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Stories from Congregations this Week

Bishop Jeff and part of the Synod Assembly Planning Team met in Fresno this week!

Congratulations to Pastor Kendall Jeske, who was called to be the new pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Pleasanton. Congratulations to the warm and generous people of Trinity! Well-deserved gratitude to the call committee for discerning this call to Pr. Manda Truchinski, our Synod Deans, thank you for helping to put these good people together, and Pastor Clark Brown for his thoughtful, compassionate leadership during the interim transition!

Congratulations to the Rev. Dr. Kyle Schiefelbein-Guerrero, who was ordained at St. Mark Lutheran Church in San Francisco on Saturday by Bishop Jason Zinko of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. Soli Deo Gloria! The Rev. Dr. Charles Leonard of United Lutheran Seminary presided, and the Rev. Elizabeth Ekdale preached. What a wonderful day! Congratulations Pr. Kyle!

To share stories from your congregation,

send a brief description and a photo to Mandi!

New Address for the Synod Office

We are so excited to share office space with Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary!

New Physical Location:

Sierra Pacific Synod, ELCA

2000 Center Street, Suite 200

Berkeley, CA 94704

Mailing Address:

PO Box 119, Berkeley, CA 94701

Synod Office Job Openings

Job Postings for Two Positions in the Synod Office

We also want to announce that the Synod Office is seeking qualified applicants for two highly responsible positions. The Managing Director will oversee the day-to-day operations of the Synod, and an Executive Assistant will assist the Bishop directly with managing his administrative schedule and duties. Both positions will work on-site at the new Synod office in downtown Berkeley.

Click Here to View the Managing Director Job Description

Click Here to View the Executive Assistant Job Description

Upcoming Synod-Wide Events

Find Out More & Sign Up!

Parochial Reports

It is the season of statistical reporting! A census, if you will. In December, your congregation may have received an email from ELCA Churchwide about the 2023 Parochial Reports. The email announced that this year the parochial reporting is only one form (Form A) and should only take you a few minutes to submit!

The Sierra Pacific Synod is your helpmate in getting your congregation parochial reports to the ELCA Churchwide Office of the Secretary. You can find the answers to many of your questions here.

If you need help or have questions that aren’t addressed on our website or the ELCA website, you can contact Lance Kelly at [email protected] or Pr. Manda at [email protected].

If you want to submit a paper report instead of entering your report online, you can mail it to PO Box 119, Berkeley, CA 94701, and a volunteer will submit it electronically for you.

Parochial reporting will open in mid-January. All parochial reports are due by March 1, 2023. Thank you for taking a few minutes this month and a half to help us learn about the state of our congregations and prepare for the future.

New Thriving Leadership Formation Cohorts Are Continuing to Form!

Cohorts come together to create a community grounded in spiritual practices to help church leaders thrive. Cohorts meet for 12 sessions (1.5 hours each).

There is no cost to this program.

Pulpit Supply

Are you a Rostered Minister of Word & Sacrament who is available to do pulpit supply on Sundays? Please sign up here and let us know so that we can share your name with congregations in need of occasional service: https://forms.gle/8TzGUx7FWBcncgRt7

Chip Conley Book Launch: Learning to Love Midlife: 12 Reasons Why Life Gets Better with Age

Join your friends at Saint Matthew in Walnut Creek on Sunday, January 21st, at 5 pm for a seminar and book signing!

Successful hospitality entrepreneur and New York Times bestselling author Chip Conley is on a mission to reframe our relationship with aging. As the founder of MEA, the world's first midlife wisdom school with regenerative communities, Conley is disrupting both the idea of higher education and senior living. He has both a BA and MBA from Stanford University and an Honorary PhD in Psychology from Saybrook University. He’s been a TED speaker at the prestigious annual conference multiple times. MEA is the world's first ‘midlife wisdom school.’

Conley's 7th book, Learning to Love Midlife: 12 Reasons Why Life Gets Better with Age, is about rebranding midlife to help people understand the upside of this often-misunderstood life stage.

RSVP Here!

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Tuesday, January 23 from 3:30-8:00 pm

St. John's Lutheran Church is partnering with the North State Ecumenical Conference to host this year's Week of Prayer for Christian Unity event! Gathering under the theme of Luke 10:27, this event will include a Panel Discussion, Dinner, and Holdem Evening Prayer Service. There is no charge for this Special Event; in lieu, we encourage donations

to Midtown HART here.

