"For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ." 1 Corinthians 10:4 (ESV)

Plymouth Rock, Chimney Rock, and Pikes' Peak are only a few of the rocks that are geographical and historical landmarks in our country's history. Whether arriving on the rocky Atlantic shore or venturing westward across the plains, rocks served as destination guides and goals. As we journey through Scripture our faith eyes always see the "Rock" that is Christ. He is in the view of the faithful Old Testament "travelers" – patriarchs, kings, prophets. Sometimes their view became obstructed by the idols of foreigners. Sometimes in their stubbornness they refused to see the obvious landmark. However, the Rock never moved and never changed.

New Testament "travelers" – disciples, apostles – stood by the Rock. Those who traveled with the message of salvation always had the Rock in their rear view. As we journey through Scripture, the Rock in our view is Christ. Everything leads to Him and leads from Him. He is the reason for the journey. He is the destination. As we seek the rocks of Scripture we always look to and from The Rock. See the Landmark! Share the Rock that you see with your students, families, and into the world.

What are some of the landmarks in your travels as an educator, parent, spouse, citizen? What keeps you on course? Is Jesus always in your view? How might He become more clear in your focus?  

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

Christ Lutheran School and Preschool, La Mesa, CA

Word of Life Christian Preschool, Surprise, AZ

Our Savior’s Lutheran School, Ridgecrest, CA 

Below are photos from Christ Lutheran School and Preschool, La Mesa, CA:

CLS staff and community members receiving an award at the

La Mesa City Council Meeting

A 1st grader's Baptism with his classmates huddled around him

K-8 singing the Benediction at Veterans Day Chapel

Preschool Friends

Preschool Visiting Kindergarten

Preschool Staff

Below are photos from Word of Life Christian Preschool, Surprise, AZ:

"Biking For Books" Trike-A-Thon

 Planting the flower gardens

Buddy Banks for Thanksgiving offering

We pray you are having a tremendous day sharing God's love through your service to others in a variety of ways today. We'd love to see pictures of your students in action so we can share them on our social media accounts and in the next edition of Connections. Please email photos to anna.preus@psd-lcms.org. Thank you!

When: November 24-26, 2024 

Where: Sheraton Phoenix Downtown, Phoenix, AZ

Theme: All One – Ephesians 4:1-7

Access the Conference website for:

• Conference App
• Schedule
• Breakout sessions
• AWC Sponsors Info

Registration is now closed. If you have not yet registered to attend, please contact Kelly DeJongh at the District Office front desk for more information at 949-854-3232 x200. 

Please review the information below for your best AWC experience!

SUNDAY KEYNOTE KICKS US OFF

A reminder that the first plenary session starts Sunday at 4:00 p.m., with Dr. Danny Brassell delivering his keynote, “Bringing Joy Back into Education and the Workplace." You don't want to miss it!

MONDAY WORSHIP AND OFFERING RECIPIENT

Worship with Holy Communion is on Monday morning at 8:30 a.m. Our worship offering will be designated for church worker scholarships.

WORSHIP/COMMUNION STATEMENT

God’s Word teaches the real presence of Christ’s body and blood invisibly in, with and under the bread and wine for the forgiveness of sins and the strengthening of our union with Christ and with one another. We take seriously the spiritual care of those who commune at our altar. God intends this gift for His baptized children who recognize and repent of their sin, trust in Christ as their Savior and desire to live for him alone and join together in joyfully confessing the faith confessed at this altar. Any who are not yet instructed, in doubt, or who hold a confession different from this, and yet desire to receive the sacrament, will first want to speak with one of the pastors before communing. (Prepared in consultation with CTCR staff and builds on the CTCR’s model Communion Card statement. 09/2019)

PARKING

We have negotiated a great discounted parking rate of $13 per car per day. Make sure the hotel staff remembers this at check-in! It will be automatically added to your bill at check out IF you drive and self-park. PLEASE check your bill at check-out very carefully! Valet parking is subject to rates posted.

HOTEL CHECK-IN

Just a reminder that hotel check-in is not guaranteed until 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. If your room isn’t ready when you arrive, please be gracious to the hotel staff and let them text you when your room is ready. They will be doing the best they can for you, so let us do the best we can for them and treat them with the dignity and respect that God would have us show them. That understood, you may want to come dressed for our opening keynote at 4:00 p.m. as you may not be checked into your room in time to change. We encourage everyone who can to arrive early.

