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SYNOD NEWS AND EVENTS - JUNE 29, 2017
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Synod Office Summer Hours: Monday-Thursday 8am - 5pm and Friday 8am - 3pm.
The synod office will be closed Monday, July 3 and Tuesday, July 4 in observance of Independence
Day.
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Record number accept call to ELCA
Young Adults in Global Mission
"Think about the mission field God has placed"
CHICAGO - Ninety-six young adult volunteers from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have accepted the call to serve with the ELCA's Young Adults in Global Mission during the 2017-2018 program year. This is a record number of volunteers for the year-long program that started in 1999 with eight young adults who volunteered to serve in the United Kingdom.
Young Adults in Global Mission is an international mission opportunity for young people from the ages of 21 to 29 in which volunteers live and serve with ELCA companion churches and partner organizations around the world.
Country programs are in Argentina/Uruguay, Australia, Cambodia, Central Europe, Jerusalem/West Bank, Madagascar, Mexico, Rwanda, Senegal, Southern Africa, and the United Kingdom. In addition to Hungary, the Central Europe program will add a site in Serbia.
The young adults will depart for their year of service Aug. 23.
We have four young adults accepting this call from Southwestern Minnesota Synod:
(pictured left to right)
Rosina Halverson-Studer
- Granite Falls Lutheran (United Kingdom)
Chelsey Johnson - Christ Lutheran in Cottonwood (Cambodia)
Megan McClure - Celebration Lutheran in Sartell (Mexico)
Hannah Sackett - Celebration Lutheran in Sartell (Rwanda)
Thanks to your generosity, your synod has sent $775 for EACH of these young adults to help with their fund raising effort. These gifts are possible from our designated funds for global mission and a gift to the Embrace God's Mission, Equip God's People Funding Initiative, watch this video below:
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| Developing Servant Leaders: YAGM |
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 Christian Leadership in our Time:
"An Explorer in Uncharted Territory"
+Bishop Jon Anderson
I have enjoyed reading the book,
Canoeing the Mountains by Tod Bolsinger. It is built around the experience of Lewis and Clark who never imagined the Rocky Mountains would lie at the end of the Missouri River as they sought to find the Northwest Passage.
Instead of canoeing across a prairie and coming to a place where they portaged to the other side of the continental divide and then canoed to the Pacific Ocean, they discovered walls of mountains. It was not what they expected. A Wikipedia entry from
Undaunted Courage gives you a glimpse into the best book I have read about this journey,
click here to read the entry.
We can understand the current challenges for congregations and their leaders in many different frames of grief, disorientation or disruptive change. Bolsinger using systems concepts, biblical and sources from Christian tradition argues that the best way to imagine ourselves is as "An Explorer in Uncharted Territory" like the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Here are some quotes I would encourage you to ponder:
- "New alternatives cannot even be imagined...until the emotional processes that fix the orientation have changed."
- "Is the church really in decline, or is it the Western, Christendom, form of church life that is now less effective?"
- "Does dwindling church attendance mean that people are less interested in God or that society and culture have stopped giving preference to Christian traditions and institutions?"
- "Is the lack of culture support for Christians a threat to Christian witness or an opportunity to work together in ways that we didn't have to do so before?"
We are called to be stewards of the Gospel. What an adventure if you stop to think about it.
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July Food Packing Events!
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July 12, 2017
Willmar Middle School, Willmar
-and-
July 25, 2017
American Reformed, Worthington
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Watch this video below about a previous Better Together Food Packing event:
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| Enhancing Local and Global Mission: Better Together |
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Equipping Men for Ministry
Join the Lutheran Men in Mission this summer!
23rd Annual Golf Tournament - July 21
Redwood Falls Golf Course, Redwood Falls at 2:30pm
Click here for more information and to register.
Equipping Men for Ministry Workshop - August 12
Grace Lutheran, Westbrook at 9:30am - 12:30pm
Equipping Men for Ministry Workshop - August 19
Paynesville Lutheran, Paynesvile at 9:30am - 12:30pm
(August workshops - two locations & dates, same workshop)
Click here for more information and to register.
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Synod Events
Below is a list of all the upcoming synod events. Visit the synod events webpage for more information.
JUNE
First-Call Family Camp
June 25-30, 2017
Green Lake Lutheran Ministries
JULY
July 21, 2017
Redwood Falls Golf Course
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AUGUST
"Brats and Beverages with the Bishop"
August 1, 2017
Talking Waters Brewery, Montevideo
Equipping Men for Ministry
August 12, 2017
Grace Lutheran, Westbrook
Equipping Men for Ministry
August 19, 2017
Paynesville Lutheran, Paynesville
SEPTEMBER
Church Staff Workers Retreat
September 19, 2017
Gloria Dei Lutheran, Redwood Falls
Fall Theological Conference
September 24-26, 2017
Arrowwood Resort, Okoboji, IA
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Other great events
- Music Workshops at the Reformation Festival
When we gather together at Luther Seminary on Oct. 27-28, 2017 to celebrate and commemorate 500 years of Reformation history, there will be 24 exciting workshops to engage everyone - from pastors to lay people. Many of these focus on music and include:
* Marty Haugen, composer of contemporary hymns and liturgical music, presenting on The Assembly Singing as Instrument.
* Susan Palo Cherwien, freelance writer and musician, giving a workshop on Words Matter: The Songs We Sing.
* Sowah Mensah, music professor at Macalester College and the University of St. Thomas, presenting on African Drumming.
* Dona Peña, composer and performer, giving a workshop on Latino Music.
These are just a taste of the music workshops available at the Reformation Festival. To find out what else is available, visit the workshop webpage.
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Southwestern Minnesota Synod, ELCA
PO Box 499, Redwood Falls, MN 56283
Phone: 507-637-3904
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