November 20, 2025
FROM THE OFFICE OF THE BISHOP A Message from Bishop Bryan Penman Radical Generosity for a Radical Time Dear Beloved in Christ, As we move into the final months of the year, many of our congregations are entering their annual stewardship appeals—those intentional moments when we pause to reflect on God’s generosity and our call...
October 19, 2025
FROM THE OFFICE OF THE BISHOP A Message from Bishop Bryan Penman Dear Beloved Siblings in Christ, October is recognized as Rostered Minister Appreciation Month, a time to pause and give thanks for the pastors and deacons who walk with us in faith — proclaiming good news, tending souls, and leading communities of hope in a...
September 10, 2025
SEPA Synod Building Summit Saturday, September 27 10:00 am- 3:00 pm The Brossman Center, United Lutheran Seminary 7241 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia The Building Summit brings together three leaders in development to discuss innovative strategies for transforming how buildings serve their communities. One of the key themes of the summit is the adaptive reuse of existing structures—rethinking how to make use of underutilized buildings. The Building Summit is...
September 1, 2025
FROM THE OFFICE OF THE BISHOP A Message from Bishop Bryan Penman Dear Beloved in Christ, September is always a season of change. The air turns crisp, school doors open, routines shift, and the long days of summer give way to the colors of autumn. The world around us reminds us that change is constant—sometimes gentle, sometimes disruptive, but...
August 14, 2025
FROM THE OFFICE OF THE BISHOP A Message from Bishop Bryan Penman Dear beloved in Christ, As August arrives, the air begins to shift ever so slightly—school supplies fill store shelves, calendars get updated with new schedules and families prepare to return to more regular rhythms of daily life. There’s something about this season that...
July 22, 2025
It’s time again to apply for grants to support new initiatives and ministries that support the emphases of the Forward Together in Faith Campaign. These grants, drawn from interest earned by the principal of the campaign, will support new projects that help network congregations, leaders and community partners, innovate new forms of ministry and/or communities of faith, communicate through digital channels,...
July 14, 2025
A Message from Bishop Bryan Penman Ponder Anew and Grow Deep Dear Beloved in Christ, It’s the middle of summer, and for many congregations, this is the time of the so-called “summer slump.” Worship attendance dips. Budgets tighten. Things feel quieter. But what if this season is not a slump at all—what if it’s...
June 17, 2025
FROM THE OFFICE OF THE BISHOP A Message from Bishop Bryan Penman I am writing today to apologize and clarify my June Bishop Message which was published on June 16, 2025. First, I ask your forgiveness for what was an oversight on my part. While I was attempting to raise awareness around the process the...
June 16, 2025
FROM THE OFFICE OF THE BISHOP A Message from Bishop Bryan Penman Dear beloved siblings in Christ, This month we find ourselves at the intersection of solemn remembrance and sacred possibility. On June 17, we mark the commemoration of the Emmanuel Nine—faithful saints gunned down during Bible study at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston,...
June 12, 2025
SEPA Generosity Team presents: Getting Ready for Fall. A 2-part workshop to assist congregations with Fall stewardship campaigns. Tuesday, August 19, 7:00 pm, Redeemer Lutheran Church, 2100 York Rd., Jamison. Part 1: How to Equip a Stewardship Team Part 2: A Plug & Play Fall Generosity Program Come in-person or join online. Get some practical...
June 5, 2025
Worship will be Sunday June 22nd at 4 p.m. in the Chapel of the United Lutheran Seminary Philadelphia Campus. Pastor Taylor Walker will be preaching and Pastor Kevin Tracey will serve as Presider. All are welcome to attend and lift up our synod and pray for more inclusivity around our synod and the world.
May 13, 2025
FROM THE OFFICE OF THE BISHOP A Message from Bishop Bryan Penman Dear Siblings in Christ, It’s graduation season—a time when we gather to celebrate years of hard work, study, and perseverance. Degrees are conferred, papers submitted, exams passed, and dissertations defended. If you’re celebrating a 2025 graduate in your family, congratulations ! For many, this...
April 29, 2025
You’re Invited: A Celebration Honoring Ms. Tracey A. Beasley Vice President, Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, ELCAConcluding 12 Years of Faithful Service After 12 years of devoted leadership as Vice President of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Ms. Tracey A. Beasley is concluding her term. We invite you to join...
April 19, 2025
Fearful, Yet Overjoyed. The Women at the Tomb By Sister Mary Stevens, CRSS FROM THE OFFICE OF THE BISHOP An Easter Message from Bishop Bryan Penman April 19, 2025 The Vigil of Easter “But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.” – Luke 24:11 Dear Beloved in Christ,...
