_rfisher@sepa.org-sepia-150x150.jpg" class="alignleft wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" /> 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 20, 2016
$22K Raised For Flint Water Crisis…So Far
_rfisher@sepa.org-sepia-150x150.jpg" class="alignleft wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" /> 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...
February 18, 2016
‘Sometimes, Our People Are The Ones We Have Never Met’
Pastor Thomas Rusert doesn’t drink coffee — except for Thursdays when he shares coffee and “Free Prayer” with people who stop in a Doylestown coffee shop. “One brisk October morning, a man I had not met walked through the ever-swinging door of the local Starbucks. Amari, from West Philadelphia, had business at the courthouse in...
February 9, 2016
Using Images In Your Church’s Communications
Images are worth at least 1,000 words in today’s digital communications. Photos and videos give viewers of your web and social media presence a sense of who you are as a congregation. But because of concern for the safety of children and the privacy of members, use of images can pose challenges. In this article we’ll...
February 9, 2016
‘Dust Is Not the Final Word’
The crosses marked on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday are signs of both life and death. The ashes suggest our eventual return too the dust, but “the dust is not the final word,” says Welcome Church Pastor Violet Little. At an Ash Wednesday service on Logan Park in 2013, Pastor Violet told her flock “What...
February 9, 2016
Welcome Church Shelters ‘Women of the Well’
The Welcome Church is collaborating with a number of partners to provide nighttime housing for women experiencing homelessness in Center City. The shelter, called “the Well,” will open at the Church of the Crucifixion at 8th and Bainbridge Streets on Sunday, Feb. 14. It will offer a place for gathering and renewal from 7:30 pm...
February 1, 2016
Celebrating God’s Grace Community
Our Synod celebrated the three-church collaboration in Northeast Philadelphia known as God’s Grace Lutheran Community on Sunday (Jan. 31). St. John’s Lutheran Church, Redemption Lutheran, and St. Petri-Hope now share three pastors and a board of trustees. Pastors Dee Emmert, Dana Heiserer and Tricia Neale are called by Synod Council to serve God’s Grace. Bishop...
January 22, 2016
Lutherans Honor Dr. King
The Rev. Lamont Anthony Wells offered a dynamic sermon at the African Descent Lutheran Association, Philadelphia Chapter’s annual worship service honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Sunday, Jan. 17 at Reformation Lutheran Church in Mt. Airy. Wells is director for evangelical mission in the Metropolitan New York Synod, ELCA, and newly elected national...
