Building Resilient Communities – Final round of grant distributions!

The NW Washington Synod has been distributing the Building Resilient Communities (BRC) grant throughout this year. So far 18 different ministries from around our synod have received funds to strengthen direct service ministries, fill critical gaps for vulnerable neighbors, and support our congregations as they respond to rising community needs. 

Out of the original $15,500, we have $6,675 remaining to share. There is one more round of distributions. Please apply by Monday, November 9th. Even if you have already received a Daily Bread Feeding Ministry Grant or a previous BRC grant you may still apply. 

See how to apply HERE

Building Resilient Communities is a partnership between Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR), ELCA World Hunger, and AMMPARO.  

Faith and Civic Life: Seeking the Well-being of All

Wednesdays at 7pm - now through Nov. 11, Online via Zoom

Join us as we consider the ELCA social statement on Faith and Civic Life and ask what does it mean to bring our whole selves into public and civic space, and not to retreat from the world nor also to be absorbed by it. Learn more.

SPECIAL INVITATION from the LiVE Team - FOR OUR NOVEMBER 11th SESSION!

Join us for the final session of Faith and Civic Life, an open conversation with Angela Denker. Angela is an author and the pastor/journalist who presented at our LiVE Retreat on Christian nationalism.

Wednesday, November 11, 7:00–8:30 pm (PST) · Zoom · Free

Open to all. No prior sessions needed.

Social justice-minded persons and teams are especially welcome.

Together we'll explore:

• Where we are as a church in light of our public faith, and post-election
• The courage, challenges, and the deepest opportunities, we face as persons of faith
• To discern God's call about where and how we show up in our communities today

Register: https://nwwasynod.regfox.com/live-project-fall-course---session-6-angela-denker--faith-and-civic-life-for-the-well-being-of-all (zoom link emailed to you after you register)

NOTE: The evening also anticipates our next LiVE Retreat, Saturday, November 14, 9am to 20pm, Edmonds UMC retreat with Joerg Rieger, author of Jesus vs. Caesar.

More on Retreat: https://www.lutheransnw.org/events/live-retreat-jesus-vs-caesar/2026-11-14

Questions? Contact us at live@lutheransnw.org

We hope you'll join us.

The LiVE Team

Lutheran World Relief (LWR)

Seattle 2026 Fall Ingathering



Nov 6th & Nov 7th

at Our Redeemers' Lutheran Church at 2400 NW 85th St, Seattle

You can deliver your boxes of quilts or kits during these days/hours:

Fri, Nov 6 from 8am-2pm

Sat, Nov 7 from 8am - 11:30am

We can always use a few more volunteers to direct traffic, or to help load boxes into the containers. If you can help for 1-2 hours, please contact Rich at 206-384-1183 or lwrmathes@aol.com. Boxes are generally 30 pounds or less. Traffic directors do not need to lift boxes - just direct cars and trucks. THANK YOU!!

NOVEMBER 2026 Editions of The Spirit & Lay of the Land in the PNW:

For the last 8 years our monthly publication The Spirit has featured articles from both the bishop AND the synod vice president. With a new vice president at the helm, we are shaking things up! While we will continue to offer a monthly message from the bishop (or the bishop's office) via The Spirit, we have added a NEW publication from the vice president called Lay of the Land in the PNW. In this monthly missive, Synod VP Cindy Shultz will share a story featuring lay leadership around the synod. Our hope is that congregations will share both of these messages in their newsletters.

Click on the images below to read the November messages:

ELCA Presiding Bishop Curry issues his sixth in a series of monthly messages that continue through the end of this year, titled "All Together in One Place." Each message will share a pastoral word, rooted in Scripture, that witnesses to God's presence today, our rich theological tradition and the social teaching that connects us.

A Healthy Patriotism

Dear church,

Fannie Lou Hamer was a powerful Black woman who risked her life so that all people could exercise their right to vote. After attempting to register to vote in Mississippi in 1962, she faced violent retaliation, enduring threats, beatings and intimidation.

