For about fifteen minutes every week, most of us listen to a sermon, absorb its message and go home to our daily lives. Perhaps we think about it once or twice, or it may flutter around the edges of our minds, but chances are good that by the next week’s sermon, we’ve forgotten all about...
Category: Congregations
May 3, 2014
Nurturing Vibrant Congregations
For about fifteen minutes every week, most of us listen to a sermon, absorb its message and go home to our daily lives. Perhaps we think about it once or twice, or it may flutter around the edges of our minds, but chances are good that by the next week’s sermon, we’ve forgotten all about...
May 2, 2014
Mission Support Stabilizes
Financial support from the 159 congregations within the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod was up slightly in 2013, to $2.139 million, allowing for continued support of the new faith communities and programs that are at the core of SEPA’s mission. After almost a decade of declining giving, Mission Support grew slightly, yet noticeably, last year, drawing praise...
April 21, 2014
Communicating Effectively in a Digital Age
Amplify your message at this FREE communicators workshop! The SEPAComm Network gathering on Saturday, May 17 will be a time of learning, conversation and networking. Michael Moore of AugsburgFortress will offer an informative presentation on copyrights: an important issue for anyone working with newsletters, websites, social media, and video. Marsha Pearson, a local representative of ConstantContact,...
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...
April 2, 2014
Share Your Mission Story
Share Your Congregation’s Story in Video! God’s work. Our hands. SEPA congregations live into this vision of the ELCA week after week, year after year. “God’s work. Our hands.” is the theme of this year’s Synod Assembly. We’d like to feature some of your stories of bringing this vision to life through community service, faith formation,...
March 18, 2014
Recommendations for Upgrading Windows
After we posted information about the end of support for Windows XP and Office 2003, we received a number of questions asking for recommendations about upgrading – and about what to do if upgrading isn’t possible right now. The bottom line is – if at all possible, upgrade to Windows 7 or 8, and a...
March 6, 2014
Ashes to Go Offered by Congregations
Several congregations in Philadelphia and suburbs offered “Ashes to Go” so that passerby and persons who could not otherwise attend church could receive ashes on Ash Wednesday. We received pictures from a several locations. Pastor Paul Lutz of Trinity, Lansdale, and Rev. Amanda Eiman of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church offered ashes to morning commuters at...
February 21, 2014
Tech Tip: Time to Upgrade Windows XP
Key takeaway: Windows XP and Office 2003 will no longer be supported after April 8, 2014. You should make plans to replace computer hardware and/or upgrade your software as soon as possible. Microsoft’s venerable Windows XP was introduced in 2001, and has had an long and stable life. But nearly 13 years and three versions...
February 7, 2014
Stay Safe in an Ice Storm
LDR-EPA has been busy following the Feb. 4-5 ice storm and related power outages. The best way to keep up with the latest opportunities and information related to LDR-EPA is to follow Lutheran Congregational Services on Facebook. In the meantime, check on neighbors, report dangerous conditions, donate to your local food bank, and let LDR-EPA know how...
January 29, 2014
It Pays to Collaborate
The 11 congregations of the Northeast Philadelphia Conference saved over $16,000 during a six-month period by working collaboratively to purchase insurance through one agency then negotiated with an insurance company on their behalf. “The pastors would do text studies and then talk about how they saw their congregations struggling to be sustainable and thrive,” said...
January 29, 2014
Consider Your Congregation’s Mission Support
Gifts through Mission Support are a primary way that congregations live into their interdependence with the Synod and the ELCA. Congregations are encouraged to prayerfully consider their Mission Support response and to use the form posted online to indicate their 2014 intent to the Synod Office as soon as possible. The following letter...
January 17, 2014
Share the Right Address
With all the digital tools available to help us navigate, it’s important that you identify your church in ways that allow people to use GPS or web mapping services to find you, while respecting local knowledge and traditions. Always use a full address in your publicity, including zip code, to make it easy for people...
January 8, 2014
Constitution Changes
The 2013 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in August approved a number of amendments to the Model Constitution for Congregations. A summary of those amendments may be downloaded from the ELCA website. Each congregation, through its Congregation Council and/or Constitution Committee, is invited and encouraged to review these amendments and make recommendations for approval by a Congregational Meeting.
December 19, 2013
Congregations Collect $100K for Needy
For this year’s Christmas Ingathering, about 70 congregations collected donations for vulnerable people. On Dec. 1, more than 100 volunteers (mostly from Gloria Dei Church, Huntingdon Valley) unpacked trucks, sorted donations and repacked them for delivery. The items, valued at about $100,000, will serve people locally and internationally. Some highlights of the Ingathering included:...
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...
November 11, 2013
Little Receives 2013 Purpose Prize
Welcome Church Pastor Violet Little honored with prize for people over 60 solving tough social problems. The Rev. Violet Little, pastor of Philadelphia’s Welcome Church ministering to people experiencing homelessness, is one of seven winners of the 2013 Purpose Prize, which honors people over 60 who are using their “second acts” to make a...
October 31, 2013
Making a Difference, One Life at a Time
In late June, 111 Lutherans traveled halfway across the country to be of service to descendants of an ancient culture. Eager to make a difference in whatever ways they could, these youth and adults arrived east of Rapid City, South Dakota at Rosebud Reservation, home to the Lakota tribe. The group—representing 19 churches of the...
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...
September 20, 2013
Synod Council Endorses Gold+ Health Benefits
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod Council recommends that congregations and other agencies within the Synod provide health benefits at the “Gold+” level to their rostered leaders and lay employees. “The Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod as part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America recognizes that a commitment to comprehensive health care benefits is an investment in ‘the...
