Re-Formation in Action: 4 Tapestry Team Focus Groups
For 2023, the Tapestry Team of the Virginia Synod now has four focus groups to address social justice issues throughout the year: Racial Justice, LGBTQIA+ Inclusion, Care of Creation Justice, and Justice for Women. The Tapestry Team has teams devoted to planning events around these justice areas. NOW is the time to express your interest in participating in any or all of these teams! To get involved, please email: bayerderrick@vasynod.org.
Justice for Women
2023
November, December
Coordinators
Sylvia Vick-Eley
Pastor Kayla Keilholtz
See Tab Below for Additional Resources
Care of Creation
2023
August, September, October
Coordinator
Sister Phyllis Cox
The theme for the 2023 Season of Creation is “Let Justice and Peace Flow” and the symbol is a mighty river. In observing the Season of Creation in your congregations, the VA Synod Tapestry Team encourages you to use the symbol of the mighty river in your events. The prophet Amos cries out “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!”(Amos 5:24) and so we are called to join the river of justice and peace, to take up climate justice and to speak out with and for communities most impacted by climate injustice and the loss of biodiversity.
Season of Creation Worship Resources – Congregations are invited to celebrate the Season of Creation. During the month of August, you are invited to act individually or as a congregation in a unique way each week outline in the Care of Creation 2023 Invitation below. During the month of September, congregations are encouraged to use liturgies developed specifically for the Season of Creation by the Northern Illinois Synod’s Creation Care Committee (linked below).
In October, the Tapestry Team will host “Climate Change in Context, a Zoom webinar with Phoebe Morad, Director of Lutherans Restoring Creation, and another guest speaker, answering questions and concerns from Lutherans in the VA Synod about climate change and creation justice. Use this link to watch the webinar.
- Season of Creation 2023 Invitation
- Season of Creation Worship Resources: Year A
- Tree Planting Liturgy
See Tab below for Additional Resources
Racial Justice
2023
Jan, Feb, March
Coordinators
Pastor Harry Griffith
Maurice Gallimore
- Midwinter PitS workshop: Blessed Are the Righteous – The Rev. Paul Pingel
- 2023 Bulletin Inserts
- Black History Month Resources by Rev. Carla S. Christopher Wilson
- Tapestry Racial Justice Workshop at Midwinter Power in the Spirit 2022
- ELCA Racial Justice Ministries
- ELCA Racial Justice Blog
- Under Our Skin: What Do We Mean When We Talk About Race? short video clips that invite conversation around race.
See Tab below for Additional Resources
LGBTQIA+ Inclusion
2023
April, May, June
Coordinator
George Donovan
- 2023 Pride Worship
- LGBTQIA+ Resources and Information
- Looking to Love: LGBTQIA+ Conversations with Our Church
- Transgender Day of Visibility 2023 – Bishop Strickland and Bishop Bos
- Virginia Synod Pride Worship: June 25, 2023 – More details coming soon
- Reconciling Works
- Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries
- Out in Scripture: A collection of over 175 conversations about the Bible, for each Sunday of the Revised Common Lectionary. From 100 diverse scholars and pastors, from over 11 different denominations. This Human Rights Campaign resource places comments about the Bible alongside the real-life experiences and concerns of LGBTQIA+ people of faith and our allies.
- Straight for Equality Ally Calendar
Tapestry Resources
Resources are grouped for ease of access, however we recognize that justice ministries are intersectional.
- ELCA Racial Justice Ministries
- ELCA Racial Justice Blog
- Under Our Skin: What Do We Mean When We Talk About Race? short video clips that invite conversation around race.
