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A communications service of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, ELCA copyright 2007.
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Tune in to Churchwide Assembly
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 The 2007 Churchwide Assembly will meet in Chicago August 6-11 to elect a presiding bishop and secretary and address issues ranging from sexuality to the Iraq war. And you can be there, virtually, by visiting the Assembly website. Plenary sessions will be webcast in audio and video from the site, and news, photos and preliminary minutes will be posted throughout the Assembly.
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Keep up-to-date with SEPANews blog
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Catch up with the latest Lutheran news sightings and more at the SEPANews blog. This is your one-stop on the web for local and national appearances of Lutherans in the news. And you can help us keep the blog up to date. If you find interesting articles featuring our local congregations or the ELCA, please send them to us at sepanews@sepa.org, via fax to 610.278.9994, or mail them to Bob Fisher at the Synod office.
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Mission auction in Penndel Aug. 26
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A "Mission Festival Auction" to benefit causes locally and in Africa will be held on Sunday, August 26 after the 9 a.m. worship service at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Hulmeville and Woodland avenues in Penndel (19047). Members make, create, knit, bake, grow, or donate items which are auctioned off to raise money this year to support a Philadelphia Lutheran seminary student, the Lutheran Settlement Home and Mwangaza, a formal and informal education program in Tanzania, East Africa .
For information contact the church at 215.757.2724.
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ELCA membership declined 1.6 percent in '06
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 The ELCA lost 76,573 members and 79 congregations during 2006, according to figures recently released by the Rev. Lowell G. Almen, ELCA Secretary. The ELCA had 4,774,203 members in 10,470 congregations at the end of 2006, down 1.6 percent. Worship attendance declined only slightly, with an average of 1.4 million ELCA members, fewer than 1 in 3, participating in worship each week.
The ELCA has not posted a net gain in members since 1991. In the past 16 years the ELCA has lost nearly a half-million members, Almen said. Two-thirds of that decline occurred from 2002-2006, with a combined decrease of 325,674 baptized members. To put the numbers in perspective, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod has just over 94,000 members and 172 congregations. Read more!
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Save the date: Bishop's Convocation Nov. 12-14
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Rostered leaders: Mark your calendars for the annual Bishop's Convocation, Monday, Nov. 12 through Wednesday, Nov. 14. More information and registration materials will be sent shortly!
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Ministry resources
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New book explores emerging ministry in Lutheran context
 Curious about the world in which we live and informed by the emerging church conversation, author Nathan C.P. Frambach asks, "What does it mean to be the church as we live-not as we think or remember or long for, but as we live God's mission today?" In his book, Emerging Ministry: Being Church Today, Frambach, a popular presenter at our Synod's 2007 Mission Fair, suggests that being church today will look more like a local kiosk than a big-box chain. It will be characterized by the diffusion of indigenous leadership that is always on mission-incarnational, mobile, agile, and culturally authentic. And-it will be birthed by the Spirit of God. Learn more!
Calling all Sunday School teachers
"Sunday School Teacher Training 2007: The Basics" on Saturday, Sept. 8, is a learning day designed to encourage, empower and affirm those who teach Sunday School, mentor youth and guide adults in faith-forming communities. The Rev. Jessicah Duckworth, assistant professor of Christian education at Wesley Seminary, Washington, will keynote this event sponsored by the New Jersey Synod, at Abiding Presence Lutheran Church in Ewing, NJ. Download a flyer!
'People First" language de-emphasizes disabilities
 The KenCrest People First Language brochure, developed by Delaware Project Consultant Jeanne Lee, emphasizes who people are - first are foremost - rather than focusing on their limitations. People First Language makes the "politically correct" reference to a disability much less important. Always refer to the person first - that never goes out of style. Download the brochure!
