IN THIS ISSUE:

·       Spring Gatherings 2023
·       Conference Coordinator Meeting
·       Message from the President
·       Faith Practices: The Spiritual Practice of Waiting
·       Board Member Highlight
·       Treasurer Tidbits: Stewardship
·       Send Us Your Christmas 2022 Event Activity
·       LWR Ingathering Update
·       1 Session Bible Study: Katharina von Bora Luther
·       Featured Unit: St John Lutheran Gets Radical with Their Tamales!
·       Synod Communication Information
Spring Gatherings for 2023 are being scheduled! If you don't see your conference gathering listed, please send us your date (SWTWELCA@gmail.com)


Rio Grande Conference – February 18th
Bluebonnet Conference – March 25th
Hill Country Conference March 25th
Cibolo Creek Conference – April 22nd
Alamo Conference TBD
Capital North & South TBD
Gulf Coast Conference TBD

CONFERENCE COORDINATOR MEETING

All conference coordinators are highly encouraged to attend a meeting via ZOOM on Saturday, January 14th at 9 am.

Please RSVP by January 7th to SWTWELCA@gmail.com.
A Message from the President
The Unexpected virtue of Waiting

Greetings to all my sisters in Christ. I don’t know about you, but I have found myself very impatient as of late. I would love to say patience is my virtue however my husband would beg to differ. He has seen me while driving, waiting in line, grumbling about internet speed. You get the picture and I imagine several
of you get the picture and I imagine several of you can relate. When did we become so unwilling to wait? As children we waited with great anticipation for our birthday, for Christmas, the tooth fairy and more. Children know good things come from waiting.

And now the entire season of waiting is upon us. Advent calls us to wait. It’s good to know, we are not alone in our waiting. Everyone waits in varying ways with diverse dispositions. When we wait with impatience and bitterness our wait wears wearily on our hearts and minds. But, when we wait with prayer and patience, our waiting becomes worship - an act of faith. During Advent we can squelch our impatience and grumbling over small “waitings” by uniting ourselves to the worldwide waiting for whatever God brings to us. We can’t forget that God is actually more patient waiting on us, than we are on him! You and I both know that, as sinful human beings, we’re kind of a hot mess. So, how wonderful is it that God patiently teaches us his ways and gives us time to grow? Any waiting process is a gift, an opportunity given to us to grow in patience, kindness, and humility. Let us make something worthwhile with this time and learn how to be more forgiving and charitable. Let us praise the Lord, who never stops surprising us, who consoles and rescues us.
 
As we move through Advent and look towards the 12 Days of Christmas the Women of the ELCA are busy. You are providing food to the hungry, clothing many adults and children, holding festivals and more. As we move to the future some things are uncertain. But your Board has been busy making plans! In just a few months our Spring Gatherings will begin. The Gatherings are worth the wait and I look forward to seeing you soon. Until then, peace be with you! Wayne Dyer said; “Peace can become a lens through which you see the world. Be it. Live it. Radiate it out. Peace is an inside job.” 
 
Peace to you my friends!
Lisa Lopez
Faith Practices
Submitted by: Deacon Darcy Mittelstaedt (Bishop’s Associate for Leadership & Lifelong Faith Formation)
Photo by Ümit Bulut on Unsplash
Spiritual Practice of WAITING…
Tis the season of waiting! Advent and into Christmas. It seems as the secular world doesn’t know how to wait and yet in the Church world, we are invited into waiting. The season of Advent is a great way to practice waiting. It is a practice of expectancy, patience, and hope. 
The Advent season is a time of preparation that directs our hearts and minds to Christ’s second coming at the end of time and to the anniversary of Our Lord’s birth on Christmas. Advent readings call us to be alert and ready, not weighted down and distracted by the cares of this world (Lk 21:34-36). Advent also includes a sense of preparing, quieting, and disciplining our hearts for the full joy of Christmas.

Trust and patience are sure needed for the practice of waiting. Here are a few articles/resources about the faith practice of waiting:


CHECK OUT MY ADVENT CALENDAR – YOU HAVE TO WAIT EACH DAY TO CLICK ON THE NEXT ONE…(Calendar begins on Sunday, November 27th and follows the Revised Common Lectionary)
 Deacon Darcy Mittelstaedt (she/her/ella)
Bishop's Associate for Leadership & Lifelong Faith Formation

God's grace transforms & connects us 
SWO Board Member: Martha
My name is Debbie Mattke and I serve on the board in the position of Martha. This will be my fifth year serving on the board.
My husband Mike and I have been married 37 years. We are a blended family of 3 children and 6 grandchildren. I raise cattle with my brother. I love to garden and enjoy living the country life.
I am a life-long member of St John Lutheran Church in Marion and have lived on the same family land since I was 3. I retired from Texas Lutheran University in 2015 where I served as the Assistant Director of Financial Aid. I am also a 1979 TLU alum. I love being a part of a group that empowers women to be bold in their faith and to create relationships that are safe and inclusive. It is about the work we do living out God’s will. This is evident in the work that WELCA does with the Ingathering each year. 
Treasurer Tidbits: Stewardship