3:30 - 4:30 pm Panel Discussion - How does our faith impact public policy?

Available via live stream here

President Tim Nally (Stake President, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)

Regina Banks (Executive Director Lutheran Office of Public Policy- California)

Molly Sheahan, MTS (Associate Director for Healthy Families California Catholic Conference)

Pastor Ivan Herman (Carmichael Presbyterian Church)

Rev. Jeanie Shaw (Presbyterian Ministry Engagement Advisor)

MC - Rev. LaTaunya Bynum (Regional Minister, Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, Northern California – Nevada)

5:30 - 6:30 pm Dinner

RSVP required - Clergy/Staff here, Public here

7:00 - 8:00 pm Prayer Service

Available via livestream here

The Rev. Jeff Johnson, Bishop of the Sierra Pacific Synod, ELCA, will serve as the Guest Preacher for this service. This service will follow the Holden Evening Prayer liturgy.

You're Invited!

Tuesday, January 23rd at 4 pm via Zoom

Rev. Dr. Sarras is a Palestinian Lutheran Pastor serving in Wisconsin. She will recount her experience of growing up in Palestine and her perspective on the current situation. She received her Ph.D. from the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago and a Master of Divinity from the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley.

This event is sponsored by a group of lay and clergy people in the East Bay looking at the story of Palestine and Israel led by Pastor Clare McElaney and Pastor Todd Benson.

For the Zoom link, please get in touch with Pastor Sharon Stalkfleet at [email protected].

Brunch Church: Installation of Pastor Sara Wilson

Rev. Sara Wilson has been called to serve as pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Lincoln, California. All are invited to her installation on Saturday, January 27th, at 11 am at Grace. The color of the day is red. Clergy are invited to wear stoles. As we are going to worship and eat together during one fun and holy experience, in our small house church sanctuary, there will not be a procession or vesting.

For more info, you can view the Facebook event here: https://fb.me/e/3FeBt3BHr. There will be a FB live stream. If you plan to attend in person, kindly RSVP on the Facebook event page or send a message to Maureen Tetley at [email protected] so we can plan for food.

Pastor Sara will continue serving Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary of California Lutheran University as Director of Seminary Stewardship as part of her bi-vocational shared time ministry call. Her email ([email protected]) and phone number (510-559-2717) for PLTS remain the same.

The Bible and Settler Colonialism in Palestine and Beyond

Join the conversation on Saturday, January 27! This will be an international, online consultation featuring Rev. Prof. Mitri Raheb, Founder and President of Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem and author of Decolonizing Palestine: The Land, The People, The Bible.

Responses will be offered by Atalia Omer and Revelation Velunta.

Click Here for More Information & to Register

Leadership Discipling Team Boundaries Training

Our Leadership Discipling Team is preparing a list of options for boundary training opportunities for rostered leaders in our synod. One such opportunity is coming up in February and is being organized by our colleagues in the Southwest California synod for their rostered leaders. Thanks to the openness of the synod and its Bishop Brenda Bos, registration for this training has also been made open for interested rostered leaders from the Sierra Pacific synod.

This online training is being with Pr. Abel Arroyo Traverso and Pr. Carla Christopher will be focused on ministerial boundaries, offering some tools and support to manage work-life balance and boundaries. We look forward to sharing time together as we strengthen healthy practices and healthier ministers.

Thursday, February 8, 2024, from 9 am - 1 pm PST.

Prophets as God's Messengers for Social Justice

Thursdays from 1:00-2:30 pm from February 8 - May 9, 2024, at St. John's Lutheran Church and via Zoom

This semester-long Bible study will take a deeper dive into some of the prophets of the Old Testament. It is designed for pastors and lay persons, primarily in the Lutheran Church (ELCA), to highlight the message and work of the prophets as messengers of God with instructions to care for others in need, with an eye to today's world, understanding prophets were not fortune-tellers nor apocalyptic.

The class will meet every Thursday (excluding March 28 and April 11) in Oehler Hall at St. John's Lutheran Church and online via Zoom.

Rev. Dianne Wendt, currently serving as pastor at Lutheran Church of the Cross in East Sacramento, will be teaching this bible study. The development and leading of this class are part of Pr. Dianne's Doctorate of Ministry Program at the Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, CA.

Participants will only need their Bible; note-taking and journaling are encouraged.

RSVP and/or questions: [email protected] or (916)456-8880.

