Tuesday Devotional: Midwinter Power in the Spirit 2023

Midwinter Power in the Spirit 2023

Tuesday, January 31

Welcome!

We're glad you're a part of the Power in the Spirit online community this week. This morning's e-devotional includes a poem, readings, and a recorded message.

Tonight we will gather on Zoom for our workshop presentations! Look for an email at noon each day of this event, or find the confirmation email you received when you registered. The Zoom link will be there to connect. We will open the Zoom room at 5:30 PM.

Tonight we all have three elective presentations to choose from! When you first enter the Zoom Room, you can start choosing which breakout room you'll go to for your elective. Synod Staff will be on hand to help you. Consider logging in right at 5:30, so you can get to your preferred breakout room in time for presentations to begin at 5:45.

After each evening's presentations, we'll bring our time to a close with Evening Prayer at 7 PM.

On behalf of the Power in the Spirit planning team, we are happy you are part of our community this week. We have time for learning, fellowship, worship, and service ahead of us this week. For now, we invite you to make use of this morning devotional to focus on some rest.

Peace be with you,

Pastor Wesley Smith, Donna Gum, and Edith Blake

Power in the Spirit Coordinators, Virginia Synod

This Year's Theme:

Blessed Are

Artwork titled "Save Us from Trial" by Norma Fredrickson from Grace, Winchester

Blessed – © Edith Blake

Blessed are we when we love our neighbors no matter if they are different from us

Blessed are we when we take time to listen and show we care

Blessed are we when we speak out against injustices

Blessed are we when we step out and try something not in our comfort zone

Blessed are we when we sow the seeds of his love to those around us

Blessed are we when we bloom where we are planted

A Reading from Scripture: Matthew 5:5, 9

Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

Devotion for Monday

By: Alli Beck, Resurrection, Fredericksburg

Announcements!

Tonight's Schedule

5:30 PM Zoom Room Open

5:45-6:50 Workshops

6:50-6:55 Announcements

7:00 PM Evening Prayer

Live Presentations Tonight: Three Choices!

Join us on Zoom, beginning at 5:30 PM tonight! Log in as soon as you can so you have time to select your breakout room. Our presentations will begin promptly at 5:45 PM!

To find your Zoom room, click the link you received in your registration confirmation email. We will also send a reminder email at noon each day of our event.

Click Here for the Presentation Options for Tonight

Blessed are the Children

Whitney Houston sang a song with the lyrics "I believe that children are our future..." I disagree. Children are our NOW. How are you expressing this in your worship space? How do we welcome families with Littles, Middles, and Bigs into the community faith? Together, let's explore the whys and the hows of Children in the Worship Space.

The Rev. Suzanne Stierwalt

St. Andrew, Portsmouth

Blessed are the Pure of Heart

Virginia Synod Election Process

Discernment: a process of prayer and looking forward to where God is calling us. If you were not aware, we, as the Virginia Synod, are going to be electing a new Bishop in June 2023. As a part of this process, the Bishop Election Committee, is looking to lead the Synod in discernment conversations as we look forward to where God is calling us as the Virginia Synod. Join other members of the synod and Pastor Joshua Copeland (Our Saviour, Christiansburg) as we dream and listen to God in a fun and exciting workshop. May God be with us all as we listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit!

The Rev. Joshua Copeland

Our Saviour, Christiansburg

Blessed are the Righteous

The Role of Relationship in Racial Equity and Justice

We all know the importance of relationships in our lives. We love one another in relationships, we bear with one another in relationships, we identify with one another in relationships, we remember one another when we are in relationship. It should be no surprise that relationship is also at the heart of racial equity and justice. If we are in relationship with someone, we will care about what they care about. Grace, Waynesboro has been involved for the past three years in a developing relationships with Christ Tabernacle Church of God in Christ, a predominantly black congregation in Waynesboro. In addition, my sabbatical involved many conversations with black pastors and lay people, as well as trips to Montgomery and Selma, Alabama, and visits to Civil Rights sites in those places, as well as conversation with Pr. Tiffany Chaney, a black Lutheran pastor in Montgomery. These experiences have underscored how central being in relationship is, to further Racial Equity and Justice in the communities our congregations are a part of.

The Rev. Paul Pingel

Grace, Waynesboro

Live Evening Prayer

Bring each day to a close with time for prayer. We will use a call and response with some of Edith Blake’s poetry interspersed with words from hymns. We will provide an opportunity for you to lift up prayer concerns and general prayers.

Learn more about GraceInside

Give to Support GraceInside

There is no fee to attend Midwinter Power in the Spirit Online, but we do suggest a donation of $25. All funds received by Power in the Spirit this winter will be used to benefit GraceInside.

The Power in the Spirit theme, "Blessed are . . ." reminds us that God’s love and presence extend to all people, especially the outcast and the oppressed. GraceInside provides chaplain services to inmates in prisons across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Your gift to GraceInside will support this critical ministry that brings God’s Word into the prisons.

To give, follow the link below to the Virginia Synod's Power in the Spirit giving page. Thank you for your generosity!

Give Now

Power in the Spirit

A ministry of the Virginia Synod, ELCA

www.vasynod.org/power-in-the-spirit

Click Here to View as a Webpage

Virginia Synod, ELCA | 540-389-1000 | vasynod.org