WHEN: April 26-29, 2012
WHERE: Zion Lutheran Church & Brokenhead River Recreation Complex, Beausejour
HOST: Brokenhead Conference
THEME: Receive the Spirit! Be the Witness  Acts 1:8

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO ATTEND AS A DELEGATE:
* One lay delegate from each congregation and, from congregations having more than 300 baptized members, one lay delegate for each additional 300 baptized members or major fraction thereof;
* Rostered Ministers of the MNO Synod
* Lay members on Synod Council
* Members of the Youth Assembly (2 appointed from each of the 7 conferences)

REGISTRATION:  Information & registration packages will be emailed to all rostered ministers and congregations shortly.  Deadline to register is February 24, 2012.  Fees are as follows:
Lay and rostered delegates: $380
Youth Assembly, retired Rostered Ministers,
      Rostered Ministers Temporarily Without Call
      and On Leave from Call, Rostered Ministers
      in special calls where the calling agency is not
      responsible for fees: No fee

TRAVEL & HOTEL:
* Delegates residing more than 100 km from Beausejour are entitled to a paid convention hotel room (double occupancy)
* Delegates driving to convention where their residence is more than 100 km from Beausejour are entitled to travel compensation of 20¢ for the driver for each kilometer driven over 100 km (each way), and 3¢ per passenger (the passenger must be a registered delegate)
* Delegates traveling by air to convention are entitled to reimbursement of economy airfare.

VISITORS WELCOME!
Visitor Fee: $125

Please set January 22 aside in your congregation as an emphasis on candidacy. It is also a day to recognize diaconal ministry (Deacons and Deaconesses) in the church. Information will also be available promoting and uplifting this ministry of WORD and SERVICE that is vital and growing in our synod and across the ELCIC.

This information is desired in December and January. Please phone 204.253.1491 and follow the prompts for confidential voice mail to schedule a conversation. Mailed responses may be sent to Faith Lutheran Church, 1311 Dakota Street, Winnipeg, MB, R2N 1V8. Mark the letter “confidential.” Alternatively, one may e-mail either revsaude@faithlc.ca or deaconkris@faithlc.ca.

Mark these Sunday dates on your calendar and watch the next CrossWord for more information. January 22, February 26, March 25, April 22; time: 6:30 PM. You can bring along your family, friends, neighbours...and you may want to leave your shoes at the door so you can pretend to feel the sand in your toes...

Kids need to get out from under their parents’ wings to spread their own. Whether it’s soccer or baseball or dance lessons or music instruction or karate, our kids spend nearly every waking hour of every day being transported from one highly supervised activity to the next.

As parents, we’ve come to believe that all these structured activities somehow serve the dual purposes of building character and learning about focus and teamwork.

To some extent this is certainly true, but what parents don’t consider is the simple fact that the highly structured and hyper-competitive nature of these activities stifles the most precious and promising elements of childhood: creativity and the joyful freedom to explore, experiment, stumble, recover and succeed on their own terms, and without the unspoken but omnipresent pressure to please us — their parents.

Disagree if you want, but I am pretty sure that if you’re honest you’ll admit that by the time they are 10, every kid has a fairly well-established place in the pecking order of the classroom and school yard. For the 10 percent of kids who are the combination of gregarious, athletic, good looking, funny and smart, this is wonderful. The other 90 percent face the uncertainties of how and where they are going to fit into the increasingly stressful social order.

As well-meaning parents, we do everything we possibly can to get our kids into a better and more competitive position in the social chain by signing them up for all those highly structured activities that we assume will give them a sense of success and bolster their self-esteem.

The problem is that I just don’t think you can manufacture self-esteem in kids. It is a personal discovery. And the more we as parents do to fill their days and structure their lives, the less time and opportunity they have to themselves to find it on their own.

What kids need is a place where they can learn about themselves without the continuous doting eye and well-intentioned judgment of their parents. They need to feel the weird and beautiful exhilaration that comes when you realize you are a stranger among strangers in a safe place and have nothing to lose or prove. You get to discover and be who you really are — not who your schoolmates, teachers and parents expect — or hope you will be.

It doesn’t matter if you’re especially good at soccer or dance or karate. What matters is that you’re willing to cooperate in a group of your peers, find ways to have fun and solve problems and care about the people you are living with. When these are the things that matter, growth and genuine self-esteem follow.

I started going to a summer camp when I was 9. I finished as that camp’s program director when I was 21. It taught me honesty, caring, respect and responsibility. It gave me confidence I never would have discovered in the classroom, school yard or even in the loving home I was blessed to have. It gave me lifelong friendships that have continued to this day (I’m 58). It provided a basis for a long and successful career in the health care industry.

Most importantly, it taught me that collaboration is a more effective way to achieve success than competition. I cite this as the most important lesson of camp because our country is in trouble. We need less competition and more collaboration. We need to get our kids to camp because we need a generation of leaders and citizens who are interested in solving complex problems — not just winning battles.

