Bishops Notes 5.26.2022

​Bishop’s Notes 26 May 2022
Ascension of Our Lord
 

• Assembly Registration: As of today there are 65 registered voting members of synod assembly. There are 73 congregations in our synod with each having two lay voting members, so we are far short of the total number of voting members. Remember There will be no day of registrations so please registered as soon as possible. A letter will be sent out to all registered assembly voting members tomorrow containing some pre-assembly information.

 

• The following is a list of upcoming events I will be attending in person. If I am in your area and you would like to go to lunch, coffee, have a chat, etc. let me know.

• 1 June Harrisburg, PA Region 8 Bishop’s Meeting
• 3-5 June Chicago, IL Army Reserves
• 6-8 June Pre Assembly Zoom Forums
• 8 June Synod Office
• 9 June Thiel College
• 10 June Synod Assembly
• 15 June at Synod Office
• 17-18 June Upper Susquehanna Synod Assembly
• 19-26 June Family Vacation
• 29 June at Synod Office
• 6 July at Synod Office
• 7 July Lutheran Home at Kane Board Meeting
• 9-10 July Chicago, IL Army Reserves
• 11-14 July working remotely Indianapolis , IN
• 16 July Synod Council
• 17 July Gethsemane , Port Allegany
• 20 July at Synod Office
• 23 July Vocations Committee
• 24 July Good Hope, Oil City
• 27 July at Synod Office
• 28-31 July Chicago, IL Army Reserves

 

• Sunday Supply Dates: August 14, 28; October 9, 23*; November 13, 27; December 11. *Mercer/Crawford only.

 

• Last call for the “book club.” We will be reading together: Becoming A White Antiracist website by Brookfield and Hess. if you are interested please let me know by June 1, 2022 so I can order the books and have them in time to hand out at our Synod Assembly.

 

• The Rev. Dr. Martin Otto-Zimmann writes: ULS is once again sponsoring a hybrid Theological Education with Adults event in mid-July featuring Dr. Kyle Schiefelbein Guerrero, Gail Ramshaw, and Cathy Elkis entitled: Worship after Corona: Singing, Speaking and Spaces of Community. Details and links are in the attached PDF (see attachment). Please share in your synod emails and newsletters.

 
He continues: Looking ahead, I will be creating a fall Zoom Book Club featuring various faculty members sharing their favorite reads and an early September event for Deacons and Pastors who simply need space to relax, share, and discern with mutually exhausted colleagues. Information will be forthcoming. If you have ideas for continuing education, please email them to learningwishlist@uls.edu.

• Fall Convocation. The dates for Convocation are tentatively set for 24-26 October. Location is TBD. Something to consider is holding the event in the Greater Erie Area or in downtown Erie near the waterfront and Presque Isle. Perhaps starting it on a Sunday evening. Having spouses attend. Proving more open time to have conversation or tour/walk the area. Having several keynote speakers and workshops on a variety of relevant topics. Moving Fall Convocation around the synod with Conferences “hosting” the event. If you have thoughts or suggestions regarding topics, or an interest in planning the event please send me a note with the subject line “Fall Convocation.”

 

• If you know of a youth (confirmation to age 18) or young adult (18-30) who is interested in serving on Synod Council let me know.

 

• Bishop Paula Schmitt of the Allegany Synod is seeking a retired pastor or Authorized Lay Worship Leader who might be able to support the congregation of Grace, Curwensville. If you are or know of someone on the eastern side of our synod who is able to help our neighbors please let me know.

 

• The following congregations have active ministry site profiles:
• Christ, Sharon and Holy Trinity, Hermitage. The congregation councils are working to develop a model for shared pastoral ministry.
• Faith, Venus and Holy Trinity, Shippenville. The congregation councils are finalizing a model for shared pastoral ministry.
• Grove Chapel, Indiana and Harmony Grove, Creekside. Two-point parish.
• Immanuel, Erie
• Zion, Mayport
• Luther Memorial, Erie

 

• Please hold Ellen, Jake and Doug, our synod staff, in prayer especially as we approach our Synod Assembly. It’s only one day, but there is still much to do in preparation for the Assembly.

 

• We pray for those who have family with health issues and for those who await test results.

 

• We pray this week for our graduates and our educators and for those who support them by their love, prayers, finances and presence.

 

• We pray for action rather than words to end gun violence in our nation.

 

• We pray for the families and friends who this weekend will call to mind their loved ones who have lived and died in service to our nation.

 

• A juxtaposition of thought. We remember those who died in service to our nation in order to protect our constitutional rights. Our constitutional right to bear arms allows for violence against our fellow citizens. Our both/and theology places us and these secular rights in tension.

 

• Yesterday I found myself in St. Marys, PA. Home of the Eternal Fountain of Beer. (Yes, a few years back I drank from the fountain, but not yesterday.) How many synods can lay claim to an eternal fountain of beer? Or the house where the movie Amityville Horror was filmed. Or the steel mill in Warren that produced the pieces to the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, MO? I wonder what other fun facts or hidden gems there are about our synod?

 
Called to Serve,
 
Bp. Lozano
 
 
 
Rev. Michael L. Lozano, Bishop
Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
22598 Titusville Road
PO Box 43
Pleasantville, PA 16341
 
bplozano@outlook.com
(o) 814.589.7660
(c) 724.931.4848