Bishop Robert D. Hofstad

Staff

Rev. Ronald Hoyum assistant to the bishop Rev. Valinda Morse assistant to the bishop Rev. Melanie Wallschlaeger director for evangelical mission Rev. Donald Fossum assembly planner Allison Ramsey office manager Rachel Pritchett editor, (206) 498-0920 rachelpritchett @msn.com

Phone (253) 535-8300

Address 420 121st St. S Tacoma, WA 98444 Email swwsynod@plu.edu Websites lutheranssw.orgelca.org

Blog swwsynodelca.blogspot.com Facebook facebook.com/pages/Southwestern-Washington-Synod/129047787133786

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MomentsforMissionSouthwestern Washington Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ by empowering congregations and church leaders to grow in worship, education, outreach, stewardship and other ministries. December 2011

A Blessed Advent and Christmas to You

From All of Us at the Southwestern Washington Synod Office Left to right, Bishop Robert D. Hofstad, the Revs. Valinda Morse and Don Fossum; Allison Ramsey; and the Revs. Melanie Wallschlaeger and Ron Hoyum. Photo, Rachel Pritchett A few ideas for Christmas giving … … 1,000 Mission Friends: Just $100 a year makes you one of the synod’s 1,000 Mission Friends. As such, you help support not only new mission starts, but also those in need of renewal. One recipient of 1,000 Mission Friends is the Living Stones Prison Congregation at the Washington Corrections Center for Men in Shelton. Each week, 100 incarcerated men meet in worship. The Rev. Eric Wangen-Hoch leads them, and a team from one of the synod’s congregations joins in. If helping 1,000 Mission Friends would put you in the Christmas spirit, please send a check to the Southwestern Washington Synod, Att’n: 1,000 Mission Friends, 420 121st St. South, Tacoma, WA 98444-5218. Make the check out to the synod, and write “1,000 Mission Friends” in the memo line. Thank you. Continues

2 Ideas for Christmas … … Gifts of Hope is an alternative gifting program for Christmas available to churches in the Southwestern Washington Synod. Approximately 10 churches will participate this year. A catalog is available with 33 gifts that can be purchased. You receive a card that you send to the person you are gifting that explains the gift. There are gifts for food, clean water, shoes for children, a horse for a missionary, baby chicks for education of orphans in Ethiopia and many others. One-hundred percent of the money that purchases the gifts goes to the agencies, as all the work is done by volunteers. For more information call me at (253) 862-1050. — Ann Miller … ELCA Good Gifts Catalog supports community-based partners in 60 countries. Visit www.elca.org/goodgifts.

Still time to take part in PLU Christmas Pacific Lutheran University’s “Magnificat” Christmas concerts return to Tacoma, Portland and Seattle, and again will feature the Choir of the West, the university’s chorale and symphony orchestra. Three performances are slated for Tacoma at PLU’s Lagerquist Concert Hall. They take place at 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3; 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4; and at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9. In Portland, a concert will be at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30, at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. In Seattle, it will be at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 5, at Benaroya Hall. For tickets, visit www.plu.edu/christmas or call (253) 535-7787. Vocalists from synod congregations to help perform ‘Messiah’ The Tacoma Symphony Orchestra and Chorus present Handel’s “Messiah” at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 16 at St. Charles Borromeo Church, 7112 South 12th St., Tacoma. Geoffrey Boers, member of Mountain View Lutheran Church of Edgewood, is conductor. Featured soloists include soprano Denise Lees, mezzo-soprano Melissa Plagemann, tenor James Brown and baritone Benjamin Harris. Others Messiah participants from the Southwestern Washington Synod include accompanist Amy Boers and altos Sara Hoffman and Diane Tyler from Mountain View; baritone Rich Nance of Mount Cross Lutheran Church of University Place; soprano Karen Irwin of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church by The Narrows; alto Kerstin Shaffer of St. Mark Lutheran Church of Lacey; and soprano Jill Westwood of Pilgrim and Celebration Lutheran churches of Puyallup. For tickets at $25, call (253) 272-7264 or visit www.tacomasymphony.org.

Coming in January in The Lutheran Find out about the Revs. Mike and Rowena Wang and the two Chinese-Lutheran congregations they began in South King County in the January issue of The Lutheran, the magazine of the ELCA. Rowena Wang is a rostered pastor with this synod. Her husband is with the Northwest Washington Synod. Subscribe to The Lutheran at www.thelutheran.org.

