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Upstate New York Synod Ministerium

Upstate New York Synod Ministerium
2010 Annual Retreat
The Rev. Craig A. Satterlee, Ph.D.
September 20-22,2010
Notre Dame Retreat House, Canandaigua, NY

CLICK HERE for the Brochure.

CLICK HERE to register.

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We are a resurrection people

The Upstate New York Synod of the ELCA is a Resurrection People.  We are more than 70,000  people connected to Jesus through Holy Baptism, gathered around Word and Sacrament in more than 185 congregations, served by more than 260 rostered leaders who in the face of fear, decline and despair live and proclaim good news of a God of hope, abundance, and new life.  We trust that Jesus’ Resurrection Spirit is at work transforming us, our church and our world.

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We pray first

We encourage and promote activities which nurture the faith of disciples and grow servant leaders – worship, Bible Study, prayer groups.  We are a Book of Faith Synod.  We encourage Christian education for adults and youth through two Outdoor Ministries, the Synod’s Deacon Program, the Lutheran Youth Organization (LYO), Youth Convo and Young Adult Lutheran Link (YALL), Region 7 First Call Theological Education, the Eastern Cluster’s Project Connect, 185 campus ministries and the 28 ELCA colleges and universities.

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We walk together

We build a network of connections which strengthen a sense of partnership in mission – in clusters, conferences, across the synod and with the wider church.  We gather leaders, provide training focused on transformation and mission, and work with ecumenical and interfaith partners and the New York State Council of Churches. We share with and learn from our companion synods in Central Southern Illinois, Zimbabwe and Zambia.  The Bishop’s Office, Synod Council, Conference Deans, Conflict and Healing and Mission in Transition Teams assist congregations through times of transition and conflict.  Mission interpreters help to tell the story of the difference we make in the world.

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We change lives

The Holy Spirit changes us and uses us as channels of God’s life-giving power.  Organic Faith in Amherst, Todos los Hijos de Dios in Amsterdam, and Nile Lutheran Mission in Rochester are avenues of outreach to new and immigrant communities. We ordain, consecrate and commission church leaders. We fight against hunger and poverty through the World Hunger Appeal and ELCA advocacy offices.  Lutheran Disaster Response coordinates the work of thousands of volunteers and 300 social ministry organizations (the largest network in the US) serve 1 in every 50 Americans.

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We are a Book of Faith Synod

The purpose of the Book of Faith Initiative is to increase biblical literacy and fluency for the sake of the world.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has made a commitment to encourage all members of our congregations, from children to adults, to dig deeper into our book of faith, the Bible.  The Book of Faith Initiative recommends a new model for our church—a grass-roots approach embracing a common vision in which all are invited to open scripture and join the conversation.  Each community is encouraged to decide how the Book of Faith Initiative will become a vital part of its own ministry.

Living Our Mission

We are resurrection people who pray first, walk together and change lives. This mission is accomplished through God's grace alive and active in the lives of individuals and congregations throughout the synod. Living Our Mission provides a place to share the stories of how God's work is being done in the world with our hands.



"I Must Preach" - Rev. Amy Walter-Peterson Returns From Egypt PDF Print E-mail

No one ever comes out and asks me, but I suspect that there are many people who wonder why my annual trips to Egypt have become such an important part of my life and ministry over the last four years. It's a fair question and there's no short or easy answer.

Instead let me share with you one story from my most recent trip to Egypt where I taught English for a month in addition to leading worship for three weeks at St. Andrew's United Church of Cairo while their pastor was on home leave. St. Andrew's Immigrant Ministry and Church is supported by the ELCA and is served by Pr. Peter Johnson (formerly at St. Martin's, Webster). This and all stories from my time in Egypt can be read on my blog: http://amy-in-egypt.blogspot.com/.

Wael is a student who is new to seminary this year and new to English as well. He is in my Level 1 class. Wael's English is difficult to understand - he struggles with basic grammar, his vocabulary is quite limited, and yet he wants so much to learn and to communicate. Sometimes when I am explaining something in class I'm certain that he has no idea what I'm saying. And yet at other times he surprises me with what comes out of his mouth.

At the end of study hall one day Wael surprised me. For the last week the more advanced students had been offering homilies in English in the daily mass. This is one of the things that I work with them on each year. In very broken English Wael said to me, "Pastor Amy I want . . . no I NEED to preach in mass. Next week I preach?"

"Wael if you work on your English very hard in the year ahead maybe next year you will be ready to prepare a homily."

"No. I must do."