Yet she continued to sing, testify, march and organize for equal voting rights for all people. She was not wealthy. She did not hold a high public office. Yet she exercised a profound public vocation, insisting she and her neighbors had the right to participate in civic life and to have the food, land and opportunity needed to flourish. She was a patriot who loved her country enough to challenge it to live up to its promise that every voice matters and every vote counts. By risking her own safety in the struggle for democracy, Hamer acted as a patriot, calling public leaders to serve everyone.

The airwaves are full of conflicting messages about patriotism, and many of you have written with your own questions and perspectives.

Together, this is what our church has decided to say:

“The ELCA understanding of civic life and faith affirms healthy forms of patriotism. Patriotism is to love one’s country, to pray for its well-being, to be committed to its success, to have a sense of pride in it, to criticize it, and to work for its reform when necessary. All of these can be elements of how Christians and their communities live out discipleship as individuals and in corporate bodies” (2025 social statement Faith and Civic Life: Seeking the Well-being of All).

Healthy patriotism celebrates what is good and beautiful in our common life while remaining committed to tending to what is wounded and broken. Healthy patriotism fosters a sense of shared belonging because the strength of our nation lies in our ability to live together as diverse people who share a common future.

As Lutherans, we can live out healthy patriotism. We understand the government is called to serve and protect the common good. We exercise patriotism in part by holding public leaders accountable to serve the common good.

How should public leaders act? After Martin Luther wrote a commentary about Mary's Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55), he sent it to the local prince along with a cover letter, telling him to follow the example of Mary the mother of Jesus. It was not common for monks to address princes in this way. Yet Luther wanted the prince to know Mary was a true leader. She trusted God with an open heart and allowed the Holy Spirit to work through her for the sake of others. She did this, not for her own fame or renown, but with humility and grace. Luther's emphasis on the marks of leadership rings true today.

As Lutherans, we continue to make this connection between trusting God and serving the common good.

Both Luther and Hamer remind us that positions of responsibility and public service are gifts to be used for the good of all, and that societies thrive when leaders and neighbors alike are guided by humility, gratitude and a concern for others.

As Election Day approaches, we can approach this responsibility with prayerful hearts and a commitment to the flourishing of all people. In all that we do, may we embody a patriotism rooted in gratitude, shaped by humility, strengthened by hope and guided by Christ's command to love our neighbors, working so that every voice can be heard and every person can participate in shaping our future. May we care for one another and our country enough to serve faithfully, speak truthfully and seek our common good. Like Hamer, may we take up our vocations in public life. And may Mary's song remind us that above all, our hope rests not in human strength, but in the steadfast love of God.

In Christ,

The Rev. Yehiel Curry, Presiding Bishop

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 

News & Upcoming Events from our Camp!

Fall is a busy time at Lutherwood Camp and Retreat Center, YOUR camp here in western Washington! Check out some of the happenings below. More information on all of these can be found on the camp website at camplutherwood.org or by calling camp at (360) 734-7652.

Fall Discount:

Book a stay with us in 2026 and receive 20% off! It's a great time for a family or church event here on Lake Samish.

Staff Hiring:

Applications for Summer 2027 Staff open on November 1st! Encourage a young person you know to apply. It's the best job ever!

Advent Retreat:

Our second annual daytime Advent Retreat will be on Saturday, December 5. Bring the whole family for cozy Christmas fun!

Summer Registration:

Opens in December! Look for more info in the coming weeks about programs and opening date!

Beware of Phishing Scams!

Unfortunately, we need to share a reminder that our staff will not email or text you requesting gift cards or sensitive information. Always verify the email/phone number to be sure it is authentic before you click on links or respond to a suspicious email or text. The email should be from our domain @ lutheransnw.org only.

Reach out to us at our official work email addresses or phone numbers if you have any hesitation about an email or text that you receive! 

18th Annual Powell-Heller Conference for Holocaust Education:

More Than Dust: Reclaiming LGBTQ+ Voices of the Holocaust

November 4-6

Thanks to the generosity of donors this event is free and open to the public.

