News
For The Love Of Creation
| Tell us what God’s Creation means to you! Get messy…have fun! Take a picture of your creation or send us a video! Theme: For The Love Of Creation Categories: 12 and Under OR 13+ Submission Examples: Paintings, Drawings, Sculpture, Poetry, Song, Dance. Story-Telling/Writing Deadline: March 31, 2022 Winning entries will be featured on the Eastern Synod and the Youth and Young Adult website for the month of April. All submissions will be available for congregational use in worship and/or for the celebration of Earth Day. Art Consent form required. CLICK HERE to learn more! |
Ukraine Emergency Appeal CLWR
| Canadian Lutheran World Relief is calling on Canadians to pray for peace in Ukraine, and to give generously in support of the urgent humanitarian needs of all those affected. CLWR joins its partners and millions around the world in calling for an immediate end to violence in Ukraine. Early estimates are that millions of people could be rapidly displaced, leading to a widespread humanitarian crisis. Our partners in Ukraine and in neighbouring countries are closely monitoring the situation and are preparing to respond to immediate humanitarian needs with food, shelter, emergency supplies and trauma support. With your help, we can act quickly to protect families and communities threatened by this violence, keeping borders open and creating safe pathways, and providing refuge for those fleeing the conflict. Please give what you can by donating at clwr.org/ukraine or by calling 1-800-661-2597 (Mon-Fri 8:30am-4:00pm CST) and pray for all those who are affected by this turn of events. May God bless you and keep you safe. |
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| Karin AchtelstetterExecutive Director, Canadian Lutheran World Relief |
Bishop’s Spiritual Retreat for Rostered Leaders
Scholarships
The purpose of these three scholarship funds is to provide financial support to those young Christians wishing to or currently pursuing a post-secondary education. All funds are administered by a Scholarship Committee appointed by the Eastern Synod Council. This financial support is available for the 2022-2023 academic year. Below is a list of scholarship funds that, subject to available funding, are open for qualified candidates to apply.
Register Now for February 19 ELCIC National Climate Action Zoom
On January 27, 2022, folks gathered for “Finding Your Voice: Youth Climate Action”. The Zoom gathering brought Eastern Synod, National ELCIC and International LWF voices together to think about climate care and how we can actually work together 1) intergenerationally and 2) across international geographies to preserve life.
This Saturday February 19, 2022 (12:30 pm to 2:00 pm Eastern time) there is an additional event sponsored by the BC Synod and the ELCIC. The registration deadline makes this writing, and the Zoom recording time-sensitive, and to be shared quickly across congregations. This event will bring together our national bishop Susan Johnson and the three latest ELCIC Climate Crisis response delegates from the ELCIC to the United Nations COPs (COP 20 to COP 26).
Saturday February 19, 2022
12:30 p to 2:00 pm Eastern.
What’s happening? Why all this church energy on climate change?
During the January 27th presentation, participants from around the world responded to questions about their experiences with land and climate change on a live Google Jamboard. This helped attendees realize first, that we all live in environments at risk since we share the same atmosphere and experience climate impacts together. And second, that we can all contribute to change for the better – beginning now. Necessarily – now!
At the event, a presentation was made by Katarina Kuhnert, a young and active climate scientist who was the Canadian delegate for the Lutheran World Federation to the recent COP26 in Glasgow, Fall 2021.
Key features of her presentation included responding to common COP questions: What is a COP? Why do COPs matter? What can we do as God’s People, the Church, for the love of Creation?
Following the presentation, Katarina, Rev. Christie Morrow-Wolfe (Assistant to the Bishop of the Eastern Synod responsible for both Youth and Young Adult Ministries as well as Public Policy and Service), and National Bishop Susan Johnson helped participants reflect on how Sunday schools, confirmation classes and youth groups of the church can get more involved locally, nationally and internationally even now in this time of COVID distance.
However, it is not just young people being called into service for the care of Creation! ALL people of the church everywhere are needed in these conversations and actions. This was well demonstrated by
intergenerational participants working together on the Zoom, jamboard, and chat forum throughout the presentation.
And the possibilities and benefits of partnering globally were well demonstrated through the solidarity and support offered at the January event by Katarina’s international LWF colleague, fellow COP 26 delegate Natan de Oliveira Schumann joining in from Brazil!
From responses, it was clear that Katarina, Natan, and their peers from Singapore and Norway had all learned much and contributed significantly to COP26 while they were in Glasgow. Yet they were not the only ones learning and contributing!
While in Glasgow, they were gathered in daily partnership with 28 other LWF Youth Delegates who participated in the COP online from around the world.
Together these diverse delegates provided invaluable insights, research and action from their home countries.
Together these international young adults built ecumenical bridges and pushed political interventions so that global leaders would commit to higher ambition for environmental targets in support of our collective well being, and specifically more vulnerable nations and people.
Be encouraged to watch the recording of this Zoom event. Please share this article and the recording with people of all ages in your congregation. In addition, sign up now for the February 19th Zoom and learn from Jeff Buhse (Winnipeg, MB), Erika Rodning
(Edmonton, AB) and Kata Kuhnert (Inuvik, NWT) and their peers from around the world.
Our own Canadian LWF Youth and Young Adults have ably challenged and equipped political leaders in Lima, Peru, Paris, France, Madrid, Spain and Glasgow, Scotland on behalf of all the ELCIC, LWF and peoples of the world. They are still challenging and equipping our church.
Being the intergenerational church together gives us the possibility of utilizing our internationality locally. We can all serve in climate care globally, even from our homes.
If you or a young person you know is interested in becoming involved in a Climate Justice movement in the Eastern Synod, please be in touch with Rev. Christie Morrow-Wolfe (cmorrow-wolfe@elcic.ca).
Written by: Karen for the Two Rivers Ministry Area Newsletter, February 2022