"Wael preaching is very, very difficult. You must know grammar and you must know vocabulary and you must know correct pronunciation and you must be able to put your ideas from Arabic into English that is clear. This is very very hard."

"No. When Jesus go up, he send Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit send apostles to all nations and use all languages. I will preach. The Holy Spirit here."

The conversation continued for some time. The truth is that Wael is not ready to prepare a homily in English just yet. He has a lot to learn. Through their hard work, his brothers have made it look easy and Wael and other students want to try as well. What Wael doesn't know is that he preached a sermon for me today.

"I must preach. When Jesus go up, he send Holy Spirit. . . . I will preach. The Holy Spirit here."

This is good news indeed spoken to me by a young man who doesn't know the proper usage of the verb "to be" but who trusts with all his heart that the Holy Spirit has been sent to him to preach the good news of Jesus to his brothers and sisters in Christ. He has every confidence the Holy Spirit will use his broken English or whatever he has to offer. Oh to have such confidence, such determination, and such faith!

This is just one story about the daily encounters that keep calling me back to Egypt. There are others as well.  I return to Egypt because of the relationships I have formed and because I feel called to be there. Somehow my presence matters and God is using my presence to change my life, and to change the lives of those I encounter.

I'm grateful to Bishop Jerge and many others throughout the church who support the ministry I do in Egypt. If you'd like to hear more about Amy-In-Egypt, please contact me. I'm happy to give presentations and share my experiences and pictures as I'm able.

Amy Walter-Peterson serves as Assistant to the Bishop and Director for Evangelical Mission in the Upstate New York Synod. She's back from her fourth summer of teaching English at St. Leo the Great Coptic Catholic Seminary in Cairo, Egypt. See also Called to Mission.

 
Blog Post for Discussion PDF Print E-mail

This week’s Alban Institute e-news features an article on Evangelism and the Under-Thirty Crowd by Sheryl A. Kujawa-Holbrook. She writes:

“A November 2009 issue of The Week featured a story, "Losing our Religion," that focused on the rapidly growing numbers of the religiously unaffiliated in the United States, the so called Nones, and asked if organized religion is fading. Younger than the general population, many Nones believe in God yet are skeptical about organized religion. The article quotes recent statistics suggesting that if this trend continues, cohorts of nonreligious young people will replace older religious people and account for one-quarter of the American population. Another recent article in USA Today concluded that young adults born in the 1980s and 1990s, approximately 72 million people, want to make an impact and are socially-conscious yet do not relate to traditional institutional structures. A decreasing number of these young adults view churches as places to make a difference or to develop their leadership skills.

“The fact that nearly every major denomination is aging and losing members has been a concern for the last thirty years, yet institutional efforts to reverse these trends and to capture the religious imagination of young adults have been limited. Mainline denominations, historically and culturally self-conscious about evangelism, are further challenged to proclaim the good news in today's religiously pluralistic nation and world. What then is the role of evangelism with young adults today? What are some of the ways that the Christian church can better respond to the spiritual questions of young adults in a religiously pluralistic age? How might congregations better respond to the gifts and skills young adults have to offer?”

How you would respond to the author’s questions?

  • What is the role of evangelism with young adults today?
  • What are some of the ways that your church is responding to the spiritual questions of young adults in a religiously pluralistic age?
  • How might your congregation better respond to the gifts and skills young adults have to offer?
  • In addition, what is your congregation doing to intentionally engage those under the age of thirty in meaningful ministry?

To read the entire article or to subscribe to the Alban Weekly visit The Alban Institute website.

Amy Walter-Peterson
Director for Evangelical Mission/Assistant to the Bishop
Upstate New York Synod - ELCA

You're invited to comment on our new Facebook page discussion on this topic here.

If you would like to reply privately you may email Rev. Amy Walter-Peterson at awp@upstatenysynod.org.

 
Wellness on Wednesdays offers seniors healthy activity, socialization PDF Print E-mail

Chris Swingle • Staff writer • Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester • June 27, 2010

About 30 seniors did gentle exercises to music on a recent Wednesday morning at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church, laughing at instructor Bonnie Slack's jokes.

After holding onto a chair and balancing on one foot, then the other foot, Slack suggested: "OK, now, both feet up."

The church's new Wellness on Wednesdays effort, which is open to any senior in the community, starts with blood pressure readings at 10 a.m., followed by the low-impact exercise session (which can be done seated or standing), a presentation by a guest speaker and a light lunch.

Rides within Webster are even available from a church volunteer if you call the church by noon the day before.

