Micah’s Backpack

June 2011 School Year-to-Date Results

Blacksburg Head Start Preschool * Blacksburg Middle School

Gilbert Linkous Elementary School * Harding Avenue Elementary School

Kipps Elementary School * Margaret Beeks Elementary School

Price’s Fork Elementary School * Valley Interfaith Child Care Center

Here are a few photos of a group volunteering at Southwest Virginia Feeding America, our seminary partner, Michael, the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, the March Happy-Go-Lucky gathering, the Chimes Choir practicing, volunteers helping with Micah’s Backpack and volunteers putting together Easter Baskets for the Women’s Resource Center and the Salvation Army.

On June 3, Pastor John (photo) kicked off the 24th Annual Assembly of the Virginia Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) with an excellent sermon on the Ten Commandants. The annual meeting was held at Roanoke College in Salem, VA. 417 ministers and lay leaders attended including some 37 guests/visitors. Jody Smiley, President of the Virginia Women ELCA attended, along with Ben and Carol Crawford representing St. Michael. The Reverend Jim Mauney was re-elected Bishop on the 1st ballot. His term is 6 years. The Synod Spending Plan was presented to the Assembly by Pastor John and approved unanimously. The 3-day meeting ended June 5. An extended summary of the events of the Assembly can be found here.(Submitted by Ben Crawford)

The ELCA has started a new blog called ELCA Factchecker. According to the site, since “members periodically raise concerns about ELCA ministries or policies. ELCA FactChecker examines these concerns and offers factual responses.” If you’d like to see what questions are being answered, you can go to: http://elcafactchecker.com/

At Synod Assembly over the weekend, our keynote speaker, Dr. Jessicah Krey Duckworth, spoke about a website called: enterthebible.org from Luther Seminary. According to the introduction on the front page of the website, it contains a “wealth of resources to help you grow in your faith, add depth to your Bible studies and truly discover the people, places and events of the Bible. Think of Enter the Bible as your guide, a helpful reference tool to accompany you in your reading of the Bible.” For each book of the Bible, there is a tab with a summary of the book, an outline, background information, an introduction and theological themes. The site also contains maps and timelines. If you are looking for general Bible information online, it’s a good place to start.