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News from the Indiana-Kentucky Synod, ELCA |
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"Let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action."
-1 John 3:18
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I-K Synod Bishop William Gafkjen
Where has Bishop Bill traveled throughout our mission territory during these past few weeks?
I conducted the Bishops Lenten (Chrism) Liturgy with the North West Indiana Conference Ministerium at St. Paul, Michigan City
I participated in the week-long Conference of Bishops meeting outside Chicago, IL
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Receive the I-KSynod Podcasts by email!
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Share the names of your college students
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A message from Bishop Bill Gafkjen:
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
We live in a violent world.
Some violence occurs so far away that it's hard to comprehend, even when the images of it flash across our consciousness night after night on the evening news. Some is as close as the air we breathe, making it difficult to even acknowledge and overcome. Near and far, day after day, violence inflicted by human beings on other human beings steals life, scars spirits, and inflicts fear.
I must admit that sometimes when I think about all the shooting and bullying and beating and bombing in our world - and the often rancorous and so far ineffectual debate about what to do about it - the psalmist's words express my own thoughts:
I would hurry to find a shelter for myself from the raging wind and tempest...for I see violence and strife in the city...and iniquity and trouble are within it; ruin is in its midst. [Psalm 55]
Yet those of us who are marked with the cross of Christ and sealed with his Spirit are not called to lock ourselves in some underground bunker. We are called to do something about the violence around us and within us. We are called to own up to and address our own violent tendencies and to wage peace in the world around us.
The sixty-five synodical bishops of the ELCA crafted this message when we were together in Chicago at the beginning of March. This letter calls us to active participation in the cruciform reign of the Prince of Peace and it provides a list of resources to assist you, your congregation, your circle of friends, and your family to discuss violence and to do something about it.
Kathryn Lohre, ELCA Director for Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations and President of the National Council of Churches (NCC) also offers these helpful resources:
Through the prophet Jeremiah God once said, "Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare" [Jeremiah 29:7].
As we seek our world's peaceful welfare together through repentance, prayer, and action, we walk in the promise sung by that old prophet, Zechariah, ages ago and echoed every time we sing the Gospel Canticle of Morning Prayer [ELW, p. 303]:
In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
And to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Peace be with you,
Bishop Bill Gafkjen
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Prayer Concerns
We lift up in prayer Pr.Gary Anderson (retired), who is in hospice care in Ohio. We pray for relief from his suffering and pain, comfort for his family and friends, and strength and wisdom for those who care for him.
We pray for Pr. Dan Strobel (St. Andrew, IndianapolisI and his family, whose granddaughter Piper is affected by microcephaly. After several recent tests, the pediatrician referred her to Riley's Children Hospital in Indianapolis where she will begin speech, occupational, and developmental therapy.
We mourn with the family of Doug Marsh (I-K Synod Council), whose wife's father, Calvin Lincoln, passed away after fighting cancer and dementia for five years. We pray for comfort in the arms of family and friends in the weeks and months to come.
We mourn with Pr. Richard Hartman (Epiphany, Fort Wayne, IN), whose grandmother Jeanne Hartman passed away on February 25. Pr. Hartman was very close to his grandmother, who was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Richmond, IN, and St. Paul in Milan, IN. May the family find comfort in the knowledge of a long life in the knowledge of the resurrection of our Lord.
In our staff devotions this morning, we concluded our cycle of prayers for congregations named Christ, giving thanks for their ministries. We lifted up and gave thanks for the ministries of a pastor affiliated with a campus, a synod in Region 3, and three retired pastors.
Christ Lutheran Church
Terre Haute, IN
Pr. Donna Glazier, Interim
Christ Lutheran Church
Valparaiso, IN
Pr. Erica Gibson-Even, Interim
Christ Lutheran Church
Zionsville, IN
Pr. Steven Albertin
Pr. Kelli Skram
Lutheran Campus Ministries - IU
Bloomington, IN
Southeastern Minnesota Synod
Rochester, MN
Bishop Harold Usgaard
Pr. Thomas BeMiller, Retired
Myrtle Beach, SC
Pr. Herb Berry, Retired
Richwood, WV
Pr. Loyal Bishop, Retired
Terre Haute, IN
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26th Indiana-Kentucky Synod Assembly, ELCA
June 7-9, 2013
Fort Wayne, Indiana
 
Pr. Heather Apel, Assistant to the Bishop for Assembly Planning
Learn more about the changes to this year's assembly.
