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A communications service of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, ELCA copyright 2007.
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| Patricia Davenport called as Mission Director |
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 The Rev. Patricia A. Davenport has been called to serve as Mission Director and Assistant to the Bishop for Evangelical Outreach of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, effective Nov. 1. In her new role, Pastor Davenport will relate to the Lutheran congregations in the city of Philadelphia and will support and resource new mission starts and transformational ministry sites across the Synod, which covers Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties and Philadelphia. "I see such great potential for the renewal and growth in our city congregations," she says. "My first priority will be to rekindle relationships with our city pastors and people."
Davenport is uniquely suited for this role because of her long history with Lutheran urban ministry in Philadelphia and her experience developing a new urban ministry, according to Bishop Claire S. Burkat. "Pat is an incredible gift to our Synod," Burkat says. "She knows our city churches and pastors, and she has experienced all the blessings and burdens of developing new missions."
Read the full article on our website.
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Educational Reformation: SEKUCo opens Oct. 28 |
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A delegation from our Synod headed by Joanne Carlson, assistant to the bishop for global vision, and Susan Pursch, chair of the synodical SEKUCo Coordinating Committee, head to Tanzania Monday to represent us at the opening of the new university campus on Reformation Sunday, Oct. 28. Please pray for those who will teach and those who will learn at this new campus, including Amanda Grant of St. John, Mayfair, who is spending this year teaching at SEKUCo, and for the people of the North Eastern Diocese as they open this magnificent new venture. Read more on our website
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Shopping night at Ten Thousand Villages in Souderton |
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Trinity Lutheran Church, Perkasie, has made arrangements to sponsor a Holiday Shopping Night at the Ten Thousand Villages store in Souderton, on Thursday, November 29 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. The store (at 787 Route 113, Souderton, 215.723.1221) will remain open after normal hours so that members of our congregations can shop for beautiful gifts made by artisans from around the world. The Mennonite Church operates Ten Thousand Villages Stores throughout the country in order to provide fair income to Third World people by marketing their handicrafts and telling their stories. They have agreed to donate 20% of all sales from that evening to our SEPA Synod's partnership with the Sebastian Kolowa University College (SEKUCo), which opens its doors this month in Tanzania. For more information contact: Debra Detweiler at 215.257.6801. Read more on our website. |
| Congregations grapple with climate change |
| How can congregations respond faithfully to the realities of global warming? What are other congregations doing to make a difference? What resources are available to help raise awareness among church members? Join the Chester Conference for a "Climate Change and Renewable Energy Discussion" on Nov. 8, 7-8:30 p.m., at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, Chester Springs. Guest speakers include Joy Bergey, Global Warming Outreach for Penn Future, Pete Johnson of Greenpeace's Project Hot Seat, and Andrew McDowell of Chester County Citizens for Climate Protection. St. Matthew's (2440 Conestoga Road, Chester Springs, PA 19425) is located on Rt. 401, one mile east of Rt. 100 and three miles west of Rt. 113. For information call 610.458.5675. |
| Bishop's convocation sold out |
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Rooms are no longer available for the Bishop's Convocation, Nov. 12-14 at Willow Valley Resort, featuring Jerome Ringo, Dr. Robert Robinson, and Tammy Devine. If you would like to be on a waiting list in the event more rooms become available, please contact James Gadsden at 610.278.7338 or by email. Learn more on our website. |
| Ministry Resources |
Fountain of Life Big Musical Splash
Please join St. John's, Ambler for a concert to benefit the Fountain of Life Child Sponsorship program for HIV/AIDS orphans in Nekemte, Ethiopia. Jazz, Latin, Classical & Gospel Music with John Swana, Tyrone Brown, Full Gospel Choir and more Sunday, October 28, 7 p.m. at St John's Lutheran Church, 24 North Ridge Avenue, Ambler PA 19002. For more information visit their website.
