View this email as a webpage

We Gather Together

In a time when virtual meetings are part of daily life, it might be easy to overlook the sacredness of gathering online as the Church. But the Church has always been a people who come together. Around tables. In sanctuaries. On roads. In upper rooms. At lakeshores.

Jesus created connection. He taught and told stories. He fed people and listened. He invited others into a movement of love and justice that could only grow through relationship. And when the early church began to take shape, they started by building community. They showed up for one another, prayed together, and listened for where the Spirit was leading next.

That’s why gatherings like Synod Assembly matter. Even on Zoom. It’s more than a meeting. It’s a holy moment. A time to remember that we’re not in this alone — that our local ministry is part of something larger. That God is still calling us to listen, discern, and move forward together.

If you haven’t registered yet — now is the time. If you already have, thank you. Either way, pray for our shared work. Because when we gather as the body of Christ — in-person or online — something sacred happens: we remember who we are, and we open ourselves to what God might do next.

Questions for Reflection:

• How have you experienced the presence of Christ in virtual gatherings or unexpected places?
• What does it mean to you to be part of something bigger than your local congregation?
• Where do you sense the Spirit calling our synod — and you — in this season?

~ 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!

Applications for ELCA World Hunger’s 2026 Domestic Hunger Grants are open! To learn more about submitting a Letter of Inquiry (LOI), grant partnership eligibility, and our granting priorities, please visit our Domestic Hunger Grants website. 

ELCA World Hunger will host a Zoom webinar tomorrow, Thursday, May 1^st for applicants to review granting priorities and cover the basics of submitting an LOI. Please register here. After the webinar, you will be able to access a recording of this webinar via the Domestic Hunger Grant FAQ page.  

Let us not succumb to the divisiveness of our world but rather join together to fight the great injustice that is having some of us fed and others who are not. Thank you for your creative, courageous work toward a just world where all are fed. If you have any questions, please contact ELCA World Hunger at hunger@ELCA.org. 

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.

Celebrating Women in Ministry

Originally created for congregations in the Reformed Church in America (RCA), this Women in Ministry Sunday resource offers a wide range of adaptable materials that ELCA congregations may find inspiring and useful. It includes Scripture suggestions, prayers, litanies, hymn ideas, visual storytelling prompts, and ways to engage all generations in celebrating the gifts of women in ministry from the past, in the present, and looking ahead to the future.

The resource also highlights the She Is Called Women of the Bible study series, which digs deeper into the stories of biblical women and invites reflection on the women in our own communities who answer God’s call. Each volume in the series is available online for free or orderable as a print book (in English and Spanish).

As your community lifts up the faithful witness of women in ministry, may this resource spark celebration, conversation, and deeper gratitude for the Spirit’s work across generations.

Some denominational references are specific to the RCA and may need to be adjusted for use in ELCA settings. Congregations are encouraged to adapt the content to fit their local context, worship style, and history.

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. 

Two amazing courses are being offered by Growing in Faith Ohio during the months of May and June!

Registration is now open for Living as a Christian in the World (Foundations) and Christian Ethics (Practical).

Both classes gather on Thursday nights from 6-9 PM on Zoom. Christian Ethics will be May 8-June 5, while Living as a Christian in the World will be May 15-June 12!

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!

​

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

Prayers for Healing

Pastor John Wanamaker Pastor Bob Hanson 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.