the former Trinity Lutheran Church in Reseda, CA, as an ongoing gift to School Ministries of the PSD, to be given for the enhancement of learning and the engagement of students in Lutheran schools of the District. The intent of the donors was that our schools be excellent because we serve an excellent God! There are many ways in which you can strive for excellence and enhance student learning and engagement in our classrooms and within the school property itself. Priority will be given to those who have clearly described how the money will be used to start a new program or educational platform or enhance an existing one on your campus. This is a competitive grant based on the strength of the application. It is open to all K-12 schools. Since the inception of this grant in January 2016, $481,746.00 has been granted to 56 different schools in our district.

Click here for the simple application. The deadline is January 31, 2025. Recipients will be announced in February, with the grants awarded upon receipt of the grant acceptance form. Grant requests will be made twice annually – in January and August. In July 2025, you will receive information about the next opportunity to apply, since this is a biannual grant.

Our deepest gratitude to the 43 early childhood centers, 28 elementary schools, and eight high schools who have partnered with School Ministries and sent in their School Services contributions! As of this date, we have received $106,330 for K-12 School Services and $33,310 for Early Childhood School Services, for a total of $139,640! Praise be to God! Thank you for your partnership!

It is our hope that the remaining early childhood centers, elementary schools, and high schools who have not yet partnered with us will do so in the months ahead. We share a partnership through our office which provides a myriad of resources, including: conferences, accreditation services, in-services, School Consultancies, call lists, workshops for professional growth, information on new or changing laws, our Principal Praxis, Strategic Outreach and Resource Roundtable networking groups, trends in education, curriculum and assessment resources, and our Coaching Initiative. Additionally, we maintain membership with CAPSO, AZ CAPE, and NV CAPE. We communicate with the state legislature key agencies, the Offices of the Governors, the WASC Accreditation Commission for Schools, and the California Interscholastic Federation. Your partnership is instrumental in making all of this happen. If you would like to confirm if your school has contributed, please contact Kim Violette. Most importantly, thank you for your partnership in the Gospel!

From LCMS School Ministry:

This Friday, December 13, from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Central Time is the next Finance Friday! Join us as Joel Landskroener, Executive Director of Mayer Lutheran Middle and High School in Mayer, MN, presents on Fundraising. The Zoom link is at the bottom of this email.

Finance Friday Dates, Topics, and Presenters:

December 13 – Fundraising: Joel Landskroener, Executive Director, Mayer Lutheran Middle and High School

January 24 – Understanding the Financial Dynamics of a Lutheran School, TBD

Each session will consist of a 35–40-minute presentation on the topic followed by an opportunity for questions and discussion for the remaining time. Documents utilized during the presentation will be made available for download and use.  

Zoom Invitation:

Topic: Finance Friday

Time: 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Central Time

Zoom Link: Finance Friday Zoom Event

Meeting ID: 831 8264 4059

Passcode: 314764

Share Your Expertise at Our Early Childhood Equipping Conferences!

We know you and your team are doing incredible things in your ministry, and we want to celebrate and share those best practices! Consider presenting at one of our upcoming Early Childhood Equipping Conferences and encourage your staff to do the same.

Conference Details:

March 21, 2025: Shepherd of the Desert, Scottsdale, AZ

March 28, 2025: Trinity, Temecula, CA

This year, we’re introducing a multi-session format and are seeking presenters to cover a variety of engaging topics.

Submission Details:

Proposal Deadline Extended to: January 30, 2025

Notification of Acceptance: February 5, 2025

Proposal Submission Form

We look forward to reviewing your proposals and discovering the valuable insights you bring to our attendees. While we may not be able to accommodate all submissions due to potential overlap in topics, we deeply appreciate your passion and dedication to early childhood education.

Let’s work together to inspire and equip others in our shared ministry!

Join Us for One of Our Upcoming Pastor/Director Conferences!

📅 January 23, 2025

📍 District Office, Irvine, CA

📅 January 30, 2025

📍 Christ Greenfield, Gilbert, AZ

A thriving Lutheran school ministry depends on the partnership between pastors and administrators. Together, we can lead with faith, purpose, and unity, ensuring church and school align in their mission to provide a Christ-centered education.

This conference will explore best practices that empower pastors and administrators to work together effectively, focusing on:

• Creating a strong foundational structure through the pastor-administrator relationship
• Delivering the Good News of Jesus Christ through spiritual leadership
• Valuing the school through advocacy and evangelism
• Uniting the church and school through integration and communication
• Creating a Gospel-centered culture of grace and forgiveness

Be inspired. Strengthen your partnership. Lead with Christ at the center.  

Registration is coming soon. If you are a ministry with a Preschool-8th grade, please invite your principal to join us as well.

Upcoming EC dates for 2025:

January 23: Pastor/Director Conference at the PSD District Office, Irvine, CA

January 30: Pastor/Director Conference at Christ Greenfield, Gilbert, AZ

March 16-18: LEA Administrators Conference in Irvine, CA

March 21: EC Equipping at Shepherd of the Desert, Scottsdale, AZ

March 28: EC Equipping at Trinity, Temecula, CA

Save these dates in 2026:

January 22-23, 2026: Director’s Conference

March 13, 2026: EC Equipping at Christ, Huntington Beach, CA

March 20, 2026: EC Equipping at TLC, Casa Grande, AZ

Attention Administrators –

The Commissioned Minister call document has been revised effective January 1, 2025. The new version is 4.9.4 and reflects changes to the Benefits Section (pages 4 and 5). Please share this information with those at your church or school who prepare call documents. This new version must be used for new graduates/first calls that are sent to the PSD for President Gibson’s signature starting in January.

Username and password information remains the same but can be requested by contacting Ellen Pratt (ellen.pratt@psd-lcms.org) or Kim Violette (kim.violette@psd-lcms.org) in School Ministries.

• For the family of Barbara Manske. Barbara went to be with Jesus on Friday, December 6. She served as a Deaconess at Grace, Los Angeles, from 1963-1967. In 1983, Barbara was called to serve as Preschool Director at Light of Christ (formerly Shepherd of Peace), Irvine, where she served with distinction until her retirement in 2000. Barbara is the wife of Dr. Charles Manske, founding President of Concordia University Irvine (then Christ College). Services will be held at Light of Christ Lutheran Church, Irvine, CA, on January 25 at 10 a.m. with a catered lunch after in the Fellowship Hall. For those unable to attend, the service will be live streamed at 10:00 am PST. Please keep Barbara's family, including daughter Noel Fairchild (DCE at Light of Christ, Irvine), daughter Christy Schneider (Kindergarten teacher at Mountain View, Las Vegas), and son-in-law Kris Schneider (principal at Mountain View) in your prayers.
• For Karen Markin, principal at Grace Lutheran School, Lancaster. Karen was just in the hospital for a pulmonary embolism but is now home recovering. Please keep Karen in your prayers for complete healing.
• For all of our students, families, and staff during this Advent season. We pray that our hearts and minds are focused on the Christ Child during this busy time!

Schools we are praying for the week of December 15:

Light of Christ Lutheran Preschool, Irvine, CA

St. Paul’s Lutheran Preschool, Long Beach, CA

St. Paul’s Lutheran School & Early Childhood Development Center, Orange, CA

Each week, prayers of thanksgiving and prayers for teachers, administrators, support staff, pastors, students, and families of the Lutheran schools, early childhood centers, and churches of the Pacific Southwest District are listed. To include names on the list, please send information to anna.preus@psd-lcms.org by noon on Tuesdays.