Christmas is coming. I bet your kid (or grandkids or nieces/nephews) already has a house full of laptops, video game equipment and smartphones. Consider giving them the gift of freedom and discovery. Send your kid to camp next summer.
Russell Roeder of Mechanicsburg is the president of Skipstone Consulting.

Tuesday Evenings, January 24/31; February 7/14/21
7 pm-8:30 p.m. Led by Rev Dr. Dale Berg and Rev Dr. David Saude

Each session will have three components:
Beginning conversation – a chance to “till the soil” and develop readiness for learning
Theological input utilizing a video presentation by Dr. Marcus Borg
Group reflection and discussion, integrating our collective experience

Come, explore questions like the following….

God What is God like? How do we speak of God? How do we experience the sacred? How does our experience of God change over a lifetime? What is our preferred God language?
Jesus Why does Jesus matter to Christians? Knowing the Pre-Easter and Post-Easter Jesus; Finding the courage to follow; Jesus and personal and global transformation; Jesus as Jewish mystic and Christian Lord
Salvation Unpacking some “baggage” – there are many biblical expressions of what it means to be “saved”; the path of transformation; the mystery of transformation; images of grace
Practice What do we mean by practice? Jesus as the Way; Prayer as practice; Worship as practice
Community Stories of community; communities of the Bible; Christian community today; Yearning for community

Resource and cost: There is a study guide available. The suggested cost is $15 per book. The cost of the material ought not to be a barrier to participation. Subsidies are available. Additional material for preparation will be available on the website of Faith Lutheran Church… www.faithlc.ca

Impact: Participants will be able to articulate what is most important to them in these five themes. Participants will better understand a diversity of faith expressions, that there is a diversity of faith expressions and commitments and that these understandings may change for a variety of reasons.

To register: Phone 253-1491, ext 20. Please register by January 13 to insure adequate resources available.

At the end of the Christmas story in the Gospel of Luke, we are told “Mary treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.” One of our early church leaders once said: “What good is it that Mary gave birth to Christ so many years ago if we do not give birth to him today?” You, like Mary, may not fully understand it all, but there is plenty to ponder and treasure in your hearts, and there is a place in the story for you.

Sherwood Park’s annual Living Nativity entitled “Your Place in the Story” will give you and your family and friends a chance to ponder and treasure the story of the birth of Jesus.

It’s held outdoors, with live animals and actors, costumes, music, and lighting. Come dressed for the weather and be prepared to participate in the story. Invite your family and friends. Bring the kids; arrive early, because along with the traditional sheep and donkey and llama, there will be smaller creatures for petting. Afterwards, warm up in the church with hot chocolate and cookies.

These big questions need to be resolved if Christian agencies and churches are to work well together. If pastors don’t see agencies as legitimate ministries, and if executive directors and field workers don’t respect the place of the local church, then collaboration won’t happen.

The Church at Work examines these issues and presents a model to show how the structures of the church fit together. Then, using a new study of successful church-agency relationships, it describes the practices and policies that promote fruitful collaboration. The book ends with a practical process that pastors, executive directors, and agency field staff can use to enrich their own ministry relationships, so they can take advantage of the synergy that results from cooperation between ministries.
View Table of Contents

To be eligible.
Single applicants income must be $24,600 or less
Couples income must be $27,000 or less
We look at last 2 years of income tax
Must sign yearly lease with church

There might be a vacancy coming up. We are accepting applications. For more information regarding the church sponsored suites; please contact Guff Zimmerman 204.257.0539, or Doug Norris 204.256.0272

Make checks payable to Trinity Lutheran Church (marked Food Pantry) and send to Trinity Lutheran Church, 265 Flora Ave., WPG, R2W 2R2, or make donation through your congregation.

Gifts from the Heart are symbolic gift items that help families feed themselves, provide knowledge, improve health, strengthen communities and preserve creation. By purchasing these gifts for family members and friends on special occasions, you will be lending your support to CLWR’s development work throughout the coming year.

Gifts for Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and Lutheran Church–Canada ministries are also available for purchase, and for the first time these gifts are also available on our website.

Gifts can be ordered by cheque (send to CLWR, 302-393 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3B 3H6), or by credit card (call 1.800.661.2597 or visit www.clwr.org/donate).

Copies of the 2011-2012 edition arrived in CLWR supporters’ mailboxes and at Lutheran congregations across Canada in early October. The entire catalogue is also available for viewing on our website at www.clwr.org/donate. Please contact CLWR if you would like to receive a hard copy of the catalogue.

This position is a 1 year renewable term from August to May, 7 hours per week.
Please send resumes by January 6, 2012 to: Music Coordinator, 211 Kimberly Ave, Winnipeg, R2K 0X3. cathyanderson@mymts.net

Email gdeiwpg@gmail.com for a complete job description. Applications can be emailed to gdeiwpg@gmail.com. Deadline for applications is December 15th, 2011.