This morning a letter went out by
"snail mail" to congregations, clergy and lay
leaders sharing exciting news as well
as updates
regarding our Sierra Pacific Synod and our transition process.
Because of its importance, I'm offering a bit of a summary in
this electronic venue as well.
First, our news: We are pleased to
announce that the Synod Council extended a call to Pr. Jim
Goldsmith to the position of Assistant to the Bishop/Director
for Mission Support, which Jim has accepted. Jim and his wife Karen
are in the midst of saying good-bye to their communities at
both Fortuna and Ferndale. Eventually Jim will be
housed in the Office of the Bishop, Fresno. He will spend half his
time working with Campus Ministry, Communication, and the
congregations, rostered leaders and their families in that
region of the synod.
The other half of his time will be focused primarily on
stewardship as he partners with Pr. Harvey Blomberg and the
Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission unit of the
ELCA. We are
excited about the gifts Jim brings to both parts of his call
and we ask your prayerful support for him and his family as
they move into this new call.
Second, our updates:
·
Witness
and Service team has approved a grant requested by the Synod
Council in order to fund the new position of Director of
Synodical Operations.
We will be posting that job in the near future, via
this e-newsletter, as well as on the website and through the
ELCA job posting site. The position will be based out of the
Sacramento Office of the Bishop and will have primary
responsibility for managing the 3 offices and support staff,
as well as providing financial oversight and projection for
our synod.
·
The "IT cloud" has arrived! A new server was
installed last week, and all of our various devices have been
brought on board and synchronized. Calendar sharing is in
process and remote access for staff to the documents on the
server is already up and working. Very
exciting!
·
Significant progress has been made
regarding the Offices of the Bishop for the Peninsula and
Fresno areas.
Unforeseen issues have arisen regarding the Office of
the Bishop/Sacramento.
Details of all these will be shared as soon as they are
finalized.
I thank you for your prayers, patience and
support as this transition unfolds. I recently read that
while we think we can move in a straight line from here to
there, it is ALWAYS a winding path. TOO
TRUE!
Praying Epiphany blessings of illumination on
the path,
Pr. Nancy
Nelson
Bishop's
Associate
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We remember in prayer . . .
Katherine Adamcik, wife of (retired)
Pastor David Adamcik, undergoing treatment for
cancer
All those who are suffering as a result of the
devastating earthquake in Haiti, and all those who
are giving them support and aid
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2010 BOARD OF PENSIONS HEALTH ASSESSMENT NOW OPEN
HELP EARN OUR 2%
DISCOUNT!
The Board of Pensions is encouraging all Plan
Members to take the 2010 Mayo Clinic Health Assessment on
the EmbodyHealth web portal. By taking this assessment by April
30, you can take stock of your health and
contribute toward the 65% participation our synod needs to
receive a 2% discount on ELCA health contributions for
2010. If we meet the 65% goal, our synod will
save over $39,000.
The deadline to earn the 2% discount is strict --
so please take this health assessment as soon as
possible. In these difficult economic times, the 2%
discount is valuable!
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SYNOD ASSEMBLY
INFORMATION On-line registration
for the Synod Assembly being held May 6-8, 2010
in Reno will be available on the synod website February
15th. The link for hotel reservations at the Silver
Legacy will be available in next week's
e-newsletter. The handbook (Bulletin of Reports) will be
available on the Synod website April 1st.
Note: The deadline for resolutions this year is
March 1st.
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ASSEMBLY WORKSHOP
SURVEY
The Assembly Planning Committee is asking
for your input in regards to workshops for the 2010 Synod
Assembly being held in Reno May 6-8, 2010. Please fill
out this brief survey on
line to assist the Committee in meeting your workshop
needs during this upcoming assembly. The committee
appreciates your time and effort.
If you have a workshop that you would
like to present for the 2010 Synod Assembly, please send in a
proposal by e-mail, including an outline of the workshop,
name(s) of the presenter(s) and the goals/objectives of the
workshop to Perry Gray-Reneberg at perryggr@gmail.com. The workshops are now
planned for two sessions of 1 hour 10 minutes each on Friday,
May 7, from 4:00 pm to 5:10 pm and 5:20 pm to 6:30 pm.
Kathryn Beck
Assembly Planning Chair
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CANDIDATES FOR SYNOD VICE PRESIDENT
SOUGHT
In
May 2010 at the Synod Assembly in Reno, we will be electing a
new Vice President of the Synod. The constitution
requires that this person be a lay person who is a member of
an ELCA congregation. The VP typically chairs the Synod
Council meetings, serves on the Executive Committee and
provides other services as needed, when available. A
good working knowledge of both the synod and Roberts Rules of
Order would be helpful, as well as flexibility in
schedule.