The goal is socialization. "We were looking for people to have a place to come and meet friends," says Marguerite Manning, who facilitates the program.

Wellness on Wednesdays began April 21, coincidentally after the town's Senior Center at 985 Ebner Drive closed for heating problems that were beyond repair and the town programs relocated temporarily to the Damascus Center, 979 Bay Road, and other locations. The church program had been in the planning stage for months before.

Barb Bills, a Baptist who this month attended Wellness on Wednesdays for the first time, says she liked it and enjoyed seeing people she hadn't bumped into in a while. "I congratulate the church for starting it," says Bills, of Webster. She joked that she might recruit people to attend her own church.

Marge Cario of Ontario, Wayne County, has attended multiple times and believes the exercise is helpful for her health.

Dick Campbell of Webster, one of the few men in the room, joked: "I'm here for all the women."

On a more serious note, he says that the program's speakers have been very good. Recent topics included digital cameras, Lifespan services and a musical performance.

Also, says Campbell, "the fellowship is the big thing."

Marian Kachmaryk of Webster agrees. "It's a good social activity," she says. "It's a different mix of people every week."

---

If you go

Wellness on Wednesdays runs from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesdays at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church, 131 W. Main St., (585) 872-5180.

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Special thanks to the Democrat and Chronicle for allowing us to reprint this article.

 
A Letter From Rev. Paul Rees-Rohrbacher, Delegate to the Lutheran World Federation Assembly PDF Print E-mail

Dear Bishops Mark and Marie,

It is so good to write to you both since I pray regularly for you personally and at worship. I am grateful for your dedicated service in a challenging time for our church and our relations with others. I realize the LWF Assembly approaches rapidly. Darhon and I arrive in Frankfurt a week from today. Marie and others from our synod leave for Zimbabwe and Zambia in a few short weeks.

I will be preaching in Talheim, Mössingen, Germany Sunday, July 25. I have been writing Pastor Matthias Wagner. I sent him a copy of my sermon (in English) so he could better prepare a German translation. I realized late last night that I wanted to share an excerpt from that sermon with you since it tells a bit of my family connection to LWF that had lain dormant in my memory. I guess I had not realized how my family history might have influenced my global connection and passion for our sisters and brothers in other Lutheran churches. The spiritual connection has always just seemed right. As you pray for the LWF assembly I also ask your prayers for me as I will be the Recorder for the English speaking Village Group 2 and its challenging topics. I continue to pray for you in your ministries. The sermon excerpt follows:

Some youth here today are taking a step toward their confirmation. They receive a copy of the Holy Bible. You have heard stories from your families. You will hear more stories of faith from your pastor, from your family and the family of God as you prepare for your confirmation. Stories of faith are important. That is part of caring for one another.

This links to part of my heritage. For many years my father's mother, my Oma, served as the church secretary in Toledo, Ohio for the Rev. Dr. S. C. Michelfelder. In 1945 and 1946 he headed the ecumenical office of postwar construction in Geneva. He helped establish the LWF and became its first general secretary. I heard from my family of his passion of Lutherans caring for each other.

At the end of the war people came to him saying, "Let the government feed the starving people of Europe and let the Church get the Gospel going again."

He replied, "You don't walk up to a starving man and offer him a Bible to eat - or you don't go out to a river where a man is drowning, with only one hand showing, and stick a Bible in his hand and go away and let somebody else pull him out. Christ himself fed the 5,000 and then he taught them."

In Christ's service,
Paul Rees-Rohrbacher

To follow the LWF Assembly please visit the website.

 
You Can Be a Part of Ending Childhood Hunger in The United States! PDF Print E-mail

Advocacy and Action Makes a Difference!

In February, President Barack Obama proposed that an additional $10 billion over 10 years be invested in child nutrition programs via the federal Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004, which is expected to come before Congress for reauthorization later this year. The bill supports all federal school meal and child nutrition efforts, such as the national school lunch and breakfast programs and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, more commonly known as WIC. Obama's proposal, many advocates say, is one piece of a perfect storm brewing in children's favor. NOW is the time to make the contact with your senator and representative. Encourage them to insist on finding the monies to fund the full ten billion in the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act. Ask them to make sure it is re-authorized this year, by Sept 30th. The major source of controversy will not be around the support of this, but in how this will be funded. The Secretary of Agriculture is willing to off set some of this amount from his own budget and is advocating for other departments to lend a hand in this very important matter.

