Sierra Pacific Synod

claimed...gathered...sent

Easter Cross in Stained Glass

Sierra Pacific Synod, ELCA April 29, 2010

Last Saturday our granddaughter fell and hit her head while visiting the Monterey Aquarium. Two-year-olds are pretty resilient, but she hit pretty hard, so she was rushed to the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. It turned out that she was fine (remember, two-year-olds, resilient) but she was kept overnight for observation, just to be safe. The doctors and staff at Community Hospital were great, so we're told, and we are thankful that everything was all right. (They went back to the Aquarium the next day; after all, she hadn't seen everything yet!)

Here's the reason for sharing this story with you: my wife and I found out about her fall and trip to the hospital on facebook!

Among all of the many changes we face these days as the Church, the phenomenon of social networking is very significant. facebook. MySpace. twitter. Linkedin. These, and many others, are ways in which millions of people around the world communicate these days.

Grams and Poppy telephoned right away, of course, cell phone to iPhone. Old folks, old technology.

Hmm. Perhaps there's a lesson here for our congregations. Are we making the best use - or any use - of ALL of the available ways to communicate the Gospel in our contexts? Are we tapping into our pool of experts (i.e. youngsters, teenagers, 20-somethings) to help our congregations create a social networking presence? Our message may still fall on deaf ears, but we need to have a dog in this hunt. (Old folks reference, but you can look up the meaning on Answers.com.)

If you are attending the Synod Assembly in Reno next week there will be a workshop offered on social networking. Whether or not you make it to Reno, why not try to have your children or grandchildren give you a lesson? They may not want you to be their "friend" online, but they will probably indulge you and give you a peek at their favorite way to link in.

Oh. You can connect to the ELCA on facebook, MySpace, twitter, Linkedin - or 271 other ways - by going to the elca.org webpage and looking for the "Share" icon in the lower left corner. God's peace!

Pr. Jim Goldsmith

Assistant to the Bishop

Director for Mission Support

We remember in prayer . . .

Pastor Martin Wager (retired), recovering from kidney transplant surgery

Pastor Dawn Teuthorn, recovering from surgery for a broken arm

The congregation of Faith Lutheran Church, Elko, and family and friends of Pastor Melissa Lundquist, as they continue to grieve her untimely death

RESOLUTIONS TO BE POSTED ON SYNOD WEBSITE

The resolutions to be considered by the Assembly will be posted this evening on the Synod website. Please download and print all sections of the Handbook to bring with you to the Assembly.

CORRECTIONS

The address for Pastor William Crouser's widow should be: 225 Mt. Hermon Rd., #98, Scotts Valley, CA 95066 . The unit number was in error on the "In Memoriam" notice sent last week.

An additional e-mail address for Pastor Susan Scott to contact her about music for the Assembly choir:

suscott@stanfordmed.org.

REMEMBER RWANDA IN PRAYER

Sixteen years have passed since the genocide in Rwanda of 1994. In only 100 days about 1,174,000 people were killed. This amounts to 10,000 people murdered every day, 400 every hour, 7 every minute. Thousands of widows, many of whom were subjected to rape, are now HIV positive. There are about 400,000 orphans that were left after the genocide.

On April 6, 1994 the plane carrying Rwanda's president was shot down. The Tutsi people were accused of killing the president, Juvenal Habyarimana, and Hutu civilians were told by radio and word of mouth that it was their duty to wipe out the Tutsis. First though, any Hutus who were against the genocide should be killed. So should Tutsi wives or husbands. After this the Tutsis were attacked, rounded up and slaughtered.

Now makeshift courts are trying thousands of suspected killers for the crimes of 1994, and the new president, Paul Kagame, is pushing an ambitious reform agenda. Signs of development are everywhere. But even as Rwanda moves on, we don't want to forget what they've been through.

So take a few minutes today to remember the victims of the genocide, and think of the survivors there. Say a prayer, form a partnership with one of the congregations of the Lutheran Church of Rwanda, sponsor a Rwandan student, or take a moment to tell your children about the importance of respect for different people and their cultures. For more information on connecting with our companion synod in Rwanda, contact Cindy Tuisku at cindytuisku@yahoo.com.

SYNOD ASSEMBLY REMINDERS

Online registration has closed. Onsite registration will have a $75 late fee assessed. Printed name badges will NOT be available for those who register onsite at the Assembly.
The site of the Assembly is the Silver Legacy Resort and Casino, 407 N. Virginia Street, in downtown Reno. Hotel reservations at the Silver Legacy Resort are encouraged.
Directions: If coming on I-80 from the west, take the Virginia Street exit (Exit No. 13), turn right (south) on Sierra Street, go approximately three blocks, be in the right-hand lane. After 5th Street, the valet and self parking for the Silver Legacy will be on your right.
Both types of parking are included in the $3 per night resort fee, as well as the shuttle. For folks who are flying into Reno, the Silver Legacy has a shuttle from the airport every 30 minutes starting at 5:00 am and continuing until midnight.
There will be volunteers wearing green sashes with "SPS" (Sierra Pacific Synod) in white in the hotel registration area to assist you and help provide information. They will also help direct you to onsite Assembly check-in on the lower level.
DON'T MISS THIS: LAMN and LOPP are sponsoring "A Breakfast with Justice and Hope: How the Faith Community Can Help Criminal Justice Reform" on Friday, May 7, at 7 am with featured speaker Justice James Hardesty, Nevada Supreme Court Justice and Vice Chair, Nevada Commission on Administration of Justice. It is a complete sit-down breakfast and open to the public. The cost is $20 per person and reservations should be made by May 4 as directed on this flyer.
Bring your in-kind offering of new and packaged socks, underwear and toiletries for girls and boys K-12 for the hundreds of needy and homeless children in the Washoe School District.
Don't forget the cookies!!! And bring your favorite coffee and water containers to be refilled at the refreshment area or in your room.
Bring your Bibles! There will be several Lutheran Study Bibles at each table, but not enough for all.
Want to sing in the choir for Saturday's worship? Contact Pr. Susan Scott at revslscott@sbcglobal.net
or suscott@stanfordmed.org for advance info or a copy of the music, or watch for announcements during the Assembly.
If you've only seen the print version of Assembly Workshop offerings, please click here to get the latest details and register your workshop interests.
May 1 - Deadline for Issues of Conscience.
Requests for Assembly subsidies can no longer be considered.