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Congregations and their leaders are cordially invited to gather at St. Luke Lutheran Church, 203 N. Valley Forge Rd., Devon, PA on Saturday, October 19 from 9 am – 3 pm for a synod wide learning day event that will focus on how we live as God’s faithful people.
There is no cost for this event and lunch will be provided.
After an opening worship service, Bishop Dwayne Royster will share a keynote address. Bishop Royster is the executive director of Faith in Action, the largest faith-based community organizing movement committed to racial and economic justice in the United States. He believes that, since we are all created in the image and likeness of God, it is imperative that a prophetic faith voice is heard in the halls of power calling for equity and respect for every human life. Committed to the restoration and redemption of all human beings, he intentionally works to build up people and communities. He believes that the first revolution of love is internal—a reminder that love of self should not be placed above love of neighbor. Bishop Royster will help us to ground our response to God’s love by expanding our understanding of neighbor, our connection to the communities around us, and beginning to imagine how we can be the church in new ways.
Following the keynote address and lunch there will be two learning seasons, each aiming to equip congregations and leaders with practical skills. One will focus on acknowledging cultural realities and our own biases, the other around vision and purpose for leadership.
Live Faithfully will also serve as the launch for Love Revolution: Love God, Love Neighbor, a multi-year learning community that will engage both lay and rostered leaders in a process to renew their sense of purpose and vocation. These leaders will delve into the promises we make at baptism to discover the variety of ways God’s love revolutionizes the way we live and serve in the world. Made possible by a generous grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc., Love Revolution also supports synod wide learning days like this one in which the whole synod can gather and explore how God is empowering us to love our neighbors in new and effective ways.
As we look forward to this event, we are also happy to announce that after a faithful review of applications, five congregations, one from each county in the synod, have been selected to be the first cohort of the Love Revolution. These congregations are:
- Faith Immanuel Lutheran Church, East Lansdowne, Delaware County
- Reformation Lutheran Church, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County
- St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Sellersville, Bucks County
- The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, King of Prussia, Montgomery County
- Zion Lutheran Church, Spring City, Chester County
We look forward to offering opportunities for all interested congregations to participate in the formal learning process of the Love Revolution over time and can’t wait to welcome everyone to these synod events.
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