NWPA Synod Newsletter

NWPA Synod Newsletter Catechism Celebration The Small Catechism: a living document or a relic of the past? Join us for an event of celebrating, learning, exploring, and re-imaging Luther s Small Catechism as a resource for faith formation and discipleship. Sunday, November 13, 2016 First English Lutheran Church, 104 N. Gilpin Street, Punxsutawney, PA Sunday, December 11, 2016 Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 3325 Morefield Road, Hermitage, PA A presentation by Bishop Ralph Jones music inspired by the Catechism displays interactive learning centers drama visual arts student presentations music as a teaching tool refreshments & fellowship a gift for all who attend In This Issue Calendar 2 SWPA Youth Invite 2 Hurricane Matthew 3 Lutheran Day at the Capitol 4 Saint Lucia 4 Vocation 5-6 Wrestling with Jake 7 Congregational Happenings 8 Worship Matters 9 Churchwide Assembly 10 World Hunger 11 Local Happenings 12

Page 2 NWPA SYNOD NEWSLETTE R Calendar November 5 Daylight Savings Time Ends at Midnight (Clocks go back 1 hour) 3-14-Visitors from Karagwe Diocese of the ELCT 8-10 First Call Theological Education Event 12 LWL Continuing Education 9:30-3:00 12 LWL Instruction Preaching 10-2:30 Bishop Jones 13 Catechism Celebration First English Punxsutawney 4PM 18-19 Committee on Church Vocations 21 World Hunger Meeting 10AM 24-25 Thanksgiving Break Office Closed December 11-Catechism Celebration Holy Trinity, Hermitage 4PM 13 Region 8 Candidacy Meeting LTSG 24-1- Christmas Break Office Closed Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod, Attached is a youth ministry events calendar, and a registration form for Bible Bowl. I'm not sure if we had participants from NWPA last year for Bible Bowl, but that yearly event, as well as all the others are open to any congregation that would like to participate! If folks have questions, contact youth@swpasynod.org and someone will respond! Peace, Pastor Erin Evans SWPA Youth Ministry Committee Chair

On the Trail of Martin Luther Hurricane Matthew The situation: Hurricane Matthew ripped through the Caribbean and southeastern U.S. coast, leaving hundreds of casualties, thousands of homes destroyed and millions of people displaced and without power. Initial damage assessments are in progress in the countries and U.S. states that were hit. Our response: Your support through Lutheran Disaster Response will bring God s hope and healing to those affected by this hurricane. In Haiti, the hardest hit by the hurricane, our trusted partners are assessing the damage. In Cuba, through our partner the Cuba Council of Churches, we are already accompanying survivors through food distribution, water and sanitation, psychosocial support, shelter and settlement help and early recovery and livelihood restoration. In the U.S., synods, affiliate-organizations and Lutheran Disaster Response coordinators are collaborating with community leaders, civic organizations, ecumenical partners and officials on initial damage assessments and planning proper responses. Lutheran Disaster Response will continue to accompany congregations, synods, trusted partners and companion churches in the area that know the communities well and will walk with people on the road to recovery. Page 3 To designate mission support to Hurricane Matthew please use code: DDG0086 July 12-22, 2017 $250.00 per person deposit due at time of reservation. For questions contact Bishop Ralph Jones (814.589.7660) email: bishop@nwpaelca.org All checks payable to: Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod, ELCA Reservation forms are available online and in travel brochure Book Now & Save $200 Per Person Double was $4,199 now $3,999* Single was $4,699 now$4,499* * Discount rate good until 12/6/2016 * Included in Price: Round Trip Air from Pittsburgh Intl Airport, Air Taxes and Fees/Surcharges, Hotel Transfers * Not Included in Price: Cancellation Waiver and Insurance of $280 per person * All Rates are Per Person and are subject to change based on air inclusive package from PIT

