The first of our five District Gatherings was held this past
Saturday in Sacramento, and nearly 200 people were in
attendance from the Sacramento, Foothill, Northern
Mountain-Valley and Sierra Nevada Conferences! We were
blessed --
+ to gather
for inspiring worship (it was a blessing to have so many
people singing!)
+ to empower
leaders through helpful workshops and a great keynote
address
+ to celebrate our walk and
work together as we share Christ in northern
California and northern
Nevada
+ to hear from voting
members who attended the Churchwide
Assembly
+ to elect two new
deans - Pr. Jose Luis Le Torre and Pr. Don
Haven
+ to nominate persons to
serve on the Synod Council and Discipling
Teams
+ to nominate persons to
serve as voting members to the 2011 Churchwide Assembly
in Orlando (yes, it's that time
again!)
+ to pray for God's
continuing blessing on our mission and ministry
as members, congregations, ministries, conferences, synod
and the E.L.C.A.
The next four District
Gatherings will be held in the coming weeks -- I encourage you
as congregational leaders (lay and rostered) to not only
attend yourselves, but to encourage members of your
congregation to come and be a part of these assemblies.
An interesting thing happened in Sacramento,
something that wasn't expected. One of the workshops was
for congregational presidents to gather for a "round table"
discussion about the ministries of the congregations they
serve as president. At the end of the day, they asked,
as a group, if it would be possible for them to gather more
often, maybe once a quarter, to offer prayer, support and the
sharing of ideas and resources for their ministries as
congregational leaders. What a GREAT idea! I
wonder what other unexpected, unintended, Spirit-led ideas for
our work together in the Sierra Pacific Synod might come from
the next four gatherings? Come and
see...
God's peace,
Bp. Mark
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District A Conferences (Redwood, Vineyard, Gateway, Delta
Diablo)
October 10 - 10 AM to 4
PM
Elim, Petaluma
District C
Conferences (San Francisco, East Bay, Southern
Alameda)
October 11 - 1:00 PM to 4
PM
PLTS
District D Conferences (Peninsula, Santa Clara, Monterey
Bay)
November 7 - 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Grace,
Palo Alto
District E Conferences (Sierra San Joaquin,
Central Valley, Central San Joaquin, South Valley)
October
24 - 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM
Good Shepherd,
Fresno
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We remember in prayer . .
Pastor Nancy Feniuk Nelson, Bishop's Associate, and
family, grieving the death of her father, Mike Feniuk
Barbara Solberg, wife of Pastor Dan Solberg, (St. Paulus,
San Francisco), recovering from surgery
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INVITATION TO SPOUSES/PARTNERS OF ROSTERED
LEADERS
All rostered leaders will soon
be receiving an invitation (sent in a separate e-mail)
from Debbi Holmerud, spouse of Bishop Mark Holmerud, for
a retreat for spouses and partners of rostered leaders that
will be held on November 13-15.
Please encourage the
spouses/partners of your Pastor/Associate in Ministry/Diaconal
Minister to look for the e-mail and register for this
great weekend retreat!
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TREASURE IN CLAY JARS:
THE RENEWABLE ORGANIZATION FOR
FAITH-BASED GROUPS
Location:
St. Mark's Lutheran Church
1111 O'Farrell Street
San Francisco, CA
Date: October 15,
2009
Time: 9:00 am - 3:30
pm
You are invited to this cutting-edge
workshop. Gain practical new insights into renewal in
the church, leadership and how God is working in the world
around you.
Early bird registration is just $59 through
October 1st, including lunch and the workbook ,
Renewable Organizations for Faith-Based Groups.
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AGENTS OF
CHANGE
How can we bring about the changes we want to see in
our world?
A One-Day Workshop Presented by the
Sierra Pacific Synod Hunger Network
Saturday, November 7, 2009
9:30 am to 4:00 pm
at
Lutheran Church of the Incarnation
1701 Russell Boulevard
Davis, CA 95616
This is a family friendly event with a
parallel youth and children's program. Bring the whole
family! Rev. Dan Rift, new Director of the ELCA Hunger
Appeal, will be the keynote speaker.
+ Learn how KIVA micro-lending
is changing lives.
+ Hear the Asante story and
buy life changing Asante products.
+ Featuring people
and organizations who are change agents in their community and
the world.
+ Fair-Trade coffee and chocolate
information and products for sale.
+ Bread for the
World
+ Worship
+ Bible Study
An optional social hour will
follow. Timing of speakers will allow AMTRAK California
Transportation. Cost for the day, including lunch, is
$10.00. If you are a congregational hunger contact or a
seminarian, there is no charge. We will offer a parallel
youth and children's program. You will walk away
inspired, changed, and alive with ideas to implement!
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NEW LIFE BAND IS BACK!
This dynamic group of six Christian men from
Tanzania has come to the US every three years since 1994 to
perform Traditional and Contemporary Gospel music of East
Africa. They perform for a "goodwill" offering that is
used to reach young people in Tanzania and neighboring
countries.
They have appeared at a number of our Bay Area churches
in the past. Now on their 5th California tour,
they will be hosted for seven weeks by churches in
Northern California, the Valley, the Coast and So. CA.
Their tour schedule for California is posted at: newlifeband.net. There are still a few
openings for midweek hosting in the South Bay Area in
October. If your church is interested in hosting the New
Life Band, contact Gretchen at 408-893-2808 or glleff@sbcglobal.net.
