A week ago, the 2021 Synod Assembly adjourned after seven hours of reports, elections, Bible study, worship, debate, and the launch of the multi-year Planting Hope Campaign. Meeting digitally, much of the work of the Assembly is archived in videos you can watch on the synod's Facebook page or website.

At this assembly, the voting members adopted a welcome statement for the synod, announcing our public commitment to welcome and serve people without exception. First drafted by the Synod Council, the welcome statement was amended and expanded by those participating in the recent assembly. Here is the text we adopted:

It was a privilege to chair the time we spent in deliberation. I saw how carefully voting members listened to one another and prepared amendments, building on a common discussion. I am grateful for the final, expanded text, which reminds me – as well as all of you – of the mandate we have set before ourselves to examine our interactions with those within and beyond our congregations. As we say in our statement of purpose, we are not there yet with work for all of us to do as we together strive to live up to the spirit of this welcome statement.

An assembly lasts a day or two. Now, the work of living up to our aspirations begins.

Bishop Patricia Lull

We invite you to visit the synod website to access videos and other materials from our recent Synod Assembly. You'll find the video reports from officers and committees, election results, observances (roster and congregation milestone anniversaries, retirements, deaths and new to the synod), the bulletin of reports from affiliate organizations (videos and/or PDFs), videos from our Planting Hope campaign launch and more. Click here for the 2021 synod assembly webpage. Congregations are invited to share the videos with their congregations; they are available for download from Vimeo. Questions? Contact Director of Communications Mary Smith at communications@spas-elca.org.

As mask restrictions lift and the CDC approves vaccinations for those as young as 12, our efforts for summer ministry trips continue to look more promising. Now, let's turn our focus to preparing our young people to re-enter into community they may not have been part of for over a year.

Mental health expert Joy Hensel will provide us ways to equip ourselves as leaders and then share that information with volunteers, parents, and students for the transition to communal engagement. Topics planned include anxiety 101, questions to ask parents before trips, and how to reframe the year theologically. There will be time for questions plus a breakout groups to put the content into your context. It's going to be a power-packed 75 minutes!

Registration is encouraged but not required: https://forms.gle/X3Wue26Bq4e25kWRA

Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/96973613213

Congregation council presidents are invited to an informational session on the synod's Planting Hope campaign. If you are a president and did not receive the invitation either directly from the synod or via your pastor, please contact the synod office at 651-224-4313 or info@spas-elca.org with your name, congregation, and email address so that you can receive the invitation!

Each year, Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota selects a congregation in the synod to receive its Servant of Christ Award, which recognizes leadership in social ministry and the community. This year, the award is given to Easter in Eagan for working with LSS ins support of refugees as well as piloting a program that provides iPads to caregivers to allow them to connect with their faith community, caregiver resources, and family/friends. Click below to view a video update from CEO Patrick Thueson, which also recognizes Easter for its good work:

Volunteer applications are now being accepted for the 2022 ELCA Youth Gathering in Minneapolis! There are three categories of volunteers:

For a detailed list of responsibilities and requirements or to apply, visit https://elca.org/Gathering/Volunteer. Applications close when they’ve hit capacity—so don’t wait!

The leaders of outdoor ministries throughout the ELCA are offering a complete video experience for your congregation's worship on Sunday, June 6 or other settings. Leaders of camps and retreat centers are excited to share their joy and gratitude to God as they launch summer ministries after a difficult pandemic year. The video will be available on the Lutheran Outdoor Ministries website no later than May 28 (and perhaps earlier). You may download the service as an entire worship experience or download a version where you can pick and choose segments.

According to Lutheran Outdoor Ministries (LOM), many of the Lutheran summer camps are still hiring staff for the summer. The Camp MatchUp app allows users to receive quick and easy access to information about camps. Camp MatchUp is a touch tool for camps to connect with interested applicants and to assist applicants in their camp discernment process. The app is available at the Apple Store or Google Play.

LOM camps equip and empower people, especially young adults, in many ways; developing compassionate leadership skills, learning how to listen & adapt, practicing effective communication skills, engaging in an intentional community, exploring the outdoors, being creative, growing in faith, and building resume skills. Learn more.

The synod office is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. A limited number of staff are on-site each day. You may continue to reach all staff members by phone (651-224-4313) or by email. 

The Faith4Vaccines National Summit will be the largest multi-faith gathering to support equitable and far-reaching vaccine distribution in the United States. Faith leaders and faith-based organizations in attendance will receive training, resources and empowerment to engage their communities to ensure equitable vaccine access, combat hesitancy and potentially use their houses of worship as vaccination sites. Faith leaders, faith communities, and medical professionals are leading efforts to respond, recover from the unprecedented health crises facing our nation and the world. Now, equipped with a life-saving vaccine, we have the chance to bring this devastating, and all the suffering it has caused, to an end. Now is the time to partake in open and honest dialogue between faith leaders and county, state and national health officials to identify opportunities for faith-based institutions to further engage and support local communities to increase vaccination rates. Register here.

One of the best ways to cultivate earth-honoring faith in congregations is by emphasizing creation in worship. Not just with hymns and prayers that highlight God’s love for all creation, and not just with an occasional sermon illustration or outdoor service. Many Lutherans are incorporating a multi-year five-week alternate lectionary series in their worship life sometime during the “green” season after Pentecost.

Workshop participants will hear an overview of the Season of Creation, its scriptural references and themes, and how two congregations introduced it and have used it for years in their contexts, along with ecologically conscious liturgies. Through large group and breakout room discussions, participants will have the opportunity to hear about more resources and practices and also share their own ideas about the joys and challenges of integrating creation care in worship. All are welcome – musicians and worship committee members, lay and rostered leaders, youth and elders, anyone who wants to deepen and broaden their worship practices for the well being of God’s creation. Register to receive the Zoom link. Learn more.

Galilee Lutheran in Roseville will be walking in a Peace Walk on June 13 to encourage the City of St. Paul to close the Lamplighter Lounge. You are invited to join this family friendly, three-mile peace walk in solidarity with Mothers Against Community Gun Violence (MACGV). Volunteers are also needed to help pass out hotdogs, chips and water at the end of the walk. Contact Pastor Dana Nelson (651-488-6769) of Galilee Lutheran Church, which is located four blocks north of the Lamplighter, a strip club that profits off of the sexual exploitation of vulnerable young people in the community. Please join them to bring positive change and show support to the families who have lost their children and siblings to violence here. You are welcome to wear baby-blue color clothes on the peace walk. Learn more.

www.spas-elca.org | 651-224-4313