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...
Category: Bishop
May 13, 2025
Vocational Affirmation and Discernment
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 19, 2025
An Easter Message from Bishop Bryan Penman
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 3, 2025
2025 Treasurers Gathering
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,...
February 11, 2025
Gathering of Church Council Leaders
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...
January 29, 2025
Equipping our Synod for the work of ministry..
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
Christmas Message from Bishop Penman
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 11, 2024
December Message from the Bishop
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...
November 1, 2024
November Message from the Bishop
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 14, 2024
October Message from the Bishop
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 4, 2024
Praying for Peace Amid Ongoing War in the Middle East
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
Lilly Endowment Inc. Funds Faith Alive
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
Bishop Penman Installed Sept. 14, 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
Pastor Rick Summy named as Program Director of the Love Revolution
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
Religious Leaders Across Pennsylvania Unite for Peace During Election Season
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
Choices and Voices for Peace – Sign the Statement
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 18, 2024
Registration Open: Live Faithfully – Synod Wide Learning Day & Love Revolution Launch
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 9:00 am-3:00 pm St. Luke Lutheran Church 203 N Valley Forge Rd, Devon, PA 1933 How are you living out your baptismal call? Congregations and their leaders are invited to spend a day exploring how we are called to live among God’s faithful people. Bishop Dwayne Royster from Power Interfaith will be...
June 8, 2024
Bishop Eaton’s Message on War in Gaza
Resources for the Crisis in the Holy Land – Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (elca.org) June 5, 2024 Dear church, For eight horrific months war has raged in Gaza. Thousands of people have died, and thousands more are suffering. In recent days we have seen unspeakable images of violence in Rafah and escalating violence in...
May 7, 2024
Rev. Bryan Penman Elected Next Synod Bishop
The Rev. Bryan Penman, pastor of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Conshohocken and co-Director for Evangelical Mission in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, was elected Saturday as the synod’s next bishop. Bishop-elect Penman received 203 votes on the fifth and final ballot for bishop. The Rev. Karl Richard, pastor of St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Springfield...
April 11, 2024
Statement by Bishop Patricia Davenport on Eid al-Fitr Shootings
Beloved, I was deeply troubled and saddened to learn of the shooting that erupted yesterday during a joyous celebration of Eid al-Fitr, the festival that closes the holy month of Ramadan, in the Parkside neighborhood in West Philadelphia. It is sobering for every person of faith to know that even public expressions of religious faith...
March 27, 2024
Holy Week Message from Bishop Davenport
For This Reason A Holy Week message from the Rev. Dr. Patricia A. Davenport, bishop. Adapted from her sermon on John 12:20-36 at the SEPA Chrism Service, March 26, 2024. Download printable PDF Watch sermon video “Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say: ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No,...