3 Congregations in transition

Call process Position Status Pastoral care Bethany, Longview P TR Jim Flachsbart Christ, Belfair P TR Robin Pizanti Faith, Elma P TR Tammy Rismiller Family of Christ, Vancouver P I Janell Bethke Mountain View, Edgewood AP NV John Vaswig Mount Cross, University Place AP NV Dave Steffenson Naselle P TR Pulpit supply Our Saviour’s, Cathlamet P TR Les Foss Peninsula, Gig Harbor P TR Lyle Miller, Art Sortland St. Mark, Lacey P I Linda Nou Trinity, Enumclaw P I Dennis Hartsook

Key: P – Pastor; AP – Associate Pastor; NV – New Vacancy; TR – Transition; I – Interviewing

Call accepted The Rev. Jeff Gaustad has accepted the call to serve as pastor at Trinity of Parkland, beginning in January. He comes from Snohomish in the Northwest Washington Synod. His installation date will be announced later. Contract accepted The Rev. Dennis Hartsook has accepted a contract to serve as interim pastor at Faith of Elma starting Dec. 4. Installations The Rev. Molly Knutson-Keller was installed at Gloria Dei of Olympia on Nov. 20. Tammy Rismiller, an associate in ministry, will be installed on Dec. 4 at Trinity of Enumclaw. Father-in-law the Rev. Jim Rismiller, who is retired from the Northwest Washington Synod, will install her. News

Bishop Wold and Elisabeth relocate to West Seattle PARKLAND — After more than 24 years residing in Parkland, Bishop David C. Wold and wife Elisabeth are moving to West Seattle. Wold, who served as bishop of the Southwestern Washington Synod from 1997 to 2001, said the move will allow them to live close to family. The retirement community is secure, and the Wolds only have to cross the street to shop. Continuum of care is available if it is ever needed. “And someone else takes care of yard and garden,” Bishop Wold said. The congregation and friends of Trinity Lutheran Church of Parkland wished him well at a celebration Nov. 6. “We have contemplated this type of move for some time, so when the opportunity presented itself we decided to move when it was our decision and not an emergency. All four daughters are ecstatic with this decision and three of them have been in the apartment and helped us with the move. Without their support and encouragement we might have stalled beyond the point of being able to make the choice for ourselves,” he said. The Wold’s address is 2615 SW Barton St., 1-207, Seattle, WA 98126. The phone is (206) 466-1671, and the email remains dandewold@comcast.net. Concluded Wold, “We feel honored, blessed and humbled to have had the privilege to serve and walk with all of you for nearly a decade and a half. We pray for your continued faithfulness to God’s call and leading into an exciting and challenging future.” Photo, Ann Miller

4 News

For the Romas, one house at a time By Rachel Pritchett, synod communicator TACOMA — Tom Geary of Fox Island recently returned from his fourth trip to Romania, where he has been building homes to replace substandard, crumbling ones thrown up during the Communist era. “It was excruciatingly painful. We had to do it from scratch,” Geary said. His Habitat for Humanity team arrived in August to find no more than bare farmland at the building sites. While the

Northwest team had come at the invitation of the national Habitat Romania, there was no local affiliate to prepare the sites. No building materials or local labor were waiting for Geary’s team. They had to search out every scrap of material and recruit helpers from a church in the village of Baltesti. In the end, the member of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church by The Narrows and his team built 10 houses, many of them for the disadvantaged Roma population, for generations at the fringes of Romanian society. Geary first saw the cramped and drab living quarters made of concrete in the early days of the post-Communist era, when he was stationed in Bucharest as a U.S. Air Force colonel. He learned the complex Romanian language as part of his work assisting the U.S. ambassador there. On retiring years later, he felt compelled by God to return and use his special skills to help provide better housing. “I feel like it’s a calling. This is an opportunity for me to do something to help,” Geary said. It’s been a roller coaster of emotions for everyone during each of the four trips back.

During the first, in 2005, Geary saw the rows of substandard housing, much more deteriorated than when he was stationed here. He was able to easily communicate with the locals, but Roma occupants were skeptical when he told his Habitat team was there to build them new houses. Their government had let them down. Why should they trust him now? “I think they felt like this was just going to be another disappointment,” Geary said. When they finally believed and saw the new homes that would replace the squalid surrounding they had endured, they cried with Geary. At 63, the longtime local leader with the Tacoma-Pierce County Habitat for Humanity hopes he can return to Romania for a fifth time, even though the Habitat duty is double-tough there. “One person might not be able to declare victory, but at least you’re making an effort,” he said. Pictured top to bottom: Tom Geary of St. Mark's Lutheran Church by The Narrows pauses with Emil Constantinescu, president of Romania from 1995 to 2000 and now board member of Habitat for Humanity International. Geary hauls block in Baltesti, Romania, this past trip. Geary, just arrived home.

