Dear NovusWay Family, Over the last several months, we, as the Board of Directors for NovusWay and our co-CEOs Mike and Mitzie, have shared multiple announcements outlining the current financial realities for the ministry and the steps taken to help mitigate them and place the ministry on a path of sustainability. Today, we share two additional milestone decisions made at this weekend’s board meeting. Both decisions were made to help position each of our sites and the overall ministry for years of forming faith, developing leaders, building community, and providing sabbath rest.

Read the full NovusWay Board Update.

Bishop Tim Smith's 2024 Lenten Bible Study on Micah has begun, but it's not too late for you and others to join! Set for Thursdays at 7 p.m., the course began on February 22 and will end on March 21. When you register, you will receive a link to the Zoom and a link to the recorded sessions. Don't miss this opportunity to study Micah with other Lutherans across the synod!

Register now to receive the inks!

The Lenoir-Rhyne A Cappella Choir and Brass Ensemble are pleased to announce their annual spring semester tour, March 21-25, with performances in Belmont, NC, Mt. Pleasant, SC, Savannah, GA, and Mooresville, NC. Performances are open to the public and no tickets are required.

Learn more.

Congregation Council Presidents will meet at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom on the following dates in 2024—hosted by the Rev. Alfredo Oviedo, assistant to the bishop:

• March 26
• April 23
• May 28
• September 24
• October 22
• November 26

Complete this form so Council Presidents & Treasurers will receive invites to each meeting.

Pastors and deacons, join the synod's vitality ministry team for a book study on The Agile Church: Spirit-led Innovation in an Uncertain Age by Dwight Zscheile. There are two opportunities to join: Wednesday, April 24, at 11:00 a.m. and Monday, May 20, at 1 p.m. via Zoom. The discussion will be led by the vitality team leaders. Come reflect, learn, and be encouraged as you lead. Watch for a Zoom link in the Monday email from the bishop's staff.

We will host a similar conversation for lay leaders later in the spring. Stay tuned for more details.

How do we, as communities of faith, change our thinking on stewardship and generosity to meet the challenges of the moment? In partnership with the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving, the ELCA is offering congregations the opportunity to reexamine their stewardship thinking and imagine ways to act on their findings. The six-week webinar, Cultivating Generous Congregations, will offer virtual cohort sessions, beginning on April 16, where leaders can discuss, dissect, and collaborate on ways generosity might work in their contexts. Cost is $550 per congregation, plus workbooks ($40 each).

For a deeper look, watch this brief “Cultivating Generous Congregations” video. Contact Pastor Tim Brown if you’re interested! They will work with synod office to get you registered for the spring cohort.

Two helpful tax guides are now available for church personnel. Portico provides rostered ministers and congregations participating in the ELCA benefit program with access to no-cost tax guides: 

• The Clergy Tax Return Preparation Guide by Richard R. Hammar gives special attention to tax-related topics most relevant to ministers.
• Federal Reporting Requirements for Churches helps congregations understand their federal tax-reporting requirements.

Both tax guides are available on myPortico and EmployerLink.

Pastor Flora Hartford (retired, Wilmington) has transferred from the Metropolitan New York Synod to the NC Synod.

Of mourning

Howard Miller, father of Pastor Bill Miller-Zurell (retired, Hickory), and father-in-law of Pastor Mary Miller-Zurell (St. Timothy, and Faith, Conover), died on March 1. We mourn with his family. Read the full obituary.

Pastor Earl McCombs, Jr., (retired, formerly of the NC Synod) died on March 2. We mourn with his family. Read the full obituary.

Ida Norris Elliott, mother-in-law of Pastor Greg Williams (retired, Hendersonville), died on March 5. We mourn with her family. Read the full obituary.

For the Family of God

O God, who gave one origin to all peoples and willed to gather from them one family for yourself, fill all hearts, we pray, with the fire of your love and kindle in them a desire for the just advancement of their neighbor, that, through the good things which you richly bestow upon all, each human person may be brought to perfection, every division may be removed, and equity and justice may be established in human society. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(Excerpted from "Masses for Various Needs and Occasions" (pdf), no. 29. For the Progress of Peoples, cited in “Holy Hour Against Racism,” US Conference of Catholic Bishops, page 2.)