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Lenten Podcasts
If you subscribed to email notifications for the Indiana-Kentucky Synod "Words for a New Day" podcasts, you already know that Pr. Nancy Nyland has released her meditation for the fourth Sunday in Lent.
You can listen to and read the meditation here.
If you haven't subscribed yet, enter your email either in the box in the left hand column of this email or visit the home page of the I-K Synod Web site and find the box in the center of the page and subscribe there. That way, you will receive notice of a new podcast the minute that I submit it to the website.
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Religion Communicators Council Conference
March 12 Extended Date - Early Bird Registration
Good news -- there is still time to get the $395 Early Bird registration fee for RCC's national convention and the block of rooms at the Sheraton are available for our discount price until March 12.
Take advantage of the money-saving early registration to register for this yearly national opportunity to sharpen your communication skills and network with other communication professionals.
Registration is available on line at www.religioncommunicators.org/convention as well as more detailed information about accommodations, speakers, workshop topics, and enrichment activities.
Check it out now and get your registration in place.
Come to Indianapolis - learn, meet new friends and greet old friends!
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Warning Signs of Financial Misconduct
Does your congregation have a clear and established protocol for handling issues relating to church finances? Financial misconduct can be a troubling and demoralizing event in the life of a congregation.
Pr. Larry Wohlrabe,
Bishop of the Northwestern Minnesota Synod ELCA, has put together a list of warning signs that might signal that something could be amiss in a congregation. He specifies that n
one of these warning signs alone mean that your church is vulnerable, but pay close attention
if any of these warning signs seem pronounced in your church community
or if your church exhibits two or more of these warning signs.
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Art of the Passion: Stations of the Cross Exhibit
Art of the Passion commemorates Holy Week by providing a meditative exhibit of the Stations of the Cross, made through the collaboration of 15 featured artists.
March 24-March 30, 2013
Palm Sunday: 12-4
Monday-Good Friday: 10-2, 3-8
Holy Saturday: 10-6
St. Paul's Lutheran Church
2029 South State Road 39
Frankfort, Indiana 46041
Each artist provides a creative portrayal of one of the Stations of the Cross within the framework of their own interpretation. This year's gallery walk concludes with a compilation piece which includes a representation of all 14 stations.
A variety of different styles and mediums are represented. Creativity and artist interpretation are encouraged, and all new artwork is exhibited each year.
About to begin its third year, this regional exhibit attracts more than 300 visitors a year and features both local and national artists.
Printed and audio devotional guides are made available to visitors during the exhibit and group tours are welcomed.
Contact:
Carol Rodibaugh
Home: 765.249.2112
Cell: 765.586.5172
Email: [email protected]
St. Paul's Lutheran Church: 765.654.5933 leave message
www.stpauls39.org/2013artofthepassion
www.facebook.com/artofthepassion
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Visit Portico's New Website
The previous website, elcabop.org has been retired and attempted visits to elcabop.org will be automatically re-directed to PorticoBenefits.org.
The new website enables plan members and employers to access information, transact online, and receive timely email updates and reminders specific to their needs. Because plan members and employers have a distinctly different relationship with us, PorticoBenefits.org gives plan members and employers their own unique online access - myPortico for members and EmployerLink for employers - and asks that they register and sign in.
Contact Kathy Shea with questions or contact the support team at 855.658.4637.
 Don't forget to take your online health assessment soon!
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Lutheran Men in Mission
The organization Lutheran Men in Mission has rescheduled a Building Men for Christ workshop to be held in West Alexandria, Ohio at Salem Lutheran Church on April 27, 2013.
This workshop is designed to help church leaders (both male and female) develop a life-changing men's ministry for their congregation.
