A Monthly Newsletter of the Southwestern Washington Synod – ELCA |
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Synod Staff Find Synod Staff Contact Information HERE |
Synod Events Find Upcoming Events HERE |
Transitions Find Congregations in Transition HERE |
On The Road With the Staff Archive Find out what our staff has been doing throughout the year HERE |
Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2026 from your Southwestern Washington Synod Office! |
| In This Month’s Edition: A Word from Bishop Keith Marshall A Word from Bishop Associate Michelle de Beauchamp A Word from DEM Joey Ager A Word from Associate DEM Melissa Anderson Trust A Word from Synod Administrator Stefanie DeZarn On the Road with the Staff Ministry Voices “In the Spotlight” – Ministers in Specialized Settings (MISS), Rev. Ron McClung ELCA Churchwide – A Christmas Message from Presiding Bishop Yehiel Curry |
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Over the past weeks of Advent, I had the joy of gathering with rostered ministers from across the synod for our Advent Eucharist services. These were holy moments of worship, prayer, and conversation as pastors and deacons paused from the demands of ministry to be nourished by Word and Sacrament. The photos from these gatherings tell the story well. In a season that invites waiting and watching, these services became places of grounding and renewal. Advent is a time when the church slows down to remember that we are not the ones who bring salvation and hope into the world. God does. Gathering around the communion table with our rostered leaders was a visible sign of that truth. As we wait for Christ to come, we are reminded that we do so together, sustained by grace and sent again into the world with hope. I am grateful for these moments of community and for the faithful leaders whose ministry continues to bear witness to God’s coming kingdom, even as we wait and trust in what God is bringing to life among us. May God bless you and your family this Advent season as we wait and hope for the coming of the Christ Child! Bishop Keith Marshall |
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A Word from the Bishop’s Associate |
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Dear SW Washington Synod, One of the joys in this new call as the Bishop’s Associate is practicing the spiritual gift of patience and seeing how that manifests in our wonderful synod. The patience of seeing how the Spirit of God is moving quietly and nudging us through the processes of lay ministry, mobility, and candidacy. It has been a delight and a joy to witness how many call committees express and embody the love they have for their congregation by being very intentional in their call process. Another delight is hearing the deep love for Jesus that many of our faithful lay leaders have in our PSALM program through the retreat time and their assignments. Lastly, this past week, even with how the world is literally darker right now, I have heard so many glimmers of hope in our synod: a new call going well, an interim feeling called to their role, a candidacy candidate feeling heard, a church deciding to open their doors more, and someone answering that tug to do ministry differently. I am finding patience (not my strongest gift) has been helpful as I have come into this role, because it calls me to pause and see how God is on the move here in the SW WA Synod. These past four months I have begun walking with 21 congregations in the midst of transition, continued our Lay Ministry Education PSALM program with Pastor Melissa, developed our SAM (Synodically Authorized Minister) Program, connected with 2 different synod task forces, led some other holy conversations, looked at developing our interim and other trainings, met with our ecumenical partners, and co-led the Candidacy Committee with Deacon Megan Philips. And a big THANK YOU to Pastor Rebecca Shjerven (and administrator Stefanie DeZarn) for making this transition go smoothly and all the support. This next year I look forward to all the opportunities for our synod to grow and listen to how the Spirit is nudging each of us and our ministry sites. Thank you all for the ministry you do as rostered ministers, lay leaders, church goers, and community members. Our world needs us all to be Christ’s light in this world right now where it can be so hopeless. We are called to be those advent lights of love, joy, peace, and hope sharing God’s message of care and grace for all. Peace, Pastor Michelle de Beauchamp |
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Happy Christmas! As a Scot in the Northwest, I often feel most at home here when these short days of Advent roll around again. This season of wintering in the dark brings with it a paradoxical and hopeful energy: deep underground, the roots of the bare trees are deepening, the leaves of what’s been lost this year are rotting into another millimeter of fertility. The Spring will come round again – after we rest, watch, and wait. This is the paradoxical hope I hold for us this Advent: that we embrace the Winter. Rest, release, and compost what we can, and know that this Holy work brings us faithfully into Spring’s miraculous resurrection. Unless a seed falls to the ground and dies, it cannot bear fruit. May we bear much fruit together in 2026! Peace, Joey |
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A Word from the Associate DEM |
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Emmanuel, God with us. This upcoming Sunday we will hear the story of the birth of Jesus as told through Matthew’s gospel. The only gospel where Jesus is referred to as Emmanuel, God with us. God is indeed with us in the Southwestern Washington Synod! Part of my role as a Director of Evangelical Mission is to listen for where God is at work in the Synod, and to bear witness to that work around the Synod and the entire ELCA. You have welcomed me into your congregations to preach, worship, and learn from you; thank you! Here are a few highlights of some of the incredible ways God is at work around the Synod: - One pastor makes and teaches others how to make finger labyrinths at the local pottery shop while their parishioner teaches chair dancing at the local senior center.
