Equipping the Saints, an annual, all-day event for lay persons and clergy hosted by St. Marks Lutheran Church, 400 N. Esplanade, Cuero will be held Saturday, February 1. This years theme is Best Practices for Faith & Life Today (and in anticipation of our Future as Church). The event is sponsored by the Bluebonnet Conference of Churches of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The Bluebonnet Conference includes congregations and communities in Victoria, DeWitt, Lavaca, Fayette, Colorado, Calhoun, Gonzales, Goliad and Jackson Counties.

Registration forms and information packets are available from any ELCA Lutheran Church in the area, or you can register by contacting the host church St. Marks Lutheran Church, Cuero at 361-275-2845, office; E-mail: stmarkscuero@stmarkscuero.com or Pastor Herb Beyer, ETS Coordinator at 361-798-0155; E-mail: beyerfam@hughes.net.

Register online at https://stmarkscuero.com/news-events/

Registration is $10 or free for members

8:30 a.m., registration

9:15 a.m. Opening Communion Service

10:30 a.m. Session A Workshops

12:00 -12:45 p.m. Luncheon for Participants Hospitality Hour

1:00 p.m. Session B Workshops

2:30 p.m. Session C Workshops

4:00 p.m. Closing WorshipService

This is the 38th anniversary of the annual Equipping the Saints (ETS) with its many workshops that provide important insights and Biblically-based practical tools to equip persons to do congregational and community ministry and mission. There are also opportunities for personal and spiritual growth, table fellowship (catered meal) with Christians of area congregations, child care for young children of attendees, and the experience of worship as the body of Christ with opening and closing services. While the event is sponsored by ELCA (Lutheran) congregations, it is open to persons of all denominations and includes presenters from among our ecumenical partners. Registration is necessary. ETS is known for both the variety of workshop offerings and the quality of the speakers.

ETS workshops include Why Love is not Enough (marriage, relationships, family); Immortality to Mortality to Immortalitythe Cycle of Life; Bible Study (the Binding of Isaac in Genesis 22); PainThe What, Why and How of Treating; The Importance of Landscaping with native Plants; Managing Your Finances and Your Life In an Era of Fake News, Political Infighting and Other Things Beyond Your Control; How Essential Oils can Enhance your Spiritual Life; What We BelieveThe Sacrament of Baptism; Reaching Youth Today; Zen Practice for Lutheran Christians; God Created Families, Thank God We Can Choose Our Friends; Lutheran Prayer Beads: aka, The Pearls or The Wreath of Life; Bible Study: Discussion of the Identity of the Beloved Disciple in the Gospel of John; Healthy Eating; Beneficial Insects and other Helpful Creatures Found in the Garden; Essential Oils and Chronic Illness; What We Believethe Sacrament of Holy Communion; Sacred Seasons; Blessed are the Peacemakers: Aikido for Christians; Living a Balanced Life in the Face of So Much Diversity; Travel the Holy land; Discussion about Religion of Zoroastrians whose beliefs and practices had a profound impact on Early Christians and our beliefs today; The Top TenHealth Conditions Affecting Americans; Community Gardening; Making the Journey (because its not always easy); The Church as Sanctuary; Experiencing the Presence of God in Worship; Groundhogs and Grace (doctrine of salvation of grace through faith with a look at the movie Groundhog Day); and Strategy for Mission in a New Reality.

This years speakers include Dr. Norm Beck from Texas Lutheran University; Dr. M. G. Wilkinson, family practitioner and Chief of Staff at Lavaca Medical Center; Lane Johnson, Counselor and Life Coach, and Chief of Clinical Services at Gulf Bend Center, Victoria, and has served Methodist and Presbyterian Churches; the Rev. Sharon Wiggins, transitional pastor and has spent time on the West Bank (with the World Council of Churches), Bethlehem (as part of the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Accompaniment Program), traveled to the Holy Land with Christian Peacemakers, and lived in Saudi Arabia; members of the Master Gardeners ProgramDebbie Hopper, Catherine Koenig, and Marcia Kauffman; Jenna Bruns, renowned Liturgical Artist and Owner of Cottonpatch Designs; Rev. Ildiko Rigney, ELCA pastor serving First Lutheran in Gonzales and a native of Croatia, Europe; Dave Sather, Certified Financial Planner and principal owner of the Sather Financial Group; Rev. Travis Fitzgold, founder of the Zen Learning Project, an entrepreneurial ministry in Austin, and ELCA pastor serving Good Shepherd Lutheran, Bastrop; Angela McConnell, Parish Catechetical Leader for Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Hallettsville and holds the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies Plant Based Certificate and the Ann Wigmore Natural Health Living Foods Certificate, and engaged in teaching about proper nutrition; Vicar Sergio, a graduate of Baylor University (B.A., Religion), Concordia Theological Seminary, LCMS (Master of Arts, Theology), currently a Master of Divinity student at Wartburg Theological Seminary, ELCA and is serving at Christ the King Lutheran Church, Houston; Rev. Dr. Larry Green, pastor serving Gods Church, Victoria and Goliad Country Fellowship, Goliad, chaplain with Hospice of South Texas, and chaplain for the Victoria Police Department; Rev. Melanie Monroe, pastor of First Methodist and Mossy Grove Methodist, Hallettsville and Chair of the Crossroads District Strategy Team, United Methodist, and served English and Spanish speaking congregations; and Rev. Herb Beyer, Lead Pastor for the Tri-County Cooperative Ministries and Dean of the Bluebonnet Conference.

Registration forms and information packets are available from any ELCA Lutheran Church in the area, or you can register by contacting the host church St. Marks Lutheran Church, Cuero at 361-275-2845, office; E-mail: stmarkscuero@stmarkscuero.com or Pastor Herb Beyer, ETS Coordinator at 361-798-0155; E-mail: beyerfam@hughes.net.

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Equipping the Saints 2020 | Calendar - Victoria Advocate