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"RELIGION, POLITICS AND ADVOCACY" - A CBS
SPECIAL
"Religion, Politics, & Advocacy," a CBS
special, is scheduled for Sunday, September 27. In
addition to Andrew Genszler, Director of the ELCA Washington
Office, other faith community advocates featured include
Sr. Simone Campbell, Director of the Catholic social justice
lobby Network. Sr. Simone was a valued colleague in
Sacramento as Director of Jericho: Voice for Justice, a
statewide interfaith advocacy organization.
More information on the program can be
found at:
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Upcoming Events
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September 25-26 Synod
Council - Mercy Center,
Burlingame, CA
September 26 Women's
Retreat - Mt. Cross
October 1-6 Conference of
Bishops - Chicago
October 10 10:00 - 4:00
District A Conferences
Assembly - Elim,
Petaluma
October 11 1:00 - 4:00
District C Conferences
Assembly - PLTS
October 1-6 Conference
of Bishops, Chicago
October 15 Workshop on
Renewable Organization
St. Mark's, San Francisco
October 16-18 Synod High
School Youth Retreat -
Mt. Cross
October 19-20 Council of
Deans - Asilomar
October 19-20 Pre-
Conference Professional
Leaders Women's
Retreat - Asilomar
October
20-22 Professional
Leaders
Conference,
Asilomar Conference
Center
October 23-24 Word &
Sacrament Event - ELW
Freedom & Flexibility
Good Shepherd,
Fresno
October 24 12:00 - 2:00
District E Conferences
Assembly - Good
Shepherd, Fresno
October 24 Book of Faith
Conversation - Good
Shepherd, Fresno
November 1 Joint Lutheran /
Roman Catholic Service in
Stockton - 4:00 pm
November 7 10:00 - 3:00
District D Conferences
Assembly - Grace,
Palo Alto
November 7 Book of Faith
Conversation - Faith, Chico
November 7 Agents of
Change Hunger Network
Workshop
Incarnation, Davis
November 13-14 WELCA
Gathering - Peace,
Grass Valley
November 13-14 Bible
Study with Dr. Hans
Wiersma - Bethel,
Cupertino
November 13-15 Spouses of
Clergy, AiMs & Diaconal
Ministers Retreat - Eagles
Rest, Sonora, CA
November 13-15 Synod
Youth Middle School Event
Mt. Cross
November 14 - Book of Faith
Conversation - Christ the
King, Orangevale
November 15 - ELCA-UMC
Full Communion
Partnership Celebration
First UMC Church,
Sacramento
2010
January 4-9 Bishops'
Academy, Itasca, IL
January 13-14 Council of
Deans Retreat - Christ the
King Retreat Center,
Citrus Heights, CA
January 15-16 Synod
Council - Mercy Center,
Burlingame, CA
January 30 - Book of Faith
Conversation, Bethel,
Cupertino
March 1-2 Retired Clergy/
AIMs/Widows-Widowers/
Spouse Retreat - San
Damiano Retreat Center,
Danville, CA
March 4-9 Conference of
Bishops
May 6-8 Synod Assembly
Silver Legacy Hotel
Reno, NV
September 30 - October 5
Conference of Bishops -
Chicago
2011
March 3-8 Conference of
Bishops
August 14-20 Churchwide
Assembly - Orlando,
FL
September 29 - October 4
Conference of Bishops
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CELEBRATION OF FULL COMMUNION
WITH
THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
On August 20 of this year, the ELCA voted
to enter into full communion with the United Methodist Church
(UMC), following the lead of the UMC General Conference in
2008. That is, the two denominations now have formally
agreed to acknowledge each other as partners in the Christian
faith.
In recognition of this historic
agreement, Bishops Warner H. Brown, Jr. of the UMC and Mark W.
Holmerud of the ELCA will lead a worship celebration with Holy
Communion followed by a reception on Sunday, November 15,
2009, 7:00 pm at First UMC, 2100 J Street, in
Sacramento. All members of ELCA congregations are
invited to attend. Clergy are invited to vest; color for
the service will be red.
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VALPARAISO UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIPS
AVAILABLE
Valparaiso University will award two
highly prestigious, full-tuition scholarships to gifted
Lutheran high school seniors graduating in spring 2010.
The recipients will be given exceptional leadership training
and education through Valparaiso's Lutheran Leadership Intern
Program and Scholarship.
If you know of a high school student
to recommend for one of these scholarships, please give
the name to Bishop Holmerud. He has been asked to send
recommendations no later than October
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PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP
CONFERENCE OCTOBER 20-22
The Professional Leadership Conference
will be held October 20-22 at
Asilomar. A link for registering for the conference
available on the Synod
website.
Please note that online registration is
for conference registration
only.
Housing registration must be
handled directly with Asilomar using
the form available on the Synod
website.
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PRE-CONFERENCE PROFESSIONAL LEADERS WOMEN'S
RETREAT
Dates: Mon., Oct. 19
-Tues., Oct. 20
Cost: $40, exclusive of
housing & meals
Theme: The Enneagram
and Spirituality
Room
reservations for this event must be made directly with
Asilomar Conference Center. To register or for more
information, please contact Katy Grindberg at Pastor Katy.
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Sierra
Pacific Synod 
