Pastor Barbara Rossing of our synod, who lives in Leavenworth and teaches New Testament at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, invites synod participants and friends to join the seminary's travel seminar to the Holy Land May 16-28. 2022.
Peer Ministry Leadership Training
Join us April 1-2, 2022 for a Peer Ministry Leadership Training with Dr. Lyle Griner at Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp! Peer ministry is about the practical life skill that empowers us to become Good Samaritan leaders who care for every neighbor, every day, everywhere in every relationship. Peer Ministry is about loving. Because God first loved us!
Processing the Pandemic for Ministry.
Drinking from a fire hose?
For a lot of us, the last two years have been one change after another. Before we’ve even gotten comfortable with one new way of life—from preaching to a computer screen to online worship—we’ve found ourselves having to figure out something else.
While there’s been an abundance of new learning taking place, very little (if any) time has been available for reflecting—or even being still. It’s been a hectic season, and if you feel like you’ve been drinking from a fire hose, you’re not the only one.
Supporting to Your Leaders
To God’s beloved people in the NWIM Synod,
In the synod office, we have been asked by many of you to provide guidance around when to suspend in-person worship due to increased cases of SARS-COVID19 cases in a community. While there are some such documents available from other denominational bodies (United Methodist Church, for example) after discussion as a staff we realized that our ability to draft such a document is limited—simply because of the polity of the ELCA. I cannot direct congregations to not meet in person. That is a decision that falls to the rostered leader(s) and council of a congregation. Adding to the complexity: the ministry contexts of our synod are so varied that what might indicate a need to suspend in-person worship in one congregation might not in another.
Ecumenical Letter to Editor of Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Papers
We read with great dismay that the Aryan Freedom Network, a white supremacist group, is having a gathering on March 12 at Hayden Lake and has said that part of their purpose is to identify "things we can do to make our communities a little better." That a poster for this event includes a swastika and the words "keep Idaho white" shows clearly that their vision for "a little better" is one that is in opposition to both the American ideals expressed in our Declaration of Independence and enshrined in our Constitution, and totally against the values of Christianity.
Preparing for Lent
We enter into the Lenten season in a few days. Are you ready? Have you made plans for these 40 days already? Or on Ash Wednesday does the imposition of ashes remind you to embark on this journey with setting some intentions? However you prepare and plan for Lent, this season offers you the opportunity for deepening your spiritual life in Christ.