Do you
know someone who you think would serve well in this
capacity? A few folks have already been identified, but
the Nominating Committee, in its process of offering two
names for the election, is seeking other possible
candidates. Do you know someone who fits? If so,
please encourage her/him to contact the office at info@spselca.org to
receive the brief questionnaire the Nominating Committee has
designed. February 4th is the deadline to receive those
completed questionnaires, so please don't delay. Thanks
for your help!
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LSTC LEADERSHIP
CONFERENCE
The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) will
present a Leadership Conference February 9-10, 2010
entitled "Inch by Inch: Growing a Green
Congregation."
David Rhoads' keynote address will be "Conversion to
Earth" and Carlton Waterhouse will speak on "Sustaining
Faith: Faithful Strides Toward a Sustainable
Future."
Zach Fettig, one of the workshop leaders, wrote
an article entitled "Green and Growing" that
appeared in the December 2009 issue of The
Lutheran. Another workshop is being led by Pastor
Steve Jerbi, and you can learn more about his work in
Milwaukee here.
For registration and schedule information, go to
registration. If you have any questions, you can send an
e-mail to leadershipconference@lstc.edu
or call 773-256-0741.
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ELCA.org
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Upcoming Events
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2010
January 18-25 Week of Prayer
for Christian Unity
January 26 Synod Pastors
Gathering
9:30 am - 3:00 pm
Our Savior's, Lafayette
January 26 Racial & Ethnic
Central Committee - 6:00 pm
Our Savior's, Lafayette
February 14-16 Clergy/AiMs
& Spouses Retreat
Asilomar
February 26-28 SPSYC
Elementary Retreat - Mt. Cross
March 1-2 Retired Clergy/
AIMs/Widows-Widowers/
Spouse Retreat - San
Damiano Retreat Center,
Danville, CA
March 4-9 Conference of
Bishops
March 6 Synod Rwanda
Connection Committee
1:00-4:00 - 708 Lake Front
Drive, Sacramento
March 10 Honoring our
Foremothers - PLTS
March 12-14 Spring Youth
Retreat at PLTS
March 11-13 Anti-Racism
Workshop - Mt. Cross
March 22-23 Pre-Retirement
Seminar - San Damiano
Retreat Center, Danville
April 16-18 SPSYC Elementary
Retreat - Sly Park, Sacramento
April 22 Mt. Cross Shalom
Camp Meeting for Pastors/
Youth Directors
10:00 - 2:00 pm
Advemt. Citrus Heights
May 5 Synod Council
May 6-8 Synod Assembly
Silver Legacy Hotel
Reno, NV
May 27 Council of Deans Meeting
Trinity, Pleasanton
June 25-26 Synod Council
July 11-16 Mt. Cross
Shalom Camp
September 24-25 Synod
Council
September 30 - October 5
Conference of Bishops
2011
January 5-9 Bishop's
Academy
January 19-20 Council of
Deans Retreat - Christ the
King Retreat Center,
Citrus Heights, CA
March 3-8 Conference of
Bishops
May 12 Synod Council
May 13-15 Synod Assembly
Hyatt Regency Airport
Burlingame, CA
August 14-20 Churchwide
Assembly - Orlando,
FL
September 29 October 4
Conference of Bishops
2012
January 5-9 Bishop's
Academy
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TO ALL ROSTERED
LEADERS
Please take some time to fill out the 2010 Rostered
Leader Report that can be found at the following
website: Leader
Report. Simply click on the type of report that
applies to your ministry, and when finished, submit it by
e-mail (preferred) or print it and mail it to the Sierra
Pacific Synod office.
Please submit your report by February 15th. I do
take the time to read and respond to each report--please take
time to fill one out. Thank you for your partnership in
the ministry we share and God's blessings to you in the new
year.
Peace,
Bp. Mark
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SUPPORT STANFORD EPISCOPAL LUTHERAN CAMPUS
MINISTRY
Episcopal Lutheran Campus Ministry at
Stanford invites you to support our Tuesday evening gathering,
Bread and Belonging, by providing the bread!
OK, maybe more than bread. Bread and Belonging is a
weekly gathering of graduate, under-graduate and professional
students at Stanford, sponsored in part by Episcopal Lutheran
Campus Ministry.
If you or members of your community are
interested in delivering a vegetarian meal to Stanford on a
Tuesday night at 5:30, please contact the Rev. Greg Schaefer
at PrGreg@stanford.edu.
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MUTUAL MINISTRY COMMITTEE
QUESTION
Does your congre-
gation have a Mutual
Ministry Committee you believe works well? If so, the
Leadership Discipling Team (LDT) would like to talk with
you.
Please send your contact information to info@spselca.org and a member of the LDT will
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SECOND MILE
GIVING
In the month of January, our second mile
offerings will be divided among the Sierra Pacific Synod's
Companion Synods: The Lutheran
Church of Rwanda, Lutheran Synod of El Salvador and
the Taiwan Lutheran Church.
A bulletin insert
is available on the Synod
website.
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Sierra
Pacific Synod 