Many of us know the phrase "separation of church and state," but what does that mean as we serve the church and the world? The ELCA Social Statement Task Force on Civic Life and Faith has released a draft social statement to speak to questions just like this. They are seeking voices from across the ELCA to give feedback. Join ELCA Coaching's Courageous Leadership Zoom on Wednesday, March 13, to learn about the social statement process from Heather Dean, ELCA staff member who works with the social statement task force. In small groups, reflect on pieces of the draft including topics like Christian nationalism, the public voice of rostered ministers, and hyper-partisanship.

Click to find login information.

It’s a tough time to be a Christian and a leader–striving for the unity of the body of Christ’s many members in the midst of divisive, social media-fueled hubbub, rampant contempt for the “other side,” and the very real issues up for debate during this upcoming election season. What can you do about it? Join Faith+Lead on Thursday, March 21, for our workshop with Joy J. Moore, “Leading in an Age of Contempt,” to rediscover scriptural insights and practical tools for fostering empathy and respectful dialogue in the midst of disharmony. 

Learn more and enroll today.

It can be overwhelming to navigate the complexities of risk management, privacy, and cybersecurity in ministry. For church leaders and volunteers, it is important to inform ourselves on how to handle digital communications, ensuring the safety and privacy of church members. Join Caffeinated Church on Thursday, March 21, to discuss how to approach and handle digital communications, ensuring the safety and privacy of church members.

Also, discuss and explore the role of social justice in church activities and how to approach these issues with sensitivity and awareness.

Learn more and register now.

Join NC Council of Churches at the 2024 Come to the Table Conference, hosted by the Come to the Table Program of Rural Advancement Foundational International (RAFI). This year's theme, "Food, Land & Sacred Stories," will explore the intersection of these elements through the lens of race and equity, incorporating storytelling in various mediums.

Learn more, save the date, or submit a workshop proposal.

You’ve heard about narrative budgets and have perhaps even seen examples of how they’re assembled and why they work. If that process is still confusing or daunting, Pastor Tim Brown, ELCA director of congregational stewardship, will go step-by-step through creating a narrative budget in this recording. Grab your current budget and pieces of your projected budget and get ready to do some work to begin the narrative budget process. Pastors, council members, stewardship teams—anyone is welcome to watch and learn.

Watch the video.

Leadership based on collaboration benefits everyone involved. And the work improves, too. In a collaborative environment, teammates show and share their work and are valued for their expertise.

Read more from Faith & Leadership at Duke Divinity.

If you open your search engine and type in “Borderline,” here is what you will find: “On November 7, 2018, a mass shooting occurred in Thousand Oaks, California, at the Borderline Bar and Grill, a country-western bar frequented by college students. Thirteen people were killed, including the perpetrator, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and a police officer who was shot multiple times, with the fatal round accidentally being fired by another officer.”

This shooting ended the lives of 13 members of the Thousand Oaks community, one of them a student at California Lutheran University. That night 150 folks had packed into Borderline for an evening of line-dancing fun. Of the attendees, 35 were students at California Lutheran University. In the wake of this horrible event, 13 funerals, multiple memorial services, and countless vigils were held to honor the impact these people had on our lives. The weight of that traumatic event was, and is still, palpable. 

Read more from Pastor Scott Maxwell-Doherty.

Walter Brueggemann writes: As an Old Testament teacher, I have often been asked a recurring set of questions about the Jubilee text. But no question has been asked more frequently than this: “There is no evidence that the Jubilee Year was ever really practiced, is there?”

Read more from Church Anew.

Looking for children's moments or something special for multigenerational gatherings during Holy Week? Check out PRC's Story Eggs! This resource includes four separate, interactive resources for you to use: Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday.

Purchase today!

A balanced delegation of tasks may necessitate doing fewer activities and doing better discipleship training. Drawing on experience, Karl Vaters offers five delegation lessons for church leaders including: leave guilt at the door, adapt to suit your size, stop activities that are without leadership, and do nothing without two leaders. 

Read more now.

Carey Neiwhof offers this resource from James Clear on how to be more productive. You’ve probably seen variations of the diagram before (Stephen Covey also popularized it), but the Eisenhower Box is a great way to frame what should get your attention each day and what you should cut. In an increasingly frantic world, focus is a superpower.

Read more.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land serves a Palestinian Christian community and beyond. They are partners with the ELCA as a member church of Lutheran World Federation and some of our NC Synod pastors have served there as Young Adults in Global Mission. Follow the ELCJHL on Facebook and Instagram to get a first-hand glimpse into ministry there.