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The
Season of Epiphany
“Now
after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king,
behold wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he
who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose
and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:1-2)
In
the Gospel of Matthew the visitors to the Christ Child are wise men
from the east, who come sometime after the shepherds, had returned to
the fields following their visit. Matthew begins and ends his Gospel by
teaching us that Jesus’ coming as Savior into our world was for all
people whether Jew or Gentile. Wise men from the east open the story
and the words of Jesus to “Go therefore and make disciples of all
nations . . . ” concludes the Gospel.
The
Season of Epiphany in the church calendar comes between our celebration
of Christmas and the observance of Lent. It is during this time of the
year that we learn that this Jesus is no ordinary child. He is the Son
of God who comes into our world to teach us about God and to
demonstrate the love of God for all to see. He is
- Baptized by John the
Baptist
- Performs miracles of
healing and love
- He calls others to
follow him as disciples
- He faces rejection – a
preview of what is to come
As
we travel through these next few weeks I pray that the love of this
Christ will empower you in your spiritual walk with him.
Larry
Stoterau
President, The Pacific Southwest District
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Are
you missing out on important news and information happening in the
Pacific Southwest District? Subscribe to the PSD
enews to receive the weekly District
newsletter. By subscribing to the PSD enews, you will also
automatically receive any Special Bulletins, apprising you of breaking
news or disaster information. You can also subscribe to the PSD Job Site,
our bi-weekly publication which lists positions available throughout
the District.
Wish
to learn more about the Synod's mission and ministry programs as
they relate to your congregation? Subscribe to LCMS e-News to receive
publications and devotions sent to your computer via e-mail.
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Interim Ministry 2009 – 2010 Workshops
Training
for Intentional Interim Ministry (IIM)
is open to all church workers to gain insights, skills, resources and
practical information for their congregational ministry. This
course is a basic requirement for those seeking to serve in Intentional
Interim Ministry in the PSD or CNH districts.
The course involves five workshops and includes reading assignments,
field work and case studies. The cost is $345 to cover books,
materials, the 200 page basic notebook, and lunches.
Southern California
training sessions will meet at the district office from 9:00 AM to 4:30
PM. AZ training sessions have been cancelled for 2010 due to low
enrollment. Many who have taken the course but do not intend to
pursue IIM have found the training very beneficial for their
ministries.
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SERIES
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IRVINE, CA DATES
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SESSION
1
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Tues.
October 20, 2009
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SESSION
2
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Tues.
November 17, 2009
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SESSION
3
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Tues.
February 2, 2010
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SESSION
4
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Tues.
March 2, 2010
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SESSION
5
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Tues.
April 20, 2010
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Please register with Barbara Farley at the district office at (949)
854-3232, ext. 201 or email barbara.farley@psd-lcms.org. For more information contact Mike
Brewer at (909) 917-1259 or mike@mkbrewer.com.
FOR THOSE WHO ARE PREVIOUSLY TRAINED –
Again, you are invited to audit the classes on a space available basis.
Costs are: Meal and any new books that have been added.
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Ablaze! is the mission initiative to share the Gospel of
Jesus Christ with 100 million people worldwide by the year 2017 in
response to the great love God shows to us. Fan into Flame
is the invitation for congregations and individuals to help fund Ablaze!
projects that spread the Gospel message of Jesus Christ in their
communities, the Pacific Southwest District, throughout North
America , and around the world. Click on the documents and forms
listed here:
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Ablaze Covenant Congregation
- Church
Planting Brochure {click here}
- Enrollment Form
{click here}
Nearly 50 Ablaze! Ambassadors
are ready to share as guest speakers about the worldwide initiative to
share the Gospel with 100 million non-Christians by 2017. All Ablaze! Ambassadors are passionate about
outreach and many are former district and national Synod leaders
(district presidents, LWML presidents, and LCMS and Lutheran Hour
Ministries executives).
