SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA Enews
Event Spotlight: Synod Assembly 2020
Save the date for the 2020 Synod Assembly on April 24-25. With opening worship on Friday night at Central Lutheran , business will take place on Saturday at Lord of Life Lutheran in Ramsey.  Learn more
 In Memorium: Pastor Helge Voigt
With great sadness we share the news that Pastor Helge Voigt of Leipzig, Germany, died last Monday. Helge served a synodical call as an exchange pastor with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saxony and the Minneapolis Area Synod; Pastor Morris Wee, then of Advent Lutheran in Maple Grove, spent a year in Leipzig as part of the exchange. Helge, wife Anke, and daughters Marie and Hannah participated primarily in the life of Christ Church Lutheran, Minneapolis. Helge had battled cancer recently, and ultimately that was the cause of his death. He was 48 years old. His f uneral will be held on Saturday, September 14, at 2:00 p.m., in the Hainkirche, Lützschena, with burial in the cemetery by the church.

God, in Christ's rising from the dead, you conquered death and opened the gates to everlasting life. Renew our trust in you that by the power of your love we shall one day be brought together again with all your saints. Amen.                                 ELW p. 285
Inspired by scripture
" In 2008, the ELCA launched the Book of Faith Initiative, a five-year collaborative effort to ' raise to a new level this church's individual and collective engagement with the Bible, yielding greater biblical fluency and a more profound appreciation of Lutheran principles and approaches for the use of Scripture . The five year initiative ended in 2013. Does anyone think we accomplished our goal? Do we have greater biblical fluency? Is there a greater appreciation of Lutheran hermeneutics?"  
2019 Churchwide Assembly review
Are you interested in "the happenings" at the recent Churchwide Assembly in Milwaukee? Bishop Ann Svennungsen and other voting members will offer insights and answer questions.

122 West Franklin, Suite 600
Wednesday, September 11; 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Storytelling Workshop
Storytelling is sacred. Storytelling engenders empathy and understanding. Storytelling has the power to build community in divisive times. You are invited you to one, two, or all of the workshops in this series of Storytelling Workshops with master storyteller Mark Yaconelli. 

October 3-6
2730 East 31st Street, Minneapolis
Lutheran Social Service in Minnesota Center for Changing Lives Gala
Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota 's 2019 Celebration for Changing Lives Gala is an opportunity to recognize the many support services offered by one of Minnesota's most significant nonprofits. Gathering together at Marriott City Center, Minneapolis, on Saturday, September 21, attendees will hear about the impact of this Lutheran agency. One in every 65 Minnesotans have a connection to LSS.

5:30 p.m., reception;
6:30 p.m., dinner and program
Saturday, September 21
Grand Portage Ballroom, 4th floor
30 South 7th Street, Minneapolis
Lutheran Volunteer Corp hires Caleb Rollins as new Twin Cities program manager
Caleb Rollins was placed as an LVC volunteer at Trinity Lutheran Congregation in Minneapolis in 2015. Since then he has experienced many life changes, including marrying Cassie Paulsen, one of his LVC housemates. Now, he has been named LVC's Twin Cities program manager.

AMMPARO Welcoming Congregations Panel
1376 Hoyt Avenue West, St. Paul
10:00 a.m.; Saturday, September 7

A informational panel will provide an opportunity to hear one another’s journey story, to learn how others are cultivating a spirit of hospitality and welcome that embraces diversity and difference, and to reach out to assist the needs of migrant minors in local communities. What difference can one person or congregation make in the face of such large issues? Come and find out.
Keeping Faith: Empowering the Faith Community to Recognize and Respond to Child Abuse
This course empowers faith communities to recognize and respond to cases of sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. Included are discussions detailing the impact of child abuse on a victim's sense of spirituality and offering concrete suggestions for working with medical and mental health professionals to assist a child in coping with maltreatment. 