Page 4 The rancor of this campaign season has uncovered divisions and hostilities that will not disappear by swearing-in day. It is critical that our voice, as the people of God, be heard as a reminder that all are made in God s image. At a time of such great need, how do we model mutual respect and attend to the issues confronting us and our neighbors near and far? Marking the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, we consider how the Holy Spirit, is re-forming us as the Lutheran Day at the Capitol May 16, 2017 NWPA SYNOD NEWSLETTE R Word of God continues to change and renew the world. How can we be Church Together, for the sake of the world, in Pennsylvania? Lutheran Day is Tuesday, May 16 at Trinity Lutheran Church, Camp Hill. Registration opens in early 2017. Bring a friend or a team and join Lutheran advocates from across the Commonwealth for a day of worship, learning and inspiration to ground and deepen your call to faith-rooted advocacy. Bethlehem,Ridgeway Santa Lucia

Spirituality, Vocation, and Daily Work Page 5 By: Rev. Brian Riddle When I began thinking about the relationship between work and spirituality, my mind instantly went to Brother Lawrence s much beloved book, The Practice of the Presence of God. You might be familiar with this work, but if not, the main premise is the simple but profound advice: to keep a sense of Christ s loving presence before you during every moment of every day. It was recorded by his friend, That the most excellent method he [Brother Lawrence] had found of going to GOD, was that of doing our common business without any view of pleasing men, [Gal. 1: 10; Eph. 6: 5, 6.] and (as far as we are capable) purely for the love of GOD. While this is simple advice, it is a profound and difficult path, especially when we get to work. The part of this kind of spirituality that intersects daily work, and by extension, a sense of vocation, is the ability through the cultivation of this practice to carry Christ with us into the workplace. I do not mean by handing out tracts to our co-workers, playing Christian music on our radios, or any of the more overt ways people might outwardly show they are Christian in their places of work. Bringing Christ to work with us, according these themes from Brother Lawrence, is the ability to cultivate the attitude that no matter what task we are given, no matter how onerous or monotonous, we do that task in the love of Christ and for His glory alone. I am convinced that this could truly be transformational, in any work environment. Brother Lawrence s attitude, again recorded by a friend, was said like this: So, likewise, in his business in the kitchen (to which he had naturally a great aversion), having accustomed himself to do everything there for the love of GOD, and with prayer, upon all occasions, for His grace to do his work well, he had found everything easy, during the fifteen years that he had been employed there That he had always been governed by love, without selfish views; and that having resolved to make the love of GOD the end of all his actions, he had found reasons to be well satisfied with his method. That he was pleased when he could take up a straw from the ground for the love of GOD, seeking Him only, and nothing else, not even His gifts. ii This remarkable testimony got me thinking about how many of us think of vocation. Often when we make a thorough inventory of our gifts and blessings, we find that we are perhaps too blessed to be happy where we now work. Our culture consistently drives us to climb the ladder and constantly seek a better and better situation, not simply for more money, but as a part of our own self worth. 2014 statistics cite that over 50% of Americans are unhappy at their jobs. Perhaps even the other half who claim contentment still might wonder if there is something better over the next horizon. We are all under pressure by our culture to think this way, to yearn for our dream job, and eschew contentment until that lofty, and often unreachable ideal is met. Perhaps we have this backwards. What would life be like if, instead of looking over the fence at other pastures, we could cultivate an attitude of joy, and even holiness surrounding the work we do right now- even the worst parts of it- and do so by first cultivating a sense of unity with Christ present in our lives at every moment? This sort of attitude would indeed be a prophetic call to radical discipleship in an age where loyalty on the part of both employer and employee is in steep decline. What would happen if we saw our perfect job as what God has set in front of us right now, where even the smallest task has an intrinsic integrity as part of the care of God s creation and/or God s people? As with many things, the key to radical outward change might just be a radical inward one. Looking at the wholeness wheel, there is one aspect of wholeness that touches all the other aspects, and that is the Spiritual Wellness ring that wraps around the entire wheel. If I were to amend this graphic in any way, it might be to indicate that Vocation has a similar relation to all other aspects as well. Financial, emotional, physical, intellectual, and social well being are all strongly influenced by our

