January 25, 2008
Ever feel lost on our website? Fear not! We’ve got a comprehensive at-a-glance listing of all of the pages on our website! Check it out here: http://www.nwos-elca.org/sitemap.htm
January 6, 2008
Found this courtesy of our friends in the SEPA synod blog:
Aging is an issue that many traditional Christian churches cannot ignore.
And the issue is twofold:
» There are more gray-haired people in the pews and congregations are dwindling.
» Clergy are aging, too
A 2001 report for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America set the median age of its members at 54 and the median age of the U.S. population at 41.
Read it all here: http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071216/LIFE/712160663/1079/life
January 6, 2008
Happy New Year to you all! I know we’re running a little behind here, so I’m going to include Merry Christmas as well 
The NWOS Blog will soon be updated with more content and postings will begin again. Until then, why not drop us a line and tell us what you want to see here? E-mail ewmaki (at) mac.com.
December 5, 2007
The Evangelism Team of Northwestern Ohio received grant monies from the ELCA to increase our effectiveness in the area of evangelism. The Northwestern Ohio Synod Evangelism Team is hosting a Coaching Training for interested evangelism leaders in our Congregations. The training will be held on February 29 - March 1, 2008. We are committed to expanding our effectiveness as a synod in the area of Outreach and Evangelism by offering this training to Evangelism Team Leaders within congregations who are willing to share their resources and time with their own congregation as well as other congregations in their immediate area.
Reggie McNeal, who received RAVE reviews from our December 2006 event, will return to engage us in this training experience. Reggie is employed through Leadership Network and trains leaders all over the country to passionately engage people of faith within their communities. He will train us to effectively urge congregations into their mission fields. We are asking participants to commit to the training and to following up in your area with congregations that are nearby. You will be paired with other Evangelists in your area to expand the reach of the NW Ohio Synod Team and broaden the focus on Evangelism and Outreach throughout the synod.
Please pass this information along to lay leadership in your congregation that would be both interested and willing to give of your time to make a difference in the way we share Christ’s message in our lives. (If you are interested in “auditing” this event for the information - please let us know that by indicating AUDIT with your information. You may respond either by email to Sherri Wagner in the synod office sherri.wagner@nwos-elca.org or by calling the NW Ohio Synod office at 419 423 3664 or 1 866 967 3522.
Please supply us with your name, address, telephone numbers and the congregation’s name in which you serve.
We hope you will join us for this exciting opportunity!
NW Ohio Synod Evangelism Team
November 26, 2007
Materials for the synod-wide Companion Synod Sunday, set to be held on Epiphany, Jan. 6, 2008, are now available online by clicking here.
Below is a synopsis of what’s happening:
Epiphany
The light of Christ shining into the World
On this day of Epiphany, we are asking every congregation in the Northwest Ohio Synod to light a candle and to pray for our brothers and sisters in Dodoma Diocese of Tanzania and the Slovak Lutheran Church in Serbia.Each congregation is encouraged to receive an offering for the ministry and support for the Tanzania Missions.
The Global Missions Board &
Companionship Church Relationships
“A companion church relationship exists for the purpose of strengthening one another for life and mission within the body of Christ. It offers us the privilege of participating in the life of another church through prayer, study, communication and exchanges of persons and resources. It opens our eyes to the global challenge that Christ offers us today and calls us to deepen our commitment and discipleship as individual persons and as a community of faith.”In May 1995, Bishop James Rave signed the initial covenant with the Dodoma Diocese of Tanzania to enter a relationship, promising to:
- Pray regularly for one another,
- Encourage specific congregations to become involved as Companion Church Congregations with a particular district in the Dodoma Diocese,
- Enter into a planned process of visitation, learning from one another and strengthening one another in faith and witness.
In October 2005 Bishop Marcus Lohrmann signed a covenant to begin our companionship with the Slovak Lutheran Church in Serbia.
GENERAL INFORMATION:
-Speakers Bureau - Speakers are available for Temple talks or small group meetings.
For Tanzania please contact
Stu Smith: 419-294-2224For Serbia please contact:
Jim Martin: 419-782-7197-Stories about Dodoma, Tanzania and Serbia for Sermon illustrations and newsletters - Click here
Thank you for your support for the 2008 Epiphany Companionship Sunday emphasis with our Brothers and sisters in Tanzania and Serbia.
For more information, please contact:
Kris Johnson, Global Mission Chair
419-836-7637or
Burt Sigley, 2008 Companionship Sunday Coordinator
419-878-8504
Again, the Companionship Sunday information can be found at http://www.nwos-elca.org/nwos-wo/GlobalMission/Epiphany/epiphany.htm
November 21, 2007
How do we effectively market the church in an increasingly visual society? Check out ChurchMarketingSucks.com for ideas and inspiration.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
November 21, 2007
Christmas 2007
“Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way…”
Matthew 1:18
Many generations after God promised a Messiah, a young girl named Mary conceived a child by the Holy Spirit. Joseph, the young man to whom she was betrothed, was told by an angel that the child she would bear was God’s Son, Jesus.
God’s power and blessing worked through common lives to bring forth Jesus the Messiah. Joseph and Mary, ordinary young adults nurtured by the generations before them, were open to God’s extraordinary activity in their lives. They were common people whose willing hearts and courage powerfully proclaimed the Good News of the one who would save his people from their sins.
Countless generations later, you and I are called to proclaim the Good News of Emmanuel, “God with us.” Our neighborhoods, our communities, and our world are filled with those who long to know Jesus’ love and saving presence in their lives. God uses us in all our ordinariness and sinfulness to bring forth the promise and light of Christ’s love and salvation.
This Christmas, may the Holy Spirit give you faith, courage, and a willing heart as you take part in God’s ongoing miracle. May you know the joy and awe that comes from bearing Christ’s creative and redeeming love to the world.
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson
ELCA Presiding Bishop
November 21, 2007
CHICAGO (ELCA) — Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), through its International Disaster Response, provided $173,500 to support recovery efforts in Indonesia, Nicaragua and Zimbabwe.
(more…)
November 21, 2007
CHICAGO (ELCA) — The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) elected four churchwide leaders, heard a report from the ELCA presiding bishop, acted on proposals regarding social policy on sponsorship of legal gaming by American Indian tribes, a proposed “Lutheran Malaria Initiative,” and received an implementation plan for a churchwide mission funding effort.
The Church Council is the ELCA’s board of directors and serves as the legislative authority of the church between churchwide assemblies. The council met here Nov. 9-11.
November 21, 2007
CHICAGO (ELCA) — The Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), met in person with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter in Atlanta Nov. 12 to discuss the situation in the Middle East between Israelis and Palestinians. Younan was also invited by Carter that evening to speak about peace and justice to an audience of about 250 people who had been invited to the Carter Center to view the new film about Carter’s life, “Jimmy Carter Man from Plains.”
Younan, who returned to Jerusalem Nov. 13, had been in the United States for several days with a group of Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious leaders from Israel and the Palestinian territories. They came to the United States as the Council of Religious Institutions in the Holy Land, and met with several members of Congress and religious leaders in Washington, D.C. Younan continued on to Atlanta, where he preached and spoke to area Lutherans before meeting with Carter.
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