April 16, 2025
Lutheran Nights at the Phillies Three great games to choose from! Three opportunities to gather together! Benefits Youth Ministry Scholarship Fund. Click the link below to choose the game(s) you wish to attend. Looking forward to a fun evening with our fellow SEPA friends. April 19 Buy Now May 17 Buy Now August 18 Buy...
April 16, 2025
In preparation for Pride Month and due to increased safety risks for our LBGTQIA+ siblings, communities and friends ReconcilingWorks and SEPA Synod will be previewing a Community Safety Guide. Tuesday April 29, 2025 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm Benbow Hall + United Lutheran Seminary 7301 Germantown Ave, Philadelphia
April 3, 2025
Join us for the Treasurers Gathering on June 21, 2025, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM at the United Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia, specifically in the Brossman Center. This essential event is designed for treasurers and financial leaders of Lutheran congregations to enhance their understanding of budgeting, financial procedures, and accounting practices. During this gathering,...
March 18, 2025
March 17, 2025 The Feast of St. Patrick March is here, and for many, that means college basketball. But I know that for most of you, this season brings a different kind of March Madness—the busyness of Lent. And at the synod office, our version of March Madness is the flurry of preparations for our...
February 25, 2025
Information-for-Churches-Regarding-Executive-Orders-Related-to-Sanctuary Churches, Refugees and Immigrant Populations Know Your Rights Resources in Philadelphia What Should Employers Do When ICE Arrives A Guide for Immigrant Families in Pennsylvania – English Una guía para familias inmigrantes en Pensilvania – Spanish AMMPARO (Accompanying Migrants with Protection, Advocacy, Representation and Opportunities) A list of immigration attorneys in Philadelphia can be...
February 25, 2025
Resources from the Council Officers gathering are below. PowerPoint Slides: council officers gathering-2 Handout: Synod Council Officers Gathering-2
February 11, 2025
Dear Congregational Council Leader, Are you stepping into a leadership role in your congregation? Perhaps you’re serving on your Church Council and want a clearer sense of what that entails. Or maybe it’s your turn to guide your congregation as President, Vice President, Treasurer, or Secretary. Whatever your role, we have an exciting opportunity just...
February 3, 2025
Mission Support connects us! STORYTELLING ENGAGEMENT Unidad — Unity A story out of our Metropolitan New York Synod for our ELCA stewardship ministry, in celebration of the Peterman Award Have you ever met a person of faith who shines with the light of Christ even in the hardest of times and places? After meeting the...
January 29, 2025
FROM THE OFFICE OF THE BISHOP Dear SEPA Family and Friends, Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ. I am writing to share some important updates about staffing changes within our Synod. When I began my term as bishop this past September, I committed to holding off on staffing changes until after February 1. Now,...
December 23, 2024
December 23, 2024 Grace and peace to you this Christmas season. At the heart of the Christmas story is a journey—a journey of a young couple, Mary and Joseph, searching for a place to stay. When they arrived in Bethlehem, there was no room for them. Yet in the kindness of a stranger, they found...
December 19, 2024
Mission Support connects us! STORYTELLING ENGAGEMENT Companion Connections A story from our Oregon Synod bishop Each of our ELCA synods engages with at least one companion synod in another country, a global accompaniment funded by your Mission Support. In this time of Advent wonder, we want to share with you an edited version of a...
December 11, 2024
December 11, 2025 Dear Beloved in Christ, December often feels like a whirlwind in the church. The steady progression from Advent to Christmas overlays the festive chaos of the secular holiday season, making this time especially busy. Those who’ve worked with me over the years know that I’m a “special kind of crazy” when it...
December 11, 2024
Advent 2024: A Season of Waiting and Hope Dear Pennsylvania Lutherans and Partners in Ministry, As we begin the season of Advent, we are reminded of the holy call to wait with hope and expectation. In this time of preparation, we recall the promise of God’s presence among us—Emmanuel, God with us—and the call to be attentive...
November 19, 2024
A Message from the Mission Investment Fund: As faith communities, we are not merely bystanders in a transition to clean energy—we are leaders. Guided by our shared values of care for one another and the Earth, we have the potential to drive significant change. By leveraging new federal programs and financial incentives, we can make...
November 15, 2024
Mission Support connects us! STORYTELLING ENGAGEMENT A story from the West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod: Mission Support shared with the churchwide organization allows us to create partnerships with preferred vendors that make things like online giving and having a web presence easier and more affordable for congregations. These partnerships allow the churchwide organization to use some...