REGISTRATION PACKET PICKUP

You can pick up your registration packet (badge, schedule, etc.) at the conference starting at 1:00pm-7:00pm on Sunday, November 24. Registration is located on the second level of the hotel in the Valley of the Sun foyer. To make it easier and faster for you, the registration areas are organized as follows:

• Group Registrations (for ministries that registered attendees as a group)
• Individual Registrations (for attendees that registered individually; organized by the church/school/ministry city)
• Sponsors/Exhibitors, Presenters and Emeriti

Look for signage to direct you to the registration area appropriate for you.

VISIT OUR SPONSORS AND EXHIBITORS

Please be sure to visit the Exhibit Hall, located on the second floor, in the Valley of the Sun ballroom during the conference. Come say hello, learn about the various ministries, and see all that they have to share and how they can be a partner with you as well.

Special thanks to all our amazing sponsors and exhibitors! We are immensely grateful for their ministries, generosity, and partnership in mission! 

We are especially grateful to Concordia University Irvine for being the 2024 PSD AWC Tier One Sponsor. Special thanks also to Tier Two sponsors Lutheran Church Extension Fund and Lutheran Bible Translators, as well as Tier Three sponsors Concordia Plans and Lutheran Hour Ministries. These sponsors play a significant part in being able to deliver this conference.

PREVIEW DR. VANESSA SEIFERT'S KEYNOTE

You and your team can get the most out of Dr. Seifert’s upcoming AWC keynote by checking out this engaging conversation prior to the conference:

Watch on YouTube

Listen on Spotify

DOWNLOAD THE APP

We are excited to announce that the app for the All Workers Conference 2024, powered by Guidebook, is available for download. With this resource, you will be able to view all the workshops, exhibitors, maps, share contact information, upload photos, build your own schedule, and more. As the conference approaches, additional information will be added. 

Get started here: https://builder.guidebook.com/g/awc2024/

If prompted, use this passphrase: 1517

If you are on a computer, click the Download the App button and scan the QR code with your phone. If you are reading this on your phone, locate the Download app icon on the resulting webpage.

Stop by the Conference Registration table if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you soon!

REMEMBER YOUR THANKOFFERING

Each year at our annual educators’ conference, we receive a Thankoffering that is 100% used to fund scholarship requests for students of full-time church workers enrolled as undergraduates in one of the Concordia Universities who have declared a full-time church work major. This year we will continue this practice, but it won’t be taken as an offering at the All Workers Conference. Instead, we are asking you to mail a check to the PSD with your Thankoffering. This offering is a suggested donation of $1 for every year of service you have been blessed to serve in Lutheran education. We will be collecting these donations throughout November through December 15. You are still encouraged to collect this offering as a staff and submit it together! 

Please use this invoice to send your check or checks. Also, please be sure that THANKOFFERING is in the memo line. It might interest you to know that over just the last 10 years, $44,034.44 has been gifted to this scholarship fund and it has supported 91 scholarships for students to pursue their Calling as full-time church workers. (The total amount is greater than this, as this offering has been taken for decades, but this is a picture of the past 10 years.)

AWC MASS CHOIRS

You are invited to join the Mass Choirs for the 2024 PSD All Workers Conference!

We have two exciting opportunities for you to join in worship through song at this year’s ALL WORKERS CONFERENCE! There will be a Mass Choir Praise Team for adults, performing at the Mass Event on Sunday night, November 24, where you'll join the band in singing some wonderful songs and hymn arrangements. Additionally, we’re inviting a Kids' Choir (grades 3-8) to sing one song during the Divine Service on Monday morning, November 25, and we would love to have you join us!

Resources for learning the songs and rehearsal times will be provided after you sign up, and we promise it will be a fun and fulfilling experience for everyone involved. Don’t miss the chance to be a part of something special—sign up through the form below!

Please contact Matt Preston (mpreston@cglchurch.org) with questions.

PSD All Workers Conference Adult or Kids Mass Choir Signup

We are excited to welcome Jennie Williamson of Arison back to share her music and message with us at the All Workers Conference! Jennie will be offering three breakout sessions as well as a sharing a song at our closing worship. She has new music and presentation materials for Middle School/High School teachers, plus the great music and movement for Early Childhood. She will also be part of our Exhibit Hall where you can meet her and purchase her God is Great merchandise! Be sure to come and enjoy her heartfelt and uplifting music! Check out her website HERE.

PSD Educators -

We need your vote to complete the LEC 2025 Planning Committee! Please take a few minutes to review this ballot and place/affirm your vote! The ballot will be open through December 2, 2024. Vote today!

Join Shellee Howard, CEO and Founder of College Ready, for a webinar from 6:00-7:00 p.m. PST, titled How to Send Your Student to College Without Losing Your Mind or Your Money! Administrators, counselors, and parents are invited and encouraged to attend!

