April 21, 2020
Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA Enews
Synod office update
Following the instructions of Governor Walz and public health officials, the Minneapolis Area Synod office is closed until further notice. Staff are working remotely and can still be reached by email or phone .  
MIF and ELCA Federal Credit Union offer special assistance
The ELCA's Mission Investment Fund (MIF) has resources that can provide much-needed help for customers that may be experiencing financial hardship at this time — the congregations and ministries that have MIF loans as well as individual and congregation investors. 

The ELCA Federal Credit Union, too, is able to provide similar assistance to its members — ELCA pastors, members, congregations and ministries.
'Neither brash
nor foolhardy'
“ For the past few weeks, congregations have been learning how to lead online worship, teach Bible studies via Zoom, create cell groups and networks so all are ‘ accounted for,   submit PPP loan applications, and provide phone-based pastoral care. At the same time, we know that people all around us are living with significant needs – waiting for a neighbor to reach out – to provide the life-giving oxygen of love and care. ”
ELCA Daily Bread Matching Grants announced
Nine Minneapolis Area Synod congregations were among 200 ELCA churches nationally to participate in a matching grant hunger program. Grants of $500 were awarded to these congregations if they could receive matches from other sources. As the deadline for matches neared, these churches collectively had raised nearly $200,000. The original grants were sponsored by ELCA World Hunger. The nine Minneapolis congregations included First Lutheran, Columbia Heights; Our Father's Lutheran, Rockford; Cross of Peace Lutheran and Cristo Obrero, Shakopee; Tapestry, Richfield; and St. Olaf Lutheran, Christ the River of Life Lutheran, Grace University Lutheran, and Calvary Lutheran, all of Minneapolis.
Feedback to draft social message on civic engagement sought
At the 2019 Churchwide Assembly in Milwaukee, voting members determined that the ELCA should write a social message on government and civic engagement for people of faith. It was also determined that the immediacy of the need to offer congregations a way to engage this topic in a time of polarization meant that a social message would also be drafted by the ELCA Church Council. A first draft of a social message is available. The authors of the message are seeking feedback .

ELCA World Hunger
Domestic Hunger Grants
ELCA World Hunger Domestic Hunger Grants accompany congregations and their partners throughout the United States and Caribbean as they draw on the strengths of communities to address local issues such as food security, clean water, housing, job readiness, human rights, policy change, leadership development, and more. Together, these ministries are part of a comprehensive approach to breaking the cycle of poverty and hunger — for good — by addressing the root causes of hunger.

Proposals that are transformative, holistic, and integrated are especially encouraged.  

The registration deadline has been extended to June 1. Awards will be announced in November.
Join the 75,000 Face Mask Challenge  
COVID-19 is threatening vulnerable communities, and Lutheran World Relief urgently needs cloth face masks to send to them. The cloth mask you sew in your living room will provide love and protection to a neighbor in need halfway around the world. How many will you make to help stop the spread?

ELCA Fund for Leaders recipients from Minneapolis Area Synod named
Two Minneapolis Area Synod candidates for ministry, Ben Cox and Alex Theship-Rosales, have recently been named ELCA Fund for Leaders scholarship recipients. Both are members at Mount Calvary Lutheran, Excelsior, Minnesota, and have been accepted as students at Luther Seminary, St. Paul.

Ben Cox graduated from Pacific Lutheran University and is currently an intern at Sojourners in Washington, D.C. He grew up in a family of missionaries to Madagascar during his pre-teen years.

Alex Theship-Rosales is a graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. He returned early from his Young Adult in Global Mission appointment due to COVID-19.

In addition, Baird Linke, a candidate from the Montana Synod and a distance-learning student at Wartburg Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa, works at Calvary Lutheran Church, Edina, Minnesota.
The ELCA is
Here to Serve
As part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has launched an initiative to support congregations , synods, individuals, and partners in their response to the ongoing situation.

If you have questions or concerns, call 800-638-3522 and press #4 to talk with someone. Or you can send an email to HereToServe@ELCA.org  
for prayer, support, and to ask your questions. 
Where is the synod staff in upcoming weeks?
  • Bishop Ann Svennungsen will be offering a farewell greeting for Pastor Louise Britts at Messiah Lutheran, Minneapolis, on Sunday, April 26.
  • Bishop Ann Svennungsen will be facilitating a Ministry Site Profile at Christ Church Lutheran, Minneapolis, on Sunday, April 26.
Upcoming Events
Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA www.mpls-synod.org