For more information about this ministry, visit
Registration information and a poster for are available there for the April 27- West Alexandria workshop.
Questions? Contact Tom Green
Region 6 Director-Lutheran Men in Mission
(330)284-8699-mobile; (330)875-9587-phone/fax
[email protected]
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Eco-Palms:
A Better Choice for
Your Palm Sunday Celebration
When your congregation purchases Eco-Palms through LWR, you know that the harvesters were paid fairly for them and that your purchase helps protect important forests and sustainable livelihoods in the harvesting communities.
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Music Workshop: Music That Makes Community
All Saints Music Company will be in Indiana in May to offer a three-day workshop on "Music that Makes Community."
Join a diverse group of skilled musicians and clergy for three days of workshops, worship and fellowship:
- Learn a practice of teaching music through modeling and gesture that emphasizes participation and connection
- Explore ways to create transformative experiences of wholehearted engagement for people from across the spectrum of musical experience
- Sing, share stories and join in conversation about the power of music to bind us to one another and to God
This approach to music and singing is especially recommended for congregations with limited resources, but can expand and enrich music programs of any size or strength!
May 15, 2013 - 9:00 a.m. to May 17, 2013 - 1:00 p.m.
Waycross Camp and Conference Center
4879 Richards Road
Morgantown, IN 46160
Learn more about registration.
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 Mission Statements Wanted! During the past few months, I-K Synod congregations have been sending in their mission statements to the synod office, and we thank you for doing so. We wish to include them in our celebratory events in the upcoming I-K Synod Assembly in Fort Wayne.
Does your congregation have a mission statement? Please check with your pastor or lay leader, or church council and find out whether or not it has been emailed to us.
May God's Spirit open our hearts, our eyes, and our ears to see and hear clearly what God is doing in our world and strengthen our hands and our feet to follow!
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Discovering Hope: Building Vitality in Your Congregation 2013
A Conference for Small Churches
Sponsored by the Renewing Mission Table of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod
Sat., April 13, 10:00-3:00
Grace and Peace Lutheran Church
Evansville, IN
Registration Deadline: April 5
- Prayer: Letting Go and Letting God
- Worship: Building Community and Hope
- Making Disciples: Learning to Live Jesus' Way
- Evangelism: A Way of Life
- Caring Ministries: Serving as Jesus Served
- Leadership: Who's Driving the Tractor?
- Discovering the Gift of Place
- Mission: Possible - Discovering Hope for the Future
Registration fee: $30/team of three
$5 extra for lunch per additional team member
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 2013
March 2013
Discovering Hope: Building Vitality in Your Congregation Workshop
March 2, 2013
New Hope Lutheran Church
Monticello, IN
Contact Carol Webb at [email protected]
I-K Synod Renewing Mission Table Meeting
March 4, 2013
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
I-K Lutheran Center Chapel
Contact Carol Webb at [email protected]
I-K Synod Worship Committee
March 19, 2013
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
I-K Lutheran Center Downstairs Conference Room
Contact April Lynch at [email protected]
I-K Synod Mission Support Table Meeting
March 23, 2013
1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
I-K Lutheran Center Chapel
Contact Carol Webb at [email protected]
I-K Synod Deans Meeting
March 28, 2013
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
I-K Synod Lutheran Center Chapel
Contact April Lynch at [email protected]
The Indiana-Kentucky Lutheran Center will be closed March 29, 2013, for Good Friday
April 2013
Discovering Hope: Building Vitality in Your Congregation Workshop
April 13, 2013
Grace and Peace Lutheran Church
Evansville, IN
Contact Carol Webb at [email protected]
I-K Synod Council Meeting
April 19-20, 2013
7:00 p.m. on April 19, concluding at 3:00 p.m. on April 20
I-K Lutheran Center Downstairs Conference Room
Contact April Lynch at [email protected]
I-K Synod Community Organizing Team
April 25, 2013
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
I-K Lutheran Center Chapel
Contact Cindy Geisen at [email protected]
The Indiana-Kentucky Lutheran Center will be closed April 1, 2013, for Easter Monday
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