Pacific Lutheran University will host this annual conference, a gathering dedicated to challenging traditional archives to recover the intimate histories of queer and marginalized histories of the Holocaust. This year’s conference focuses on LGBTQ+ experiences of the Holocaust. We are honored to welcome historian Anna Hájková as our Raphael Lemkin speaker. Her book, People Without History Are Dust: Queer Desire in the Holocaust, serves as the foundation for this year’s programming. As Dr. Hájková argues, “thinking about the marginalized can help us to develop a less judgmental, more inclusive past” – a project we aim to collectively engage in during our time together.

The conference features a special theater performance and a film screening alongside its academic components. Attendees will hear from leading international scholars in the field, including Laurie Marhoefer and Samuel Clowes Huneke, as well as a workshop from educators at The Pink Triangle Project and pedagogy sessions from educators at Yad Vashem. Through theater, film, keynote lectures, and panel discussions, participants will discover new methodologies for confronting historical erasure, ultimately reshaping how we archive, remember, and honor the Holocaust.

PLU’s mission to support the education of our students and larger community on issues of diversity and justice are intimately connected to the study of the tragedy of the Holocaust. Students can see that marginalization of a minority group, such as the Jews of Nazi Germany, can lead to life-threatening situations culminating in one of the world’s modern genocides. Issues of distortion and denial make the process of reconciliation and healing less likely and serve as an insult to the memory of all those whose lives were destroyed in the Holocaust.

Learn more and register here: https://www.plu.edu/holocaustconference/#:~:text=Dr. Edward Kissi, Associate Professor in

Church Property Resource Hub Webinar:

Disaster Response and Preparation

Thursday, November 5 at 4pm online

Congregations and their buildings play an important role in disaster response and recovery. As environmental disasters become more frequent and severe, more congregations will be affected or called upon to support their communities.

Join Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) for a conversation about how congregations can prepare for disasters and use their property to support response efforts.



Learn more and register here: https://leadership.elca.org/topics/45412/events/292433

Burlington Lutheran Church

Speaker Series

The 2026 Burlington Lutheran Fall Speaker Series explores music—specifically choral singing—as a powerful avenue for communal restoration, reconnection, and reconciliation. By weaving together biblical, historical, scientific, and community organizing insights, these lectures offer practical ways to stay involved, nurture realistic hope, and cultivate healing resources for today and tomorrow. Discover how singing serves as an unexpected, transformative tool for social change.

ALL ARE WELCOME to this series. All sessions are FREE; donations welcome. Two more left:

November 5: Why We Sing: Music, the Brain, and How Humanity Heals



November 10: Sing a New Song: Finding Hope in Troubling Times

This session will include community singing. 

Christmas Bazaar

Peace Lutheran in Silvana

Sat, November 7, 10am – 2pm

No cost for entry

This Bazaar is our one fundraiser to support next year’s budget. In addition to providing supplies, we support a mission project, 8 non-profit benevolences - and we will be supporting a girl for high school attendance at the Maasai Girls School.

Join us for this 53-year tradition!

Tanzania Trips

Saint Andrew's Lutheran Church (Bellevue) has a ministry partnership with two organizations in Tanzania. Both offer immersive travel programs and are registering NOW - considering joining us! More info here: Mission Trips to Tanzania | Saint Andrew's Lutheran | Eastside Lutheran Church Community

Kaifika House: Our two-week program is designed for guardians and teens to bond, grow and volunteer at Kafika House amidst the cultural and natural beauty of Tanzania and its people. This trip is not solely academic, solely service-based or solely culturally immersive -- it's the full package! It's time to go beyond comfort zones and perceived limits and join Kafika House as we change the landscape of rehabilitative care for children with disabilities in Tanzania. Check out their web site for more information and to register!

OBA (Opportunity Builds Africa), has four standard travel opportunities! Members of SALC are planning to go on the Tanzania Medical Impact Discovery Tour July 11-25, 2027. It includes time at the MaaSAE girls school! Think about joining them – or participating in another Discovery Tour. Find out more about all the Discovery Tours here. Registration closes NOVEMBER 15, 2026. Check it out now!