- White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism (by Robin DiAngelo)
- Teaching While White Podcast
- How to Have Difficult Conversations
- Resource Guide to Address Racial Reconciliation in Your Congregation
- The ELCA Resolution on the Day of Remembrance and Repentance
- The Explanation of the Declaration to People of African Descent
- A Service of Mourning and Repentance commemorating the Emanuel 9
- Emanuel 9 Prayer Service
- Emanuel 9 Day of Remembrance and Repentance Video
- Emanuel 9 Memorial
- ELCA Juneteenth Worship Resources
- Bread for the World’s Racial Wealth Gap Learning Simulation
- ELCA Webcasts on Race and Culture
- WELCA Program Resources Page on Race
- WELCA How to have helpful conversations about race in the church
- WELCA Historical timeline of race relations
- 2022 Midwinter Power in the Spirit Racial Justice Presentation
- Midwinter PitS workshop: Blessed Are the Righteous – The Rev. Paul Pingel
- 2023 Bulletin Inserts
- African Descent Ministries of the ELCA is celebrated Black History Month with Talks at the Desk, a new video series that will explore diverse expressions of the church. These four videos and accompanying study guides are excellent resources for congregational and individual study.
- Weekly Devotions for October on Human Trafficking
- Justice for Women Resources
- Light Dawns: Human Trafficking and the Image of God. 3 week study taught by Pastor Kelly Bayer Derrick (Assistant to the Bishop) and Lisa Kersey (Executive Director of Freekind)
- A Litany for Advent
- The Basics of Human Trafficking – Presented by Sylvia Eley
- Additional Resources:
- Reconciling Works
- Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries
- Out in Scripture: A collection of over 175 conversations about the Bible, for each Sunday of the Revised Common Lectionary. From 100 diverse scholars and pastors, from over 11 different denominations. This Human Rights Campaign resource places comments about the Bible alongside the real-life experiences and concerns of LGBTQIA+ people of faith and our allies.
- Straight for Equality Ally Calendar
- Virginia Synod Pride Worship 2022
Resources curated by Deacon Phyllis Cox
- Stewardship of Creation: A Thirty Day Discipline – Use this as devotional materials and to either begin or continue your congregation’s “greening” discussions. Its daily Bible passages and reflections can be downloaded, copied, and folded as a booklet for distribution. Download here.
- Season of Creation Worship Resources – Congregations are invited to celebrate the Season of Creation in worship beginning the first Sunday in September and to Bless Animals during the first week of October.
- Climate Change in Context
- Season of Creation
- VA Interfaith Power and Light
- Center for Climate Justice and Faith (for longer courses in working towards climate justice in context)
- Lutherans Restoring Creation
- YouTube videos ( recent webinars re: any resources policy advantages to saving money and resources on buildings)
- Hosting a Group Discussion resource
- Actions Speak Loudly!
- ELCA Climate Care
- One Home. One Future: Joining the One Home One Future campaign
- Women of the ELCA: Called to be Political (important difference between political and partisan)
- Saving Us Book Study – Join Deacon Cox for a book study on Katherine Hayhoe’s book, Saving Us, Thursdays in October. Participants will be responsible for purchasing their own book or checking it out from their local library.
Do Justice is a bi-monthly newsletter of the Virginia Synod, lifting up God’s call and command that we, God’s people, do justice. You will find helpful info about justice ministries in congregations, around Virginia, and through the ELCA. If you have stories of justice to share from your congregation, please share those with The Rev. Kelly Bayer Derrick, Assistant to the Bishop at bayerderrick@vasynod.org so we share them with others in the synod!
For a full archive of Do Justice newsletters, visit www.vasynod.org/do-justice
Email: bayerderrick@vasynod.org
Phone: 540-389-1000
Deacon Phyllis Cox
Tapestry Team Chair
These resources are available to provide worship materials produced by the Tapestry team for you to download and use in your congregation.
Authorized by this Synod’s congregations in 2003, Tapestry’s mission is to empower congregations in the Virginia Synod to be boldly inclusive in matters of diversity and inclusion, walking with God, and guided by the Holy Spirit to bring healing, reconciliation, and justice. Tapestry provides resources, facilitates conversations, and fosters networking across the Synod in order to advocate for God’s desire to weave a rich and diverse Body of Christ!