CrossWord

CrossWord is a weekly publication of the MNO Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.
We encourage congregations and committees to use the information printed here.
Feel free to print and share the information or copy and paste to include in your weekly bulletins.
Please forward the link to members on your distribution lists.
If you have an idea for a story to be included in the next issue of CrossWord, please contact Rick Scherger at the Synod office at: 204.889.3760 or email rscherger@elcic.ca
Deadline for submissions is Friday at noon.

Trinity Lutheran, Starbuck will host installation service for Rev. Larry Ulrich
	Members of the MNO are invited to the Installation of Rev. Larry Ulrich, the new Assistant to the Bishop of the MNO Synod. The installation will take place at Trinity Lutheran in Starbuck. The service will take place March 4 at 6:30 pm. MNO Synod Bishop Elaine Sauer will be preaching at the service and presiding at the installation. Trinity's Bell Choir will be offering special music during the service. Prairie Fire will provide prelude music and play during communion. During the service, executive assistant Debbie Beyer and communications coordinator Rick Scherger will be commissioned in their new positions in the MNO office.
	Larry Ulrich, gives the message at the Youth Ministry Worship Service at Abundant Life Lutheran on Sunday.

Revitalize your congregation
Pastors, stewardship leaders and church councils are asked to mark May 24 - 26 on the calendar. The MNO Synod will be presenting a stewardship practicum during the weekend. Pastors will take part on the 24th and 25th. Congregational Stewardship Committees and Lay Leaders are invited to join in sessions on the 26th. Dr. William Avery, Professor of Field Education and the Arthur L. Larson Professor of Stewardship and Parish Life at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg will be the guest presenter. The theme for the weekend will revolve around revitilizing congregagations. Times and facility will be announced in a future issue of CrossWord.
	Dr. William Avery will be the guest presenter at the Stewardship Practicum in May.

	Summertime employment opportunity at camp
	Looking for a job this spring &/or summer? Join the team at Luther Village Camp! Positions are available for 2-5 months in the following areas: Head Cook Property Manager Program Coordinator Kitchen/Housekeeping Maintenance Lifeguards Program Leaders Exciting, unique workplace that combines wilderness setting, friendship, fellowship and community of a Christian camp. Applicants work as part of an amazing team. Check out the jobs on our website then pick up an application at www.luthervillage.ca or call 204.783.3337 Deadline for applications: February 28, 2007.

ELW Update
Warm up this winter with a good magazine or with some friends and have a lively discussion on hot topics! Consider the following opportunities. Esprit Sustaining Supporter Esprit, the quarterly publication of Evangelical Lutheran Women provides a place for learning, sharing and spiritual growth. Subscription dollars are presently the only regular source of revenue for Esprit. ELW is committed to ensuring the quality of this valued publication. Sustaining Supporters are people who are able to make an extra investment in Esprit over and above their regular subscription or are even non-subscribers. By becoming a Sustaining Supporter you help ensure a strong future for Esprit. Use the attached form and become a valued Sustaining Supporter today! Aside from a Bible study the articles in the magazine can be educating, challenging and inspiring! Walking together in Christ Explore how important it is in the journey of faith to have our eyes focused on Jesus, especially when we are led into unfamiliar territory.....Today, it is just as easy to forget what is central, what is most important, and what the focus is on our journey of faith. Churches and people are incredibly diverse. This is one of God's gifts to us! To explore this topic of diversity with Eyes on Christ, check out Session 2 of the 2007 Bible Study series Walking Together in Christ. This session is just one of nine that is exploring ecumenism and how we can walk together with people from other denominations or churches. These studies would be a valued resource for a variety of groups within a congregations such as a young adult and adult study groups. Videos available from the ELW Office Invite some friends, stoke the fire, serve some good food and watch a video. Spark a discussion with topics such as the environment, bullying, violence, world issues or physical health and well-being. For a complete list of videos available from the ELW office and ordering information go to http://www.elw.ca/res/default/resourcebooklet.pdf

	Become a sustaining supporter

	Lutheran Theological Seminary Study Conference
	The Annual Lutheran Theological Seminary Study Conference & Spring Festival will be held May 1 - 3, 2007. All presentations are free of charge and open to all. Guest speakers are Rev. Dr. Eric W. Gritsch, Emeritus Professor of Church History at Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary where he previously directed the Institute for Luther Studies and Dr. Diarmaid MacCulloch, Fellow of St. Cross College, Oxford and Professor of the History of the Church at Oxford University. For more information contact the seminary by phone at: 306.966.7850 or by email:lutheran.seminary@usask.ca Click here to view the Study Conference brochure.

Canadian Lutheran World Relief Update

Lutheran Theological Seminary group returns from Peru
Students and professors who traveled to Peru as part of the seminary’s cross-cultural curriculum report being very moved by the collaborative work undertaken by CLWR and local partners. During their time in Peru, students visited several CLWR project areas. Dialogue with staff and community members offered participants insight into the challenges faced by people living in this context as well as the hope they have for change.

Rev. Dr. Jann Boyd affirms the value of this experience and the transformation it affects. “After one of the most intensive days, a student who had initially been uninterested in participating came to me and said ‘only by coming and hearing the person to person conversations have the concepts we studied in class become a lived reality... I am not ready to go home yet. I will never be the same.’”