8:30 a.m., Monday October 7 – 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, October 8
2021 East Hennepin Avenue, Suite 360, Minneapolis
One week left: Ministry Imagination Grant deadline coming
The deadline for the next round of Ministry Imagination Grants is just around the corner. Congregations with an idea about a new and imaginative ministry are encouraged to submit a proposal by September 15.

Submit proposals to Pr. Craig Pederson on or before September 15

Bearing Witness
Cello Concert
Under the theme "Bearing Witness," cellist Kirsten Whitson will provide a multi-media event with live music to raise awareness of global and American injustice, with emphasis on Native/Indigenous and African-American communities. This fundraiser will support The Center for the Victims of Torture and AMMPARO , an ELCA ministry for migrant minors.

Thursday, September 12; 7:30-8:30 p.m. (reception at 6:45 p.m.)
700 Snelling Avenue South, St. Paul
Change (Almost) Everything
Rozella Haydee White and Brian McLaren will be the featured speakers at "Change (almost) Everything," a conference for those interested in building skills for leadership in the church that is becoming. Pastors, priests, deacons, lay ministers, youth directors, church administrators, children's ministry professionals, and lay leaders will all benefit from learning through inspiring lectures, practical workshops, and enriching conversation.

The early bird registration deadline is September 13; groups of three or more receive an additional savings.

November 18-19
13600 Technology Drive, Eden Prairie
2019 Fall Retreat of the Evangelical Lutheran Parish Nurse Association  
"Led by Grace: I Am Who I Am"
 
Tammy Devine serves as a coach, retreat facilitator, and consultant, collaborating with thought leaders to facilitate personal and communal growth toward living and leading well. Tammy is a strategic and systemic whole-person promoter of well-being, through education and inspiration. She is a registered nurse, has a Master’s degree in leadership from Luther Seminary, is an ELCA deacon, and has completed the Grace Institute for Spiritual Formation and Coach training through Auburn Theological Seminary. Devine is ICF certified and serves as a coach for health, healing, and wholeness.
Thursday, September 26 -- Friday, September 27
8231 County Road 11 NE, Alexandria, Minnesota
Addiction and Faith Conference
Friday, September 20--Sunday, September 22
Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, Minneapolis

The U.S. is facing one of its biggest health crises. Addiction rates are high and the faith community could be more deeply engaged with those who are experiencing addiction. This conference will equip caregivers, bringing practitioners, rostered leaders, parish nurses, and others together in one place.

Recognizing that some people, especially clergy, may not be able to attend seissions on Sunday, conference leaders have made some single-day tickets available. Learn more
Meet Felecia Boone,
Vice President of the Synod
Wartburg College recently featured Felecia Boone, Minneapolis Area Synod Vice President, in publication. Felecia shares a vision of the church being a "soft place, not [a] fluffy place, to land" despite some personal experiences to the contrary.
Where is the synod staff in upcoming weeks?
  • Bishop Ann Svennungsen will be participating in a discussion regarding a Ministry Site Profile at Shepherd of the Hills, Edina, on Tuesday, September 10.
  • Pr. Craig Pederson will be attending the farewell of Pr. Jo Bauman at Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran, Minneapolis, on Sunday, Eptember 15.
  • Pr. John Hulden will be installing Pr. Joanna Mitchell at Grace Lutheran, Andover, on Sunday, September 15.
  • Pr. John Hulden will be preaching at the Rum River Conference worship service and meeting at Lord of Life Lutheran, Ramsey, on Thursday, September 19.
  • Bishop Ann Svennungsen will be ordaining Tim Schroeder at University Lutheran Church of Hope, on Friday, September 20. Tim will serve as pastor at Peace Lutheran, Coon Rapids.
  • Pr. Craig Pederson will be installing Pr. Ryan Fletcher at Christ Memorial Lutheran, Plymouth, on Sunday, September 29.
  • Pr. John Hulden will be installing Pr. Amy Chalupnik at Trinity Lutheran, Monticello, on Sunday, September 29.
Upcoming Events
Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA www.mpls-synod.org