As spokespersons for Ablaze!, each agrees to give presentations about the
effort in congregations, schools, and other venues to encourage their
fellow Lutherans to share their faith with family, friends,
co-workers—even strangers.
Consider inviting an Ablaze! Ambassador to come
encourage your congregation, school, or group in their personal
outreach and faith-sharing. (Hosting groups are asked to cover the
transportation, housing, and/or other expenses related to the
Ambassador’s attendance at their event.) Please take advantage of this
wonderful resource. If you have any questions, or would like to
view an updated list of Ablaze! Ambassadors, please call 1-800-433-3954
or visit: http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=14569
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DISASTER RESPONSE
The Pacific Southwest
District provides financial donations to our churches, schools, and
parishioners who have been affected by disaster (hurricanes, floods, fires,
earthquakes, etc). If you would like to help in this effort,
please send your donation, made payable to the Pacific Southwest
District—LCMS, earmarked for Disaster Relief, and we will include it
with the funds that we send. We are aware that many people have
been impacted by our current economic state, but we invite you to make
a donation in any amount that you are comfortable with to help those
who have lost so much. If you would prefer to donate funds
directly to LCMS World Relief and Human Care, you may do so on-line by
clicking here: http://catalog.lcms.org/GiveNow/Gift_Catalog.asp,
or mail donations to LCMS World Relief and Human Care, P.O. Box 68661,
St. Louis , MO 63166-6861,
or call the credit-card gift line at (888) 930-4438. If you would
like to volunteer in the cleanup efforts following a disaster or
devastating incident, please contact the office of the district in
which you would like to serve. Contact information for LCMS
districts is available online at www.lcmsdistricts.org.
Please
follow the link to the Gulf Coast Synod web site, www.gulfcoastsynod.org, for sermons
and sermon ideas, prayer ideas, full worship services from previous
tragedies, resources for speaking with children after a tragedy, an
intergenerational activity and much more. We will be updating that site
regularly. If they are not already there, please be patient we are
working on them and will get them there as soon as possible.
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 Lutheran
HAMS
If you are
an amateur radio ham and have an active station, we could use your
help. The Pacific Southwest District is very active in disaster
response training and preparedness. Part of the program through I-LERT
(Inter-Lutheran Emergency Response Team) is to establish a
communication network that will be able to coordinate activities
between the shelter churches in the event of a disaster. The network would
also include a station to communicate through a network to stations
outside the disaster area. The concept is to have a 2 meter local
network with a 40 meter station for DX out of the area. If you would be
interested in participating in the network, please contact Jerry
Reichman (K7AUN) at the Pacific Southwest District office in Irvine,
CA at 949-854-3232, ext.
210 or e-mail jerry.reichman@psd-lcms.org.
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It’s a New Day!
It's surprising that
after all these years, people still mention The Southern California Lutheran
Program, our District's radio program for 60 years. Pastor Richard
Schumm was the director for the final 25 years of its radio time.
Unfortunately, after so many decades, Station KAIM (1390) Long
Beach, was sold in 2002. Other stations
were cost prohibitive and by 2004 it went off the air. The Monday
after the last radio broadcast, a new PSW District internet program began. It was named "It's
A New Day." Pastor Schumm's 3-minute
audio devotions are on 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It's nice
that one can listen to the program at any time during a 24 hour period.
It changes at midnight every night. It's easy to
hear the devotion.
If you want the
program on your desktop, type in the following address:
www.psd-lcms.org/audio/default.asp,
go to the File command, select Send, then Shortcut
to Desktop. If your congregation has a website, and you
would like to access the program from there, they can simply add a link
on their site to the above address.
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HealthNotes are monthly articles addressing a variety
of current health topics, that may be linked to your website, included
in your congregational newsletters, posted, or copied for
distribution. As always, I welcome topics of interest to you and
your communities/congregations!
