Next
Wednesday - Sept. 1, 2010 - will be a great day in
Fresno! For one
thing, the current forecast says that the temperature won't
quite make it to 100,
and that's always a good thing here. But for our Sierra
Pacific Synod it will be a great day because our new Office of
the Bishop, Fresno, will be ready for occupancy!
A
construction crew has been hard at work (sometimes with the
temperature well over 100)
to remodel space at the Lutheran Campus Ministry Center in
Fresno for our use.
They have expanded and modernized the bathrooms,
installed new ceilings and lighting in two office spaces, laid
new carpet and tile, replaced some windows, and painted. Things look really
great! We owe a
huge "thank you" to the workers and to our new landlords and
partners in ministry, Pr. Don Romsa and LCM-Fresno.
During
the next couple of weeks we will move in some furniture and
equipment and begin to use this wonderful resource. We are making plans to
have an open house and blessing of the space this fall; we'll
let you know the details as soon as possible.
We
have an opening for an administrative assistant to work in our
new Fresno office.
This is a quarter-time position, without benefits, and
we are offering $11-13 per hour. We have a need for
someone who is computer-savvy, especially in the areas of
website maintenance, social networking, and e-newsletter
production, in addition to more traditional administrative
tasks. If you are
interested please send a cover letter and résumé to info@spselca.org.
Pr.
Jim Goldsmith
Assistant
to the Bishop
Director
for Mission Support
P.S. Work on our new Office
of the Bishop, Bay Area, has been delayed because of the
unforeseen need for abatement work (think "asbestos"),
requiring us to seek new bids for the project. We'll keep you posted
on progress...
P.P.S. On a personal note,
thank you for all of your prayers and encouragement following
the death of my mother.
My family and I have been sustained by the sure
knowledge of God's grace and your love.
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We remember in
prayer...
Pastor David Peters (Atonement, Sacramento), having knee
surgery
Pastor Kay Doyle (Retired) recovering from minor
surgery
Pastor Sandy Bentz (Trinity, Porterville) having a
procedure to relieve pain in her neck and shoulders
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For Everything There Is a
Season...
ELCA
Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson sent a pastoral letter to the
church on August 24th.
In his letter he wrote "It
is my prayer that we use this time for discerning and
engaging; for repenting and reconciling; for restraint but not
timidity; and for rejoicing." To read the entire
letter click
here.
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The Sierra Pacific Synod Green Team Invites
You...
...to hear the Rev. Dr. H. Paul
Santmire speak at one of three upcoming events. He will be at Pacific
Lutheran Theological Seminary's Founders' Day on Wed., Sept.
29; at St. John's
Lutheran Church in Sacramento on Sun., Oct. 3 at 7:00 pm, with
the topic Partnership
with the Earth: Beyond the Theology of Stewardship; and at
the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences in
Berkeley the evening of Mon., Oct. 4. Santmire is the
author of The Travail of Nature (1985), Nature
Reborn (2000)
and Renewing Christian Liturgy in a Time of Crisis
(2008).
...to
participate in a Global Work Party event on 10-10-10. The 350.org movement is trying to raise awareness
of the level of CO2 in
the atmosphere in order to inspire people to lower their
carbon footprint.
The Global
Work Party, with emphasis on both 'work' and
'party,'
is an opportunity to
do something that will help deal with global warming in your
city or community.
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Sierra
Pacific Synod District
B "Leadership
for These Times"
District B congregations and leaders will
gather from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm, Sat., Sept. 18th at
Resurrection Lutheran Church, Granite Bay. Bp. Mark
Holmerud will preach at the 10:00 am worship
service. Keynote speakers are the Rev. Dr. Phyllis
Anderson, President of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary,
Berkeley, and Gregory Favre, Vice-President of St.
John's Lutheran Church in Sacramento, former editor of
the Sacramento Bee and faculty member of the Poynter
Leadership Institute.
Following lunch and an interactive Q&A
session with synod staff, participants may choose from nine
workshop choices. Individual conference meetings will be
held from 2:10 to 2:40.
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Ministry Staff, Transition
and
Head of Staff Seminars
to be
held in early
2011
These seminars are jointly sponsored by the ELCA
Vocation and Education unit and Augsburg College. Visit the
Leadership Support Events website at www.elca.org/StaffEvents/ where you will find additional information
about the events and links to a detailed schedule and
registration. The
seminars traditionally fill up very quickly.
The Ministry Staff Seminar (Jan.
29-Feb. 1) is designed for those who serve in staff settings:
associate pastors, music directors, youth and family
ministers, parish nurses, volunteer coordinators, parish
administrators, etc. The focus of this event is to explore the
unique challenges and opportunities of serving on a ministry
staff.
The Transition Seminar (Feb.
1-2) is for those persons who have recently moved from one
ministry setting to another.
The Head of Staff
Seminar (Feb. 3-6) focuses on the role that the
senior/head of staff pastor plays in visionary leadership of a
congregation and guiding the development of a congregational
staff team.
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MT. CROSS WOMEN'S
RETREAT
Mt. Cross's 2nd Annual Fall Women's Retreat
will be held on Sept. 25, 2010. Get away for a weekend
with your fellow sisters in Christ. Speaker, Alaina
Kleinbeck, will be leading large group sessions looking at the
fruits of the Spirit. Time willl also be spend singing,
laughing, and enjoying being women of God. Come for the
day, part of the weekend, or the entire weekend. Information
is available at:
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Thrivent
Financial for Lutherans is hiring!