Page 6 NWPA SYNOD NEWSLETTE R vocational well being, in ways that many of us even use to build the very foundation of our identities. For example, one does not simply practice law, but is a Lawyer and one does not simply collect garbage, but is a Trash-man. See how we assign ontological weight to the work we do? We no longer simply perform a task, we become that task! When thinking about vocation, what would it be like if we were able to garner our identity from the presence of Christ and his Love for us, rather than what we do every day for a living? Perhaps we might see a radical transformation in how we view ourselves, and even in the satisfaction we receive from our work. I find that this fits in nicely with Luther s own theology of Vocation, in which he saw vocation not simply as the work we do, but as the way we use our baptismal gifts during our waking hours to glorify God, and care for his creation- to bless others and do no harm. Perhaps in recognizing Christ s presence with us at all times, we might grow to see our professions as being integral to that baptismal call, no matter what it is that we do for a living. This sense of vocation is broader and more entwined with the Spirit s work in our lives than we normally assume in our 9-5 grind. Yet in a culture that often compartmentalizes work away from actual living, can we cultivate the sense of Christ s presence in our lives to such an extent that we see any good work in front of us as holy, and integral to our baptismal calling? Some suggested questions to begin discussion on vocation: What does vocation mean to you? How do we experience vocation? How do those in our congregations view their work as a spiritual practice? Do they? What tools do we have to equip people to find their calling, and/or feel that calling in what they already do? What are your own attitudes toward work, and how do you, (or don t you) make it a part of your own spirituality? -Rev. Brian Riddle i. Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God, Second Conversation ii. Ibid iii. http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2014/06/20/most-americans-are-unhappy-atwork/#68a367075862)

Wrestling with Jake Page 7 As I write this installment of Wrestling with Jakob I m also preparing for Sunday s sermon on the same text. After three decades of focusing on Jacobs wrestling with God it has struck me that it is God initiates the wrestling match. It is God who latches on to this slippery, conniving, scoundrel and will not let go. Up to this point Jacob has managed to steal, swindle, deceive, con, and even charm his way out of almost every thorny encounter but this time he is mad is match. When I looked at the text from this angle I was reminded of those days of my early childhood when my dad would wrestle with me on the living room floor. My father had a great deal of trouble demonstrating emotion (with the exception of his anger and exasperation after union meetings). Looking back I realized that wrestling with me was as close as I got to a hug or an I love you. It is no wonder I loved those wrestling matches. What does it mean for us that God chooses to wrestle with us in the midst of our most difficult situations? And what does any of this have to do with evangelism or stewardship? As I travel around the synod this time of year I find everybody wrestling. The primary subject is budget rather than stewardship but when the numbers don t add up talk of stewardship and evangelism usually ensues. The question, How can we get more money in the plate? soon leads to wrestling with the question of How can we get more people in the pews? With these questions as a starting point we can usually generate a lot of heat but not much fire and soon we retreat to cutting the budget or continue spending our reserves as though we live in some ecclesiastical fantasyland. What would it look like if we approached our budgeting as an invitation to wrestle with a loving God? What if our starting point was recognizing that everything we have is from God (by the way it s all just on loan God never did deed the Garden to us)? Would the question then become, How do we use God s resources to carry out the ministry that we have been called to do here in this place? It s a much bigger question than simply money. If we start with this question than the whole issue of money really becomes an issue of entering into God s reconciling mission for the sake of the world. Also then, Mission Support becomes less about a synod tax and more about our ministry in that wider world. What if instead of wrestling with the budget we end up wrestling with God first. Entering into such wrestling comes with blessings and curses as Jacob so clearly found out. Like Jacob we may find that we are blessed with new ministry possibilities, perhaps even an abundance. At the same time if we take God s call to minister to the world in which we live we may find ourselves walking differently into the future. For pondering 1. As you sit down with your personal finances, with a church finance committee, or church council ask the question, How do we use God s resources to carry out the ministry that we have been called to do here in this place? The answers might surprise you. And note how it changes the ensuing financial conversation. 2. What are the possible blessings that God may be offering to you or to your congregation? 3. What are the challenges, the costs, the risks in daring to wrestle with God into his future? 4. What does all of this mean when we look into our future?

