Synod Gathering 2024 is scheduled for Thursday, May 30 – Saturday, June 1, at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory. Church members and visitors, pastors, and deacons from across the synod will gather to develop community, grow in faith, and grow skills for building God’s church. All are invited! YOU are invited! Watch Bishop Tim’s Invitation Video. Early Bird Deadline is coming soon! The deadline for early-bird registration is Wednesday, April 24.Learn more by visiting the Synod Gathering webpage—make plans to attend!   The post Early Bird Registration Ends Soon appeared first on North Caro ..read more

The 2024 NC Synod Gathering—Thursday, May 30, through Saturday, June 1, at Lenoir-Rhyne in Hickory—will feature two special guests presenting keynotes: the Rev. Dr. Jay Augustine, who will speak on the Gathering theme on Thursday, and Iain Chester, ELCA Director of Innovation, who will speak on Friday. Each of the three days of Synod Gathering will feature a different worship opportunity! Bishop Tim will preach for Thursday’s Opening Worship, Lutheridge staff will lead vespers worship on Friday, and Deacon Beka Forst will preach on Saturday as we celebrate the youth and adults heading to New O ..read more

Dear NovusWay Family, Over the last several months, we, as the Board of Directors for NovusWay and our co-CEOs Mike and Mitzie, have shared multiple announcements outlining the current financial realities for the ministry and the steps taken to help mitigate them and place the ministry on a path of sustainability. Today, we share two additional milestone decisions made at this weekend’s board meeting. Both decisions were made to help position each of our sites and the overall ministry for years of forming faith, developing leaders, building community, and providing sabbath rest. First, news re ..read more

The Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is adding its voice to the growing group of faith leaders urgently calling for a permanent bilateral cease-fire in Gaza. We urge President Joe Biden, our legislators, and all who lead and make decisions on behalf of the United States to do everything in their power to bring an end to the current suffering and lay the foundation for lasting peace with justice. As members of the ELCA Conference of Bishops, we are elected to lead one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with nearly 3 million mem ..read more

Most beloved NC Synod Siblings, The deep and abiding grace of God in Christ be with you all! By now many of you are aware of Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (LTSS) of Lenoir-Rhyne University’s announcement that it is planning to move from Columbia, South Carolina, to the main campus of Lenoir-Rhyne University (LRU) in Hickory, North Carolina in January of 2025. The final approval of the move is expected from the university’s trustees later this month. This is hard news for some of us, perhaps especially those who were formed on the campus in Columbia and have precious memories of those ..read more

As we begin the slow walk to Easter, we’re also approaching the end of the Bishop’s Challenge for Refugee Hospitality. The work of welcome never actually ends, but this upcoming Easter season we will take a moment to celebrate, reflect, and share our stories from the Bishop’s Challenge. Since Bishop Tim Smith invited North Carolina Synod congregations to a synod-wide effort to engage in the work of welcome at the 2022 Synod Gathering, congregations have responded in a number of ways—from collecting and packing much-need items in welcome bags to sponsoring refugee families in an LSC Circle of W ..read more

She didn’t set out to work in ministry. The Rev. Dr. Beverly Wallace, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary’s (LTSS) new Lifelong Learning Director, took an indirect route that led her to the church and eventually to Lenoir-Rhyne University’s LTSS, located in Columbia, SC. With a degree in social work, she found gaps in the Lutheran church she attended in New York “The pastors weren’t necessarily understanding issues of psychology and relationships,” she said. So, she got involved. Later, Beverly and her family moved to Greensboro, North Carolina, where she got a master’s degree in human deve ..read more

The synod’s Engage the Bible Ministry Team is hosting the TikTok Tell It Contest again! The challenge from this year’s LYO Assembly planning team is to tell a story from Scripture that highlights the themes of welcome, hospitality, and/or inclusion: With Christ, Y’all Means All! the challenge from this year’s LYO Assembly planning team: tell a story from Scripture that highlights the themes of welcome, hospitality, and/or inclusion. With Christ, y’all means all! the deadline: Monday, February 12, 2024, by midnight the voting: youth groups attending the 2024 LYO As ..read more

Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) Carolinas is pleased to offer a limited number of mini-grants (typically $500) to assist congregations in the NC and SC Synods. These should be used toward congregational preparedness projects, including purchases like security equipment, generators, AEDs, and first aid kits or training. Thanks to the NC Synod’s Michael Peeler/Virginia Casey Funds and the South Carolina Endowment Fund for funding this LDR Carolinas project. The first round of applications are due by Thursday, February 15. Funds should be distributed in early March. Questions? Contact LDR Caroli ..read more

It’s time! Bring your middle and high school youth and join us for LYO (Lutheran Youth Organization) Assembly in Greensboro, February 23-25. LYO Assembly is a time for youth from our synod to gather together and collaborate with other congregations in a youth-led event planned and facilitated by the LYO Board which made up of youth from across the synod. Our theme this year is Y’all Means All. The LYO Board chose the theme because they want to ensure that all NC Synod youth know that this church is a place of belonging for everyone, no matter what! It is the hope of LYO leadership that as we t ..read more