14. Our Pastors Horseback Riding Down Virginia Beach at Gathering of the Ministerium
The Gathering of the Ministerium has been a tradition in the Virginia Synod for the last couple of decades, but this year the event got a facelift thanks to Pastor David Derrick, Mindy Reynolds, and three young pastors: Aaron DeBenedetto, Anne Jones, and Jon Myers. The weekend for rostered leaders, meant to foster partnership and collaboration, not only saw some educational format changes, but also new free time options. What a sight these pastors were riding down the beach!
13. The History of The Virginia Synod for the Last 25 years was Written
Jim Utt and George Kegley have been hard at work over the past several years trying to assemble a comprehensive history of the Virginia Synod from 1987- 2012. They’ve finally completed this work and the books will be published in January for distribution.
12. Over 75 Congregations Participated in The Week of Service
In September, the entire ELCA came together for “God’s Work, Our Hands” Sunday, a day where church members were encouraged to get out of the pew together and serve their communities. In the Virginia Synod, we decided to have a Week of Service in conjunction with the ELCA to allow more scheduling options for people to serve together. We had over 75 churches participate!
11. The Childhood Hunger Task Force was Formed
In November, the Virginia Synod initiated a Task Group chartered to work toward ending childhood hunger in Virginia. Check out the Virginia Feeds Kids’ Charter online and follow them on social media, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VirginiaFeedsKids and Twitter: https://twitter.com/VaFeedsKids
10. Our 8 Mission Partners Made Advancements
So this isn’t technically a moment, but there were so many things happening with our mission partners that we couldn’t help but to give them a shout out. Roanoke College is building the Cregger Center and Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary is now connected to Lenoir-Rhyne University. National Lutheran Communities and Services, Virginia Lutheran Homes, Lutheran Family Services of Virginia, and the Hungry Mother Lutheran Camp have all been building and making improvements to their facilities. Reuben Todd is the new Director of Caroline Furnace Lutheran Camp & Retreat Center and Chaplain Service Prison Ministry of Virginia announced a new name for their organization: “GraceInside”.
9. The Eastern Office of the Bishop Moved to First Lutheran Church, Norfolk
This moment may not be as well known as some others, but it sure has had a major impact on Synod staff, especially Lenae Osmondson (pictured below). Thank you First Lutheran for providing our office a home on the Eastern Side of the state. Here is the updated contact information for our Eastern Office:
Phone: 757-622-9421
Fax: 757-623-5680
Address: 1301 Colley Ave. Norfolk VA 23517-0010
8. Virginia Synodical Women’s Organization Made 2,600 Dresses to Send to Africa
The participants of the 2013 convention were challenged by President Risse Snelgrove to make 1,000 pillowcase dresses to send to Africa. At the time the challenge seemed rather daunting, but soon the excitement spread throughout congregations.
At the final count of the 2014 VSWO Convention there were over 2,600 dresses.
7. The Highest Attended Conference Gathering in Page
The Virginia Synod is made up of 11 conferences and each year Bishop James Mauney comes to each conference for a time of learning together, worshiping together, and fellowshipping together. The conference gatherings this year were a huge success! The staff was blown away by the participation in Page conference, one of our smallest conferences. Don’t know which conference you are in? Click here and find your congregation on the map and look at its description.
6. Largest Attendance at our ACTS Course
The Ambassadors Community for Theological Study is intended to enrich and equip laity for intentional service as ambassadors for Christ. This year we had one of the largest classes ever with 141 participants.
5. Youth Laying their Burdens Down at the Cross during Kairos
Each summer hundreds of high school students gather at Roanoke College for a summer Virginia Synod Youth Event called Kairos. The week is filled with laughter, singing, and learning more about God. One evening of the event, the youth are given an opportunity to literally put their burdens on the cross.
4. We Met our Malaria Goal of $230,000
On August 19, the Virginia Synod surpassed our Malaria goal set by the ELCA with the donations to the ELCA Malaria Campaign totaling $232,152.17!
3. President Tobby Eleasar Came all the Way from Papua New Guinea
The Virginia Synod continues to build a partnership with the New Guinea Islands District (NGI) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea (PNG) that began with the ELCA’s (Mission 90) emphasis in the early 1990s. This year we received a visit from President Tobby Eleasar, whose position is similar to that of Bishop Mauney. He traveled to every corner of our Synod and greeted member of several congregations.
2. We Gained 5 New Staff Members!
This has definitely been a year of transition for our team. Our five new staff members include:
Becky Walls- Office Manager, Kayla Fuller- Director of Communications, Chris Price- Assistant to the Bishop, Mike Agee- Financial Advisor, and Tammy Kasper- Administrative Assistant. Click here to see the full list of our staff
1. Bishop Elizabeth Eaton Spoke at Power in the Spirit
At our summer faith formation event, Power in the Spirit, some 285 Lutherans fell in love with Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton as she spent three days as the keynote speaker. Not only were her words filled with warmth and wisdom, she had the whole audience bending over with laughter. Did you miss her? Listen to one of her talks online.
There you have it! These are my picks for the top 14 moments of 2014 in the Virginia Synod. This has been an incredible year, but I have a feeling God has some Amazing things in store for our Synod in 2015.
By: Kayla Fuller, Director of Communications[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