Let’s talk about stewardship. Unfortunately, sometimes that word can have a bad connotation within the church. I hope this is not true for your women’s organization. How and why you choose to distribute the monies you collect are two very important ideas I would like to explore in this article.
         The first thing you should ask yourself as a women’s group is “what is our purpose?” Why do you get together? Is it JUST to do Bible Study or to quilt or to do any other projects near and dear to your hearts? Do you only do things that benefit YOUR church or community, OR do you use your time, efforts, and monies to “promote healing and wholeness in the church, the society, and the world” as is stated in the WELCA purpose statement?
         As a WELCA unit, it is important to know you are expected to give up to 25% of your offerings to the Synod. (Usually, this is done quarterly, but it can be done once every six months, or even just once a year.) The Synod then sends 50% of the offerings collected to churchwide. All the monies collected go to support various projects and to help further the work of WELCA.
         What you, as a unit, decide to do with the other 75% of your offerings should reflect your purpose. Do you put that money to good use? Do you actively look for ways you can support various projects or groups either locally or within the world at large? If your unit is doing this, I applaud you. If not, I challenge you to come together in your unit, and to look for ways your offerings might be useful to others. 
I hope this information has been helpful. As always, if you have any questions, I will happily take your phone calls or emails. Don’t hesitate to ask!
Carol Semper,
Southwest WELCA Synod Treasurer
csemper@yisd.org
Send us your Christmas Event Pics!
How is your congregation celebrating the birth of Christ? Share your event and activities with us by sending pictures and a short-write up to: SWTWELCA@gmail.com
TRIENNIAL 2023
The Triennial Gathering is currently scheduled for September 21-24, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. There are no more details to report at this time. We are encouraged to visit welca.org and subscribe to Bold Connections to stay informed.

(Our voting delegates are pictured at left)








Total Items Collected from November
Ingathering in Marion, TX:

Quilts                             8,326
School kits                    3,613
Personal Care kits       3,226
Baby care kits               965
Fabric kits                      168

Celebrate A Bold Life of Faith: Katharina von Bora Luther
Katie Luther was a wife, mother, farmer, brewmaster, innkeeper, and more. In all that she did, she acted boldly on her faith in Jesus Christ. There’s a little bit of Katie in all of us. Learn about Katie while learning more about yourself.
Join us on January 29, 2023 for a two hour Zoom bible study led by your Board members Holly Heinsohn and Lisa Lopez. We will gather on Sunday afternoon from 2 – 4 pm.
Simply email us at swtwelca@gmail.com and we will send the Zoom link! 
St. John's Radical Tamales
In support of Project Radical Hospitality, St John Lutheran Church of San Juan TX held la tamalada (a tamale making) in two sites this past weekend. Yes, tamales were made, but more importantly some of God’s people were able to work with each other across cultures, ages, genders and abilities to serve some of those outside our congregation, those served by Project Radical Hospitality of Southwest Texas WELCA.
We thank Thrivent for their support of our Action Team. We give thanks to God for this beautiful experience.
We want to hear from you!

Please send articles and pictures about your unit to swtwelca@gmail.com to be featured in future editions of The Grapevine.
News from the Synod Office
Greetings from the Southwest Texas Synod!
 
We recently switched our communications to a new platform and want to be sure you don’t miss out on anything. To make it easy for you, below we are including a description of each communication we send out, along with the sign-up link. We hope you will find these e-mails both helpful and encouraging.
 
Blessings,
 
Southwest Texas Synod
Our Communications
 
Weekly eNews- Weekly, sent on Wednesdays
·        Information including events, resources, and news
·        Sign up now
 
Announcements- Sent as needed
·        Bishop’s communications including announcements, funerals, ordinations, installations, holiday greetings
·        Sign up now
 
Anchor Stories- Monthly on the First Thursday
·        The synod will be sharing stories of how God is at work in and around us through the people, congregations, and ministries of our synod. Once a month you will receive in your inbox an Anchor Story that will inspire your faith and connect the many people of our vast territory. If you have a story to share with the synod, email info@swtsynod.org for more information.  
·        Sign up now
 
Faith Practice Snippets- Second Thursday
·        Ever wonder what type of faith practices there are? And what faith practices is our Synod Leadership engaging in? Sign up for this newsletter to hear about some faith practices from our leaders in our Synod and why they are important to them. 
·        Sign up now
 
Leadership Net- Third Thursday
·        For congregational lay and rostered leaders is a new e-news publication from the Southwest Texas Synod Leadership Team which will be delivered to your inbox the 3rd week of each month. A pithy format that includes leadership development, collaborative opportunities and practical tips will inspire you to lead in unique ways to bring life, grace and love to your congregation and community. 
·        Sign up now
 
Faith Formation Findings- Fourth Thursday
·        Looking for resources to live out your daily faith? Are you looking for fresh ideas to help your faith community, from the wee little ones, to the wisest, most mature adults and everyone in between, grow in faith? Are you ready to let go of 'the way we've always done it' and take a leap toward living every day in faith? So are we. Join our newsletter to hear about some of the new and tested ways of forming faith in home and community. Join the conversation and let the exercise begin. 2 Corinthians 5:17
·        Sign up now
Southwestern Texas Synod www.swtsynod.org
Update your Unit Officer Contact Information

If you have not sent in your list of unit officers for 2022, please use the link below to access the form.

Send the completed form to SWTWELCA@gmail.com
Use the link below to access the list of Conference Coordinators and their contact information.