OCTOBER 1, 2019
Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA Enews
Event Spotlight: Tool Kit Workshops
The Minneapolis Area Synod will offer its annual Tool Kit for Congregational Leaders workshops on February 22, 2019. It's a great opportunity for church councils and lay leaders to deepen skills and hear updates. Save the Date now.
Model Constitutions and You
The ELCA has published an updated 2019 Model Constitution for Congregations in both Spanish and English. While amending your congregation’s constitution can be challenging work, constitutions are essential in governing congregations, especially during challenging times. The Minneapolis Area Synod staff and the Synod Constitution Review Team are available to assist you; we welcome communication at any point in the process. Although a congregation that is not otherwise revising its constitution is not required to adopt changes to the Model made by the churchwide assembly, it is good practice for a congregation to consider adopting them so that its constitution conforms to the most current version of the Model. A list of amendments is available at http://www.elca.org/constitution .
 
If your congregation has identified the need to amend its constitution, contact John Mai , communications, administration, and organizing associate.
And the youth
shall lead them
" This past August, 25 elementary-aged students from three Minneapolis congregations came together to spend a week building community. Literally. 
Equipped with stacks of cardboard boxes, duct tape, markers, paper, and anything else they could get their hands on, the students carefully constructed an entire city on the floor of University Lutheran Church of Hope's fellowship hall. "
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
Change (Almost) Everything
Rozella Haydee White and Brian McLaren will be the featured speakers at a Church Anew conference titled "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 second early bird registration deadline is October 18.

November 18-19
13600 Technology Drive, Eden Prairie

Allies and Friends Workshop
Muslims and Christians will gather together for a day of conversation, learning, and relationship building. The event is sponsored by the synod's Lutheran-Muslim Relations Task Force. The cost is $17 for adults and $10 for students.

Saturday, November 2
8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
8600 Fremont Avenue South, Bloomington
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

Mosaic Triptych available
Do you want to display the stunning mosaics made during the 2019 Synod Assembly? This triptych features three panels depicting three major areas of mission around creation care: food-bearing plants, native pollinators, and water.

We are currently looking for a congregation who would like to display the art during December (2019), February (2020), or beyond. If you are interested, contact Brenda Blackhawk . 
The Johnson Symposium on Faith and Society: "The Spiritual Price of the Doctrine of Discovery"
The Minneapolis Area Synod has passed resolutions decrying the impacts of the Doctrine of Discovery, a 16th-century policy of justifying the colonization of new societies, including the genocide of indigenous peoples; this doctrine has continued to have impact on U.S. law in recent decades. Mark Charles, a regular columnist for Native News Online and auhtor of the blog "reflections from the Hogan," will address this doctrine at the 2019 Johnson Symposium on Faith and Society.
"The Spiritual Price of the Doctrine of Discovery,"
with Mark Charles
November 16; 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Where is the synod staff in upcoming weeks?
Upcoming Events
Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA www.mpls-synod.org