Page 8 NWPA SYNOD NEWSLETTE R Luther Memorial, Erie Our next Bach Cantata Vesper service will be presented on the first Sunday of Advent, November 27 at 4:00pm. The featured cantata will be Nun komm der heiden Heiland (Savior of the Nations Come), one of the Advent hymns we still sing every year as we prepare for Christmas. If you would like to sing with us, please contact Walt Gaber (814-602-2755 or WaltGaber@gmail.com). Luther Memorial is located at 225 W 10th St, Erie, PA 16501. New Jerusalem, Erie You are invited to attend the 16th Annual Crib to College Scholarship Ball to provide funds for students to help with the cost of college. The event will be held on Friday, November 18th at 7 pm. Tickets are $25 per person and will be held at the Concourse of Union Station at 121 West 14th Street. Please contact Pastor Owen Rhodes by November 14th to purchase tickets at 814-455-1972. New Jerusalem is located at 940 E 22nd St. Erie, PA 16503. Faith, Erie LIVE NATIVITY- Our annual holiday tradition continues with our Live Nativity December 9 and 10 from 6:30 pm until 8:00 pm! Volunteers will be needed to set up as well as act, provide/serve refreshments, and general helping out. More info to come as the holiday quickly approaches! Faith is located at 5414 E Lake Rd, Erie, PA 16511. St. Matthews, Erie Turkey & Biscuit Dinner Come and enjoy a Turkey & Biscuit Dinner! All are welcome to join us here at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church located at 950 West 7th Street. The event will be held downstairs in our Memorial Hall Friday, November 11th from 6pm-8pm. This event is free and open to the public. A freewill offering will be taken to fund future dinners.

Worship Matters by Carolyn Worley Page 9 LOOKING AHEAD Happy New Year! Catch your congregation off guard with this greeting on November 27 as we begin the new church year. Advent is a season of preparation and hopefulness. Our readings for this season will not rush us to view the manger, but rather will tell us that we will not know the time of Christ s return. It is a time to remind us that we are to live in harmony, just as the lion lies down with the lamb. We are to be ever vigilant in looking for the one who is to come in our neighbor or the stranger we meet on the street. Your congregation s preparations should include the traditional Advent wreath. Each of the four candles represents an event in the Nativity story. Blue candles represent the hopefulness of this season. You may wish to briefly share with your congregation each Advent Sunday the significance of the candle that is to be lit for the first time. The first candle represents the Old Testament prophecy that God would send a Messiah to save God s people. The second candle signifies the shepherds who were the first to hear of the Messiah s birth. The third candle is the angels candle because it was the angels who delivered the joyous message of good news. Often times on this Sunday, the Magnificat (Luke 1:46b-55) is read in place of the designated psalm. The fourth candle is the Bethlehem candle, named for the birthplace of the Christ child. Resist the temptation to move ahead in the hymnal! Sing the hymns of Advent, remembering that this season is not a time of celebration, but rather a time of somber waiting. Don t let your congregation be drawn in by the shopping and office parties. Encourage them instead to find an appreciation in the anticipation of what is to come. You might wish to schedule and boldly advertise a Christmas Carol Hymn Sing during the Twelve Days of Christmas (December 25-January 6).