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News Missionary quilt blessed, knowledge shared at global gathering TACOMA — Some 70 persons took part in the synod’s annual global-mission event, “Global Stories - Transforming Lives,” on Nov. 12 at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church by The Narrows. Among the highlights was the blessing of a colorful and inspiring quilt that holds the signatures of missionaries with ties to the Southwestern Washington Synod. Diane Armbrust, co-chair of the synod’s Global Mission Committee, had missionaries sign their names on pieces of plain, white cloth. Each signature piece then was framed with fabric representing the country where they worked. Carol Fossum sewed everything together. Pictured: Armbrust, left, and Fossum stand in front of the missionary quilt. Doing a mission trip right: Pack light when you go on mission trips, advised Dianne Johnson of the Northwest Washington Synod, one of the event’s workshop speakers. That was only one piece of advice the seasoned sojourner gave to pull off successful visits. Next, get out of the mindset that the trip is about a “project” to “fix” something, and rather seek conversation with the people you meet. “It’s all about relationship,” she said, adding that extreme poverty isn’t something visitors can fix, since the problems are much bigger and sometimes global in nature. Other tips: ■ Know a little of the language. Just “hello” and “thank you” speak volumes to hosts. ■ Research how hosts worship so you can fully take part. ■ Bond as a mission-trip team by doing a few things beforehand, even activities that could create a little stress, like living in rustic cabins for a day or two. Work out conflict-resolution strategies. ■ Share the work during a trip, with one person doing finances and another rooming arrangements. ■ Be polite with the cameras, and consider having one designated person per day. Hosts recoil when a dozen people pull out their cameras at once. Turn flashes and beeps off.

■ Try to avoid depression when returning home brought on by the disparities you see. Take a safari or some other activity that is fun and decompressing before you leave. Global trekkers the Martin family of Lacey told about their 2010 around-the-world trip in which they taught school in Tanzania through the Safi School Project and in Nanchang, China, through ChinaConnect. Left to right, Benjamin Martin, 11; Carrie Martin; and Lisha Martin, 9.

6 Voices

Soul Café strives for shared sacred space, online By the Rev. Melanie Wallschlaeger, director for evangelical mission

Soul Café, at www.soulcafe.org, a new Region 1 online community, provides sacred space for pastors and lay leaders to share resources and conversation about ministry and mission in the Pacific Northwest. The idea for a community commons grew out of a series of listening events in the Oregon Synod. As congregational leaders shared their need to learn from colleagues and congregations facing similar challenges, the idea for Soul Café emerged. Soul Café currently is in

the beta phase of development, which means it is now ready to serve all the congregations and lay leaders of Region 1 who will benefit from this transformational resource tool. While Soul Café currently serves Region 1, the community commons has the capacity to expand for use by the larger church body of the ELCA should it become a useful and valuable tool. Soul Café is not an “online church.” It is not designed to replace communities or face-to-face ministry. Much in the same way that Facebook is “me-focused,” a community commons is “us-focused” in that it is a tool to bring people together who share similar interests, values and passions, such as the ELCA

congregations in the Pacific Northwest. Soul Café is a new collaboration tool designed to lift up our passions, help us coordinate efforts, shape best practices and mutually empower ministry. Soul Café enables geographically separated Lutheran congregations, church-affiliated organizations, and individuals to meet, interact and get to know each other through idea-sharing and communication for solutions to the shared problems, issues and challenges facing the church today. Edwin Rourk serves as community director of Soul Café. As a PK (pastor’s kid), Edwin has been shaped by faith and life in the church. Through his day-to-day vocation, Edwin has worked with large companies that have been strengthened by relationships and ideas that were brought together through online communities used in a corporate context. Edwin’s hope for the online community commons is that the church will be strengthened as congregational leaders share similar concerns and solutions about living out the mission as disciples in a changing context. How can you experience Soul Café yourself or invite others in your congregation to get involved? ■ Sign on to Soul Café and fill out a profile. ■ Join at least one group and maybe even start one. ■ Share Soul Café with others outside of your congregation or church organization. ■ Help a friend sign up with Soul Café. Thank you for your support and prayers as we seek to build community for the sake of God’s mission in our Church and the world. Postings Interim child, youth and family minister: Calvary Lutheran Church of Federal Way seeks someone to fill such a position, full or part time; office@calvary-elca.org. Director of youth and education ministries: Peninsula Lutheran Church of Gig Harbor seeks someone to fill this position; info@plcplace.com. Accompanist: Creator Lutheran Church of Bonney Lake seeks a part-time musical accompanist. Interested people can contact the Rev. Kim Latterell at (253) 862-7700 or Laurie Bruckbauer at (253) 863-6165. Minister of children, families and young adults: Seattle’s University Lutheran Church seeks someone for this half-time position paying about $23,000. For a full position description or to send a resume, contact the Rev. Ron Moe-Lobeda at pastorron@comcast.net; 1604 NE 50th St., Seattle, WA, 98105, or (206) 525-7074.

