Spotlight

The View From Here: Songs and stories of Black resilience, triumph and innovation. 

Description 

Multidisciplinary artist Andrew Craig presents a program of music and stories chronicling the past, present and future of the Black experience in Canada. Followed by Q&A. For artist details, visit www.culchahworks.ca 

Presented by:  

• Martin Luther University College 
• The Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada 
• St. John’s-Kilmarnock School 
• Culchahworks Arts Collective 

Time/Day 

7 pm. Friday, Feb. 26 

Free, but registration required 

Zoom registration link:  

bit.ly/LutherAHM 

or 

https://wilfrid-laurier.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_aJBIYD30RLCW4vdC63YeUw

On Ash Wednesday, Bishop Michael and his Assistants invite you to gather for a Synod-Wide Live-Streamed Worship Service at 6:30pm EST (7:30pm AST).

Those gathered for this unique Synod-Wide worship opportunity will be invited to impose their own ashes (if ashes have been provided by their local congregation), or make a sign of the cross using water or simply their finger.

All worship materials (including a copy of Bishop Michael’s sermon), live-stream links, and other resources will be available on this page one week in advance. Resources may be reproduced and shared with those who do not have access or ability to participate in mediated worship.

Bishop Michael and Pastors Christie, Doug and Adam look forward to gathering with you as we begin the season of Lent.  

LIVESTREAM LINK

Ash Wednesday Worship will be livestreamed on Facebook.

PRINT MATERIALS

We are pleased to share a very special project with you today, that we hope will be useful to you as we enter into these final days of Advent and prepare for the season of Christmas.

All The Colors of Christmas is a book that my assistants and I have enjoyed reading and sharing with those we love over these past few weeks. At a time when so very much is unfamiliar to us, this book reminds us of the unchanging promise that comes to us anew each Christmas.

We have so enjoyed this book, that we reached out to the publisher who has granted us permission to record a reading of this story and reproduce it’s artwork for use in mediated worship across the Eastern Synod and ELCIC.

This video is now available on our YouTube Channel, across our Social Media platforms, and will be available to download through the BOX Resource Library for Worship Leaders.

Please feel free to use this video in your mediated worship services, share with your congregations, use it as a bedtime story with your loved ones. Perhaps it might even be used in place of a sermon on the First Sunday of Christmas!

Blessings to you, dear friends. Please know that I, and my assistants, continue to hold you in prayer. May God bless you and keep you as you prepare to experience the good news with joy and gladness!

Bishop Michael

Over the past number of weeks, the Task Force for the Resumption of In-Person Worship has been working with leaders across the Eastern Synod to develop a new series of worship resources to support congregations during the seasons of Advent & Christmas. 

Today, we are pleased to share this robust collection with you!

Worship Resources for the Seasons of Advent and Christmas features a number of new original worship texts crafted by Rostered and Lay Leaders across the Eastern Synod.  In addition to these liturgical texts, we are also pleased to share a number of musical resources for use during in-person or mediated worship: + Trevor Hicks has composed and recorded a new musical resource entitled, Lead Us Towards Christ, to enhance Advent Candle liturgies. + Rev. Mark Ehlebracht will be sharing musical recordings from St. Peter’s TV Ministry as they become available. St. Peter’s will also be sharing a complete service for use on the first Sunday of Christmas (Dec 27, 2020). + Tim McNabb, Director of Music at Resurrection, Halifax will be sharing a number of creative re-imaginings of beloved Advent hymns from Evangelical Lutheran Worship. In addition to the PDF document attached above, all liturgical and musical resources are available for download through our BOX Resource Library. If you are not currently connected with this growing resource library, please contact Liz Zehr (ezehr@elcic.ca) or Cindy Stubbs (cstubbs@elcic.ca) to obtain access.  Lastly, I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to all those who participated in this project. Thank you for your gift of time and creativity!  Peace to you, as you plan and prepare! Rev. Adam Snook Assistant to the Bishop

Grace and peace to you!

As October draws to a close, I am pleased to share the second video in the Our Ministry Together project.

Our Ministry Together is a series of twelve short videos intended to highlight and celebrate areas of our common mission across the Eastern Synod.

Each month we will spend time hearing from, seeing, and learning about our synodical ministries, many of which are funded through congregational benevolence.

In today’s video, we spend time with Rev. Doug Reble, Assistant to the Bishop and Candidate for Ministry, Bethan Riehle-Johns. Together, they explore the work of the Candidacy Committee, and our close relationship with Martin Luther University College.

We encourage you to share these videos on social media, in virtual worship services, and during in-person gatherings. All videos will be featured on our YouTube channel, and alternatively can be downloaded by accessing a shared BOX folder. 

For more information about the Our Ministry Together project, or to submit photos that highlight our Eastern Synod ministries for upcoming videos, please contact Rev. Adam Snook (asnook@elcic.ca).

Thank you for your gifts of prayer and financial support!This is, indeed, Our Ministry Together!

Rev. Adam Snook
Assistant to the Bishop

Bishop’s Company for Mission – October, 2020. Please sign up for one of the sessions below. A Zoom link will be sent to you along with instructions as to how to join online. See you in October!

Image of Luther Hammering His 95 Theses is credited to: Ferdinand Pauwels / Public domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ferdinand_Pauwels_-_Luther_hammers_his_95_theses_to_the_door.jpg

Music: “Dreams” from www.bensound.com