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It's time to think about Sunday School! You may have just received a letter about Sunday School and a registration form. Please fill out the form and return it to church. If you need an additional form, click Registration Form. |
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Financial assistance is available to qualifying students who are seeking religious education for service in the ministry —an Educational Memorial Fund (EMF) has been created at The Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word. For more information about the scholarship and to obtain an application form, Click Here. Email the completed form as an attachment to Incarnate Word at iwlc@frontiernet.net, or, if necessary, mail it to the Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, 597 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14607-2004. |
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April 2008 Council Highlights This report covers highlights from May and June 2008 Council meetings. Also, refer to the President’s comments in the Annual Meeting report. Council completed a study of the final chapters of Power Surge. Council members Bill Weber in May and Dana McIver in June led reflections on the next steps in moving forward with action, trusting that some risk taking is needed to yield the results desired. The “light we provide in the darkness” and the love we show toward our neighbors will produce the forward momentum needed in our mission and vision. In our May meeting, guests Dave Preisinger and Dan Juers led discussion of ways to fashion a closer relationship of support and collaboration as the Nile Lutheran Mission and our ministry evolve. Bill Weber outlined the Facilities Vision Team plan to relate any physical changes in the facility to the developing needs of the church. Those needs will include those ideas being formulated by the Outreach Task Force who plan to have a report by October 2008. In our June meeting Tim Hutton reviewed the budget proposal and responses from the June 15 Budget Forum. This opportunity to preview the budget was perceived as valuable for the congregation and the staff. Minutes and reports from
Council meeting, Core Group meetings, Staff (including Pastors, Director of
Music, and Facilities Manager), and Community Arts Academy are placed in the
notebook below the bulletin board at the entrance near the nursery. Council members 2008—2009 Jonathan Trost, President; Dana McIver, Vice-President; Tim Hutton, Treasurer; Joanne Lembach, Kelley Madden; Elva Mikk, Secretary; Paula Grassl; Elva Mikk, Gary Rapp; Gretchen Rehberg; Kathy Smith; Jonathan Trost, and Bill Weber. |
Amidst ballots that didn’t count, pastor’s that rose from the dead, and election of a bishop, the 2008 Assembly of the Upstate New York Synod “Answering God’s Call” was spiritually-motivating.
Voting members gathered on Sunday evening around water and the Word for the opening of the 2008 Synod Assembly, with the theme of “Answering God’s Call.” As Bishop Marie Jerge led the assembly in the Thanksgiving for Baptism, the waters of the baptismal font bubbled and gurgled, and during the litany, worship assistants unfurled streamers of fabric from the font out into the people.
During Sunday’s worship, the Rev. Dr. Philip Krey, president of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP), was the first guest to speak, asking, “Why do Lutherans get excited about vocation? Because our baptisms mean something!” He also stressed the Lutheran understanding of vocation is that vocations of all sorts can be used for God’s service. As worship flowed into the first business session, Beth Lewis, president and CEO of Augsburg Fortress, spoke about identifying your congregation’s gifts and vision as a way for individuals to live out their baptism. In addition, there was a short video describing ELCA’s Book of Failth initiative, and Bishop Jerge invited each congregation to take part this initiative to deepen our understanding of the Bible. Assembly members who signed up received the book of faith study guide which is available from www. augsburgfortress. org/bookoffaith. Augsburg Fortress will be coming out with an introductory book of faith course this August, and Lutheran Study Bibles and Adult Bible study curricula tied to the book of faith initiative will be available in March 2009. In this Lutheran insights for Bible study, four methods to study the Bible are employed: 1) devotional reading; 2) historical reading; 3) literary reading; 4) Lutheran theological reading. Together, these methodologies are combined in one overall, inclusive approach to biblical study.
Monday and Tuesday morning proceedings began with devotions, workshops and
Bible study around the same theme of answering God’s call, and at various times,
the assembly heard about the personal importance of “Dwelling in the Word.” The
most prominent item on this assembly’s agenda was the election of a bishop.
Before every election, the assembly prayed and sang together. On a second ballot
held Monday morning, Bishop Jerge was re-elected with a total of
308 votes. 120 votes were cast for the Rev. Raymond N. Fitch, pastor of First,
Blasdell, while four votes went to the Rev. Kathryn Love, who had asked that her
name be withdrawn from the election. Two-thirds of the votes cast were required
for election on the second ballot. This happened after Sunday night’s first
ballot was declared invalid when there were more votes cast than certified
voting members.
On Monday night, an altar stood where business had been previously conducted, draped with swirls of blue and gray fabric matching the baptismal font. Bishop Jerge presided over the Eucharist while Bishop Violet L. Fisher of the United Methodist Church preached on God’s calling in our lives, using the refrain “Hush! Somebody’s Callin’ My Name,” from the African American spiritual with choral pieces and a brass quintet directed by Incarnate Word’s Jamie Bobb.
The assembly also welcomed several honored guests to this year’s gathering, including: the Rev. Rafael Malpica Padilla, who is the Executive Director of the Global Mission Unit for the ELCA. the Revs. Dr. Philip Krey, Glenn Miller, James Jerge, and Louise Johnson of the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia (LTSP); Ms. Beth Lewis, President and CEO of Augsburg Fortress; and Bishop Violet L. Fisher of the New York West Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.
The assembly celebrated the following:
Official actions of the assembly included:
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