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is
growing and we're looking for financial representatives in
Northern California and Northern Nevada who are self motivated
and highly organized; driven to excel; willing to help others;
respected for their integrity. Financial representatives
are dedicated to helping Lutherans protect and provide for
their families, achieve their financial goals, and give back
to their communities and congregations.
Please
contact Amy Sarmento by e-mail at Amy.Sarmento@thrivent.com or call
916-796-0041 to nominate a candidate, apply yourself or learn
more, or visit www.thrivent.com/careers.
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ELCA BOARD OF PENSIONS
CONTRIBUTION RATES FOR 2011
The ELCA
Board of Pensions has announced that there
will be no health benefit premium increases for sponsored
members in the coming year. However, after being
suspended for ten years, the Survivor benefit rate
has been reinstated at 1%. Go to RATES to calculate 2011 pension and
benefit contributions.
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Upcoming Events
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2010
August 27-28 Candidacy
Committee, PLTS, Berkeley
September 16 TASC Gathering at Resurrection,
Dublin
September 18 District B Fall
Assembly 10:00 - 3:00
Resurrection, Granite Bay
September 24 -
25
Synod Council
September 30 - October 5
Conference of
Bishops
October 11-12 Council of Deans Granlibakken Resort, Tahoe
City
October 12-14 Professional
Leaders Conference
Granlibakken Resort, Tahoe City
October 15-17 High School Event
at Mt. Cross
October 16 District E Fall
Assembly 10:00 - 3:00
Shepherd of the
Valley, Merced
October 17 District C Fall
Assembly 2:00 - 5:00 pm
St. Mark's, San Francisco
October 23 District A Fall
Assembly 10:00 - 3:00
Our Savior's, Lafayette
November 6 District D Fall
Assembly 10:00 - 3:00
Advent, Morgan Hill
November 12-14 Junior High Event
at Mt. Cross
2011
January 5-9 Bishop's
Academy
January 19-20 Council of
Deans Retreat - Christ the
King Retreat Center,
Citrus Heights, CA
January 28-29 Synod Council
February 25-27 Elementary
Retreat #1 - at Mt. Cross
February 28 - March 1
Retired Clergy/Spouse/Lay
Rostered//Widows/Widowers
Retreat
March 3-8 Conference of
Bishops
March 25-27 Elementary
Retreat #2 - at Sly
Park
May 12 Synod Council
Burlingame, CA
May 13-15 Synod Assembly
Hyatt Regency Airport
Burlingame, CA
June 24-25 Synod Council
August 14-20 Churchwide
Assembly - Orlando,
FL
September 23-24 Synod Council
September 29 - October 4
Conference of Bishops
2012
January 5-9 Bishop's
Academy
January 18-19 Council of Deans
Retreat - Christ the
King
Retreat Center, Citrus
Heights
July 18-22 ELCA Youth
Gathering
New Orleans, LA
2013
February 28 - March 5 Conference
of Bishops
October 3-8 Conference of Bishops
Lutheran Center,
Chicago
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Faith and Courage Sunday
October
10, 2010
Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary invites all
of the congre-gations in our synod to celebrate Oct. 10 as
"Faith and Courage Sunday." PLTS was born in
Portland 100 years ago by a small group of faithful and
courageous people. There are many stories of faith and
courage in our congregations, and pastors and congregational
leaders are encour-aged to lift them up in honor of those who
founded PLTS 100 years ago.
PLTS sent "Faith and Courage Sunday"
infor-mational items to every congregation recently. If your congregation
did not receive these, or if you have any questions, contact
Joel
S. Wudel, Vice President for Seminary Relations, at
510-524-5264 or jwudel@plts.edu.
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SYNOD MAILING ADDRESS
Please
remember:
ALL
synod mail should be addressed to:
PO
Box 276648
Sacramento,
CA 95827-6648
Please
see that treasurers and bookkeepers have this new address for
sending mission support. Thank
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SIERRA PACIFIC
SYNOD 2010
PROFESSIONAL LEADERS' CONFERENCE
"Dietrich Bonhoeffer for 21st Century
Leaders" is this year's theme for the Conference in
Tahoe City. To register:
A $30 housing discount per night is available
for the first 80 rostered leaders who register for the entire
conference.
Request this discount by contacting the event
Registrar, Diane McGeoch, at dlmcgeoch@juno.com or 1.510.430.0500, ext.
117.
Also, registration scholarships of $100 are
available to the first 20 rostered leaders who request this
grant and register for the entire event. Email your
interest in this scholarship to nfn@spselca.org by September 15th.
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WELCA RETREAT
The 2010
Synodical Women's Retreat will be held at Asilomar Confer-ence
Center, Nov. 19-21, 2010. Deadline for registration is
September 11. Click here for flyer and here to register.
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Pacifica Synod Professional
Leaders'
Conference 2010
"Together in Christ:
Re-root, Re-imagine, Re-create" is the theme for the Pacifica
PLC with Dave Daubert and Kelly Fryer, Oct. 18-21,
2010. Click HERE
for more info.
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Sierra
Pacific Synod 
