Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

Member church of the Lutheran World Federation

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Red Dress Day – Resources & Ideas

Posted: | Filed Under: Circle for Reconciliation and Justice, Spotlight, Uncategorised

May 5 marks Red Dress day in Canada, a day of remembrance for the 1200+ missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and two spirit individuals across the country. Beginning over 12 years ago, the initiative was born out of Métis artist Jaime Black’s REDress art installation wherein hundreds of red dresses were displayed in public spaces to raise awareness for the missing women. 

The colour red was chosen based on the traditional knowledge that it is the only colour spirits can see and it is used as a means of calling the spirits of these lost loved ones home. In line with Black’s vision, every year red dresses and ribbons are hung nationwide in remembrance of these women and to symbolize what has been declared an ongoing genocide. 

#WhyWeWearRed #NoMoreStolenSisters

Red Dress Day – Resource ListDownload
Red Dress Day – Eastern Synod PrayerDownload
Red Dress Day – Prayer CardDownload

Synod-Wide Palm Sunday Worship

Posted: | Filed Under: Uncategorised

This year, the Eastern Synod will be partnering with St. Peter’s, Kitchener to provide a Palm Sunday worship opportunity. This televised service will be available to those who may choose to participate on Sunday morning via the live broadcast, as well as to those who may wish to view the recording at a later date. Please note, that this worship opportunity will be in addition to local services (we are not asking you to cancel your local Palm Sunday services).

Leading the service will be Bishop Susan Johnson, Bishop Michael Pryse, Pastor Mark Ehlebracht, Bishop Sani Ibrahim Azar (Evangelical Lutheran Church In Jordan and the Holy Land), President Conrad Plummer (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Guyana), as well as rostered and lay participants from across our Synod.

In place of palm branches, we invite you to wave textile items which can then be donated to local agencies in your community. Wave socks…receiving blankets…washcloths…bedsheets…towels…or even underwear! We encourage you to make arrangements for donations to a local agency in advance.

You can PVR or tune in to this special, live, national CTV broadcast on Sunday, April 10, at 10AM ET (Bell Fibe: 201/1201  Bell Satellite: 584, 1505; Rogers Cable: 12/109/518;  Shaw Direct: 67/369 *Local listings across the province and country may vary). Subscribers can also access the CTV-SWO live feed online. The service will be posted by April 12 to stpeterskw.ca and easternsynod.org.

Congregational Treasurer T3010 Workshop

Posted: | Filed Under: Uncategorised

MORE SPOTS NOW AVAILABLE FOR BOTH DATES!!!

*REGISTRATION LIMIT NOW SET AT 35 PARTICIPANTS PER SESSION*

Attention congregational treasurers! 

High on the list of tasks most dreaded by congregational treasurers is completing CRA’s annual Registered Charity Information Return (T3010).   Eastern Synod Treasurer, Keith Myra, isn’t promising to make this task any more fun, but he is offering a workshop that’s intended to provide you with some additional guidance when you complete this form on behalf of your congregation.  In addition to providing some tips, this session will include opportunities to ask questions about situations specific to your congregation that may affect how you complete your return.

The same workshop will be offered via Zoom on two separate dates/times.  In order to provide sufficient time for questions and discussion, registrations will be limited to 25 participants for each session.  To register, click on one of the following links and complete the form that is presented to you.  After submitting the form you will receive an email confirming that your registration has been received, followed by a second email with a Zoom link that will enable you to log into the session on the date that you selected. 

Click on this link to register for the session on Wed. April 6th (10-12 noon)   (Eastern Standard Time)

Click on this link to register for the session on Thurs. April 7th (6:30 – 8:30 pm)  (Eastern Standard Time)

To obtain the most value from this workshop, participants should bring:

Regardless of whether you decide to register for one of these workshops or not, keep in mind that CRA requires that your congregation submit its Charity Information Return no later than six months after your fiscal year-end.  Most congregations have a December 31st fiscal year-end, in which case the T3010 form for 2021 must be filed no later than June 30th, 2022.

If you have questions about this workshop, feel free to contact Keith Myra (kmyra@elcic.ca).  Any problems with your registration confirmation or Zoom link should be directed to Cindy Stubbs (cstubbs@elcic.ca). 

A COVID-19 Update (July 6, 2021)

Posted: | Filed Under: COVID, Spotlight, Uncategorised

Dear colleagues,

In some ways, these early days of July have left me feeling the same as I felt last summer. Once again, many of our congregations are in the process of discerning how, when and if they should plan to resume in-person worship; and what exactly such a resumption ought to look like. Undoubtedly, we engage these questions with a healthy dose of both uncertainty and optimism as we watch case numbers across the territory of our Eastern Synod continue to drop.

First and foremost, allow me to express my deepest gratitude to our Rostered Leaders, Lay Leaders, Musicians, Volunteers and congregations for your continued and faithful commitment to the health, safety, and wellbeing of your neighbours. This has been, is, and will continue to be an act of love and service. I am so proud of our church, and the resilience, creativity and faithfulness with which each of you have navigated this long period of pandemic.

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