Fairfield Community Church will host a free Dementia Friends informational program on Sunday, October 25, from noon to 1:00 p.m. The hour-long presentation will be led by Rev. Brad Buff, a retired Presbyterian pastor with a special interest in older adult ministry.

Your donation towards the much-needed SOLAR KITCHEN at Tumaini Lutheran Seminary in Tanzania will be matched dollar-for-dollar by an anonymous donor up to a cumulative total of $20,000 through November 15, 2026!

Have you wondered about visiting our companions in Tanzania? Here is another opportunity to do so! October 26-November 11, 2027

This year’s event will be held January 5-8, 2027, in Scottsdale, AZ at the Franciscan Renewal Center. This event is designed for ALL leaders who work in faith-based ministry settings (not just pastors!).

Join DEM Liv Larson for five weeks of discussion. We will meet on Wednesday evenings via zoom, 6:30pm Pacific/7:30pm Mountain. Beginning Wednesday October 21 and continuing through November 25.

Join us October 10, 11:00AM - 1:30PM for a luncheon.

You may submit a request for a Daily Bread Grant beginning October 1st. Feeding Ministry funding requests will be accepted through October 21st at midnight central time and they are for $500.

Are you thinking of seminary?
Join us for a Zoom virtual discernment event with representatives from all seven ELCA seminaries.
Sunday, September 27, 1-3PM (PT) / 2-4PM MT

This time of Sabbatical served as a reset for me as well. I don’t mean to imply that I was driven like a slave in my work pre-sabbatical. Nor am I suggesting whatever burdens I was bearing were anywhere close to the burdens the ancient Hebrew people bore during the 400 years of slavery in Egypt. But this Sabbatical time did offer “a break or change from a normal routine (as of employment).”[1] Additionally, these past three months have given me an opportunity to take in some of the grandeur and beauty of much of the northwest enabling me to experience the rhythm of creation firsthand.

October 26 to November 11, 2027
Here is another opportunity to visiting our companions in Tanzania. Planning is underway for 2027.

The Prayer and Presence in Public Life Working Group is happy to share with you the attached For the Common Good: Prayers and Resources for Congregations in Public Life. Enclosed are suggestions for how this could be shared with your ministry site. 

This is an alternative disaster training option put on by the United Methodist Church Disaster Ministries of Oregon-Idaho.

Growing up in Custer, South Dakota, Labor Day weekend always marked the end of the major tourism season that shaped so much of life in the Black Hills in the 1990s. Of course, Labor Day celebrates much more than that, and in 2026 it can hold many meanings.

Can you imagine the blessing in truly knowing our siblings in Christ, partners in ministry, in our sister synod, the Ulanga Kilombero Diocese in Tanzania?

Twelve of us had these experiences and so much more this past June when we visited our companion synod.

Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) is glad to offer an “Introduction to Disaster Response” webinar for the Northwest Intermountain Synod on Thursday, September 10 at 11am PT/12pm MT. The webinar will last 90 minutes and include time for questions & answer.

Why the First and Last 10 Minutes Matter in Creating an Invitational Church by Rev. Dr. Moses D. Barrios. Fron the Evangelism Network Blog.

Weekly Book Study on Zoom
Tuesdays @ 5:00 pm PDT / 6:00 pm MDT

LuMin is the Lutheran Campus Ministry Network. As part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), LuMin celebrates our partnerships with other traditions and welcomes people from a variety of faith backgrounds.
Refer a Student

Rostered Leaders and SAMs are invited to register for the October 12-14 Bishop’s Convocation in Lewiston, ID. The presenter is Rev. Leila Ortiz and theme is Baptism in Muddy Waters.
Reister Now

The task force has released a new study to foster conversation across this church and to generate feedback that will guide its work. The study, “Conscience and Conversation: A Study During the Reconsideration of the Social Statement Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust,” invites reflection on agreement and disagreement in a church called to pursue justice and peace together through “the unity of the Spirit” (Ephesians 4:3).
The survey is open until Sept. 30.

Bishop Manlove, together with the Synod Council, has convened a task group to help congregations within our Northwest Intermountain Synod (NWIMS) reach out to their county clerk or auditor, the person, along with their colleagues, responsible for ensuring that the lawful requirements for voting in county, state, and national elections are followed to the letter.

Sophia’s Table is an ecumenical campus ministry at Boise State University supported by the UMC, ELCA, and PCUSA. Sophia's Table is an open and affirming ministry where students build real relationships, honor lived experience, and grow together in faith, love, and community. Please refer your students.

ONMY is a summer day camp program where kids enjoy technology-free days of bike riding, exploring, and playing games. OMNY also ensures kids receive nutritious family-style meals around a table each day for breakfast and lunch.

It has been a joy to connect with many of you at recent events. This month, the Church Property Resource Hub team has traveled widely, leading workshops, engaging with rostered ministers and gathering with colleagues across the church. Please read attached Newsletter.

The NWIM Synod has been in relationship with the Ulanga Kilombero Diocese (UKD) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania for 38 years now! We walk Bega kwa Bega (Swahili for Shoulder to Shoulder) with the people of the UKD. Yet, not everyone knows the life-giving value of our relationship with siblings in Christ so very far away.

The right to vote is sacred, fought for over generations and defended throughout the years. In the current administration, we have seen a renewed effort to suppress and limit the right to vote of eligible groups, suppress voter turnout, and purposefully create confusion and mistrust in the electoral system. As trusted messengers, faith communities can share accurate, up-to-date information about voting and have the relational networks to encourage voter turnout through honest conversations and timely reminders.

Presiding Bishop Yehiel Curry issues his third in a series of monthly messages that continue through the end of this year, titled "All Together in One Place."  Each message will share a pastoral word, rooted in Scripture, that witnesses to God’s presence today, our rich theological tradition and the social teaching that connects us.

Why the 2027 ELCA National Youth Gathering

I am a huge fan of the ELCA Youth Gatherings. When I stood for the bishop’s election in our synod in 2023, I quoted Galatians 5:13-14 as a central verse for my life and ministry. Guess where I first really heard that verse—the 1991 Gathering in Dallas when the theme was “Called to Freedom.” I attended again in Atlanta.