SEPANews / June 27, 2007

:: Synod News

Look for exciting changes to SEPANews

Since it launched on Oct. 1, 1999, SEPANews has been providing you, our synod's lay and rostered leaders, with news, resources and updates to support our common ministry in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Our pioneering effort to keep our leaders informed electronically won a national award from the Religion Communicators Council in 2000, and we've been going strong ever since.

As we approach our eighth anniversary, it's time for some upgrades to the system. This is the last issue of SEPANews that you will receive through our current distribution system. We will unveil a new email service, with some exciting new features, very soon. As we transition, we will move all of our current subscribers to the new system, so you won't miss an issue.

In order to ensure uninterrupted delivery, please make sure that your email program is set to mark email addresses in the sepa [dot] org domain – specifically sepanews [at] sepa [dot] org – as "safe senders."

Stand for Africa rally raises $12,000

The Rev. Eric Shafer, Senior Pastor of Trinity Lansdale, Bishop Burkat and The Rev. Herbert Lusk, pastor of Greater Exodus Baptist Church and Founder of Stand For Africa.

More than 200 people participated in the June 9 Stand for Africa Rally at Trinity Lutheran Church, Lansdale. The festive event featured music by the Greater Exodus Baptist Church Choir and a mass choir consisting of members from the choirs of Trinity Lutheran and Reformation, Philadelphia as well as several other congregations around the synod. The event raised over $12,000 to help AIDS orphans in the Irente Children's Home in our sister Northeast Diocese of Tanzania.

Learn more at http://www.ministrylink.org/view_article.aspx?id=415

From last year's floods, a shelter

Last year at this time St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, in South Pottstown was busy mucking out the basement of their three buildings after the Flood of 2007. Now just a little over a year later, St. John’s, along with her sister congregation, Still Waters (a congregation of the Grace Brethren Church), is turning one of those basements into the home base of the Ministries at Main Street Homeless Shelter.

In conjunction with Greater Philadelphia Cares, the Pottstown Home Depot will arrive with the their TEAM DEPOT community outreach group. From 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on July 14th, they will paint, construct, and do other work that needs to be done so that the St. John’s Parish House basement will be ready for opening this fall.

TEAM DEPOT will bring their own volunteers, but we also invite anyone who would like to help to come out to St. John’s on July 14th. If you would like to volunteer please call 610-326-1120. A cookout lunch will be provided by the Ministries at Main Street volunteer cooks, Pastors Kork Moyer of Still Waters and Susie Folks of St. John’s.

http://www.ministrylink.org/view_article.aspx?id=414

KenCrest golf outing Sept. 24

KenCrest is scheduled to host its 12th Annual Children & Family Services Golf Tournament on Monday, September 24, 2007 at Blue Bell Country Club in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. Event proceeds will help fund services for the more than 6,000 infants and children with developmental disabilities the agency supports each year in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Learn more at http://www.ministrylink.org/view_article.aspx?id=413

Upcoming installations/ordinations

> The Rev. Stacie Dougherty will be installed as pastor of Christ, Niantic, on Sunday, Sept. 30 at 4 p.m.

> Sozinho Alves will be ordained as Mission Developer/Pastor of Kingdom of God Worship Center to be held at St. Mark, Philadelphia July 15 at 3 p.m.

> Andrew Evenson will be ordained by Bishop John Anderson as Associate Pastor of St. Paul Red Hill to be held at his home congregation in Minnesota, July 29.

Synod calendar of events :: http://www.ministrylink.org/events.aspx

Job listings :: http://www.ministrylink.org/joblistings.aspx

:: Ministry Resources

"Share your Faith" workshop Aug. 4

Learn a truly hands-on way to easily share your faith at the "Share Your Faith" workshop hosted by Calvary Lutheran Church, West Chester, on Saturday, Aug. 4. The event is presented by Evangelism Explosion International, who have developed a gospel presentation that's easy to learn and hard to forget. Cost is $25/person.

Learn more at http://www.ministrylink.org/view_article.aspx?id=412

LSH training for working with domestic violence survivors

Lutheran Settlement House's Bilingual Domestic Violence Program is again offering Working with Domestic Violence Survivors: A Training for Professionals on Friday, July 13th from 9am-4pm at the offices of Community Behavioral Health. The fee is $45, and includes lunch. Six Continuing Education Units for Social Workers will be offered for an additional $10. Download a flyer and application at Lutheran Settlement House's website at http://www.lutheransettlement.org/events.html#july To reserve a space in the training, please fill out the RSVP form and

send it with the fee before July 6.

For more information, call Ramona Peralta at

215.426.8610 x 236 or email at rperalta@lutheransettlement.org

Kids College at the Sem

Kids’ College at the Sem is a three-week program starting July 9, 2007, that will give youth beginning grades 5 – 9 in September 2007 experiences in entrepreneurship, career self-exploration and hands-on experience in architecture and interior design. Kids’ College will expose area children to academic and vocational opportunities that will contribute to their education and broaden their cultural knowledge and talents. Participants can register for one, two or all three weeks. For more information, contact Terri Youngblut at (215) 248-7313 or tyoungblut@Ltsp.edu. Space is limited so register early.

Learn more or register online at http://www.ltsp.edu/kids_college/

Around the synod

> Organ Birthday Recital given by Peace Organist, Lou Carol Fix, at Peace Lutheran Church, 100 Old Bethlehem Road (Route 313 & Branch Road), Perkasie on Sunday, July 8, 2007 at 4 p.m. For more information: (215) 257-3294 or www.peace-tohickon.org

> St. Mark's Lutheran Church, 81 North Main Street, Pennsburg, PA will host Tent Troupe (America's only traveling summer tent theater) on Monday, July 16. A special matinee for the young and the young at heart entitled ALL GOD’S CRITTERS… will begin at 2:00 p.m. For family entertainment, at 8:00 p.m, the troupe will perform Neil Simon’s comic fable, FOOLS. Both shows are free of charge. A free will offering will be takenFor more information or directions, please contact St. Mark's Lutheran Church office, 215.679.9015 or stmarks@stmarkspennsburg.com.

:: ELCA News

LTSP awarded NEH grant

The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP) has been awarded a three-year, $150,000 collaborative research grant by The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The award will support the preparation of an English edition of the correspondence of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg (1711-1787), the patriarch of American Lutheranism. The translations will be completed by Dr. Wolfgang Splitter of Germany.

Learn more at http://ltspmedia.blogspot.com/2007/06/ltsp-awarded-150000-neh-grant-to.html

ELCA positions open

The churchwide offices of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) wishes to inform you that applications for the following positions are currently being accepted:

> Director for Discipleship - Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission

> Director, Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin –Church in Society

> Assistant Director for Development of New Congregations - Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission

> Region 1 Coordinator for Ministry Leadership – Synodical Relations and Vocation and Education

> Director for Domestic Public Policy - Church in Society

> Director for Middle East Public Policy Advocacy - Church in Society

> Regional Gift Planner- Minneapolis/St. Paul Synods

> Regional Gift Planner - Northwestern Minnesota Synod

If you know someone that is interested in the position please encourage them to visit www.elca.org/employment.

SEPANews

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

Robert Fisher, assistant to the bishop for mission interpretation, 610.278.7339, fax 610.278.9994, goodnews@sepa.org, http://www.ministrylink.org/mi.aspx .

To join or leave this newsletter, email coutterbridge@sepa.org .

Submit items for publication at least two to three weeks in advance of desired publication date formatted as above to goodnews@sepa.org .