February 16, 2023
The Extravaganza, an annual gathering of children, youth and family ministry leaders from across the country, took place Feb. 3-6 in Anaheim, Calif. The event was hosted by the ELCA Youth Ministry Network. This year’s theme, “Enough” allowed participants to consider the many ways that we need to think about the word enough: I am...
February 15, 2023
By Dr. Addie J. Butler The Holy Spirit moved in Colonial Charleston, South Carolina! In 1815, Rev. John Bachman (a man of European descent and a naturalist) became the pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church and served for nearly six decades.1 During his tenure, he helped found Newberry College, the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary and...
February 8, 2023
By The Rev. Kayla Sadowy Right after the eagles win the NFC championship, I noticed social media posts from news outlets, influencers, and politicians hailing the decline in gun violence when the Eagles win. According to an October 30, 2022 OpEd article in The Philadelphia Inquirer, there were no shootings at all the weekends of...
February 7, 2023
SEPA Synod was well represented at The Extravaganza, the annual gathering of children, youth and family ministry leaders from across the ELCA, which just wrapped up (Feb. 3-6) in Anaheim, Calif. The event was hosted by the ELCA’s Youth Ministry Network. Participants in Extravaganza 2023 gathered for one live experience in two expressions, on-site in...
February 7, 2023
By Dr. Addie J. Butler Persons of African descent became involved with the Lutheran Church in the Northern colonies as early as Palm Sunday, 16691, when a free Black man (who took the name Emmanuel at his baptism) was admitted into membership in a Lutheran congregation in New York. Think of it! That was just...
February 1, 2023
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...
January 31, 2023
Last summer the Churchwide Assembly voted to establish a commission to recommend potential changes in the ELCA’s constitution and governance to reflect what Lutheran witness might look like in the 21st Century. Nominations are now open for appointment to this body, which will include three persons from each region of the church (35 members total). Potential...
January 31, 2023
“What is exciting for me is that I get to discern with the people God has called to be His people [and] journey with them to yield the Holy Spirit call on how to be followers of Jesus…However, they may express what it means to be a church in this time and age,” says Pastor...
January 30, 2023
The Rev. Violet Little, pastor of The Welcome Church in Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, was recognized with the Frontline Leader Award at the state’s Homes Within Reach Conference. More than 800 attended the conference, hosted by the Housing Alliance of PA, of which LAMPa is a member. The award recognizes those whose work inspires and uplifts...
January 26, 2023
May 5-6, 2023 at Franconia Mennonite Church A significant number of responses to our Assembly survey indicated that people want to return to the fellowship and relationship-building of in-person meetings. We have listened to your voices and have scheduled the 2023 Synod Assembly for Friday and Saturday, May 5 and 6, at our familiar site...
January 23, 2023
Dear Rostered Minister, The Finance Committee of the Southeastern PA Synod is pleased to inform you that, in the spirit of generosity, a limited amount of funding has been included in the Synod’s regular 2023-24 budget to help those rostered ministers of our synod for whom seminary student loan debt is a significant burden. Although...
January 18, 2023
Is your congregation ready to take a step in the vitality direction but not sure where to start? Well here is the place to start. A new tool has come out from the ELCA called the Congregational Vitality Survey! This FREE Resource is available to all congregation and is simple to implement across congregations of...
January 18, 2023
By Rev. Bryan Penman Co-Director for Evangelical Mission Last month a few of the Synod staff were out for a visit to a potential location for Synod Assembly. As we made our way down the corridors of the hotel, I suddenly heard the voice of Bishop Davenport, “Good morning, how are you all doing?” As...
December 9, 2022
ELCA Disability Ministry is seeking applications for grants to congregations and projects committed to inclusion and accessibility. Examples include leadership development, community and congregation education, and connecting those with disabilities and various groups within the church. (See the letter below from Disability Ministry’s Rev. Lisa Heffernan for full details!) Grant applications will be accepted starting...
December 8, 2022
Ask any of my previous interns, I am extreme nut when it comes to getting things ready for Christmas Eve. But for me, it’s the excitement of drawing so many people to hear the Good News that is at the heart of our faith – that God chose to dwell with us. The power of...
December 1, 2022
Read the news here: Time-Sensitive–Remembering-Sandy-Hook—Christmas-Day-Worship—Generosity-Extravaganza.html
November 9, 2022
Christian Nationalism identifies human-made governments as lockstep with God’s will and seeks to privilege Christians, typically only white Christians. This type of ideology is not only dangerous but distorts the difference between holding government accountable to God as opposed to identified strictly with God’s will. We must stand against Christian Nationalism and ask that you...
October 31, 2022
Remembering in prayer the saints at Bethany Lutheran Church Bethany Lutheran Church, a congregation of the Central Philadelphia Conference, will hold their final worship service on Sunday, November 20, 2022 at 3:00 pm with Bishop Davenport presiding. Rostered ministers and members of the SEPA Synod are welcome to attend the final service at Bethany as we...
October 27, 2022
When an EF-2 tornado struck sections of their community on September 1, 2021, the people of Upper Dublin Lutheran Church went into action. The winds and flooding spawned by remnants of Hurricane Ida left 140 families displaced and 1,400 homes with severe damage. Almost immediately the church became a hub to distribute supplies and dispense...
October 18, 2022
The Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields will host a Zoom presentation and dialogue on Tuesday, November 1 at 7 pm with Dr. Philip Gorski, a sociologist at Yale University, and co-author of the new book “The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy.” “For anyone who is concerned about the...
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