In this episode of the Mission Table Podcast Paul sits down with Rev. Peter Alexander who has served as an Interim Pastor in the LCMS since 1999, serving 10 congregations in California, Nevada, Arizona, Virginia, and New Jersey. He previously served on the LCMS TIM Board and now supports the work of the Board as an advisor. Peter’s experience, passion, and leadership make him a great resource for LCMS TIM. Read More about Transitional Interim Ministry here: www.lcmstim.org

Over MLK Weekend, nearly 90 youth gathered at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Hayward for IMPACT Conference 2026—and it was one of those weekends that sticks with you. Students came from Tennessee, St. Louis, Sacramento, Germany, and all around the Bay Area, and by the end of the weekend, it felt less like a group of strangers and more like one big community. Youth were mixed into groups, shared meals, worshiped together, laughed a lot, and spent meaningful time building fri

It is time to submit to Synod your congregation’s end-of-year statistics and update your current list of lay leaders at the following website: lc.lcms.org . (If you cannot remember the username and/or password you created previously for your congregation, follow the on-screen helps on the login page to recover your credentials.) The deadline for congregation statistics and lay leader updates is February 28 . You may also review your congregation’s profile and lay leader infor

Hope. Crisis. Opportunity. These three words served as overarching theme for the 28th Annual Best Practices in Transitional Interim Ministry (BP-TIM 2026). For increased access to the event, there was a venue change this year, which landed us at our own District Office in Livermore. Those registered represented seven different Districts from all across our church body. Fourteen sessions were packed into our time from noon to noon on January 19-21. We enjoyed a wide variety of

Requesting a Seminary Candidate To request a candidate from a seminary, first contact your District President. The District President must approve your congregation’s participation in the seminary candidate interview process before the seminaries can work with you. Once approval is given, please complete the form at the following link: Click here . After you submit the form: • It will automatically be emailed to the seminary you select, or to both seminaries if you choose no

Imagine turning the key to your very first home—and finding it empty. No bed to sink into after a long day. No towel after a shower. No dishes to cook a first meal. For many people moving out of chronic homelessness, this is what a “fresh start” can look like without the support of a caring community. Over the next few months, Lutheran Social Services of Northern California (LSS)  will welcome more than 220 of our Sacramento-area neighbors into brand-new, permanent homes—noth