November 10, 2020
Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA Enews
Synod office update
Synod staff members continue to work remotely for the foreseeable future. Contact them using their email or cell phone. Watch this space for information about the reopening of the office in 2021. 
And all were satisfied
This signature event gathers ELCA World Hunger’s leaders for a time of networking, idea sharing, learning, and planning for common ministry to address hunger and its root causes. The future church will be younger and more diverse; who do you want to invite to join the conversation and this ministry together?

January 20-23, 2021
Online
Together
“Some have called the task of Christian discipleship after the 2020 election as one of peacemaking. Though I hadn’t thought of it as peacemaking before, I guess our work to stop dehumanization in politics, to foster renewed relationships across difference of opinion, and to find ways forward toward the common good is a pretty essential kind of peacemaking. As President Lincoln wrote in another time of great polarization: ‘Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. … The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion.’” 
Leading with Love Beyond Prison Walls
According to many advocates, the criminal justice system in this country (which has led to the disproportionate mass incarceration of Black and Brown bodies) is steeped in white supremacy. But what happens when someone is labeled a “felon”? The answer: collateral sanctions.

Thursday, November 19
6:30-7:30 p.m.

Join the Minneapolis Area Synod’s SOAR (Strategic Organizing Against Racism) team to learn more about civil rights violations facing the community’s most marginalized and what you can do to take action.
Christ Christmas COVID
Celebrating Christmas 2020 and the birth of Jesus will be full of all sorts of grief. We are grieving lost routines and lost traditions. We are grieving the loss of loved ones and the loss of civil discourse. Jesus was born in such a time as this and is born for such a time as this. Join this free event for ministry leaders and faithful people.

Thursday, November 19, 2020
10:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m., CST
LWR envisions a season
of hope for Advent
Let Lutheran World Relief (LWR) is offering congregations helpful information as they plan for Advent. Lift up the experience of our neighbors in each of the regions the ELCA's love reaches: Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. 

LWR will provide a full suite of resources that can be used digitally or in-person each week -- sermon illustrations, powerful videos, a candle lighting litany, and at-home engagement. Download free resources from LWR to prepare to experience a Season of Hope.
Bursting bonds asunder:
Access to safe water across the state
“After five special sessions of the Minnesota legislature in 2020, legislators finally passed the state’s largest bonding bill on October 15. The bonding bill included significant funding dedicated to making clean and safe water accessible to more Minnesotans. Minneapolis Area Synod and ecumenical leaders in the state, engaged through the Ecumenical Water Initiative, offered leadership and energy to ensure the inclusion of water infrastructure projects and push the bill over its last hurdles. Water infrastructure projects are not glamorous, but they are vital to the health of Minnesota’s communities and water systems.”
November 11 bellringing
The fourth and final Community Bell Ringing event for 2020 will be held on Wednesday, November 11 at 11:00 a.m. This date is celebrated as Armistice/ Veterans Day. Consider tolling your bells 11 times starting with several hundred other locations across Minnesota. 

Wednesday, November 11
11:00 a.m.

If you participate, send stories and photographs to Rebecca Jorgenson Sundquist.

The Liberty Bell located on the campus of the State Capitol will be participating in bell ringing on November 11. This event is sponsored by City of Bells.
Hennepin County seeks input on climate action plan
Hennepin County is developing a climate action plan with initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strategies to adapt to a changing climate in ways that reduce vulnerabilities and ensure a more equitable and resilient Hennepin County. The climate action plan will serve as the foundation for the county’s coordinated approach to planning, policy development, and responses to climate change.

Staff or representatives from nonprofit, community-based organizations interested in the county’s climate change action plan can attend a feedback session. Two sessions are scheduled:

Monday, November 16
9:00 - 11:00 a.m.

Tuesday, November 17
3:00 - 5:00 p.m.

You are asked to register for this event.
Where is the synod staff in upcoming weeks?
Upcoming Events
Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA www.mpls-synod.org