News Update from the Western Iowa Synod-ELCA
Help get everyone in the Spirit!
Please forward this e-Spirit to church Councils, staff, congregations,
community partners, church members in military service, college or wherever they may be.
June 25,2020
e-Spirit
|
|
Even a Cup of Cold Water
Jesus said,
“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me, and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple – truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”
“We are not consumers, but providers of God’s love…
the Holy Spirit comes knocking,
reminding us that it is time to share.” – Barbara Brown Taylor
|
|
People of Western Iowa – It is time to share…
- A joyful response – “Ok, I will” - when asked by your pastor to help out
- A note of thanks – written to your pastor who has worked hard these past months
- Grace – giving an extra day off to your pastor who is exhausted
- Words – of encouragement to build up the body of Christ
- Patience – to discern where God is leading
- Prayers – of confession for things done and left undone
- Ears – that listen to the stories of others
- Eyes – that look beyond personal needs to the needs of others
- A Heart – open to loving all people as God loves you
- A Voice – speaking for justice and peace
- Feet – walking tirelessly with others
- Hands – willing to let go of the way things used to be
- Hope – “a cup of cold water”
People of Western Iowa -
what is the “little cup of cold water” that you offer to others?
“Be great in little things.” – Jesuit missionary
“Hospitality is the practice of God’s welcome by reaching across difference to participate in God’s actions bringing justice and healing to our world in crisis.” – Letty Russell
“Where there are no good works, there is no faith. If works and love do not blossom forth, it is not genuine faith, the gospel has not gained a foothold, and Christ is not yet rightly known.” – Martin Luther
Hospitality is one form of worship. – Jewish Proverb
Lorna
Rev. Lorna H. Halaas, Bishop
Western Iowa Synod, ELCA
|
|
"ONE BODY, MANY MEMBERS" & OTHER RESOURCES, BOOKS, VIDEOS
During a their weekly gathering on Zoom, Western Iowa leaders engaged in a listening session with the Broich family on racism in Western Iowa. Panel members were: Kay, Eric, Wendy and Erin Broich. When asked for recommended materials on antiracism, the panel and participants recommended the list of resources below.
NOTE: For those joining the June 30 Zoom meeting, watch "A Time for Burning" video.
|
|
RESOURCES
Troubling the Waters for the Healing of the Church - ELCA
BOOKS
-"Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America"
Ibram X. Kendi
-"The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness" Michelle Alexander
-"The Warmth of Other Suns" Isabel Wilkerson
"The Christian Imagination" Willie James Jennings
-"Dear Church" Rev. Lenny Duncan, ELCA
-"White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of our Racial Divide" Carol Anderson.
-“Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism” James Loewen
-"How to Be an Antiracist" Ibram Kendi
-"White Fragility" White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism"-
Dr. Robin DiAngelo
-"Dear White Christians" Jennifer Harvey
-"The Cross and the Lynching Tree" James H. Cone
-"The Fire Next Time" James Baldwin
-"Birth of a White Nation: The Invention of White People and Its Relevance Today"
Jacqueline Battalora
-Books by Will Willimon:
“Who Lynched Willie Earle? Preaching to Confront Racism”
"Waking Up White"
"America's Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege and the Bridge to a New America"
-Books by theologians James Cone and Gustavo Gutierrez
DOCUMENTARIES & MOVIES
-“I’m Not Your Negro” featuring Samuel L. Jackson, based on manuscript by James Baldwin
-"A Time for Burning" Augustana Lutheran, Omaha, featuring Ernie Chambers
-"Just Mercy"
-"13th"
GROUPS
Our Becoming Allies - Spencer, Iowa, study group will read and discuss Ijeoma Oluo's book "So You Want to Talk About Race"
|
|
REFLECTIONS FROM
By Carol DeSchepper, Spiritual Director, Lake Park, Iowa
Theologian L. Gregory Jones defines holy friends as those who ‘challenge the sins we have come to love, affirm the gifts we are afraid to claim, and help us dream dreams we otherwise would not dream.’
In addition …
- holy friends confront our default response that says, ‘I’m fine; everything is fine’. It’s OK not to be OK.
- and they ‘help us carry hard things.’ We need someone to walk alongside us, to be present to our anguish.
I don’t mean to diminish other gifts shared by holy friends, but I submit that what we need now, perhaps more than ever, is someone who is willing to carry hard things with us. These are challenging times to be in church leadership, to be shepherding a flock, to be people of God. Everything is not ‘fine’. We’re all traumatized in this season in some way.
Most of you, I suspect, are highly competent at generously listening to the stories and heartaches of others. Today I ask you, who is your holy friend? Who listens to your heartache, fears and anxiety and is willing to simply hold them with you? For the sake of our individual and collective spiritual and mental health, I pray we each find a holy friend who is willing to be present and offer sacred space, while selflessly listening to our hearts.
Adapted, in part, from "When We Need Holy Friendships Most," by Victoria Atkinson White, managing director, f Leadership Education, Duke Divinity.