- A congregation is exploring how to minister and outreach to neurodivergent children and their families, recognizing the specific isolation and ostracism they experience in worship and accessing resources in their local community.
- Another worship community has embraced the passions of lay leaders and developed a hiking ministry. Each week a trail profile is sent out so people know what to expect. People gather to experience God’s healing creation, build relationship with one another, and engage God in prayer.
- The worship team at Living Stones Prison Congregation is building resiliency and leadership skills as they navigate working as a team, reevaluating the covenant for worship team participation, and leading worship at all Christian services at Washington Corrections Center.
These are just four examples of many throughout our Synod of God amongst us. God is certainly with us and at work in our Synod and I am grateful to come alongside you as new ways of ministry continue bubbling up. Emmanuel, God with us. Pastor Melissa Anderson Trust Associate Director of Evangelical Mission |
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A Word from the Synod Administrator |
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Advent Blessings to you! The smell of freshly baked cookies, a cup of hot chocolate, sitting by the window in Lilly-Oma’s kitchen. The advent wreath on the kitchen table has its candles lit and while we are having the most wonderful conversations, I am waiting for the first snowflakes to fall… That is one of the memories of my childhood. Snow has always been so magical to me. When everything is covered in white and the world seems to get quiet. Growing up, to me, snow signified Christmas, and this season brought all the excitement of the impending birth of our Christ Child. Now, an adult with grown children, I still catch myself excited with the first snowfall and the miracle it signifies. Snow still is so magical to me. One of my favorite German Christmas carols is “Leise rieselt der Schnee”, composed by German Protestant pastor Eduard Ebel in 1895. It describes the first snowfall and the arrival of the Christ Child. I grew up singing it at many Advent pageants and choir recitals, and I am still humming (and yes, sometimes singing, although not well) this lovely tune. As I grow older, my German roots still feel familiar and deep and come out to sparkle a little, especially during Christmas. For this Advent season, I’d like to share this beautiful carol with you by including a link to a video. You can find it HERE. I wish you hope, I wish you peace, I wish you joy and I wish you love! Rejoice, the Christ Child is coming soon! Much love to you and yours! ~Stefanie |
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On the Road with the Staff |
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November 16 Messiah Lutheran Church in Vancouver blessed and said farewell to Jessica Potts, their Youth Director of 21 years. |
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November 23 Bishop Keith visited Pastor Anna Haugen and the good people of Chinook Lutheran and Naselle Lutheran Churches. Together, these two congregations have faithfully made Christ known in their small coastal communities in the southwestern corner of our synod for over 250 years! |
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December 3 Rostered ministers from the South Sound and Coastal Conferences gathered at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Lacey for the Bishop’s Advent Eucharist. |
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December 4 Thank you to eliseo for hosting the Bishop’s Advent Eucharist for Tacoma SW, Tacoma Narrows, Evergreen and Mt. Rainier Conferences. |
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December 10 Bishop’s Advent Eucharist for the Fort Vancouver and Lower Columbia Conferences, hosted by Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Kelso. |
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December 11 Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Bremerton hosted the fourth Bishop’s Advent Eucharist for the Olympic and Peninsula Conferences |
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December 11 Pastor Melissa and Bishop Keith meeting with One Parish One Prisoner, Living Stones and Pastor Chris Smith. |
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In the Spotlight Ministers in Specialized Setting |
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Rev. Ron McClung Chaplain Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Hospice, University Place, WA |
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For the last 6 years, I have been under call at Franciscan Hospice (old name, but one I like best). In Kitsap Co., I have been privileged to walk alongside many dying patients and their loved ones as they transition from this world to the next. While some view this work as depressing or sad, I have found it very fulfilling to share the Good News with those who are the most vulnerable and in need of God’s comfort. People I serve are facing the hardest time of their lives and need to share their story and hear words of comfort. The people I pray for by and large are unchurched and need a bridge to God’s grace. How wonderfully the Holy Spirit moves in very unexpected ways in my visits on a daily basis! I am teaching people that death is not always our enemy, but can become our friend. What a honor this has been! At the end of this month, I will be retiring from hospice and find new avenues of service as God’s grace and my health allows. I cherish these years I’ve had at hospice and also the congregations I’ve served. May God continue to guide me to bring the light of Christ in the dark places of this world. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.” John 1:5 NRSV |
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This Christmas, listen closely. The heavens are still whispering: “Jesus is here. God loves you. Share that love with the world.” The Rev. Yehiel Curry Presiding Bishop Evangelical Lutheran Church in America |
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