Dear friends: Bethany Friberg works as an ELCA missionary in Ketumbeine, Tanzania, but her definition of missionary service is much more expansive. She believes all Christians are missionaries. “I’m always struck by how wonderful it is when people have committed their life to the Lord and are praying, ‘Lord Jesus, show me how to live...
Category: Connecting
February 10, 2021
Your congregation can sponsor a missionary
Dear friends: Bethany Friberg works as an ELCA missionary in Ketumbeine, Tanzania, but her definition of missionary service is much more expansive. She believes all Christians are missionaries. “I’m always struck by how wonderful it is when people have committed their life to the Lord and are praying, ‘Lord Jesus, show me how to live...
December 4, 2019
Called To Serve Our Neighbors
Through baptism, we are called to serve our neighbors and steward God’s good creation. As Lutherans, our attention turns to the policies that make a broader difference in our lives and the lives of our vulnerable neighbors. It is important that we add our voice into the process. In this video presented by Lutheran Advocacy...
September 22, 2015
Collaborating Through God’s Grace
Three Northeast Philadelphia congregations have agreed to share clergy and some ministries in a collaboration known as God’s Grace Lutheran Community. St. John (Mayfair), Redemption and St. Petri-Hope congregations voted by large margins Sept. 13 to enter into the new collaboration. The move is not a merger – congregations retain their own councils and buildings....
February 3, 2015
Ministry Partner: Communicators’ Network
Together as SEPA Synod we confidently declare it’s “God’s Work – Our Hands”. Those of us who work in SEPA’s Communicator Network declare further that it’s “God’s Message – Our Channels” Who is a “communicator”? It’s anyone in our congregations who is working in: Print communications Email Web and social media Video Multimedia for worship...
April 11, 2014
Engaging With “Nones”
Last night (April 10) the Philadelphia Seminary’s “Exploring Series” hosted a program with New England Synod Bishop Jim Hazelwood conversing with four “Nones” with no church affiliation. Some quick observations about what “Nones” had to say: Welcoming people as they are and where they are on their faith journey is important. “Nones” can “smell” insincerity when they...
December 18, 2013
Sacred Space in the Midst of Loss
The Christmas season is celebrated as a season of light, but for some people this time of year is anything but. “There are factors in people’s lives which make the holiday season difficult: loss of job, divorce, depression, loss of a loved one, and or trauma around the season,” says the Rev. Andrena Ingram, pastor...
December 4, 2013
Invest in Your Synod Connections
Every day the leaders and congregations of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod are blessed by a wealth of connections that only happen because of the work of synod staff, deans, contracted experts and dedicated volunteers. Our synod has reformed into a network connecting you to the people and resources that equip you and your congregation for ministry...
October 16, 2013
How Is Your Congregation Website?
Are you satisfied with your congregation website? At last Sunday’s Communicators’ Network Gathering, Bob Fisher shared tips for congregations looking to evaluate their existing website or develop a new site. Websites are a key portal that visitors use to find and evaluate congregations, Fisher says. Many adults use web searches instead of telephone books or...
May 6, 2012
Celebrating Our Heritage, Welcoming the Future
Coverage of Dr. Krueger’s two presentations to the Synod Assembly are provided separately below: “Celebrating your heritage, welcoming the future” May 04, 2012 in his first presentation for the 2012 SEPA synod assembly, on Celebrating Your Heritage, Embracing Ministry, Welcoming the Future, the Rev. Dr. Karl Krueger, Director of the Krauth Memorial Library and Professor...
May 18, 2011
Millennials Challenge Church to Change
Ministry with the generation aged 10-30 today “looks more like the church of the 1st and 2nd Centuries” than the institution of the 1960s that many leaders fondly recall, said 2011 Assembly keynote speaker Dr. Rodger Nishioka. Instead of catering to a dwindling tribe of insiders, the church has the opportunity to reach out to religious “immigrants” who “have no experience with the church,” Nishioka said. Research shows that youth and young adults coming of age in the new millennium are hungry for spiritual experience rather than religious knowledge, and are open to the mysteries of faith when presented in ways that resonate with them.
