Headline
News
(4
March 2021)
Synod Website Updates
We've moved the list of updates to the WV-WMD.org to a
page of its own. Click here
(or on the pic at right) to find out what has been
recently updated.
Third Round of PPP Loans
Applications are now being taken for a third round of
Payroll Protection Program loans. There is a narrow window
for application. Visit our COVID-19 page for
more information.
Big Freeze in Texas (and Adjacent States)
Unusual winter weather slammed the American south in
February. A first hand account and information on how to
help can be found on the new Social
Ministry page.
Social Ministry Page Launched
Hunger programs, housing & shelter ministries,
disaster response, orphanages and foster care, nursing
homes and hospitals, and immigrant and refugee services
are all social ministries engaged in by church's,
agencies, and individuals. The boundaries can be
expansive, including advocacy and community organizing, or
they can narrow, referring only to Social Ministry
Organizations (e.g., Community Lutheran Partners,
Inc.). At present, "social ministry" will be broadly
defined for our purposes. Check
it out.
Community Lutheran Partners, Inc., Has New Website
Community Lutheran Partners, Inc., has set up a new
website at https://clpwvwmd.org/.
Check it out.
Clergy in Motion
February saw three pastors leave the synod to take new
calls. If you would like to see who's coming and going among
the synod clergy, click
here.
Updating
Your Congregation Constitution
Do you need to update your congregational constitution? A
Saturday morning session, 6 March 21, will be offered for
lay leaders attempting to navigate what can be a
time-consuming and complicated process. For more
information, visit
our Education for Clergy & Laity page.
Bishop's Roadshow: Time to Resubscribe
We are rebuilding the mailing list for the Bishop's Roadshow
from scratch. Even if you were subscribed, you will have to
subscribe again. More information and subscription links here.
Lenten Book Study: True Christianity
Bishop Riegel will be leading an on-line Lenten book
study of Johann Arndt's True Christianity. Click here for details.
Qui Jesum vidit, qui mundum et
daemona vicit,
Arndius in scriptis vivit ovatque suis.
Arndt, who saw Jesus, and conquered the world and the
devil,
lives and triumphs in his writings.
---Tombstone inscription
Webinar with WV COVID-19 Task Force
West Virginia Council of Churches hosted a webinar with
the WV COVID-19 Task Force on Feb. 16. The recording is
accessible on our Synod
COVID-19 page.
Synod Council Synopsis
Synod Council met Saturday, 6 February. For a synopsis of
actions, click here.
Supply Preachers
An addendum to the compensation schedule for supply
preaching has been added; the addendum covers remote and
hybrid services. Supply preachers also come and go. If you
are responsible for coordinating supply in your
congregation, be sure to check this page out. Also be sure
to refresh/reload the page to make sure that you have the
most recent version (and not something dredged up from your
cache). Here's the link: Supply
Preachers webpage.
Mission Support Forms Updated
Both the mission support request letter from the synod
and the MS Commitment Form have been updated. You can
access them from our Congregations
page. Mission Support Remittance Form has also been
updated.
New Contact Info & Communications Page
We've put all the contact information and communications
links in one place. Check out the the Contact Info & Communications
page. There you will find phone, email, and mailing info as
well as Facebook and other links.
Congregation Meeting in Time of Pandemic
Two installments are up of a three-part series addressing
the holding the Congregation Meeting during the pandemic.
Click
here for more.
COVID-19
We've had a page dedicated to COVID-19 since mid-March. You
will find there a variety of resources and information,
including material related to reopening churches and
worship. Click Here.
Pastoral Transition & Vacancy Page Uploaded
A page addressing pastoral transition and vacancy has been
added. The vacancy section includes information on the
conduct of ministry during a time of pastoral vacancy, e.g.,
securing supply preachers, covering emergencies and regular
visitation, maintaining basic polity functions, etc.. There
are two transition sections. One of them covers the search
process and calling a new pastor. The other covers the many
steps required in managing the departure of a currently
serving pastor. Click here to
explore this material.

DEM News
The Rev. Sherri Schafer was hired as Director of
Evangelical Mission (DEM) on a six-month contract under
the auspices of the ELCA's Domestic Mission Unit. We are
pleased to announce that the contract has been formally
extended to the end of the 2020 fiscal year (31 January
2021) and informally to be cotermin0us with the bishop's
call. Congrats, Pr. Schafer, and huzzah for the synod!
Schafer came to this position with an intimate
knowledge of the synod. Born in Pendleton County, Schafer
has held membership in four synod congregations: St.
Luke’s (Dry Run), Faith (Franklin), Good Shepherd (New
Martinsville), and St. Mark’s (Wheeling). Schafer served
her first-call pastorate with Trinity Ev. Lutheran Church,
Bridgeport, OH. Schafer began her work with Community
Lutheran Partners, Inc., the primary social ministry
organization affiliate of the West Virginia-Western
Maryland Synod, as Program Director before promotion to
Executive Director, a position she has held for the past
eleven years. Schafer has preached in over half
of the synod’s fifty-nine congregations and has traveled
most of the territory in connection with her disaster
relief work
The DEM position is half-time, and Schafer will
continue in her current half-time position with
Community Lutheran Partners. The DEM
position is funded by the ELCA's Domestic Mission Unit,
which also provides a grant underwriting associated
programming: Your mission support at work.
Facebook Page
Our DEM, The Rev. Sherri Schafer has established a
Facebook Page for items related to evangelism and
stewardship. It is a place to share your ideas and get new
ones. Like the page and discover what is possible.
Bishop Riegel's Letter on Evangelism during Pandemic
Bishop Riegel posted a letter in the early morning of 16
April 2020, calling for the synod to double worship
attendance. He contends that the sudden and broad adoption
of media by pastors and congregations across the synod
provides new opportunities for lay-point invitational
evangelism. Go to the COVID-19
page and scroll down.
If you haven't checked out the members portal...
Don't forget to take a peek of the members portal (click the
button at right near the top of this page). It's not
password protected. We only call it the "members portal"
because it's mostly stuff that deals with the internal
workings of the synod. Visitors looking for more general
information about the synod, will probably find the "guest
portal" more interesting. |