July 3, 2007 | Vol. 8, No. 62

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A communications service of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, ELCA copyright 2007.

Welcome to the new SEPANews!

The newsletter has been redesigned to give you easier access to news about Synod ministries, ELCA updates, and resources that can help you and your congregation as you make Christ known in your community.

It's now easier to share SEPANews with friends and colleagues -- just click the "Forward email" link below. If you're not already part of the SEPANews list, please use the button at left to subscribe to the newsletter.

Enjoy, and please let us know how SEPANews can better serve you.

Bob Fisher
Assistant to the Bishop for Mission Interpretation 610.278.7339 | sepanews@sepa.org

Please make sure that sepanews@sepa.org is in your email contact list or your safe senders list.

The Synod offices will be closed Wednesday, July 4 for the Independence Day holiday and on Thursday and Friday, July 5 and 6, while contractors complete repairs to the offices. Thank you for your patience with the extended recovery from May's flooding. The office will be back to normal next week!

The offices will be closed on Fridays from July 13 through August, and staff will be working longer hours Monday through Thursday through the summer.

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), in a July 2 statement, said that the agency "is deeply disappointed that the Senate failed to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation this year. Our nation sorely needs a humane, workable system that promotes family unity, safeguards human rights and worker rights, brings undocumented people out of the shadows, and provides a path to permanence."

Learn more at the LIRS website.

A group of ten members of St. Matthew's, Chester Springs is currently traveling throughout the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania on the annual St. Matthew's Vision Trip to Tanzania. This week they visit the soon-to-open Sebastian Kolowa University College (SEKUCo) in the North Eastern Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania.

You can follow the group's adventure through the team's blog.

Bishop Claire Burkat will again visit with leaders in each of our synod's nine conferences this fall. The series of "Evenings with the Bishop" run between Sept. 20 and Oct. 30 and each event will begin with refreshments from 6:30-7 p.m., followed by a presentation by the bishop and conversation. Pastors, lay rostered leaders, council presidents and other key leaders are invited.

Get the full schedule of dates and locations on the Synod website.

Trinity, Coopersburg hosts singer Rachel Kurtz
Enjoy an evening with Rachel Kurtz, a Minnesota-based singer/songwriter whose distinctive voice infuses her organic instrumentation to wash over and through the listener. Her subtle blend of style reveals folk-pop sensibilities with a healthy dose of soul. Free; donation accepted. Bring a chair or blanket. Saturday, July 14, 7 p.m. @ Trinity, 2170 Route 212, Coopersburg, PA 18036.
For information call 610.346.7282 or visit the congregation's website.

Troupe of ACTS takes Godspell on tour
The Troupe of ACTS, the teen theater ministry at St. Paul's in Lionville, is doing Godspell as a road show this summer. There will be one show at St. Paul's in Lionville on Thursday, July 5. On Friday, July 6, the Belfield Recreation Center in Philadelphia will host a shortened Godspell show followed by presentation of a check for $2,000 raised by the youth of St. Paul's to help the Center. Other shows are: Saturday, July 7 at 6:30 p.m., Redeemer Lutheran in Penndel; Sunday, July 8 at 6:30 p.m., Reformation Lutheran Church in Media; Friday, July 13 at 6:30 p.m., Faith and Hope Church of the Nazarene, Norristown; Sunday, July 15 at 6 p.m., Advent Lutheran in Harleysville.
Call Dawn Beck at 610.363-7990 or e.mail dawngbeck@comcast.net for details.

ELCA offers 'Worship Jubilee' Aug 3-6 in Chicago
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) second Worship Jubilee is August 3-6 here at Navy Pier. The event precedes the 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. Organized by the worship staff of the ELCA, the event will draw more than 700 people involved in worship and music throughout synods and congregations of the ELCA. The event will celebrate the publication of Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW), and the future of renewing worship under the theme, "Thanks Be to God." ELW is a new primary worship resource developed by the ELCA, released Oct. 3, 2006. "Worship Jubilee 2007 will reflect the diversity of the worship practices of the ELCA. Although this will be the culmination of our year-long celebration of ELW, this event is where the family of resources that the ELCA offers will really begin to unfold," said the Rev. Michael L. Burk, ELCA executive for worship and liturgical resources. Read more.

ELCA supports relief efforts in Burundi, China
In an effort to help meet the basic needs of people and reconstruct homes in China's southern Yunnan Province, members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided $50,000 after a June 4 earthquake left three people dead and more than 560 others injured there, as of June 5. Lutherans also have provided another $50,000 to help reconstruct communities and support the needs of people in the Republic of Burundi after years of armed conflict there. Read more.

LTSP professor part of 'global worship' workshop
The Rev. Dr. Katie Day, Charles A. Schieren Professor, Church and Society, and Director, Metropolitan/Urban Concentration, The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, was a member of the faculty at a recent 10-day New York City conference on Global Worship organized by New York Seminary professor Lowell Livezey. The workshop was covered by the New York Times in a July 2 article, For a Master Class on Global Worship, It's Destination Queens.

MIF offers new rate for MissionTermSelect
For a limited time, the ELCA Mission Investment Fund (MIF) is offering an 18-month MissionTermSelect investment featuring a 5.75% rate of return. This new offering requires a minimum $5000 investment. Funds transferred from current MIF investments or from maturing MIF investments are not eligible. This investment is available to individuals, congregations and ministries of the ELCA. Monies invested with MIF provide mortgages to new mission congregations and existing congregations for renovation, refinance or relocation.
For information on the 18-month MissionTermSelect, other investments offered by MIF or loan information, please contact Pr. Mark Wimmer: 267.203.1137 or mark.wimmer@elca.org. Building concerns can be addressed to ELCA building consultant Jeff Spann: 973.625.2568 or jeff.spann@elca.org.

Global Mission Event July 19-22 in Columbus
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Global Mission Event (GME) is July 19-22 at Ohio State University, Columbus. Endorsed by the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, the event will draw more than 2,000 people from the United States and around the world. The theme for this year's event is "New Heaven and New Earth." Read more