"Knitworking" event for sharing ministry
Knitters, come share your ideas and passions with fellow knitters and learn how to start a knitting ministry at the Lower Bucks' Conference's Knitworking Event on Saturday, Nov. 3, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Resurrection Lutheran Church, 2185 Oxford Valley Road, Levittown, PA 19057. Cost $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Download a registration form on our website or call the church at 215.946.2155 for information.
Overview of the Gospel of Matthew
An overview of Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary will be presented at Artman Lutheran Home on Nov. 6, from 8:30 - 10:30 a.m. with a continental breakfast provided. Presenter is the Rev. Dr. Robin Mattison, Associate Professor of New Testament and Greek at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. This event is free --all you have need to do is sign up NO LATER THAN OCT. 31. Due to space limitations, the number of participants is limited to the first 20 registrations. For information or to register, contact Pastor Linda Hatcher via email or by phone 215.643.6333 ext. 117. |
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ELCA News |
KenCrest named third best place to work in Delaware Valley 
The Philadelphia Business Journal named KenCrest the third-place recipient among extra-large companies (1,000 or more staff) during its annual Best Places to Work awards reception on Thursday, October 18. The award recognizes KenCrest´s achievements in  creating a positive work environment that attracts and retains employees through a combination of benefits, working conditions and agency culture. KenCrest finished behind Virtua Health Systems and the Comcast Corporation. Learn more at KenCrest's website.
Grants Available to Lutheran Congregations for Services to Refugees and Immigrants
Wheat Ridge Ministries, in partnership with Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), is offering financial assistance to Lutheran congregations to encourage the development of new programs and services for immigrants and refugees. Competitive grants are available through the Good Samaritan Fund which was established in honor of The Rev. August Bernthal for his dedicated leadership in serving refugees and immigrants. Seed grants up to $5,000 are available to enable congregations to develop vital support services needed by deserving immigrants and refugees beyond the initial stages of resettlement. Interested applicants may download the application packet or review grant guidelines at their website. For more information on the Good Samaritan grant program, please contact Brian Becker via email or by phone at 800.762.6748. The deadline for receipt of applications is March 3, 2008. Awards are typically announced in May.
. The 500th homebuyer, Lakeisha White, and her two daughters, ages 12 and 4, were barely surviving in a dilapidated apartment in a crime-ridden neighborhood. She was losing hope-until she heard about Habitat for Humanity. White applied and was accepted into the Habitat homebuyer program in Pontiac, MI. Since then she has invested hundreds of hours of her own time, working beside volunteers, to build her first home. Later this fall, White will make a small down payment on a no-interest Habitat mortgage and move her family into the fine, new home. But, there is more to Lakeisha's story. Had it not been for the support of Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity, Lakeisha's home could not have been built this year. This $105 million four-year alliance, formed in 2005, has made homeownership a reality for hundreds of families each year.
ELCA bishop responds to Muslim leaders' letter
Commands to love God and one's neighbor flow through the sacred writings of Christians, Jews and Muslims, and people of all faiths can "read the beauty of these passages found in the sacred texts of the Abrahamic faiths, which signify God's vision for how and whom we love in a broken world," ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson wrote in response to an Oct. 11 letter sent to him and several global Christian leaders by 138 Muslim leaders from throughout the world. The 29-page open letter, "A Common Word Between You and Us," calls for Muslims and Christians to work more closely together for peace. "I receive this letter in the sincere expression of faithfulness intended by its drafters, and with the hopeful expectation for peace that calls to us from the origins of our sacred texts and professions of faith," wrote Hanson, who is president of the 60-million member Lutheran World Federation. "I encourage prayer and planning for communities of justice, peace, and security where Muslims, Jews, and Christians draw from these origins as from essential wells of living water."
Learn more on our website.
Update on sexuality studies
The ELCA Task Force for Studies on Sexuality met October 5-6 to discuss biblical, ethical, and theological material that could form the foundation of a draft social statement on human sexuality. It also received a preliminary report on responses to the adult congregational study, met with the Conference of Bishops, and discussed the actions of the 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. Learn more, including updates on a study for youth and the timeline for drafting a proposed social statement, on our website. | |
