Immanuel Lutheran Church along with 9 other Lutheran
churches together with Habitat for Humanity and Thrivent Financial for
Lutherans completed our first Habitat House. The house was dedicated on
August 9th. The churches involved in the build were: Immanuel (ELCA)
Palm City Prince of Peace (ELCA)- Stuart Redeemer (LCMS) - Stuart Bethel
(LCMS) - Hobe Sound Hope (ELCA) - Port St. Lucie St. Andrews (ELCA)-
Port St. Lucie Christ (WELS)- Port St. Lucie St. Peters (ELCA) - Ft.
Pierce Grace (LCMS) - Port St. Lucie Trinity (LCMS) - Ft. Pierce It was
one of the proudest moments of my life, knowing that we came together as
the body of Christ, and used our God given talents to help a local
family in need, said Deacon Ron of Immanuel. Every one from each of the
congregations was involved. From the noisy bucket collections, to
raising walls, to painting, and especially praying. This project was
definitely God's Work our hands.
See Pictures
Synodical Woman's Organization's President
Steps Down
Ms. Jennifer (Jenny) Michael announced her
resignation on July 14, 2008, as the president of the Florida-Bahamas
Synod's Women's Organization (SWO). The SWO is the local chapter of the
national organization Women of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America(WELCA). Ms. Michael was
elected to serve on the national Executive Board of WELCA at the 2008
Triennial Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah. WELCA policy prohibits
local leadership while serving on the executive board, prompting Ms.
Michael's resignation as president of the SWO.
In an email to members of the SWO, Michael said "I
am confident that you all will take up the challenges ahead for our SWO,
the Fall Gathering, the completion of our Fund for Leaders in Mission
goals, and so many other projects that we have all worked so hard on
together to make succeed."
Judy Daniels, former Vice President of the SWO, is
now currently serving as Acting President until the August 9th SWO
Executive Board meeting in Orlando. She is now tasked with all the
duties and responsibilities of the office of the President. The SWO
Executive Board plans to appoint an Interim-President to complete the
remainder of Michael's term, expiring in November 2009.
Bishop Benoway Designates July 13 and 20 as "Disaster Response
Sundays"
In light of the incredible number of natural disasters facing the
communities of the world and our own country, I call upon the people of
the Florida-Bahamas Synod to designate the Sundays of July 13th
and July 20th as Sundays on which the people of our synod
will offer special prayers and financial support to disaster victims
throughout the world.
I encourage our congregations to immediately
begin making special worship plans for Sundays, July 13th and
20th, in order to provide opportunity for members of our
congregations to be the Lord’s presence to people in extreme crisis
situations and to learn more about how we are all involved in immediate
response to tragedies through ELCA Disaster Response.
Executive
Administrative Assistant Position Created
Bishop Benoway announced today that Ms. Ileana
Sardinas has accepted the position of Executive Administrative Assistant
in the office of the Florida-Bahamas Synod. In this new position, Ileana
will assume oversight of all administrative assistants and will
coordinate the administrative support needs of the executive staff and
specialists to ensure that mailings and office work are accomplished in
a timely manner. “I am confident that Ileana’s twenty years of
experience in our synod, along with her wealth of knowledge and skills
make her perfect for this position,” stated Bishop Benoway.
In her new position Ileana will continue to serve as
the administrative assistant to Bishop Benoway, but there will be a
reordering of many of the responsibilities previously housed with the
bishop’s administrative assistant. “As we have grown in missional focus
and size of staff, the needs of those who serve as part of the staff
team of the Office of the Bishop have also shifted and grown. It is my
desire to maximize the full potential of those who serve in this office
so that we can more effectively serve our congregations and rostered
leaders in the mission of this synod,” continued Bishop Benoway.
Additionally, a new full time Administrative
Assistant/Receptionist will be added to the staff. Each administrative
assistant will have specific areas of responsibility as well as general
responsibilities to support one another in accomplishing the work of the
synod office. “I plan to continue to listen and define the specific
needs and desires of this office so that we can together facilitate
effective ministry in our synod,” said Ileana Sardinas. “As we redefine
roles and portfolios, additional information will be shared as it is
deemed helpful for congregations and leaders of the synod.”
The restructuring of staff has also provided
opportunity for reevaluation of synod office space usage. During the
summer there will be a significant reordering of staff offices to better
accommodate and facilitate our missional priorities and intra-office
communications. All phone extensions and email addresses for the staff
will remain the same.
36 Graduate from the
Florida-Bahamas Synod diakoniatm
program
On Saturday, May 31, Bishop Edward Benoway
celebrated alongside the friends, families, pastors, and congregations
of the 36 member graduating class of 2008. This is the first class to
graduate from the lay-ministry training program named diakoniatm.
A transplant program from other ELCA synods including Metro New York,
the diakoniatm program in Florida is now one of seven
throughout the country.
diakoniatm emphasizes the baptismal
vocation of all Christians to serve as did our Lord Jesus. Participants
are often already leaders in their parishes, and have a high degree of
commitment to the ministry of the Church. They want to deepen their life
of faith and ground their baptismal commitment to serve in the church
through several means. They are committed to serve through the Church in
a variety of ways: teaching, administration, liturgical leadership,
action of social justice, evangelism, visitation of the sick, community
organization, youth work, ministry among the elderly, and the like.