CLWR supports programs like this that increase people’s understanding of injustice, poverty and world hunger through its Leadership Development Program. Applications are received on an annual basis. For the period from April 2007 to March 2008, applications are due Wednesday, February 28, 2007. To request an application call 1.800.661.2597 or email clwr@clwr.mb.ca
– CLWR News Service

Lutherans attend World Social Forum
A Lutheran World Federation (LWF) delegation, comprising church leaders, program coordinators and staff of the LWF Department for World Service (DWS) field offices, has been participating in the 7th edition of the World Social Forum (WSF) in Nairobi, Kenya, January 20-25.

Under the WSF theme "Another World Is Possible," members of the LWF delegation have been participating in debates focusing on poverty, HIV/AIDS, environment, human rights, economic globalization, governance issues, debt cancellation, repatriation and the rights of women, among others.

Since the first WSF in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 2001, civil society movements and activists, engaged mainly in advocacy for economic justice, gather annually in the January forum which provides a people-centered alternative to the Davos (Switzerland) World Economic Forum. Over 50,000 delegates are attending the Nairobi forum.

Chance to discuss tough issues

The Institute for Community Peacebuilding has invited Susan Neinaber of the Alban Institute to Winnipeg to resource church leaders who wish to deal with the difficult issues in their churches. It is easy to start a conversation about difficult issues - it is much more difficult to have it go well. Susan Neinaber will, over three days from May 7 to 9, guide workshop participants through specific processes that have proven very successful in making the discussion of difficult issues a positive experience for the church.

Bishop Sauer is encouraging representatives from as many congregations as possible to attend this workshop, which is called Talking about the Tough Stuff..

"In light of recent conflicts in some of our MNO Synod congregations, I would encourage it," she said. "It would be a healthy way to deal with conflict and grow as a faith community."

David Pankratz, Director of the Institute for Community Peacebuilding said, "As churches find themselves under pressure to discuss difficult issues, it becomes more and more important to have the skills to manage these discussions in ways that provide satisfaction to those holding varied opinions without causing damage to the mission and fellowship of the church. This workshop will provide an opportunity to learn and practice these skills."

The Institute for Community Peacebuilding partners with communities around the world to create and support the conditions for peace. This Anabaptist faith-based Institute was founded by Canadian Mennonite University and Menno Simons College in late 2005. The MNO Synod is a member of the Winnipeg Christian Peacebuilding Initiative and supports this event.

Susan Nienaber

		Talking About the Tough Stuff, May 7 -9	Susan Nienaber works as a consultant for the Alban Institute. She will be the guest speaker for the Talking About the Tough Stuff Seminar, May 7-9 at Canadian Mennonite University, 500 Shaftsbury Blvd.
		Stepping out of the Boat Seminar, April 14

Anglican Church of Canada to continue partnership with Augsburg Fortress

The Anglican Church of Canada General Synod's Communications and Information Resources Committee has unanimously endorsed negotiations with Augsburg Fortress Canada that would see the continuation of a bookstore at the site presently occupied by the Anglican Book Centre.

The committee gave its approval after hearing Augsburg Fortress Canada's Director, Andy Seal, describe a plan through which the Lutheran company would assume responsibility for running the Anglican bookstore, as well as the mail order and web operations. The bookstore could therefore continue without any cost to the Anglican Church.

At its last meeting, the Anglican Council of General Synod agreed to close the bookstore this summer because of operating deficits going back several years.

But Mr. Seal told the communications committee that he thinks by combining the efforts of Augsburg Fortress Canada and ABC, the bookstore can survive. Augsburg Fortress Canada is the non-profit Ministry of Publishing serving the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada with which the Anglican Church is in full communion.

The negotiations between General Synod and Augsburg Fortress began late last year, but Mr. Seal's presentation to CIRC was the first time they were made public and that an Anglican group was asked to endorse their continuation. Mr. Seal stated that Augsburg Fortress Canada and ABC would continue to serve Anglicans, and to market, and distribute books produced by ABC Publishing.

The bookstore presently located at the Anglican national office at 80 Hayden Street in Toronto would retain its name, which General Synod would lease to Augsburg Fortress.

Many of the details of the proposal remain to be worked out, but Mr. Seal told CIRC that he hoped a deal can be completed by June 1, so that the new partnership can be celebrated when General Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada meet together in Winnipeg. The proposal will next go to the Financial Management and Development Committee that meets later this month and then to the Council of General Synod when it meets next month.

Tickle your funny bone
An Ohio couple decided to go to Florida to thaw out during a
particularly icy winter. They planned to stay at the same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years before. Because of their hectic schedules, it was difficult to coordinate their travel schedules. So, the husband left Ohio and flew to Florida on Friday, and his wife was flying down the following day.

The husband checked into the hotel, and unlike years ago, there
was a computer in his room, and he decided to send an email to his wife.

However, he accidentally left out one letter in her email address, and
without noticing his error, sent the email to the wrong address.

Meanwhile...somewhere in Arkansas ... a widow had just returned home from her husband's funeral. He was a Minister who was called home to glory after suffering a heart attack. The widow decided to check her email,
expecting messages from relatives and friends.

After reading the first message, she screamed and then fainted. The widow's son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor, and then glanced up and saw the computer screen which read:

To: My Loving Wife
Date: Friday, October 14, 2005
Subject: I have Arrived!

Dearest Love:
I know you are surprised to hear from me. They have computers here now, and you are allowed to send email to your loved ones. I have just arrived and have been checked in. I see that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow, and look forward to seeing you then.
Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was.

PS .... Boy is it hot down here.





February 19, 2007 Volume 1, Issue 1 Editor: Rick Scherger

1 JOHN 4:11-12