SPSYC High School Retreat

Registration is now open for the annual Sierra Pacific Synod High School Retreat at Mt. Cross the weekend of March 1-3, 2024. Planned and led by the youth of the Synod Youth Committee (SPSYC), the retreat theme is “Stories Around the Campfire.” Thanks to a generous grant from the PoP+Zion Endowment Fund, SPSYC is excited to announce nationally known storytellers David Scherer and Joe Davis as event speakers!

Registration information can be found on the SPSYC website. Early bird pricing through February 12^th is $225 for each participant. Regular pricing of $275 will last through February 23^rd, when registration will close. Scholarships are available – don’t let costs keep your group from attending. Registration form and additional information can be found here: http://www.spsyc.online/high-school-retreat.html

The retreat will also feature the election of new committee members. Please encourage high school youth in your congregations to consider running for a spot on SPSYC. Details and an application can be found here: http://www.spsyc.online/elections.html

Have more questions? Don’t hesitate to contact Lisa Herlocker.

Save the Date!

The 2024 Synod Assembly will take place June 7-9 at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Fresno Convention Center. More details will be released as they become available.

Job Opportunities

New Opportunities Available!

Are you looking for something new? We have amazing congregations looking for someone like you! Check out our job posting page for open positions throughout our Synod.

If your congregation has a position posted that has been filled, please be sure to let Mandi know, so we can keep the page updated.

Updates and Resources from ELCA Churchwide & Beyond

LIRS is Becoming Global Refuge!

Our decision to rebrand is rooted in the massive worldwide need for compassionate support of those seeking safety. With more than 100 million people displaced by war, famine, climate change, and persecution, our mission of providing the "long welcome" is more crucial than ever. Our Board knew we needed to build a bigger table of supporters.

The Global Refuge brand fittingly conveys our mission of providing safety and support to refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants from across the world. As our new identity makes us more accessible to clients, partners, and supporters, it leaves unchanged our core vision: to foster a world of just and welcoming communities, informed by our Lutheran heritage and decades of experience. Our faith-based identity remains integral to our organization, reflecting the spirit of love that shapes our work of welcome and strengthens our relationships with Lutheran communities and congregations, as well as with nondenominational and interfaith partners.

We cannot overstate our gratitude for your continued support, partnership, and commitment to welcoming immigrants and refugees. As we redouble our commitment to advocating alongside, caring for, and empowering newcomers, we hope you will join us in celebrating this new chapter of transformational service.

In solidarity,

Krish O’Mara Vignarajah

President and CEO, Global Refuge

Learn More Here!

Announcing A New Grant Fund from ELCA Churchwide

Resourceful Servants—an initiative of the ELCA churchwide organization, and its ministry partners at Portico Benefit Services and the Mission Investment Fund—will launch the Retirement Supplement Grants program. This program offers one-time retirement supplement grants for primary ministry leaders (either rostered or non-rostered) called to ministries on the margins:

Mission Developers
Leaders in the Vulnerable and Vital and Homeless and Justice networks
Leaders in Strategic Ministries

A total of $100,000 in available funding, provided through a generous grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc., will be distributed equally among program applicants. Although this funding will not resolve the issue of an underfunded retirement account, it will allow these leaders to take advantage of compounding growth on their retirement funds.

Click Here for More Information!

Stories of Faith in Action

The publication Stories of Faith in Action and the resources that go along with it are designed to share how important your weekly offering in your congregation is in sustaining and growing God’s mission. The portion of your offerings that support the ELCA’s synodical and churchwide ministries is called Mission Support. The publication and resources found here help explain and answer questions about Mission Support and tell the story of those gifts in action. You can check out the December 2023 Mission Support Memo here!

You can also check out more stories of faith in action at https://www.livinglutheran.org/sofia/.

January Portico Updates

Retirement Readiness Webinars

Resolved to feel more financially prepared for the future? Check out Portico’s Retirement Readiness Series from Fidelity starting at the end of January. Register for live webinars covering topics like turning your savings into retirement income, understanding Social Security, and estate planning basics. Recorded versions of these topics – and many more – are available on demand on myPortico.

Learn to Live 2024 Webinars – January

Take 30 minutes to boost your mental well-being by joining a live webinar led by the Learn to Live Clinical Team. January topics include making effective habit change, mindful eating, and creating a positive mindset by avoiding negative thinking traps. View the webinar schedule, as well as their library of previous topics, and use the access PORTICO to register.

