“What is exciting for me is that I get to discern with the people God has called to be His people [and] journey with them to yield the Holy Spirit call on how to be followers of Jesus…However, they may express what it means to be a church in this time and age,” says Pastor Moses S. Dennis, Co-Director for Evangelical Mission. Starting a church in the post-pandemic world means going to where people are, letting them know they are beloved of God, and helping them to live out their faith together, he says. In line with the ELCA’s focus on vitality and connecting with younger, more diverse people, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod contracted Pastor Dennis, who serves at Faith-Immanuel Lutheran Church in East Lansdowne, and Pastor Bryan Penman of St. Mark’s in Conshohocken, to share the Director of Evangelical Mission role.

“The truth is we have to be where God wants the church to be planted,” Dennis says. “There are new prospects that are emerging, [and] leaders, that we are beginning to identify who have the gifts and calling and the passion to be new developers.” You can help bring these dreams to reality through your support of the All Saints Appeal.

African Descent Ministries of the ELCA is celebrating Black History Month with season two of Talks at the Desk, a video series that explores diverse expressions of the church. A new video will premiere each Wednesday in February at 7:30 pm Central time. Watch them live on YouTube or download them here. Join us to hear youth, young adults, rostered leaders, elders and friends of our communities share their own sacred stories.

For more updates, follow @ELCAADM on Twitter and Instagram or check out facebook.com/elcaadm.

Each year the Synod Assembly considers actions to set policy directions and to present issues for consideration by the Churchwide Assembly. Join the Committee on Reference and Counsel on Thursday, February 2, at 7 p.m. on Zoom to learn how you can create changes in the church through the Synod Assembly, the difference between a resolution and a memorial, and ways to write an effective resolution. The deadline to submit a resolution for consideration is April 5, 2023.

The Rev. Violet Little, pastor of The Welcome Church in Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, was recognized with the Frontline Leader Award at the state’s Homes Within Reach Conference. More than 800 attended the conference, hosted by the Housing Alliance of PA, of which LAMPa is a member. The award recognizes those whose work inspires and uplifts and puts the needs of those they serve front and center.

Ordering your tickets is simple: Go to www.phillies.com/lutheran. Use the password: LUTHERAN. Then select from available tickets. Please contact Shannon Profy in the Phillies Sales Office at 215.218.5465 with any questions

This year, the Urban Theological Institute of United Lutheran Seminary celebrates the 41st year of Preaching with Power. Since its inception, it has presented the finest in African American preaching and music. Join us for lecture and sermons by six distinguished African American preachers and theologians. PWP is held annually in March and is normally hosted both on the ULS Philadelphia campus and at local churches throughout the community. Each event is open to the public but can also be viewed on United Lutheran Seminary’s YouTube channel. All are welcome and requested to wear a mask. Join us at YouTube.com/unitedlutheranseminary and be inspired!

Schedule: Click on an event below to view the full calendar listing and bio. All events take place in Philadelphia, PA and are scheduled for EST time.

Although we might think only of major crises when we hear the word “trauma,” trauma includes any disturbing experience that elicits a highly negative emotional response. Trauma is characterized in three ways: acute, chronic, and complex. This presentation will offer information as to the types of trauma (and examples thereof); how they present/how they can be recognized; what damage they can do to those experiencing them; strategies for beginning the healing process; and vicarious trauma (the trauma suffered by those witnessing trauma suffered by others, including caregivers).

Sponsored by Lutheran Faith Community Nurse Association.

Date: February 21, 2023

Time: 4-6 pm PT, 5-7 pm MT, 6-8 pm CT, 7-9 pm ET; via ZOOM

Registration fee: $20 for LFCNA members/ $30 for non-members

"Remember, celebrate, act."  On February 11 join the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania in honoring the life and ministry of the Blessed Absalom Jones, the first African American priest in The Episcopal Church, with a service at The Philadelphia Cathedral that includes preaching from Bishop Shannon MacVean-Brown from the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont and music from St. James School, Church Farm School, Pine Forge Academy and more. 

We invite you to invest in the ministry of Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod. The 2022 calendar year has ended but our fiscal year continues. Give by January 31 to have your donations counted in 2022. Financial support from individuals and congregations is one way that we express our partnership in the gospel work that God has entrusted to us in the five county region of Philadelphia. Make a one-time contribution for 2022 and set up recurring gifts for 2023 at https://ministrylink.org/give/. 

I know that even from a very early age we are told not to talk to strangers. But as Julie Lythcott-Haims points out in her TED article, Why talking to strangers is good for you, them and all of us, “when you give someone eye contact and a smile, it demonstrates ‘you exist, fellow human,’ and it makes them feel good.” Perhaps what our broken world needs is less looking past and more noticing. Maybe instead of avoiding strangers, we should get better at interacting with them.

SEPA Synod is proud to welcome Vance Blackfox, Director of Indigenous Ministries and Tribal Relations for the ELCA, on Wednesday February 1^st to lead us in the Blanket Exercise. The Blanket Exercise is an experiential learning tool that leads a group of participants through 500+ years of Indigenous history, highlighting the relationship between the tribal nations and the European explorers, colonial setters, and U.S. federal and state governments. Participants should be age 15 or older.

Last summer the Churchwide Assembly voted to establish a commission to recommend potential changes in the ELCA’s constitution and governance to reflect what Lutheran witness might look like in the 21^st Century. Nominations are now open for appointment to this body, which will include three persons from each region of the church (35 members total).

The composition of the body will follow the ELCA’s representational principles (ELCA Constitution 5.01.e., 5.01.F19., and 5.01.H21.) including lay and clergy, people who identify as women, men, gender-nonbinary, gender-fluid or other genders. persons of color or whose primary language is other than English, and youth and young adults. The commission’s work will take place at two in-person meetings a year, bi-monthly online meetings, and in-between meetings from June 2023 to April 2025. Complete information and expectations are available here.

Each synod is invited to submit two potential nominees. If you want to suggest someone to be considered, please contact the Office of the Bishop at bishop@sepa.org. In addition there is an open nominations process online at https://www.elca.org/CRLC. Deadline for consideration is March 9, 2023.

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rfisher@sepa.org / 267.323.3743

Ms. Cynta Outterbridge, communications assistant

ministrylink@sepa.org / 267.323.3742