ELCA 2016 Church-wide Assembly FREED & RENEWED in CHRIST 500 Years of God s Grace in Action. Having attended NWPA Synod Assemblies, both as a voting member and as a visitor, I have always looked forward to these days in assembly with fellow Lutherans. The opportunity to attend the 2016 triennial Church-wide Assembly as a voting member from the NW PA Synod was a high honor. I knew what synod assemblies were about, but I wondered what would a church-wide assembly be like? Would it just be a colossal synod assembly with more voting members, clergy and a much larger agenda? The days and weeks leading up to the journey were full of a bit of nervous wondering and a sense of anticipation. Each voting member was provided with a great deal of information prior to leaving for the assembly. This information provided the agenda for each (plenary) session and background information on issues, proposals and memorials to be presented and brought to the floor for approval. It was very helpful to have this information in advance. I was able to take my wife, Mary Beth, with me on our drive to New Orleans. She was a registered visitor and a participant in the first ever Grace Gathering, a three day workshop that was held in partnership with the church-wide assembly. The first activity we attended was a hymn festival led by the National Lutheran Choir at Christ Church, an old Episcopal cathedral. For us, this wonderful concert, Come, Spirit of God, was very inspirational and set the mood for us for the entire assembly. Many things impressed us about church-wide assembly. First, this assembly was extremely well planned and the effort that went into the successful implementation of logistics was excellent. Transportation was superb with busses running throughout each day between the convention center and the hotels. Being in assembly with approximately 980 voting members and visitors, including visitors from our full communion partners, and other denominations and faiths, including Roman Catholic, Jewish and Muslim, was very positive and promising. In all, nearly 2000 people were in attendance. Diversity in the ELCA is something to behold. Demographics are changing and so is the racial and cultural makeup of our congregations, especially in urban/suburban settings. The richness of the traditions and cultures within the ELCA was eye opening. I was very impressed with the variety and scope of the many decisions made on numerous items/issues including: social and economic issues, international political issues, interfaith agreements, ministry, 2017-2019 budget, election of a new vice president, and combining of word and service ministry rosters. As Lutherans, we do many things well very, especially worship. Each day of the assembly, we participated in a service of Holy Communion. Worship was so very well planned and executed. It was joyful while at the same time reverent. It involved music and prayer from various cultures and traditions. Above all, worship in all of its forms and expressions was very uplifting. We Lutherans do sing very well! Oh yes, and can you imagine communing 1500 plus persons in less than 15 minutes? In conclusion, this wonderfully uplifting and truly joyful experience has been another meaningful step in our faith journey. This church-wide assembly has not only opened our eyes, hearts and minds to the breadth, width and depth of our Lutheran tradition and expression, but it has deepened our understanding of God s Work, Our Hands. Dr. Michael Bradley

Thanks to all the congregations and individuals of the Northwestern PA Synod who continue to support the ELCA World Hunger and Disaster Relief Appeals. Thanks as well for your support of the Malaria Appeal. Your dollars are helping save lives of people who suffer from hunger, poverty, malaria, and disasters around the world. Your financial support is helping teach others how to care for themselves. Our synod is a leader among the 65 synods of the ELCA in support of these appeals. Since 1999 our synodical congregations have given nearly $2 million to the ELCA Hunger Appeal. We rank near the top of all the synods in per member giving during this time period. At the end of 2016 I am stepping down as chair of the Hunger Committee in the NWPA Synod. Thank you for your support and encouragement over the years that I have served as chairperson of this committee. Pastor Matthew Dennison has been elected as the new chairperson of the committee. Please continue to support Pastor Dennison and the committee in this important mission of our synod and the ELCA. In Christ, Pastor Ken Laber Reformation 500 Inaugural Event was October 30, 2016 at Good Hope Lutheran Church in Oil City, PA. If you were unable to attend this event but would like a recording please contact Ellen at the Synod Office no later than Monday Nov 7, 2016.

Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod, ELCA 22598 Titusville Road PO BOX 43 Pleasantville, PA 16341 nwpasynodelca@gmail.com 814.589.7660 Fax: 814.589.7566 Northwestern PA Synod, ELCA Local Happenings A word from Ellen Greetings everyone. It is hard to believe that we are fast approaching the holiday season. The last few months have become a large blur in my memory full of joy, sorrow, and many other emotions to numerous to count. I did however, get to marry the love of my life on September 17, 2016. Despite mother natures best efforts to thwart our ceremony, Pastor Sandra Jones performed a very heart felt ceremony for Jason and I. We are so grateful for Pastor Sandra Jones agreeing to marry us. I am patiently waiting for my photographer to return my photos so I may share some of them with you. I may also have photographic evidence of Bishop Jones dancing!! As many of you remember, from my last newsletter, my father passed away two weeks before my wedding. So that very same weekend we celebrated my wedding, we also celebrated my fathers life. The VFW from Titusville and Tionesta came together to give my dad his Military Honors that he so greatly deserved. We then proceeded to my childhood home and sprinkled part of my dads ashes where he wanted to be, home on the farm. The other half of him will be taken to Arlington National Cemetery located in Virginia later next year. With any luck we will attend his final burial where he will receive his full Military Honors from the United States Army. Just in case my life didn t already have enough emotions in it, my husband and I discovered that we are expecting our first child together. Baby Rutherford will be making his or her appearance April 2017. Thank you all for your support and prayers. Ellen RIP Sergeant First Class Frederick E. Shulin Light Up Night Saturday November 19, 2016 Franklin, PA 11 4 PM..DeBence Antique Music World $5 Tours 1 9 PM.Christmas Tree Extravaganza [thru December 19] @ *BCT and: 3 5:30 PM: Live Caroling & 4 6 PM: Deer Creek Winery Wine Tasting 1 PM.Cookie Walk Franklin Public Library 3 6 PM.Free Cookies Cocoa Cupcake Decorating The Franklin 4 5:30 PM: Santa Claus Barrow Civic Theatre 4 PM.Jones Party Magic 12th Street (weather Permitting) 4 PM Living Nativity/Refreshments 1st Presbyterian Church 6 PM ELECTRIC LIGHTS PARADE Liberty Street Following Parade FIREWORKS EXTRAVAGANZA Fountain Park Christmas Past - Tree Lighting & Concert Oil City, PA Date: December 01, 2016 - December 01, 2016 Start Time: 1:00 am End Time: 1:00 am Town Square & Free Methodist Church Thursday evening enjoy a tree lighting ceremony and caroling in Town Square at 5:30 followed by a concert at 7:00pm at the Free Methodist Church on Wilson Avenue.

GBTQIA Support and IUP Health Service are joint recipients of the 2016 David A. DeCoster Excellence in Assessment Award. Now in its seventh year, the annual award recognizes an outstanding assessment project completed by one or more members of the Student Affairs Division during the prior academic year. Tedd Cogar received the DeCoster Award for the Ally Development Training Project, which used a pretest and post-test exercise that focused on LGBTQIA ally development terms as a way of engaging attendees and measuring student learning that had occurred at training. Fall assessment results were also used to refine spring Ally Training to address a need for increased knowledge in gender and sexual orientation terminology and comprehension. Jeanne Shoulders and Melissa Dick received the DeCoster Award recognition on behalf of IUP Health Service for closing the assessment loop by using the findings from an anonymous survey to establish low-cost HIV testing, counseling, education, intervention, and referral for treatment (if necessary) at IUP Health Service. The annual award was presented during the Division of Student Affairs Assessment Workshop on Friday, October 21. The workshop featured guest speaker Dr. Terry Rhodes, who discussed Student Affairs Best Practices in Data-Driven Decision Making.

SWPA SYNOD YOUTH MINISTRY EVENTS CALENDAR 2016-2017 (updated 10/15/16) October 29 November 13 December 11 Feed My Sheep - Synodical World Hunger Event 9:30am - 3:30pm Berkley Hills Lutheran Church Check out the ECHO flier and bring your youth! SUNDAY NIGHT LIVE 5pm 8pm Zion Lutheran, Penn Hills Celtic Christianity, Iona, and more SUNDAY NIGHT LIVE 5pm-8pm Christ Lutheran, Millvale Come find out about our synod s Stay At Home Mission Work Camp! January 8 February 12 March 12 SUNDAY NIGHT LIVE 5pm 8pm Trinity Lutheran, Freeport All your favorite camp songs SUNDAY NIGHT LIVE 5pm-8pm Nativity Lutheran, Allison Park Bring a plain white t shirt and your prayers. SUNDAY NIGHT LIVE 5pm-8pm Trinity Lutheran, Butler March 19 April 2 LOCAL BIBLE BOWL - The Book of Revelation Registration Information available soon on the synod website and in your ECHO newsletter SUPER BIBLE BOWL - The Book of Revelation April 21-23 YOUTHFEST @ LUTHERL YN Synod Youth Retreat for grades 7-12 Broken: A Faithful Response to Bullying and Suicide Guest Speaker: Michelle Snyder, Director of Pittsburgh Pastoral Institute

