   
Thanks to You
(3-4-09) Please note: The changes
in synod staffing are providing an opportunity to re-examine all of the
synod publications. While current staff looks at communication
strategies, Thanks to You and Partners in the Spirit will not be produced.
Updates on these and other publications will be posted as decisions are
made on how best to keep in touch with synod leaders and congregations.
The February 2009 issue of Thanks to You is the last issue that was produced.
Thanks to You is a
bulletin insert that tells about the many ways that congregational
benevolence is used in ministry across the synod and the ELCA. The insert
is sent to all congregations in the synod in the monthly mailing from the
synod office.
Click here to see a list of available issues.
The reproducible insert is printed on one 8½"x11" sheet of
paper in two formats, one for 8½"x11" bi-fold worship bulletins
and one for 8½"x14" tri-fold bulletins. Thanks to You is
also available as a PDF to be downloaded and printed (see instructions).
Below are the issues that are available in PDF format, with a brief
description and the date and month published. Click the title to view and
print the insert.
When extra prayer shawls were made available for distribution to
charitable organizations following the 2008 synod assembly, Barbara, a
voting member from Messiah, Wilkes-Barre, accepted the invitation.
Read about the children who
benefitted from her thoughtfulness. (February
2009) Top of page
In this issue, Carol Weiser, synod director of communications and assembly
coordinator, writes, "When my husband, Dennis Oberholtzer, sustained a
brain injury in a fall in November 2005, I knew exactly where I wanted him
to be after he left intensive care: Good Shepherd Rehabilitation
Hospital." Read about their
experience with this outstanding rehabilitation system. (January
2009)
Top of page
Thanks to you, college students across the synod are able to gather over
the Christmas break with church friends for fellowship and conversation
about life away from home. Your gifts help support such gatherings through
grants from the Campus Ministry Affinity Group.
Read
more... (December
2008)
Top of page
On August 1, 2008, the day that the Rev. Samuel R. Zeiser took office as
the bishop of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod, he posted his first
greetings to all those who visit the synod website, www.godslove.org.
Thanks to you and your gifts to mission support, our synod website has a
new page, the Bishop's Page. Read
more... (November
2008)
Top of page
Over the weekend of October 3-5, Hope Lutheran Church, Reading, sponsored
a gathering for their community entitled Live the Love. The event featured
Christian rapper Agape, who called participants to experience the full
power of Jesus’ love by sharing that love with others – looking for
concrete ways to make a difference in their communities.
Read
more... (October
2008)
Top of page
Thanks to you, for many years the West Berks Mission District summer day
camp has served between 200 and 300 children—primarily inner city "at
risk" children in Reading. Read
about the ways your dollars were at work in 2008. (September
2008)
Top of page
Every dollar given to synod benevolence helps us reach out in many ways
and many places. Learn more about the
ways you are reaching out to the world. (August
2008)
Top of page
When a congregation closes its doors, how will a member's descendent know
when her great-grandfather was baptized? What happens to those kinds of
documents and congregational artifacts when congregations go out of
existence?
That's where the
Lutheran Archives Center comes in.
Read more about this valuable resource... (June
2008)
Top of page
Thanks to you, everyone with online capabilities can explore the wealth of
resources in the synod’s Resource Center. Read more about this constantly
growing resource... (May
2008)
Top of page
 Thanks
to you, visitors to and residents of the Poconos can worship at a number
of private and state-owned campgrounds around our synod. PALM (Pocono Area
Lutheran Ministry) shares the good news of God’s love with all who live,
work, or vacation in the leisure and recreation settings of the Pocono
region. Read more... (March
2008)
Top of page
 One of the wonderful gifts you enable with your gifts to the
wider church is camping at
Bear Creek Camp. Through the camp, people of
all ages experience God's awesome creation.
Read more about your gifts at
work at Bear Creek Camp. (February
2008)
Top of page
You are making a difference. Your gifts to synod ministries through
your congregation are touching lives. Read comments from two people whose
lives were changed with the help of your gifts. Read how Good Shepherd is
you touching others with the love of God. (January
2008)
Top of page
Need a DVD or an idea for Sunday
church school? Want to register for a synod event? Looking for more
information about Lutheran Youth Fellowship? Checking on the details of an
upcoming workshop? Need to contact a synod staff person? Thanks to you,
you can find answers to these questions—and a lot more information—on our
synod website. Read more... (November
2007)
Top of page
Did you know that over 75 percent of the full time students at the
Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia receive financial aid?
Thanks to you and your gifts, people preparing for ordained and lay
leadership in the church are helped to receive an education.
Read more... (October
2007)
Top of page
When Katrina hit New Orleans two years ago, Paula and Ashton were left
with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. They ended up in the
Lehigh Valley, where, with the help of our disaster response network, they
received help. Read more... (September
2007)
Top of page
In
June, 25 rostered leaders gathered for conversation and self-assessment of
their experiences, feelings, knowledge and practices related to money
issues. Money Leadership for Pastors was the focus of their
gathering, a program made possible, in part, because
of your gifts. Read more... (August
2007)
Top of page
 St.
Luke Lutheran Church, Reading, in conjunction with the Community School of
Music and the Arts, is sponsoring a music appreciation program for
neighborhood children and their families as part of their outreach
endeavors in the neighborhood. The program is possible, in part, because
of your gifts. Read more... (June
2007)
Top of page
Thanks to you, youth experience the awesome power of the Spirit by living
and playing together with friends in the midst of God’s amazing creation.