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Voices Synod Council takes up bishop election, more By Rick Nelson, Synod Council member

Members of the Southwestern Washington Synod Council are proposing amendments to the synod constitution and changes in the process used to elect bishops. The council acted on these and other issues when it met Oct. 28 and 29 in its annual retreat in Federal Way. Major items of interest follow: ■ The council approved a recommendation for amendments to the constitution and bylaws to eliminate boards and committees that are mandated but aren’t functioning; the proposals will be on the agenda of the May 2012 synod assembly. Some boards and committees required by the synod constitution haven’t functioned for some time, and the council has concluded they aren’t currently needed. The changes would give the synod council the authority to form committees as needed, and the council plans to re-form quickly those committees that are functioning well. ■ The council brought a formal conclusion to its congregational visitation program; fewer than 10 congregations were not visited and efforts will continue to visit them. The council will send the reports to an analyst at ELCA churchwide to summarize the findings. The council would like to distribute the report to congregations next year. The council hopes the report will identify programs and processes that some congregations have found successful and can be shared with others. ■ Our existing synodical focus is on new mission starts; Bishop Robert D. Hofstad is planning to add a focus on the renewal of struggling congregations. He proposed that synod council members take more active roles in synod affairs, including taking part in the support programs for congregational renewal, mentoring the new start congregations, and having active roles in the synod assemblies. ■ The council voted to augment the way the synod elects a bishop. The synod has used a strict ecclesiastical ballot at synod assemblies. On the first ballot, any voting member can nominate any eligible candidate, and it often takes many ballots to determine the election. Moreover, few of the voting members were acquainted with the backgrounds of the nominees. Synod council members felt that everyone should have a list of potential candidates and summaries of their backgrounds before the start of a synod assembly. The council will ask the Synod Nominating Committee to take on the task of developing a nominating process so that a “voters’ guide” can be sent to congregations before the assembly. The process would start with a call for nominations from congregations and conferences. Those nominees would be contacted to see if they’re interested, then their profiles would go into the guide. At the assembly, the first round would be a nominating round, and anyone could be nominated, but voting members would already know willing candidates because of the voters’ guide. The election would follow the traditional ecclesiastical election process from that point; no constitutional amendment is required. Bishop Hostad’s current term expires in 2013, and the synod will again elect a bishop at the 2013 synod assembly.

Got an item for the newsletter? Send it by around the 20th of the month to Rachel Pritchett, editor, at rachelpritchett@msn.com or (206) 498-0920, or to the synod office.

8 Our congregations

From points across the synod

Congregation, community reclaim site of suicide BREMERTON — The Rev. Sigi Helgeson of Family of God Lutheran Church on Sunday, Nov. 20, led a service to reclaim space in the church parking lot where a man killed himself Oct. 2. Melva Hill of Bremerton presented the congregation with an autumn gold ginkgo tree planted at the site, which also has a plaque remembering her son, Anthony J. Klocke, 28. Klocke mixed common household cleaning chemicals to produce toxic fumes, which he then breathed while parked at the church. Helgeson discovered him the next morning. On Sunday, she said, “We remember him.” The ceremony was followed by a communitywide forum at the church on coping with suicide. Pictured: A ginkgo tree, plaque and Christ candle at the site.

Quilt count: Lutheran World Relief reports that this fall it received 725 quilts just from congregations in the southernmost part of the Southwestern Washington Synod. Producing the most was Highland Lutheran Church of LaCenter, with 155 quilts. St. Paul of Winlock was second, with 84 quilts. Reports from other areas of the synod were not immediately available. Harvest Festival: Stella Chapel of Longview had big success with its Harvest Festival this fall, which raised more than $3,000 and was enjoyed by 100 or so visitors. People: The Rev. Paul W. Stumme-Diers of Bainbridge Island, son of the Rev. Herman and Dorothy Diers of Tacoma, has joined the board of trustees of the Board of Pensions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. As a trustee, Stumme-Diers will help guide the Board of Pensions in its mission to provide retirement, health, disability and survivor benefits and related services for 50,000 active and retired ELCA pastors, rostered laypersons, lay employees and their families. Casey Stanton is the new contemporary worship leader at Our Saviour’s of Bremerton. Stanton grew up at Our Saviour’s. The position is new.

