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Still Easter

Easter morning comes with a kind of electricity — full pews, bright music, pastel dresses, kids in clip-on ties, jellybeans before breakfast, and tables piled high with family recipes. It’s a day when the church is buzzing with life, and we shout with full hearts: Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!

But by the time the dishes are done and the candy is half-eaten, Monday rolls around. The world moves on. Decorations are packed away, the choir folders closed, and we quietly return to ordinary time. Or so we think...

Because in the church, Easter isn’t just a day — it’s a season. Fifty whole days of resurrection. Fifty days to let that first Alleluia echo into the quiet spaces of our lives. Fifty days to notice where new life is showing up — not just in trumpets and tulips, but in healed wounds, hopeful conversations, second chances, and ordinary moments made holy.

We are Easter people — not because life is always easy or sweet, but because we follow a risen Christ who keeps showing up: in locked rooms, in shared meals, in scars that speak of suffering and survival. Resurrection is not just something we celebrate — it’s something we live.

So eat the last chocolate egg. Dress up on a random Sunday. Let yourself sing a little louder. And more than anything — keep your eyes open. It’s still Easter. Christ is still risen. Alleluia, still.

Questions for Reflection:

• What was joyful or surprising about Easter Sunday for you this year?
• Where do you see signs of resurrection now — even in unexpected places
• How might you carry the spirit of Easter through the next 50 days?

~ Deacon Jenny Frantz, Director of Communication & Formation

The Northeastern Ohio Synod Assembly will be held online on Saturday, May 17th, from 9:00am to 12:00pm EST. This business meeting will give voting members the opportunity to engage in important synod decisions, participate in discussions, and connect with fellow members across the synod. Visitors are also welcome to watch the livestream or attend a Watch Party to gain insight into the Assembly’s operations and witness the decision-making process.

$50 - Voting Members

$25 - Watch Party Visitors

Voting Members can participate online via Zoom at home or at a Watch Party.

​Visitors may choose to register for a Watch Party or watch the free livestream at home.

We need your photos!

Help us tell the story of our synod! We're collecting photos from the past year to share during the 2025 Northeastern Ohio Synod Assembly. Send in pictures of worship, service projects, celebrations, and community events—anything that captures the life of your congregation and ministry.

⚠️ Please be sure you have permission to share photos of those who appear in them!

Send your photos to Deacon Jenny Frantz (Director of Communication & Formation) by May 1, 2025: jfrantz@neos-elca.org

Thanks for helping us showcase the amazing ministry happening across our synod!

The Pierstorf College Fund is a one-of-a-kind financial aid program designed to support Lutheran students in Ohio pursuing a higher education. This program offers interest-free loans to full-time students enrolled in a four-year undergraduate program at any accredited college or university.

Maximum Loan: $4,000 for the 2025-2026 school year.

Eligibility: Open to all Lutherans living in Ohio, whether they are new or returning students.

Application: No family income information is required, and the program strives to offer loans to every eligible Lutheran student.

Since its founding in 1994, the Pierstorf College Fund has awarded over $14 million in loans, enabling students to focus on their studies without the burden of tuition costs.

Application period opens April 15, 2025 and closes June 30, 2025.

For more information and to apply, visit www.Pierstorf.org.

Student Loan Payments: You’ve got Questions – We’ve got Answers!

There have been a lot of announcements lately regarding federal student loans. As a result, you may be experiencing some confusion and asking a lot of questions.

If you are currently employed by the churchwide organization, a synod, a congregation, or a non-profit organization, Resourceful Servants and Portico Benefit Services invite you to an online presentation and Q&A session with Kim Miller, Senior Program Manager for Partnerships and Financial Education at LSS Financial Counseling, on Tuesday, April 29 at 11:00am Central.



Kim will share information about the changes in federal student loan repayment and answer your specific questions. The likelihood is that if you have a question, someone else does as well. 

To protect the privacy of the attendees, this session will NOT be recorded. If you are unable to make it and you would like to make a free appointment with a certified student loan counselor, please call 800.528.2926.

In the meantime, Kim has prepared this brief video which begins to tackle some of the issues that will be addressed in the presentation. We encourage you to watch it, whether you are able to attend the session or not. 

🌿 Earth Day Reflection: A Sacred Invitation to Care 🌎

Though Earth Day was yesterday, the call to care for creation remains just as present today. Creation care is not just a seasonal observance but a faithful rhythm woven into our worship, our decisions, and our shared life together. Even if your congregation didn’t plan anything formal this year, this can still be a moment to pause and reflect on our relationship with the earth and with each other.

The ELCA’s social statement Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope, and Justice reminds us to see creation not as a resource to be used, but as a neighbor to be cherished. It is a sacred trust we are called to honor. Whether through prayer, a walk outdoors, or a renewed gratitude for the beauty around us, small actions taken in love can reflect a deep and lasting commitment to stewardship and hope.

Here in the Northeastern Ohio Synod, our Creation Care Affinity Group is working to embody that commitment in tangible ways. Grounded in Christ’s incarnation and the sacredness of all creation, the group has pledged to help our synod become carbon neutral by 2045. Their work includes connecting congregations with solid waste districts for free waste audits, supporting decision-making that follows, and cultivating congregational cultures where care for creation becomes second nature. They are also nurturing hope in youth who are anxious about our planet’s future, and lifting up the efforts of congregations already living out visible commitments from LED lighting to pollinator gardens to active green teams.

If your congregation has a story to share, or if you’re interested in joining this meaningful work, please reach out to Pastor Marilyn Matevia at pastor@celebration-lutheran.org. To explore helpful resources, tools, and guides that support this calling, follow the button below.

Where might creation be quietly asking for your care today?

Your Synod Council has recommended a budget for 2026-2027 which will be presented and voted upon at the upcoming Synod Assembly. To help with questions or concerns, there will be budget hearing offered for Voting Members on May 1, 2025 at 7:00pm on Zoom.

Join the Dominican Sisters of Peace, Hunger Network in Ohio and Ohio Council of Churches for lunch at the Ohio Statehouse to discuss our call as people of faith to feed our neighbor. Speakers will include policy experts, people with lived experiences, as well as faith and legislative leaders lifting up the voices and stories of hungry Ohioans. 

Join Bishop Barbins and Paul Walters of GSB to learn more about Building a Culture of Generosity on Wednesday, May 21st at 7:00pm. You may bring as many congregation members to this meeting as you choose.

Please email info@neos-elca.org to receive the Zoom link.

"Five members shared (a Generosity moment) on Sundays with the congregation. Our congregants told us what an impact these were on their decisions to either increase their giving or begin consistently and intentionally giving for the first time. This impacted those of us on the team with a new way to look at our giving - our of a deep need to give, rather than tithing as our markers. For the first time in very many years, we not only finished the year in the black, but also with a surplus!"

~Congregational Leader who participated in 2024

Registration in Now Open for the All Ohio Summer Youth Retreat at HopeWood Pines - LMC!

This event is for youth who are entering 6th Grade through entering 12th Grade and adult leaders who will accompany them.

Northeastern Ohio Synod is subsidizing your registration fee so that each youth is only $150!

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Questions? Contact Deacon Jenny Frantz: jfrantz@neos-elca.org

Prayers for Healing

Pastor Larry Mackey

Pastor Mulba Borsay and his wife, Ethel

Pastor Jack Delk

Prayer concerns will be removed after four weeks unless otherwise requested.

Consent is required for all submissions. Thank you.

These pages are updated every week with new trainings, events,

opportunities, and more! Be sure to check them out.