June 15-17 YOUTH CONVO @ California University of PA The purpose of Youth Convo is to provide exposure to wider church as a worshiping, serving, and discerning body of Christ, connected to each other by our baptism and shared faith. Youth are housed together and retreat with adult leaders during Synod Assembly. STAY AT HOME MISSION WORK CAMP (SAHMWC) Details TBA MARK YOUR CALENDARS ****2018*** JUNE 27 th - JUL Y 1 st ELCA YOUTH GATHERING in HOUSTON TEXAS! For up to date info, pictures and more! Follow us on Facebook Southwestern PA Synod LYO QUESTIONS? Youth@swpasynod.org

2017 SWPA Synod Youth Bible Bowl Team Registration and Hosting Form or register at www.swpabiblebowl.org Congregation(s): Location Address: Mailing Address: City/Town: State: Zip: Phone: Fax: Email: Name of Pastor: Name of Youth Coordinator/Contact Person: (If other than the pastor) Address: City/Town: State: Zip: Phone: Fax: Email: The host sites have not been determined yet. You will be able to select your host site at a later date. If your church is interested in hosting a Bible Bowl competition, please fill out the section below. You do not have to have experience to host. We will provide training for any host site that requests it. Congregation(s): Name of Pastor: Name of Contact Person: Address: City/Town: State: Zip: Phone: Fax: Email: If you are registering a team, please enclose a check for $15 made payable to Southwestern PA Synod. Please mail this form to: Daniel Heckert 8680 Old Perry Highway Pittsburgh, PA 15237 (h) 412-364-1184 (c) 717-676-1260 (OVER)

2017 SWPA Synod Youth Bible Bowl Greetings Fellow Youth Workers, Volunteers, Pastors, Parents, & Youth: This year, the Local Bible Bowls will be held on Sunday, March 19th. Teams can be made up of youth in grades 6-12, either from one church or a combination of churches. We will study the Book of Revelation, using only the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. The hosting sites of each Local Bible Bowl have not yet been determined. I will send out additional information once those sites are finalized. If your church has never participated in the Bible Bowl, hosting one of the local competitions is a great way to get started and build excitement. The Super Bible Bowl will be held on Sunday April 2. Please use the form on the other side if you want to register your team or offer to be a hosting site. DEADLINE TO REGISTER IS MARCH 3rd. Copies of the registration form and rules can be found at www.swpabiblebowl.org. If you have any other questions feel free to contact me. Do not hesitate to call my cell if you don't reach me at home. God bless your youth and adults as they build excitement for reading and learning the Word of God! Daniel Heckert info@swpabiblebowl.org h: 412-364-1184 c: 717-676-1260 (OVER)

Rural and small-town Veterans, in particular, have limited choices for healthcare. Members of the clergy, and their houses of worship, can serve as important contact points for Veterans in a community. As health/mental health providers, Veteran support organizers, or as Veterans you can make a difference in the lives of Veterans looking for community resources, or who don t realize the resources available in a community. The Veteran s Administration (VA) National Chaplain Center, the VA Office of Rural Health, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Federal Bureau of Chaplains, the West Virginia/Western MD Synod of the ELCA, the Garrett College of Continuing Education, and many others join together to offer a Rural Clergy Training Program (RCTP) training event on November 15-16, 2016, at Garrett College in McHenry, MD. Please click on the following link to learn more details and to register for this important event: November 2016 Veteran Rural Clergy Training Program