November 15, 2024
“Give thanks for those whose hope is clear, beyond mere mortal sight: who seek the city God has planned, the true, eternal promised land, and steer on toward that light, a beacon ever bright..” – Give Thanks for Saints (ELW 428) Dear Faithful Saints of Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, Thank you, saints, for witnessing to God’s extravagant love...
November 1, 2024
Our Synod Generosity Team is sharing the following article as a way to help you use your money wisely in saving and in giving. If you are over 70 years old and have an IRA, here is some good advice. Why should you donate to charities directly from your IRA? Do you donate to Churches or...
November 1, 2024
Dear Friends in Christ, As we enter November, many of our congregations celebrate the Feast of All Saints—a time rich in tradition across our synod. Some congregations honor the saints who have died in the past year by reading their names, tolling bells, lighting candles, or pausing in silence to remember those we’ve loved and...
October 24, 2024
The SEPA Synod Urban Ministry Team is pleased to announce the availability of a total of $163,000 for distribution to eligible congregations in its 2024 grant funding cycle ($63,000 comes from the ELCA Innovations Team and $100,000 is from SEPA Synod). Of the $163,000 in available grant funding, up to $100,000 is earmarked for Building...
October 14, 2024
Dear Friends in Christ, Did you know that Clergy Appreciation Month has its roots all the way back in Paul’s letters to the early church? Paul encouraged believers not to grow weary in their ministry, and that same spirit of encouragement continues today through Clergy Appreciation Month. Gaining momentum in the 1990s (thanks in large...
October 14, 2024
STORYTELLING ENGAGEMENT Hallelujah! A story from the Indiana-Kentucky Synod Imagine entering a sanctuary, hearing the joyful sounds of a praise band, the drums, keyboard, guitar and voices singing “Hallelujah,” dresses and jackets full of bright color, mostly young adult leaders, and the congregation swaying with the music. Then, you realize the words are not in...
October 8, 2024
Join us for an overnight adventure at Bear Creek Camp! Open to youth in grades 6-9 and their leaders, we’ll hike, play games, get closer to God and more! Make connections with peers! Grow closer to Jesus! Love GOD and love others! Registration opens: October 10! Last day to register: October 24 $65 per person...
October 4, 2024
In observance of the one-year anniversary of the start of the current conflict in the Holy Land, amid times of escalating conflict and pain, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton offers prayers for peace, healing and justice for all people in Israel and Palestine, and the regions where the war has escalated. “We grieve this violence and loss of...
October 2, 2024
For Immediate Release The Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has received a $1,249,933 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish Faith Alive. The program is funded through Lilly Endowment’s Nurturing Children Through Worship and Prayer Initiative, a national initiative designed to help Christian congregations more fully and intentionally...
September 20, 2024
On Saturday, September 14th hundreds of people gathered in the sanctuary of the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral and across sacred cyberspace to celebrate the installation of the Rev. Bryan Penman as the sixth Bishop of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod! More than one hundred people shared their time and talent in the service and in...
September 10, 2024
It is with immense joy and excitement that I announce the appointment of The Rev. Richard (Rick) Summy as the Program Director of Love Revolution. Pastor Summy brings nearly 40 years of rich and faithful service to this vital work, and his deep experience will be a tremendous blessing to our synod. We are thrilled...
September 5, 2024
HARRISBURG, PA, September 5, 2024 — Today, religious leaders from across the state, representing more than 3 million Pennsylvanians of various faith traditions, gathered at the Pennsylvania Capitol to issue a call for peace during this election season. Acknowledging the current climate of political unrest and polarization, they pledged to foster dialogue over division and...
September 4, 2024
August 21, 2024 Dear Rostered Leaders, As we approach this election season, I invite the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod to join us and fellow faith leaders in Harrisburg on Thursday, September 5, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. at the Capitol for an interfaith press conference to present our joint statement, “Choices and Voices for Peace.” The intent...
September 3, 2024
September 3, 2024 Greetings beloved!! I greet you in the name of Jesus on this first day in my new call as Bishop of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod. As I was preparing for this day – I was full of the first day of school jitters, but trust me, the outfit was picked, the lunch...
August 28, 2024
The ELCA Task Force on Civic Life and Faith will hold two hearings within the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod on the Draft Social Statement on Civic Life and Faith. The hearings are September 11th, 7-8:30 United Lutheran Seminary, 7301 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia September 17th, 7-8:30 pm Trinity Lutheran Church, 1000 West Main Street, Lansdale The hearings...
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Bishop Penman highlights SEPA Fall Learning Events