Congratulations to all who have made this commitment
to more in-depth and centered service to the church, the world, and to
God. We rejoice with you as you truly personify what it means to share
Christ, make disciples, and do justice in the world!
Click for more information about the
diakoniatm program.
Review of the 2008 Assembly of the Florida-Bahamas Synod, ELCA
During the 2008 Assembly of the Florida-Bahamas
Synod, the assembly members took time to worship, pray, discern God’s
will, and work to accomplish the business of this synod. The theme of
this year’s assembly was God’s
Work, Our Hands.
Pictures,
complete copies of all resolutions, election results from all open
positions, blogs, a summary bulletin insert, and other information are available online at www.fbsynod.com/synodassembly/08.html.
You are encouraged to use this information and
the information provided on the website to obtain a deeper understanding
of how we are Making Disciples, Sharing Christ, and Doing Justice in the World
together as a synod.
Lutheran Outdoor Ministries of Florida and
Luther Springs are excited to announce the hiring of a new Executive
Director!
Jim Schmidt comes to us from Crossways Camping in
Wisconsin, where he’s served as Director of Operations for two of the
organization’s three camps. A native of Minnesota, Jim joined
crossways 18 years ago, after time spent at Camp Hiawatha in Minnesota.
Luther Springs is excited to add Jim’s
vast experience in Lutheran Outdoor Ministries. He has the
skills and knowledge to “hit the ground running.” With over two decades
of related experience, he has a grand vision of all that outdoor
ministry can do in the life of an individual and congregation. He has a
true heart for ministry.
Jim will be at Synod Assembly next week,
as Luther Springs hosts an evening of hospitality on Friday, May 2nd.
We’ll have complimentary hors d'oeuvres and drinks available beginning
at 5:00pm. Feel free to stop by and meet Jim, and enjoy some
fellowship and refreshments. Hospitality will be offered into the
evening.
If you’re unable to visit with Jim at
the assembly, please feel free to welcome him to the Synod, and to
contact him at any time. He’ll be available beginning May 1 at the
following contacts:
The members of Grace Tampa received an unusual
surprise during Sunday morning worship last week. With the assistance of
the congregational council and other select volunteers, Pr. John Hillmer
surprised the congregation by announcing that this Sunday they would be
worshipping in two ways: in the sanctuary as usual AND out in the
community. The members were then asked to collect food to stock the
shelves of the local food bank by collecting food themselves and by
collecting food from nearby homes of non-members in witness to the
Gospel through their example of giving. By mid-week, the congregation
had successfully over-filled the shelves of local food banks that were
nearly empty the week prior.
Contact Grace
to see how your congregation can become involved in similar efforts in
your community.
St. Timothy Lutheran Church in Miami Gardens joined other local
congregations in their community to protest against the rise of violence
in their community. Almost 1,000 people from 8 different denominations
marched to a central location in the city to protest gangs, drugs, and
other rising community problems in their area.
"We want everyone to know that the crime and
violence on our streets is unacceptable," said Rev. Andreas M. Thode,
pastor of St. Timothy. "City officials, including the newly formed Miami
Gardens Police Department, have continued to express and display their
support for our efforts."
St. Timothy Lutheran is a small congregation with a
passion for justice ministry. They are part of their local inter-faith
community organizing group that works through actions and words to
change the local community. The Florida-Bahamas Synod, through recent
assembly action, expressed it's support for justice ministries such as
this.
This
year, there is a special joy in presenting the Tom Hunstad award. It is
being given to an individual who is one among us. Moving with her young
family in 1972 to Clearwater, Florida, she was asked to help with VBS.
She said, “Yes”, which began a ministry of 36 years and counting. She
said, “Yes” to 15 years as Sunday School Coordinator, “Yes” to 19 years
of working in a church office coordinating and assisting in confirmation and children’s music ministries, and “Yes” to 16 years
of METRO confirmation retreat planning. She also, when asked to help groups
participate in the ELCA Youth Gathering, said “Yes” to 6 Gatherings to
date. Congratulations, Faye!
Read More>
Draft Social Statement on Sexuality Released
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is
preparing a social statement on human sexuality to be considered by the
Churchwide Assembly in 2009. This document is the draft of that social
statement and it will be revised following discussion throughout this
church.
There are several ways to participate in that
process:
Study, discuss, comment:
You are invited to study, discuss, and comment on this draft and thereby
contribute to the development of the proposed social statement for 2009.
Participate in a hearing:
You are also invited to attend hearings on this draft to be held in
various synods.
The deadline for
submitting comments is November 1, 2008. Information on
how to respond, on hearings, and on ordering additional copies, may be
found at the back of the PDF or online. To respond online, click here.