This all takes place at Bear Creek Camp. Read more... (May
2007)
Top of page
Thanks to you . . . St. Mark's Will Host a Street Fair
 St. Mark Lutheran Church, Reading, will host a street fair this summer,
thanks to you and your gifts to mission support. St. Mark is expanding its
summer program of outreach to children in the surrounding community. Grant
money from the synod Witness and Service Ministry Team is helping to make
this possible. Read more... (April
2007)
Top of page
On Saturday, June 9, Lutherans from across northeastern Pennsylvania will
celebrate being Lutherans
in
Faith
Together — thanks to you.
This issue of
Thanks to You tells more about this exciting event. (March
2007)
Top of page
Helping congregations be accepting and accessible is the goal of the synod
Accessibility Team (the "A-Team"). This issue of
Thanks to You tells more about the work of this team. (February
2007)
Top of page
A key responsibility of the synod staff is keeping congregations informed
about issues that affect congregational life and answering questions from
congregational leaders. This issue of
Thanks to You explores some of the questions staff persons
receive. (December 2006)
Top of page
Across the synod and ELCA, ministry happens through your mission support.
This insert tells about ways you help fund an after school program, deaf
ministry, young adult event, and the LIFT event. (November 2006)
Top of page
The synod website continues to grow and expand — and is now even easier to navigate. Thanks to you and your willingness to share the gifts with which you have been blessed, we have a wonderful tool for sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. (October 2006)
Top of page
Thanks to you, the Witness and Service Ministry Team is able to provide
grants several times a year to congregations and groups addressing one or
more of the team's priorities. This
insert includes stories about some programs in Wilkes-Barre. (September 2006)
Top of page
Theological Education with Youth offers educational
and formative opportunities for high-school-aged youth. Thanks to you, the
synod Leadership Development Ministry Team provides scholarship aid to
youth to attend these events.
More... (July 2006)
Top of page
Students who go immediately from college to seminary often are faced with
a significant debt load from college—then need more loans as they begin
seminary. The Student Education Fund, through you, can help.
More... (May 2006)
Top of page
Thanks to you, children who survived Hurricane Katrina can process their
feelings and fears—and take an emotional break from recovery—at Camp Noah.
Read more about this program. (April 2006)
Top of page
Thanks to you, everyone with online capabilities can explore the wealth of
resources in the synod’s AV library. Take a virtual tour of the AV library
at the synod office – and request videos you would like to use.
More... (February 2006)
Top of page
Each morning at 9:30 a.m., Bishop David Strobel and his staff pause for
prayer—and you are among those for whom prayers are offered. You are
invited to join with the staff in prayer each day.
More... (January 2006)
Top of page
 With
fewer persons entering ordained ministry and more congregations struggling
to support a full-time pastor, how can smaller congregations survive? One
option is the SALM program. More... (December
2005)
Top of page
 As we struggle to comprehend the devastation brought by Katrina, the damage caused by flooding in our own area may seem trivial. To our sisters and brothers in need, however, nothing is
"little."
More... (October
2005)
Top of page
Did
you ever wonder what the "hot issues" were for the delegates to
the first convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Ministerium of
Pennsylvania and Adjacent States? Are you looking for parish records from
a Lutheran congregation no longer in existence? The Lutheran
Archives Center at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia
may help your quest. More... (September
2005)
Top of page
 Theological education doesn't end with graduation from seminary. All new pastors and lay rostered leaders are required to participate in structured programs of theological education throughout their first three years of ministry under call.
More... (August
2005)
Top of page
 A
grant from the Witness and Service Ministry Team helped fund a unique
ministry at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Fountain Hill. The Pulpiteers use
puppets to bring Bible and everyday stories to live and give joy and
delight to people of all ages. More... (June
2005)
Top of page
 The
Delaware River flood in September 2004 caused extensive damage to homes
all along the river. In April 2005, many of those same homes were flooded
again. One man had just celebrated the completion of repairs to his home
from the September flood; 24 hours later, the second flood hit, wiping out
the first repairs and causing even more damage. More... (May
2005)
Top of page
Council presidents and vice presidents play a key role in the life of the congregation. In the Council President/Vice President workshop, made possible through gifts to synod benevolence, these
leaders develop skills in leading meetings, working with conflict in a healthy way, knowing where to
find help, and making sense of how the church works (and sometimes doesn’t).
More... (April
2005)
Top of page
 Thanks to
gifts to synod benevolence, ten youth and three adults from St. James
Lutheran Church, Hobbie, Pa., will participate in a weeklong service project in Charleston, West Virginia.
Through this trip, "others will see the love of Christ through our willingness to help repair
houses and minister to children and to the elderly," notes the grant application.
The mission trip is funded in part by a grant to the congregation from the synod’s
Witness and Service Ministry
Team. More... (March 2005)
Top of page
"I needed to know how to be there for Caleb in every way, like finding the best possible treatments
and medicine for children with autism, knowing how to go about getting them, and following the
ever-changing laws. The folks at the Good Shepherd Dornsife Pediatric Center were so helpful!”
Your gifts to synod ministries like the pediatric center
are touching lives. Good Shepherd Home, Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries, Lutheran Congregational Services,
community social service agencies, congregations reaching out to the poor—more than programs,
these activities are you touching others with the love of God. More... (December
2004)
Top of page
Theological Education with Youth (TEY) offers, among other programs, two intensive summer events
for youth focusing on vocational and theological exploration: a one-week Crossroads event for youth who have just
completed tenth grade and a two-week Summer Theological Academy for youth who have just
completed eleventh grade. Thanks to you and your gifts, the synod Leadership Development Ministry Team was
able to provide $100 scholarships to ten synod youth so that they could participate in these events.
More... (November
2004)
Top of page
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