Region 7 'After Pastor' workshop
Region 7 will present an 'After Pastor Workshop' for clergy serving in
congregations or institutions where there has been sexual misconduct on
Tuesday, Aug. 14, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at Seafarer's and International House,
123 E. 15th St., New York, NY. Presenter Barbara Keller is the
Consultant to the ELCA for the Prevention of Sexual Misconduct. She has
more than 20 years experience working in community mental health. For
more information and registration contact Yvonne Curtis at 215.248.6318
or ycurtisf@aol.com. Download a flyer!
Tennis outing benefits Artman Home
 Artman Lutheran Home's Eighth Annual Tennis Outing will be held Sunday, Sept. 9 at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, 415 West Willow Grove Ave., Chestnut Hill. Tennis on the grass from 1 to 4 p.m., with supper and live music on the porch beginning at 4:30. Proceeds go to the Artman Benevolent Care Fund, which benefits residents who have outlived their assets. Artman, an affiliate of Liberty Lutheran Services, is located at 250 N. Bethlehem Pike, Ambler, and offers assisted living, rehabilitation, nursing and hospice care. To receive your invitation to the event please call Mary Gorman at 215.643.6333, x140.
LBWs and WOVs free to a good home
 Immanuel Lutheran Church, 14100 Worthington Road, Philadelphia (19116) has a quantity of the Lutheran Book of Worship and With One Voice hymnal free to a good home (shipping charges to be assumed by the recipient). Contact the church at 215.464.1540 or Lutheran@voicenet.com.
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| ELCA News |
Presiding bishop responds to Pope's statement on the Church
 Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson says Pope Benedict XVI's recent statement about the nature of the Church changes neither existing Vatican positions nor the ELCA's commitment to ecumenism, though it does "restate known positions in provocative ways." The Vatican statement reasserted that the Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church, and it said that other Christian denominations "cannot, according to Catholic doctrine, be called 'Churches' in the proper sense."
"However troubling such exclusive claims may be, we recall the Second Vatican Council's 'Decree on Ecumenism' which affirmed that the separated churches and ecclesial communities are used by the Spirit of Christ 'as means of salvation,'" Bishop Hanson wrote in a July 11 statement. The Church is "wounded by the division that exists among Christians," he said; however, Hanson stated that the ELCA is not deficient in its self-understanding as 'Church.' Read the full statement.
LTSP PhD program approved
The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP) has been granted approval by the state Department of Education to change the Doctor of Theology (ThD) to Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). While both ThD and PhD degrees are considered equal in the eyes of the accrediting agencies of divinity schools and seminaries, The Rev. Dr. Margaret Krych, Associate Dean of Graduate Education, notes, "Many of our graduates will teach in colleges and universities where the PhD degree is better known than the ThD."
Get updates from Women of the ELCA
Women of the ELCA sends out an HTML e-mail update once or twice a month to share information about programs, resources, and more. To subscribe to this free mailing, send a message to Women.ELCA@elca.org and enter "subscribe e-mail" in the subject line.
LWR bans toothpaste from health kits
Toothpaste should no longer be included in Lutheran World Relief health kits assembled and donated by Lutherans and other faith-based groups throughout the U.S. Recent reports from the Food and Drug Administration about the safety of some imported toothpastes, which have been found to contain toxic chemicals, as well as concerns about the expiration dates associated with toothpaste, prompted LWR's decision to remove toothpaste from the health kit contents as a safety precaution. Donors of health kits are asked to stop including toothpaste in the kits, to remove the toothpaste from any kits they have already assembled, and to mark their boxes "Health Kits - No Toothpaste" before delivering the kits to an LWR ingathering or warehouse.
Seminarian's Luther play goes off-Broadway
Gettyburg Seminary student Jarrod Jabre, writer and director of "The Life and Times of Martin Luther (Reformed)," will take his comedic drama to New York City in August as a part of the New York International Fringe Festival this August. The play will be performed by Washington D.C. based drama company The Colonel's Men, at The Players Theatre, 115 MacDougal Street, near Washington Park in lower Manhattan on August 16, 17, 18, 19, and 21.
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