YAGM Volunteers

The ELCA’s Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) program is ready for new volunteers! The YAGM team must find the next cohort of young Christians ready to step out into the future. Do you know one? If you know such a young adult, aged 21 to 35, this is the time to reach out. Applications are now accepted on a rolling basis, year-round. Those who apply by Feb. 1 will be considered for the service year beginning the following August. Priority will be given to those who apply before Jan. 15.

Talk personally to these young people about what this opportunity will mean for their faith, identity, career and understanding of God’s work in the world.

YAGM volunteers who apply by Feb. 1, 2024, will begin their service in August 2024.

Learn more at ELCA.org/YAGM.

The Ministry of Housing Conference

DCG Strategies is pleased to invite churches to a conference series they are hosting for congregations interested in taking the next step in learning about real estate development on their properties.

The first conference will be for San Francisco, Marin, and Peninsula Churches on January 18 hosted at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church San Francisco (ELCA). The second conference will be for East Bay Churches on February 15, hosted at Glad Tidings Community Development Corporation.

In addition, they are offering Pre-Development Analysis to select congregations who apply to Ministry of Housing: Pre-Development Program, which is funded by the San Francisco Foundation.

Click Here to Register & Get More Info!

Cultivate Confidence: Lead Powerfully as A Woman in Ministry

Feel like you've got way too much going on but you're not doing enough? Tired of second-guessing yourself with every decision?

Join this free five-day series of learning and group coaching to cultivate the confidence to lead meaningfully.

You'll walk away in a better place to discern where you’re going next and unlock your power as a woman in ministry.

Join Mon, Jan 29 at 10 AM EST, Tues, Jan 30 at 2 PM EST, Wed, Jan 31 at 1 PM EST, Thurs, Feb 1 at 12 PM EST, and Fri, Feb 2 at 1 PM EST.

Click here to register now.

ELCA Youth Gathering Update

It’s not too late to register your group! And as an incentive, the next 5 congregations to register (new congregation groups, not just adding people) from the Sierra Pacific Synod will get priority registration pricing if they register by February 14, 2024 and contact Lisa Herlocker. That’s a $50 savings per person in your group! Remember your group can be made up of folks from more than one congregation — you just need to register using one congregation ID number. This is a great way for smaller congregations to attend the Gathering.

Save the Date — on Saturday, April 20th all of the adults and youth attending the Gathering will meet up at St. John’s Lutheran Church in midtown Sacramento for a pre-Gathering BASH to include lunch, fun activities, and adult leader training. A couple of details are still being nailed down, but I wanted you to get this on your group’s calendar. More details coming in February.

ELCA Fund for Leaders Scholarship

Every year the Fund for Leaders provides approximately 30 full-tuition scholarships to future ELCA pastors and deacons who attend ELCA seminaries. In spring 2024 the Fund for Leaders will once again offer scholarships to seminary students — and we need your help to spread the word!

The application window for full-tuition scholarships will be open through Feb. 23, 2024.

Here are a few key facts about Fund for Leaders scholarships:

Eligible candidates must be planning to enroll in fall 2024.They must have received a positive entrance decision or at least begun the process of seeking candidacy for rostered ministry in the ELCA.
Candidates may begin the Fund for Leaders application process before they have been accepted to seminary. Candidates are encouraged to apply to seminary and a Fund for Leaders scholarship simultaneously.
Recipients of Fund for Leaders scholarships may apply their full-tuition scholarship to any ELCA seminary that has offered them admission.
Scholarships are awarded to students for the duration of their required seminary coursework, provided they remain in good standing with their seminary and in their candidacy process.
Current ELCA seminary students who have completed no more than one semester of coursework before the start of the 2024-2025 year are also welcome to apply.

Apply Here!

It’s Time to Nominate Students for Lutheran Summer Music

Each year, the primary way that music students find their way to LSM is through the encouragement of their church musicians! LSM offers opportunities for musicians of all kinds: brass, winds, strings, percussion, piano, organ, voice, harp, guitar, handbells, and more! Students receive advanced musical instruction through large ensembles (Festival Choir, Band, and Orchestra), chamber music, private lessons with collegiate-level faculty, and elective classes (such as conducting, composition, church music, intro to the pipe organ, jazz band, musical theatre, music therapy). In the evenings, students attend recitals, Evening Prayer services, and social events with their friends. LSM 2024 takes place at Valparaiso University in Indiana from June 30-July 28 (Full Session) or June 30-July 14 (Half Session) and is open to students who have completed grades 8-12. Know a musical young person who would thrive at LSM? Nominate them today at LSMacademy.org/nominate.