August 11, 2016
ELCA Approves Lutheran-Catholic Ecumenical Document
The 2016 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Churchwide Assembly took several significant steps Wednesday moving forward the mission of this church as a church for the sake of the world. By a vote of 931 to 9, the assembly overwhelmingly accepted the “Declaration on the Way,” a unique ecumenical document that marks a path toward...
July 28, 2016
Living Gospel Finds New Home
Living Gospel’s LIFE ministry with men and women with criminal convictions in their past will expand when it moves to new quarters at Trinity Lutheran in Germantown this fall. The move to the historic Sauer House – where Christopher Sauer printed the first Lutheran bible’s in the US – is made possible by a $10,000...
July 6, 2016
God’s Work. Our Hands. Sunday
“God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday is an opportunity to celebrate who we are as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America – one church, freed in Christ to serve and love our neighbor. The suggested date for the 2016 dedicated day of service is Sunday, Sept. 11. Mark your calendars today! If your congregation cannot participate on...
July 6, 2016
Convert Church Facebook Profiles to Pages
Updated July 9 with link to convert profile to page. If your congregation has a Facebook presence set up as a profile (person with “friends”) rather than a page (with “likes”) or a group (with “members”), take note: We have recently heard from a couple of congregations whose accounts have been locked and asked to provide a...
July 1, 2016
What It Means To Be Lutheran
In the spotlight. In her July column for Living Lutheran, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton notes that the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017 may have the media knocking on our doors, asking us to explain ourselves. What will we say? She reminds us that our understanding of the gospel is what makes us distinctive. Download...
June 14, 2016
Presiding Bishop’s Letter on Orlando Shootings
The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has issued a letter in response to the June 12 shooting that claimed the lives of 49 people at a nightclub in Orlando, Fla. This is the deadliest mass shooting in U. S. history. In the letter Eaton states, “We...
June 13, 2016
Orlando: Christians Cannot Keep Silent
“As Christians, we turn first to Jesus” in the wake of the nation’s worst mass shooting in history at Pulse in Orlando, Florida-Bahamas Synod Bishop Robert G. Schaefer wrote in a message to that synod Monday (June 13). “But, we can no longer afford to let it end there,” he wrote. “Church, it’s time to...
June 9, 2016
I’m a Lutheran: Lenny Duncan
“I found my faith in the forgotten places, where hope seems like an intruder—homeless, mired in alcoholism and seemingly alone. The truth is it found me at the end of my rope,” says Lenny Duncan, a candidate for ordained ministry and member of Temple, Havertown, in Living Lutheran magazine. “I’m a Lutheran because my life...
May 26, 2016
Living Gospel: A Firm Foundation
Pastor Linda Manson and Living Gospel Ministries, our newest faith community, are giving people newly returned from incarceration a sense of self-worth and help re-integrating with society. “It’s important to me that the people who come to be in ministry with us feel loved and cared for,” Pastor Manson says. Building up self-worth undergirds the work Living...
May 20, 2016
Still Reforming Assembly Highlights
“GOD IS STILL REFORMING!…” …Bishop Burkat declared to the 2016 Synod Assembly. More than 500 Lutherans gathered from across Southeastern Pennsylvania to worship, pray, and discern in community explored how we can go outside our doors and listen to our neighbors in ways that are faithful to our 500-year Reformation heritage. Read on for...
May 20, 2016
$22K Raised For Flint Water Crisis…So Far
_rfisher@sepa.org-sepia-150x150.jpg" class="alignleft wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /> The offering at the 2016 Synod Assembly Communion Service of more than $5,400 was directed to the work of our domestic partner synod in Southeast Michigan in response to the Flint water crisis. This brings the total raised so far from our Synod to $22,655. Bishop Donald Kreiss called the gift “a true indicator of...
May 13, 2016
Reformation 500: ‘Explore, Empower and Be Energized’
The upcoming 500th anniversary of the Reformation is a gift to the church. It’s an opportunity to explore, empower, and be energized. It’s a chance to reconnect to our deepest tradition of freedom and to reform stale and stagnant observations of a tradition that began with Luther’s fresh reading of the scriptures and the new...
May 13, 2016
‘A New Dawn for Christ’s Church’
When Martin Luther seized the changes made possible by the printing press, he couldn’t have begun to imagine the exponential changes of our Internet age, Bishop Claire Burkat said in her address to the 2016 Synod Assembly. Despite the stresses posed by constant connectivity, racing schedules and financial pressure, “the Holy Spirit is bringing a...
May 7, 2016
Forward Together In Faith: New Ways of Being Church
In our 21st Century, post-9/11, globalized world full of “nones” and “dones,” what draws people to church? “This is a Kairos moment,” says the Rev. Bryan Penman, when God’s grace leads us to new ways of being the Church. The Forward Together in Faith campaign focuses on supporting congregations as they reform and become networkers,...
May 7, 2016
In the Midst of Fear, Love Prevails
What shapes our lives and ministry? How do we respond to the formidable forces that threaten to pull us into the whirlpool of fear that has formed around us, reflected in public debate and in how people are treating each other? In her sermon at the assembly’s opening worship, Bishop Claire Burkat pulls together threads...
April 29, 2016
Bishop Welcomes New Refugee Partner
Pennsylvania Lutherans have an long history of stepping up to help resettle refugees arriving in our area. This life-transforming work will continue despite the decision by Lutheran Children and Family Services in Pennsylvania to bring their resettlement work to a close. Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) is partnering with Bethany Christian Services to manage...
April 8, 2016
Synod Video Receives National Honor
Promo for Living Gospel Ministries wins DeRose-Hinkhouse Award for Communications Excellence. Bob Fisher, assistant to the bishop for mission interpretation and communications, has been recognized by the Religion Communicators Council (RCC) for his work producing an informational video about Living Gospel Ministries. The DeRose-Hinkhouse Award reception was held in New York City on March 31, 2016,...
March 30, 2016
LCFS Not To Renew Contracts For Most Programs
Update: A service of celebration for LCFS’ refugee work will be held Monday, April 4, 11 am, at St. Mark’s, Conshohocken. We ask for prayers as the Board of Directors of Lutheran Children and Family Service (LCFS) has voted to not renew contracts for refugee resettlement, adoption, foster care, and after-school enrichment programs managed by...
March 14, 2016
“Do Something You Never Thought You Could”
The Church didn’t cause the steady decline in religious participation over the last 50 years, says LTSP President David Lose. Massive changes have shifted the world around the church. But in holding on to what used to work church leaders have missed many of the changes, Lose said at Ministry Resource Day on campus in...