We are excited to share with you the November Treasure update from Unknown Nations, our 2024-2025 Hearts for Jesus recipient. Please enjoy this praise report celebrating the difference you are helping to make in Northern Nigeria.

We hope that reading these stories each month is an encouragement for you to promote this year’s Hearts for Jesus project in your schools. If you haven’t yet made your commitment as a school to this year’s Hearts for Jesus mission project, you can find more information to use in all classrooms, preschool through high school, on the Hearts for Jesus page on our website. Please join us on this mission critical project!

The 2025 LEA Convocation is October 2-4, 2025, in St. Louis, Missouri. This event is expected to once again draw more than 3,000 Lutheran educators from across the country and internationally. Click HERE for more information.

Nominations for LEA’s 16 national awards are open. Nominations are NOT limited to LEA members, but are available for all levels of top educators who meet the criteria and demonstrate distinguished service in Lutheran education. Descriptions of all awards can be found HERE.   

The 2025 National Administrators Conference, hosted by Lutheran Education Association - LEA, is in California this year! It will take place at the Irvine Marriott March 16-18, 2025. Registration for the conference will be made available in the next week. This annual event is aimed this year at early childhood and elementary leaders (as well as district and national leaders) Click HERE for updates. I know most of you do not attend this conference since it is usually far away; however, we are excited that this year it is in the PSD! Please consider attending!

Elevate Your Leadership Potential at Concordia University Irvine's Comprehensive Servant Leadership Program for Educators!

Embark on a transformative journey towards professional and personal growth with our exclusive servant leadership program tailored for education professionals. At Concordia University Irvine's School of Education Servant Leadership Institute, we understand the profound impact servant leadership can have on individuals and communities.

Join us in embracing the essence of servant leadership – where empowerment, empathy, and excellence converge to shape the leaders of tomorrow.

Educator Leadership Academy (ELA)

May 8-10, 2025 and February 6-7, 2026

Five days of professional development for educators across the nation to acquire insights on how to become exemplary servant leaders of character with specific skills to create positive school cultures where students thrive.

Your $600 academy tuition includes:

• Interactive seminars led by prominent leaders in education and business
• A personal leadership coach for the entire academic year
• All meals
• University swag

FIND OUT MORE!

Servant leadership transforms education by shifting the focus from authority to empowerment. Servant leaders strive to internalize and model humility, honesty, compassion, and courage. Leaders who serve prioritize the growth and well-being of students, teachers, and staff, creating environments where everyone can thrive.

By putting others first, servant leaders inspire a ripple effect of positive change, enabling schools to cultivate supportive, inclusive communities that nurture both personal and academic growth, ultimately preparing students to contribute meaningfully to society.

CaPSPD is free professional development for all California schools! If you haven’t yet registered your school to receive their news and updates, please go to their website to register your school at no cost. There you'll find some upcoming PD webinars. Click HERE for a list of current webinars on their YouTube page.

Connections will not be sent next Wednesday, November 27, during Thanksgiving Week. We look forward to seeing you at the All Workers Conference! Happy Thanksgiving! We have much for which to be thankful! We are thankful for each of you!

• Please keep the family of Rev. Dr. Ken Behnken in your prayers. Pastor Behnken was called to glory last Thursday. He and his wife, Mil (served at St. John's, Orange, CA, and Concordia Irvine), moved to the Chicago area just a couple of months ago to be closer to family. Pastor Behnken was the Mission Executive for the PSD and taught in the CMC Program at Concordia Irvine. His memorial service will be held at Cross Lutheran Church, Yorkville, IL, this Friday, November 23. For those unable to attend, the service will be live streamed at 12:00 pm CT. Cards may be sent to Cross Lutheran Church, 8609 State Route 7, Yorkville, IL 60560.
• Prayers from Word of Life Christian Preschool, Surprise, AZ: We are so thankful for the Lord's protection around our school, church, and families here in Surprise, AZ. And we are thankful for our teachers who give of their time, talents, and gifts every day to tell our students about Christ's love!
• For today's District-Wide Service Day, that it is a blessing to all those involved.
• For those attending the All Workers Conference (AWC), that the Spirit of the Lord and His power will be in this conference.
• For those leading AWC – the planning team, the presenters, the worship team, the tech team, the prayer team, and all others leading in some capacity.
• For safe travel to and from AWC for all attending.
• For a blessed Thanksgiving for you, your family, your students, and your school. We have so much for which to be thankful!

Schools we are praying for the week of December 1:

Abiding Savior Lutheran School and Preschool, Lake Forest, CA

Grace Lutheran School and Preschool, Lancaster, 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.