Dear Beloved, Grace, peace, power, and love in the name of the One who can do all things but fail, Jesus Christ! The eruption of war in Israel and the Gaza Strip opened a heart breaking and a terrifying time for Palestinians, Jews, Christians, and all people around the world. We join people of all...
October 10, 2023
Pastoral Message: War in Israel and Palestine
Dear Beloved, Grace, peace, power, and love in the name of the One who can do all things but fail, Jesus Christ! The eruption of war in Israel and the Gaza Strip opened a heart breaking and a terrifying time for Palestinians, Jews, Christians, and all people around the world. We join people of all...
October 10, 2023
“The Fruit of Justice Will Be Peace”
This message from the Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb is shared with us by The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference. Rev. Dr. Raheb is a Palestinian theologian, former pastor of Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem, and founder and president of Dar al-Kalima University College of Arts and Culture in Bethlehem. Just days before the bombs began...
May 23, 2023
Compensation, Supply Fee Guidelines Updated
The SEPA Synod Executive Committee has determined the 2023 Unadjusted Minimum Salary for Rostered Ministers to be $64,671 ($46,671 salary and $18,000 housing) for Pastors, and $48,072 for Deacons. For pastors who reside in a parsonage, the minimum is $46,671. These amounts were determined by taking the existing SEPA 2019 amount and applying the subsequent federal...
May 15, 2023
ULS to Award Bishop Honorary Doctorate
Bishop Patricia Davenport will receive an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree at United Lutheran Seminary’s commencement Friday in Lancaster. Bishop Davenport, a 2007 graduate of the former Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, will also preach at the Eucharist service preceding the awarding of degrees. The 11 a.m. service will be livestreamed on YouTube. The Rev....
April 11, 2023
2023 Rostered Ministry Compensation Guidelines
The SEPA Synod Executive Committee has determined the 2023 Unadjusted Minimum Salary for Rostered Ministers to be $64,671 ($46,671 salary and $18,000 housing) for Pastors, and $48,072 for Deacons. For pastors who reside in a parsonage, the minimum is $46,671. These amounts were determined by taking the existing SEPA 2019 amount and applying the subsequent...
February 1, 2023
Urban Ministry Task Force Formed
The 2022 SEPA Synod Assembly adopted “Fortifying Ministries in Underserved Urban Areas – A Resolution to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod.” A similar memorial was also sent to the 2022 ELCA churchwide assembly and approved there. The full text of the resolutions can be found at https://ministrylink.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/3-resolution.pdf Briefly, the resolution points out that many of SEPA’s...
October 11, 2022
5 Things to Know About Mission Support
We are grateful for your support of ministries here in Southeastern Pennsylvania, across the country, and around the globe through Mission Support. In a new video, the Rev. Karen Sease, assistant to the bishop, shares five things that you need to know about how these gifts are used. You can share this video with leaders...
February 16, 2022
COVID Update from Bishop Davenport
Dear Beloved, I am grateful that COVID cases and hospitalizations have been declining quickly across southeastern Pennsylvania. I pray that this trend continues. In order to protect the people we serve, I encourage you to keep finding safe ways to gather in person as well as offer complementary online access. Our leaders and congregations have...
January 13, 2022
As COVID Surge Continues, Stay the Course on Mitigation
A Message From Bishop Davenport January 13, 2022 Dear Beloved, As we enter the depth of the winter season, I want to remind you how important it is to hold fast to our COVID mitigation protocols for the safety of our leaders, worshippers, and communities. We encourage you to find safe ways to gather in...
October 29, 2021
Celebrating Our Rostered Ministers
Yes, it’s a celebration. We recall the words of St. Paul, written in First Timothy 5:17. He says, “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy “of double honor, especially those who labor “in preaching and teaching.” And then he reiterated it to the saints in Thessalonica, “But we appeal to you, brothers and...
September 23, 2021
Ideas for Adapting Worship and Congregational Life
Ideas: Adapting Congregational Life In September 2021, 40 SEPA Synod congregations responded to our informational survey regarding changes to worship in the midst of the current Delta variant surge. Most of the congregations report requiring or strongly suggesting the wearing of masks inside their buildings. Some have agreed to stop worship if attendees do not...
September 23, 2021
Ideas for adapting worship and congregational life to high risk of community transmission
July 12, 2021
Prayer and Encouragement from Bishop Davenport
In a video message, Bishop Patricia A. Davenport offers prayer for our leaders and congregations as together we continue to press through to the other side of the pandemic. In this pastoral word of encouragement, the Bishop asks Lutherans to be gentle with one another as individuals and congregations have varying feelings about returning to...