Upcoming

Rick Steves to headline FAN inaugural dinner Travel expert, Edmonds resident and Lutheran Rick Steves is the keynoter for the inaugural Faith Action Network awards dinner, taking place Dec. 3 in Seattle. “Uniting for the Common Good” is the theme of the advocacy group’s program that follows, to take place beginning at 4: 30 p.m. at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church, 1245 10th Ave. E. Tickets at $70 apiece or $500 for a table may still be available by calling the FAN office at (206) 625-9790. Renewing-congregations workshops slated There’s no cost to come and learn about renewing congregations in January. Purpose, leadership development and how to plan strategically are some of what is covered by the Revs. Valinda Morse, assistant to the bishop, Doug Knutson-Keller of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church of Olympia and Bill Crabtree of Silverdale Lutheran. Choose whichever time is best for you: Jan. 14 at Gloria Dei of Olympia or Feb. 4 at Silverdale Lutheran. Both are Saturdays and both go from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For questions or to register, contact the synod office.

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Upcoming

Bishop’s Prayer Retreat and Convocation coming in January The Bishop’s Convocation and Prayer Retreat takes place Jan. 22 to 25 at the Seabeck Conference Center. The Prayer Retreat goes from Jan. 22 to 24, and the Convocation follows from Jan. 24 to 25. More information and registration is at www.regonline.com/2012bishopsconvo. Catechumenate training slated Catechumentate training takes place next summer in Spokane, sponsored by the North American Association for the Catechumenate. The event is about ways to live lives of discipleship. Pastors, worship leaders and educators from congregations are invited to bring congregational teams to the session taking place Aug. 3 at the Immaculate Heart Retreat Center; www.catechumenate.org. Satterlee to lead Byberg Preaching Workshop The Rev. Craig Satterlee, homiletics professor at Lutheran School of Theology of Chicago, is the featured speaker at the Byberg Preaching Workshop on Jan. 30 to Feb. 1 in Issaquah. Details and registration are at www.bybergpreaching.org for the event at Our Savior's Lutheran Church, 745 Front St. The Rev. Susan Briehl is the workshop’s chaplain. Pre-retirement event at Dumas Bay The ELCA Board of Pensions presents a pre-retirement seminar in February for persons within 15 years of retirement from 1 to 8 p.m. Feb. 9 and from 9 a.m. to noon Feb. 10 at the Dumas Bay Centre in Federal Way. For more, contact the synod office. Calendar

Dec. 3: Faith Action Network dinner, see Page 8 Dec. 3: Christmas concert, 8 p.m., Pacific Lutheran University, see Page 2 Dec. 5: PLU Christmas concert, 7:30 p.m., Seattle Dec. 4: PLU Christmas concert, 3 p.m., PLU Dec. 9: PLU Christmas concert, 8 p.m., PLU Dec. 25: Christmas Day Jan. 1: New Year’s Day Jan. 4 to 8: Conference of Bishops, San Diego, Calif. Jan. 14: Renewing-Congregations Workshop, Olympia, see Page 8 Jan. 21: Synod Council conference call Jan. 22 to 25: Bishop’s Convocation and Prayer Retreat, Seabeck Conference Center Jan. 30 to Feb. 1: Byberg Preaching Workshop, Issaquah, see above Feb. 4: Renewing-Congregations Workshop, Silverdale, see Page 8 Feb. 9 and 10: ELCA Board of Pensions pre-retirement seminar, Federal Way, see above Feb. 23 to 26: Women of the ELCA presidents, Chicago March 1 to 6: Conference of Bishops March 17: Southwestern Washington Women of the ELCA Olympic Cluster spring celebration, Elim of Port Orchard March 31: Synod Council, St. Mark of Lacey April 13 to 16: ELCA Church Council, Chicago April 19 to 22: Women of the ELCA executive board, Chicago April 20 to 22: Southwestern Washington Women of the ELCA spring retreat, Dumas Bay Centre, Federal Way April 28: Southwestern Washington Women of the ELCA Narrows Cluster, St. Mark’s, Tacoma May 18 and 19: Southwestern Washington Synod Assembly, Vancouver, Wash. Aug. 3: Catechumenate training, Spokane, see above Sept. 7 to 9: Women of the ELCA conference of presidents Oct. 4 to 9: Conference of Bishops, Chicago Oct. 18 to 21: Women of the ELCA Executive Board Nov. 9 to 12: ELCA Church Council, Chicago