Groundbreaking at Spirit of Life Lutheran
Church
Spirit of Life Lutheran Church in Jacksonville, FL,
celebrated the ground breaking of their new sanctuary and facility
on February 9, 2008. The Reverend Robert Schaefer, assistant to the
bishop for the North Mission District, was on hand for the celebration
representing Bishop Ed Benoway and the other 210 congregations of the
Florida-Bahamas Synod, ELCA. Pictured with Rev. Schaefer are Reverend
Ellen Cross, pastor of the congregation, and members of the
congregational council.
The Deans of the 15 conferences of the
Florida-Bahamas Synod, ELCA, met in Tampa at Good Shepherd Lutheran
Church for their annual College of Deans. Bishop Benoway and Pr. Robert
Schaefer, assistant to the bishop for leadership, convened the meeting
for a time of worship, fellowship, and visioning for the synod. The
Deans are considered extensions of the Office of the Bishop and are
charged with assisting clergy and congregations in their area in matter
ranging from calling a new pastor to pastoral support in times of
crisis.
The Deans meet annually with Bishop Benoway and the
Synod Staff in order to promote unity in the synod and to discuss
matters of ministry in their individual contexts. The Deans were
specifically asked during this year's meeting to continue their efforts
to strengthen relationships with the other clergy in their conference
and to build trust and collegiality with their Conference Lay Chair.
The Lay Chairs of the 15 conferences of the
Florida-Bahamas Synod, ELCA, met in Tampa at the Synod Office for a
two-day meeting to discuss items such as Mission Interpretation,
building collegiality among congregations, working hand-in-hand with
your Dean, and what it means to be a conference chair. "This was the
first official meeting of the Chairs in several year," said Pr. Robert
Schaefer, assistant to the bishop for leadership. "We are all very
excited at the numerous possibilities for doing ministry in the
individual contexts of each conference."
Bishop Benoway and Vice President Bill Horne were
also in attendance to talk with the chairs regarding how their personal
relationship as clergyperson and layperson works for the sake of
ministry in our synod. "We hope to serve as an example of how a good
relationship between the ordained and the lay can result in positive
ministry," said VP Bill Horne.
The Chairs will continue to meet at least once a year
to provide support to one another and for the purposes of training and
equipping. Next year, the Office of the Bishop hopes to convene both the
Conference Chairs and Deans in an "overlapping" meeting so as to promote
a stronger and deeper connection between these two ministries.
Congregation mourns untimely death of LOMF
supporters
St. John Palatka mourns the untimely loss of Gordon
and Susan Bellamy and their son, Joey, long time supporters of LOMF as
well as the congregation. The threesome were killed in a small plane
accident that occurred as they approached the St. Petersburg airport
after a sight seeing flight over Tampa Bay. Gordon, owner of Bellamy
Plumbing in Palatka gave considerable time and resources in helping the
set up the water distribution system at our LOMF Camp Luther Springs
near Hawthorne. They will be sorely missed!
Story by Rev. Paul B. Williams, St. John Lutheran
Church, Palatka, FL.
Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary,
Columbia,
South Carolina, announces an
opening for Professor/Director of Contextual Education beginning Fall
2008. This person will assume primary educational and administrative
responsibility for the seminary’s contextual education program.
READ MORE
2007 Holiday Programming from Faith and Values Media and the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
The Office of the Secretary of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America will reconvene the
Insurance Alternatives Task Force
in mid-January at the Lutheran Center in Chicago to review a recent
proposal to insure the ELCA’s 10,500 congregations under a single
program. “I am encouraged by this recent news,” said Bishop
Edward R. Benoway. “Many of our congregations have been faced with
extremely difficult financial circumstances as a result of the
skyrocketing insurance costs. We need to take action now for the sake of
continuing mission in the world.”
Insurance consultants and representatives
from central synods and coastal synods of the ELCA, most affected by
Named Wind (hurricane) insurance costs, will review the plan being
presented to senior ELCA executives in January. “I look forward to
representing our congregations in this endeavor to bring insurance costs
under control,” said Ken Aicher, assistant to the bishop for
administration. We look forward to putting this lengthy period of
insurance uncertainty behind us.”
Look for continuing updates here on our website,
www.fbsynod.com, and via email as
more information regarding the outcome of these meetings becomes
available.
New house built at Luther Springs!
Lutheran Outdoor Ministries of Florida (LOMF)
announced that the new house at Luther Springs Camp was built and moved
into place in August 2007; occupancy came in September. The
three-bedroom home on the camp site will house the camp director so that
there is a person living at Luther Springs year-round.
Late last fall, John and Pauline Schmertmann gave
LOMF $50,000 toward the cost of the house. Since then, gifts ranging in
size from $5 to $5,000 were given toward the house. In mid-spring LOMF
received another major gift from the trust of Lillian Simon. Part of
that trust was used in finishing the payment for the house. The Board of
LOMF would like to thank the donors, the family of donors, and those who
have helped arrange the gifts.
Visit LOMF's website
for more information.
Russian Iconology Workshop
Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia,
SC, is offering a workshop open to the public on understanding,
creating, and praying with icons. The Event is January 20-26, 2008, and
costs $750 plus lodging at the seminary for $25 a night.
