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A
Network of Christ-Centered, Outwardly-Focused, Faith-Growing
Communities for the Sake of the World
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Listen,
God Is Calling!: Highlights from the 2024 Gulf Coast Synod Assembly
by Bishop Michael Rinehart
The 2024 Gulf Coast Synod Assembly was held for the second
consecutive year at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in The Woodlands,
Texas, May 17-18, 2024. Over 200 were registered, with about 10%
participating online. Our deans served as chaplains. Lord of Life
musician Dan Fenn and some of his team served as musicians.
Thursday night, a sudden storm arose with 100mph winds, making a
mess of downtown Houston and knocking out power for a million
people in the greater Houston area. A tornado touched down in Cypress
damaging homes and electrical towers. This threw a pall on the
assembly and also resulted in the absence of United Methodist
Bishop Cynthia Harvey, who was due to speak but was unable to
travel as she was without electricity and had damage to her home. A
week later the death toll was eight people, the most recent due to
carbon monoxide poisoning from generators.
Read more...
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Innovative
Internships Fund recipients (left to right): Angela Fleeger (Celebration-Cypress), Amber
Harbolt (Spirit of Joy!-The Woodlands), John Perez (Holy
Comforter-Kingwood), Kinnon Falk (Kindred Kitchen-Hou), Dorie Jones
(St Francis of the City-Hou)
Gulf
Coast Synod Innovative Internships Fund
by Tracey Breashears Schultz, Bishop’s
Associate for Leadership
The Synod Assembly offering we collected in 2023 was designated for
the Gulf Coast Synod Innovative Internships Fund, the purpose of
which was to fund internships in healthy, creative Gulf Coast Synod
sites which could not otherwise afford to host an intern. From the
generosity of churches and individuals in our synod, $41,633.82 was
received. The cost of a year-long internship for word and sacrament
(pastor) candidates is approximately $30,000, and the cost of a
six-month-long internship for word and service (deacon) candidates
is about $15,000; we partially funded five internships sites, or
made local internships a reality for five candidates.
I was joined in this work of distributing Innovative Internship
Funds by a sub-group of the Candidacy Committee - Pastor Alvin
Luedke (St Paul-Rehburg, Brenham, TX), Pastor Candy O’Meara
(Hosanna-Covington, LA), and Diane White (New Hope-Missouri City). Here
is a snapshot of each of the interns and their sites, who have
received funding. The site description comes from the application
form completed by pastors or church councils who requested funding.
Read more...
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Book
Overview: Jewish Paul: The Messiah’s Herald to the Gentiles
by Matthew Thiessen, 2023
by Bishop Michael Rinehart
Matthew
Thiessen is an associate professor of religious studies at McMaster
University, Hamilton Ontario. He has published journals and
monographs going back to 2009. Read his Curriculum Vitae. Watch an Interview with Professor
Thiessen.
- Duke University,
Ph.D. in Religion (2010)
- University of
Oxford, M.St. in Jewish Studies (2004)
- Trinity Western
University, M.A. in Biblical Studies (2003)
- Tyndale College,
B.R.S. in Biblical Studies (2001)
William
Tyndale was a 16th century English Reformer and Calvinist, who was
influenced by Luther. He advocated the English church breaking from
Rome. He also translated the Bible into English, before it was
allowed and got strangled and burned at the stake for his trouble.
Tyndale is a nondenominational private college.
Thiessen
mentions in the interview (link above) that he was raised in an
evangelical-leaning Mennonite church. His comments suggest that he
is a person of faith. Thiessen is considered one of the top
biblical scholars in the world.
Read more...
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Lisa’s
Pieces: Creation Care Tips from the Synod Lutherans Restoring
Creation Team
by Lisa Brenskelle
The mission of Lutherans Restoring Creation is to
promote incorporation of care for creation into the full life and
mission of the church, working in five areas: worship, education,
discipleship, building & grounds, and public ministry/advocacy.
Read more...
June
and Early July Creation Care Events
- Interfaith Justice Advocacy Workshop
– Sunday, June 2, 2 p.m., online
- Cool Congregations Cohort –
3rd Mondays throughout 2024, 7 p.m., online
- Sunday Evening
Conversations on Creation: Creek, Community & Self Restoration
– Sunday, June 30, 6 p.m., online
- Plastic Free Ecochallenge –
July 1 – 31, online
Contact gcs.lrc@gmail.com for details on
any of these events.
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