Soul Companions is a group of individuals in the Western Iowa Synod trained in spiritual direction and spiritual formation. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we gather to support each other's spiritual growth. We encourage all rostered leaders, staff and congregants to seek spiritual companionship and growth through spiritual direction, spiritual formation groups, and spiritual retreats. Spiritual direction is currently available through several certified directors in our network.
|
|
FOR NEWSLETTERS
Please include in your church newsletters the "Cookout for Congregation Presidents, Vice Presidents, Rostered Leaders."
|
|
Gratitude Gathering for Church Leaders
It has been a challenging year for church leaders as we cope with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bearing in mind the persistent uncertainty about how and when to gather, we invite Western Iowa Synod congregation presidents, vice-presidents and rostered leaders to a cookout at an outdoor location (TBD) in Storm Lake, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Aug. 19. One of our priorities is developing relationships across the Synod. This gathering will give the Synod staff a chance to thank church leaders and for all of us to get to know each other better. There is no cost to attend the cookout; however, we do need your RSVP to julie.cook@wisynod.org no later than Aug. 12. Won’t you come?
|
|
|
|
RETIRED PASTORS, YOU'RE INVITED
Thursday, July 2, 10 a.m. -12 noon
Retirement for pastors is about more than financial planning, a pension and figuring out Medicare. Ministry is about relationships, faithfulness and purpose; and retirement involves finding new purpose, and new ways of faithful living and relating.
An email invitation was sent to retired pastors in Western Iowa earlier this week. Call or email
Julie at 712-732-4968 or julie.cook@wisynod.org to confirm you will come, join a conversation about life and meaning in retirement.
|
|
PRAYER CONCERNS
|
|
-Brian Campbell
-Sam and Diane Jacobs
-Buena Vista County and its care facilities and all suffering from COVID-19
-Farmers
-Western Iowa Rostered Ministers and Congregations
-For those who are stuck in their racism, who do not see their own privilege and how it has contributed to the oppression of others
-For those who are stuck in anger, rage, guilt and/or defensiveness, unable to move beyond their feelings and take constructive action.
|
|
PAST DUE PASTORS' REPORTS
Postal mail completed forms to Western Iowa Synod Mission Center at 318 E Fifth St., Storm Lake, IA 50588
or email completed forms to kay.broich@wisynod.org.
Submit the forms below to the ELCA.org* contact provided at these links:
*A&C FORM - Churchwide webpage for A&C forms closes end of June
CONGREGATIONAL DIRECTORY - Update leadership by adding, editing, and/or deleting entries. All leaders must have an email address.
Questions?
Call 712-732-4968.
|
|
REQUIRED ANNUAL SAM AUTHORIZATION
Registration Open
Synod
Authorized
Ministers (SAM)
ONLINE PREACHING CLASSES*
*Required for SAM Annual Authorization
WHEN:
7-9 p.m., Aug. 5 and
Aug. 12 via ZOOM
WHO:
Current SAM - These classes are required for SAM annual authorization.
Future SAM - If you are interested in becoming a SAM, these classes are a first step.
COST:
Only $25 per person for both sessions.
Register online at SAM Preaching Class.
PRE-READING:
For Aug. 5 class, read "A Lay Preacher's Guide: How to Craft a Faithful Sermon" by Karoline Lewis.
Preaching date(s) will be scheduled during class.
|
|
The coronavirus pandemic has challenged churches to continue being the Church without gathering In person.....Now churches face another challenge. As states “re-open,” how will we resume worship gatherings in person while the pandemic is still with us? A care-filled response to that challenge is much more than unlocking the church doors and inviting all to come, sit, sing, and greet one another as had been our custom. Here's a helpful best practices for congregations returning to worship in person.
The coronavirus pandemic has challenged churches to continue being the Church without gathering In person.....Now churches face another challenge. As states “re-open,” how will we resume worship gatherings in person while the pandemic is still with us? A care-filled response to that challenge is much more than unlocking the church doors and inviting all to come, sit, sing, and greet one another as had been our custom. Here's a helpful best practices for congregations returning to worship in person.
Additional Considerations
As ELCA congregations face difficult decisions regarding when and how they will be able to gather again for worship, this resource offers general guidance. This not a comprehensive, one-size-fits-all resource; it will need to be interpreted and adapted for your local context. In many, if not most contexts, it will not be safe or advisable to gather for in-person worship for some time. National, state and local medical and legal guidelines will need to be consulted and followed. While risk is not avoidable, this guidance is presented with the aim of reducing the level of risk for your community. Your pastor and congregational leaders will want to carefully review these considerations for Return to In-Person Worship from the ELCA.
|
|
SEE SOMETHING IN e-SPIRIT YOU WANT TO SHARE?
Cut & paste articles from e-Spirit archives or email paula.damon@wisynod.org.
|
|
WESTERN IOWA SYNOD STAFF CONTACT INFORMATION
The synod staff continues to social distance and for the most part works from home. Office hours are 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., Mon.-Fri. To contact synod staff members, see email addresses below. For staff roles and responsibilities, visit Western Iowa Synod Staff.
Rev. Lorna H. Halaas,
Bishop
Rev. Dr. Mike Kroona,
Assistant to the Bishop
Rev. Jim Mossman,
Director of Evangelical Mission
Rev. Judith Johnson,
Pastor-Counselor
Julie Cook,
Administrative Assistant
Kay Broich,
Office & Financial Administrator
Paula Bosco Damon,
Manager of Communication
|
|
News Update from the Western Iowa Synod-ELCA
Help get everyone in the Spirit!
Please forward this e-Spirit to church Councils, staff, congregations,
community partners, church members in military service, college
or wherever they may be.
