November 5, 2018
Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Burholme section of Philadelphia will hold its final worship service on Sunday, November 11 at 3 PM. Rostered leaders and congregational members of the SEPA Synod are welcome to participant in a service of thanksgiving for the life and witness by this congregation for more an a century in...
October 24, 2018
Did you know that Mission Support — the offerings your congregation shares with the synod and the churchwide organization — helps put faith into action locally, nationally, and globally? Mission Support provides most of the funding to support the work of the Office of the Bishop. Your gifts help us to identify and nurture future...
October 3, 2018
The Synod Generosity Team and the Delaware Conference invite you to a workshop on generosity and planned giving on Saturday, November 10, 8:30 am to noon, at Reformation Lutheran Church, 102 W. Rose Tree Road, Media. You’ll learn about: Five common ways congregations leave money on the table, and how to get money off the...
November 9, 2018
Bishop Patricia A. Davenport shares a pastoral letter on the 80th Anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, in light the murders at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh last month and a rising number of hate crimes against Jews. Noting that later-life writings of Martin Luther were used to justify the pogrom, the...
November 7, 2018
New compensation guidelines for rostered ministers are now available online. These Rostered Ministry Compensation Guidelines are written to assist the members of your congregation in determining fair compensation for pastors and deacons. A compensation package includes, but is not limited to, salary, housing allowance, medical and other benefits, social security offsets and pension contributions. These...
November 7, 2018
November 1, 2018
A statement from the seven Lutheran bishops in Pennsylvania in response to the violent crimes at Tree of Life synagogue. Our hearts are broken for the bereaved families of those who were killed on Saturday, October 27, for the congregations of Tree of Life, Dor Hadash, and New Light, and for the city of Pittsburgh. ...
October 31, 2018
A cohort of leaders of Southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey Synod congregations participated in a retreat to kick off a multi-year Leadership for Faithful Innovation program. The effort is part of a $1 million grant Luther Seminary received from the Lilly Endowment to help pastors and congregations move from “performative” ministry — a model in...
October 31, 2018
It’s been 500 years since Luther “nailed” his points of debate on the Wittenberg church door. The battle over indulgences is no longer our battle. What we face today is a world full of folks who have been so turned off by the preachers of the angry and judgmental God that they no longer care about...
October 31, 2018
Hundreds packed Temple Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia Sunday night as people of many faiths and political leaders gathered to stand in support of the Jewish community after 11 worshippers were murdered during prayers at a Pittsburgh synagogue Oct. 27. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported: The tone was largely spiritual. The Rev. Mark Tyler of Mother Bethel...
October 29, 2018
Tuscarora Lutheran Retreat (formerly known as the Harvey Cedars retreat) will be held Friday, April 5 through Sunday, April 7, 2019. This year’s retreat our theme is ”Beautifully Broken.” This retreat is for 6th through 12th graders. The event fosters relationships between youth of different churches to unify the Lutheran churches and youth of the...
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