Message from Bishop Patricia A. Davenport to the 2021 Synod Assembly Dear Synod! I greet you with deep gratitude for your faithfulness and profound partnership as we have endured together the joys and challenges of this pandemic. We have experienced a year filled with anxiety, pain, change, challenge and death, and yet there have also...

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Who knew in early 2020 how important communications and technology would be to our ministries? In this video, Pastor Bob Fisher, Assistant to the Bishop and Director of Communications, shares how the synod — like congregations — leveled up to provide new services and support for congregations.  

Updated May 15, 2021 The CDC released new guidance for vaccinated individuals May 13. Guidance has been changing over the last week, and this does not require immediate change by congregations. The CDC has not yet released updates for businesses, schools, or community gatherings. Update: Pennsylvania follows CDC guidelines on masks. It is important to note that...

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COVID Considerations for Church Leaders COVID is not going away, yet we now have effective vaccines and effectual therapies to reduce the incidences of infections and deaths, infectious disease specialist Dr. Tim Babinchak told SEPA leaders in a Zoom conference May 11. Dr. Babinchak, a  member of St. John’s Lutheran Church, Phoenixville, and retired head...

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As government restrictions ease and vaccinations rise, how do we respond as church? What data should church leaders rely on as they responsibly return to in-person worship while protecting the most vulnerable – including the unvaccinated and children – who may not be protected for months? Join us for this conversation with Dr. Tim Babinchak,...

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The Rev. Violet Cucciniello Little, pastor of The Welcome Church in Philadelphia, shares her thoughts with us. Not long ago I posted a prayer on Facebook that was written by a group known as @Brickhouseinthecity. I was looking for something to give me the words for what I was feeling after seeing the news clip...

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Message from Synod Vice President Tracey A. Beasley to the 2021 Synod Assembly.

As part of the 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, voting members adopted a resolution designating June 17 as a commemoration of the martyrdom of the Emanuel Nine — the nine people shot and killed on June 17, 2015, during a Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. Refreshed worship resources for the Commemoration of...

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