For more information on advocacy for the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act go to:  http://www.elca.org/Our-Faith-In-Action/Justice/Advocacy/Issues/US-Hunger-Poverty-and-Economic-Justice/US-Hunger-and-Poverty/Child-Nutrition-Reauthorization.aspx
http://www.bread.org/press/coverage/opinion/Renew-improve-Child-Nutrition-Act.html
http://www.frac.org/pdf/frac101_child_wic_actprimer.pdf.

When I got this notice from brother and sister bishops, I called my senators and congressional representative. I hope you will too!

Summer Food Programs

Some of our Upstate New York congregations are already serving as summer feeding sites for the Summer Food Service Program. You can find out more about this from http://www.summerfood.usda.gov/ or call 1.866.348.6479. During the school year 17.9 million children participate in the school lunch program. During the summer, 2.2 million participate, but the need for these children hasn't changed. While it may be too late for your congregation to participate this summer, how about looking into it for summer 2011? Or if you're already involved, send us a story and a photo about your serving!

Rev. Marie C. Jerge
Bishop

 
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ELCA Prayer Ventures

Prayer Ventures is a guide to daily prayer for the ministries of the church. It is produced by ELCA Communication Services on behalf of the whole church.
  • July 29
    Pray for Pastor Rob James and GPS (God’s People Serving), Machesney Park, IL, which organized in May, that God will continue to nurture growth in faithfulness, numbers, stewardship, and service. GPS, already averaging 230 people in worship, notes that it started to grow when it began serving its neighborhood.

Daily Bible Verse

Daily Bible Verses from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
  • Thu, 29 Jul 2010 06:00:00 GMT
    "How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings." -- Jesus (Luke 13:34)

ELCA News Releases

Official news releases of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Daily Bible Reading

Daily Bible Readings from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
  • Thursday, July 29, 2010 [Romans 11:33-36 (NRSV)]
    God's riches, wisdom, and knowledge

    O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
    "For who has known the mind of the Lord?
    Or who has been his counselor?"
    "Or who has given a gift to him,
    to receive a gift in return?"

    For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.


New Resources from Augsburg Fortress

Keep up-to-date on the latest resources for your ministry from Augsburg Fortress
  • Art Studio Slabbinck Paraments
    Art Studio Slabbinck Paraments for Augsburg Fortress employ the best in European design. The artisans are masters of their craft, with expertise in design and art. They are biblically aware,...
  • Splash! Packs for Birth to Three Faith Formation
    Congregations can purchase Splash! Packs for all their birth to three members. Each month, the congregation mails an issue of Parent Pages to families with children between birth and 36...
  • The Lutheran Handbook
    The essential field guide for all things Lutheran. Confirmands - or anyone hiking the trails of life's adventures and challenges - will want to pack this handy illustrated field guide...

Sundays and Festivals (Lectionary)

Texts and liturigcal colors for upcoming dates from the Revised Common Lectionary
  • Sunday, August 1, 2010
    Lectionary 18 / Tenth Sunday after Pentecost (Year C)
    Sunday, August 1

    First Reading: Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23
    Search out wisdom, for all is vanity
    First Reading (Semi-continuous): Hosea 11:1-11
    Like a mother, God will love Israel forever
    Psalm: Psalm 49:1-11 (Psalm 49:1-12 NRSV)
    We can never ransom ourselves or deliver to God the price of our life. (Ps. 49:6)
    Psalm (Semi-continuous): Psalm 107:1-9, 43
    Give thanks to the LORD, all those whom the LORD has redeemed. (Ps. 107:1-2)
    Second Reading: Colossians 3:1-11
    Clothed in Christ, your life is hidden with him in God
    Gospel: Luke 12:13-21
    Jesus says: Be on guard against greed; be rich toward God, your treasure
    Liturgical Color: Green

Festivals and Commemorations

Lesser festivals and commemorations of the Church
  • Thursday, July 29, 2010
    Mary, Martha, and Lazarus of Bethany
    Thursday, July 29

    Friends of Jesus, Mary and Martha are remembered for the hospitality of their home that they offered him—Martha focused on serving their guest, and Mary on listening to him. Their brother Lazarus was raised from the dead as a sign of the greater resurrection to come.
  • Thursday, July 29, 2010
    Olaf, King of Norway, martyr, died 1030
    Thursday, July 29

    Considered the patron saint of Norway, Olaf went from a life of piracy to becoming Christian and declaring himself king of Norway. He revised the laws and tried to administer them fairly. Driven from Norway in a rebellion, he was killed in battle trying to regain his kingdom.