We welcome PLU president, Allan Belton, to Saint Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Bellevue. Belton became the 14th president of Pacific Lutheran University in 2017, bringing to the presidency a combination of business acumen, higher education experience, curiosity, and a willingness to challenge convention. A self-described believer in doing things differently when a better path exists, Belton has embraced the opportunity to lead PLU with both an eye toward what is next and a deep appreciation for what makes the university distinctive.

At the heart of his leadership is a simple belief: people matter, and how we care for one another matters. That belief is deeply connected to PLU’s mission and to the university’s commitment to educating students for lives of thoughtful inquiry, service, leadership, and care.

Plan to come to meet him at Adult Education on November 22nd – bring your PLU Alum friends!

“Homelessness: A Renewal of Commitment” social message

Your feedback is desired by November 30.

All ELCA members are invited to share feedback on draft revisions to the social message “Homelessness: A Renewal of Commitment,” first adopted in 1990. At the request of the 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, the ELCA Church Council authorized a reconsideration for possible substantive revision of a section of the social message.

Reconsideration is a formal process of communal discernment about social issues in the church. This reconsideration allows the ELCA to revisit the social message in light of the church’s growing understanding of homelessness, the current lived realities of people who are unhoused or precariously housed, and changes in civil law and the economy that present new challenges to housing in the United States.

Visit ELCA.org/homelessness to read the draft and to submit your feedback via a survey before Nov. 30. Feedback, questions and concerns can also be sent to DraftSocialMessage@ELCA.org.

A PLU Christmas: Light Beyond Shadow

Join us for our popular series of PLU Christmas Concerts as the Choir of the West, University Chorale, and University Symphony Orchestra present Light Beyond Shadow. Come celebrate the spirit of the Christmas season and leave inspired by thrilling and poignant music that evokes transcendent themes of light, joy, love, peace, and hope. This year’s performance will be approximately 110 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission. 

Schedule:

December 4 at 7:30pm in Lagerquist Concert Hall

December 5 at 2pm in Lagerquist Concert Hall

December 5 at 7:30pm in Lagerquist Concert Hall

December 6 at 2pm in Lagerquist Concert Hall

December 7 at 7:30pm in Benaroya Hall

Tickets for Lagerquist Hall at PLU go on sale November 4 at 10am

Tickets for Benaroya Hall on sale November 4 at 11am

Tickets and more info here: https://www.plu.edu/christmas/

Winter Stays at the Holden B&B

The B&B is available as a whole house rental offered through Vrbo, property ID #5147296. Please use their website to make your reservation. Also, this is a great place to check out our amenities and photos. The holidays are still available if you're looking for a place to gather with friends or family.

We are also open to individual guests during the winter season, November 2026 – April 2027. Weekends and Holidays will have preference for whole house rentals, but if two weeks out there is space available, we will be happy to take individual reservations. Request your reservation by contacting Roberta at BandB@HoldenVillage.org.

Pass the news! It’s a great way to support the Village and gather with friends and family in a unique and lovely home.  Come explore Chelan Valley wineries, take in a show at the Historic Ruby Theater, cross-country ski or snow shoe at Echo Ridge. Visit Chelan during Small Town Holidays and Winterfest, or just hang out and read, play games and do puzzles. Whatever you like to do, the Holden B&B is a wonderful place to do it!

Affordable Housing Vision Becoming Reality on Bainbridge Island

For decades, Bethany Lutheran Church has been exploring the possibility of building affordable homes on a portion of the congregation’s property. That vision is now becoming reality! Last Sunday ground was broken by congregational and local leaders to begin building 22 affordable homes on a portion of the congregation’s property which will soon be conveyed to Housing Resources Bainbridge (HRB). Impetus for this project came from a combination of state legislation, which called for Innovation Programs, and a local statute which provided a density zoning bonus. The photo blow depicts the shovelers about to dig in for affordable housing! Stay tuned for future developments!

Details of the conference can be found here:

https://illumin8collective.com/illumin8-conference-2027/

Want an item included?

Email Susan Berg, Dir. Communications & Events

All items due the prior Thursday by 12:00 noon

Regular Office Hours - Mon-Thurs, 10am - 4pm

Northwest Washington Synod / ELCA

5519 Phinney Avenue North

Seattle, WA 98103

206-783-9292