Each month, a variety of
health topics or health concerns are recognized through annual health
observance dates. Health observances are days, weeks, or months devoted
to promoting particular health information, or to honor healthcare
professionals
Women
account for 47.1% of deaths related to heart disease in the United
States. Support women’s heart health and encourage the women in
your life to learn all they can to prevent (or control) their risk of
heart disease! Click
here for the February 2010 issue of HealthNotes.
FLU
SEASON ALERT
– Here is an informative brochure with up-to-date FAQ’s about the flu in its many
forms. We have also provided some additional helpful
informational flyers, click here to access them: Red Cross Flu Checklist, Swine
Flu Alert Information, Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Checklist
PLEASE SHARE WITH YOUR
CONGREGATION/COMMUNITY: A BONE HEALTH STUDY OF ORANGE COUNTY is being conducted by a
professor of biological sciences at Chapman University, Orange (I
believe the only requirements are resident status – any race or
ethnicity, both males and females – of Orange County, and at least 17
years of age; the only disqualifier I know of is currently being on
treatment (e.g., Fosamax, Boniva, etc.) to improve bone density…).
Please consider participation in this study… it’s free, and even if it
weren’t, the price of the DEXA bone scan and lab tests are worth our
contribution to a better understanding of healthy bones!!
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The Extra Mile Ministries K9 Crisis
Response Ministry
Faith Lutheran Church in
Whittier, CA is now the home of the Extra Mile Ministries K9 Crisis
Response Ministry. This ministry is a vital link in the ministry of
national response to crisis/disaster.
These specially trained
comfort dogs work with experienced handlers and team members in
stressful situations which are often chaotic and unpredictable. The team
helps victims, emergency personal, and family members cope emotionally
and spiritually. In doing so the team is able to help renew faith and
restore hope. The team brings Christ-like compassion and mercy
utilizing the dogs as instruments, creating a healing bridge connecting
those in crisis and the crisis team. As those who face traumatic
situations begin to pet and touch the K9, the power of God opens the
door of opportunity to help and serve. Knowing the physical power of
touch and its effectiveness, a much deeper healing can take place that
is beyond description. The team provides a ministry of presence and
offers Christ crisis tools of mercy and grace.
Support of this ministry, through prayer and financial contributions,
is always welcome. Donations can be mailed to:
The Extra Mile Ministries
c/o PSW District
2206 Luz Way
Oceanside, California 92056
Thank you for your
continued support! We hope you will “friend” us on our Facebook
page ("K9 Comfort").
Blessings!
Chaplain Ralph and the K9 Chaplain/Comfort Dog Teams and Staff
clothcop@aol.com
www.faceofcrisis.org
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Our purpose is to facilitate the people
movement to Christ now taking place on the Navajo reservation. We do
that by writing curriculum for making disciples, equipping the saints,
and training people for ministry. On our website you can see the
programs and the work being done to train Navajo ministers to bring
Jesus into the hearts of the un-churched among the Navajo Nation. We
train by doing. http://stevesbooks.homestead.com/index.html
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You Can
Receive a Free Copy of Feed My Sheep by Donating $25 to the Feed My
Sheep Book Fund
This book is not only a
valuable resource on the history of the District with an emphasis on
the Hispanic ministries but is also an excellent handbook on how to do
Hispanic ministries. To secure your free copy, contact Karene Cargill
at (949) 854-3232, ext. 200 in the District Office or Mike Doyle,
District Archivist, at (909) 985-5948 or email mikedoyle@adelphia.net.
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Inter-Lutheran
Emergency Response Team (I-LERT)
The Inter-Lutheran Emergency Response Team encourages and educates
the Lutheran community - congregations, schools and agencies in
Southern California – of the importance of preparing for and being
ready to respond to disasters and emergencies. We seek to identify
church locations as community havens and disaster response sites.
I-LERT is connected to Lutheran Disaster Response through Lutheran
Social Services of the Southwest. Click
here for
more information.
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