Synod Assembly is coming up...

Calling all CREATIVES!

Quilters, knitters, crocheters, weavers, macramé. With a theme like this - "Woven Into God's Story" – the décor plans itself! We need 50 table runners (approx. 12” x 72"-120”) to decorate the tables at our upcoming Synod Assembly. We know we have talent all over the synod, will you share that with us?



The runners can be any combination of colors (great use of scrap fabric and yarn). Please contact Kathy Fisher (kathy@salc.church) if you/your congregation can supply a few runners. Let Kathy know how many you are willing to create! There will be special recognition for our artists at the event. We need to have them in hand by May 1st. THANK YOU for helping "set the table" for our time together.

National Day of Racial Healing

Online Educational event TOMORROW!

Tuesday, January 21 - 8am-12noon Pacific time

The 2025 National Day of Racial Healing is an annual observance that follows Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This year, the ELCA will join the movement of racial healing for our church and the nation. Join this free online educational event that centers the voices of ELCA leaders of color. This event is open to all ELCA rostered ministers, lay leaders and members, as well as the church’s affiliate organizations and ecumenical and interreligious partners.

Learn more, browse speaker bios, and register today.

(https://www.elca.org/our-work/publicly-engaged-church/racial-justice-ministries/national-day-of-racial-healing)

Event Registration link: https://events.seattleu.edu/event/state-of-the-church

Learn more about the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and find resources here:

https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/week-of-prayer-for-christian-unity

Post-Inauguration Days: Understanding Recent Policy Changes from the Trump Administration and the 119th Congress



February 4 at 11am Pacific – Register Here: Meeting Registration - Zoom

Hear from Global Refuge’s Policy and Advocacy Team about developments in immigration and refugee resettlement policy since the Presidential Inauguration and start of the 119th session of Congress.

Join us for an information session webinar on Thursday, February 6 at 12noon (Pacific) to learn more about the National Fund for Sacred Places and whether your sacred place (or the sacred places in your community or judicatory) may qualify.

The National Fund for Sacred Places is a grant-making program that provides capital grants ranging from $50,000 to $500,000 as well as wrap-around support services to congregations undertaking once-in-a-generation preservation projects.

To register for the info event, go to: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_FZY0JB1lR7SLjiWAxHjk-A#/registration

To learn more about National Fund for Sacred Places, go to: fundforsacredplaces.org.

Embracing Difference Retreat 

Saturday, February 8, 9am-3pm 

at Our Saviors Lutheran, Everett



In today’s polarized society, we are daily called to navigate racial, political, and social differences. Engaging with difference means recognizing the inner tension it can create, managing our emotional and reactive responses, and approaching situations from a calmer, more centered place. This retreat is a practical workshop that will help us learn to listen to others, to ourselves, and to connect across difference and diversity. 

Who should be sure to attend?  

·    Church Leaders 

·    Faith Formation Teams 

·    Evangelism/Discipleship Teams 

·    Anti-racism/DEIB teams 

Guest Faculty  

Fred Oduyoye is the founder of Reachable Reconciliation Ministry and facilitated one of our Faith in Public Life sessions last fall. Reachable Reconciliation is dedicated to building cultural bridges and reconciliation in families, churches, schools, corporations and communities.

Registration  

Registration is FREE if your church purchased a Congregational Bundle. Ask your church office for the Bundle promo code. Without a bundle, individual registrations are $50.



Register HERE

Feb. 20 - Interfaith Advocacy Day more info coming soon at https://fanwa.org/

Call to Allyship Gathering

Saturday, March 1, 10am-2pm at Calvary Lutheran in Federal Way

Cost is $40, lunch included

Do you wish your congregation was more diverse? Have you encountered conflicts because of cultural or racial differences and didn't know how you got there or what to do next? Then this event is for you!

The NWWA and SWWA synods of the ELCA invite all congregations to join us for a special joint event sponsored by our anti-racism teams.

We will spend a day studying "Called to Allyship," a book written by ELCA rostered leaders of color from across the country. One of the authors, Rev. Priscilla Paris-Austin (pastor at Immanuel Lutheran in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood), will be helping to lead our discussion. Other discussion leaders are pastors and lay leaders from congregations who have read this book together.

The book can be purchased from major booksellers, preferably directly from Augsburg Fortress: https://www.augsburgfortress.org/store/product/9781506497761/Call-to-Allyship

Says one local congregation member: "This is an important anti-racism book for any congregation to read. Any congregation will benefit from it!"

Register HERE

Learning Love Lenten Series

This year’s installment of LiVE’s Lenten “Gospel & Culture” series. In her book All About Love, bell hooks explores the transformative power of love through a commitment to personal growth, justice, and self-awareness.

Come and deepen our calling to love as we explore her writing together Thursday evenings in Lent, beginning March 6.

Learn more and get registered here: https://www.lutheransnw.org/events/learning-love-lenten-journey-with-bell-hooks/2025-03-06

“Speaking Truth to Power: What Would Bonhoeffer Do?

Led by Rev. Dr. Rick Rouse with Rev. Dr. Mark Brocker

Offered by Our Savior's Lutheran, Everett on March 9, 16, 23, and 30

in person and via ZOOM on Sundays at 11 am

recordings will be available on YouTube

Is this a Bonhoeffer moment in America and what can Dietrich Bonhoeffer teach us about God’s call to be courageous disciples during difficult times? We’ll explore how we are called to be tellers of the truth as well as messengers of healing and hope. Mark Brocker is President of the Oregon Bonhoeffer Society, translator of Bonhoeffer’s works for Augsburg Fortress, and former PLTS professor. Rick Rouse is retired pastor, professor and author of several books including A Journey Called Hope: Today’s Immigrant Stories and the American Dream (Chalice Press, 2024).    

Congregations or individual who wish to participate via ZOOM are welcome. 

Please contact Rick at rwrouse@comcast.net 

Play Ball and Connect: A Desert Sojourn Retreat

March 16-20 in Arizona!

Join us for an inspiring Spring Training experience in Arizona, where baseball enthusiasts and faith-driven individuals unite to explore the connection between sport and spirituality.

This unique retreat, led by Pastor Dave Ellingson, combines fellowship, worship, and the excitement of baseball with opportunities to attend MLB Cactus League games in the vibrant Arizona desert.

Learn more and register here: https://spiritinthedesert.org/events/play-ball-and-connect/

Want an item included?

Email Susan Berg, Dir. Communications & Events

All items due by 2pm on the prior Thursday

Northwest Washington Synod / ELCA

5519 Phinney Avenue North

Seattle, WA 98103

206-783-9292