March 24, 2020
Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA Enews
Synod office update
The Minneapolis Area Synod office is closed, with staff working remotely. Staff members are working and can still be reached by email or phone . (One staff person at a time will occasionally be going into the office, so there will be limited access to office materials.)  
COVID-19 information aggregated on synod website

The COVID-19 Resources web page on the Minneapolis Area Synod website includes information from government health agencies, the ELCA, other synods, and more. Also listed is a Zoom call last week that included communicators, administrators, and rostered leaders from both Minneapolis and Saint Paul Area Synods. It includes presentations on technology and digital options for livestreaming, crisis communication, methods for offering financial support, and licensing for the use of worship music online.
After the rain stops
“Two days before the first Covid-19 case in Minnesota, our grandson Noah John Koslig was born. I’ve thought a lot about his namesake the past two weeks. It’s hard to imagine all the questions Noah had. God calls him to prepare for a massive flood; to make an ark big enough to hold his family and two of every living creature.”
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.  

Registrations open now open . Applications will be received April 1-May 22. Awards will be announced in November.
Taking Faith Home
The Minneapolis Area Synod is partnering with Milestones Ministry so congregations can offer Taking Faith Home to their worshippers through the end of April. Taking Home Faith is a weekly home resource based on the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). It includes daily Bible readings, a prayer for the week, mealtime prayer, a blessing for the week, a recommended hymn, caring conversation starters, devotion, service idea, and Christian rituals and traditions, all based on the RCL.

There are three videos just created for this moment and available at https://milestonesministry.org/toolbox/milestones-ministry-resource-guides-and-info/  The videos show what Taking Home Faith looks like as a worship and devotional resource for the home. It is evangelical outreach as people pray, talk, and reflect on God’s word with family, friends, and neighbors.
ELCA Coaching
About 300 rostered leaders participated in a free coaching opportunity last week. Hosted by ELCA Coaching , it was an opportunity for faith leaders to gather online for centering in scripture, a short presentation on being church in this unique time, small group conversation in breakout rooms, a short debrief, and closing prayer.

Two additional gatherings are planned.

Sharing Our Grief and Our Hope with One Another As Leaders
Wednesday, March 25; 1:00 p.m. 

Sharing Our Grief and Our Hope with Those We Serve
Wednesday, April 1; 1:00 p.m. 

Login information for the Zoom meetings for both dates: https://zoom.us/j/180439412
Ministry Imagination Grant deadline extended
The next round of Ministry Imagination Grant proposals was scheduled for a deadline of March 30. The review committee recognizes, however, that the suspension of worship and other activities at many of our synod churches due to the coronavirus is disrupting church operations at many different levels. 

This is a difficult time to be imaginative and creative when we are all wondering what the next day or the next week will hold.

In order to give congregations more time to imagine and plan for future ministry possibilities, the new deadline will be June 15, 2020 (which was the next scheduled deadline date). We hope and pray that the scope of the coronavirus pandemic will be better understood by then, and that congregational ministries will have resumed their important, life-giving presence in their communities. 

If you have any questions, please contact Craig Pederson, assistant to the bishop, at c.pederson@mpls-synod.org or (612) 703-1586.

Where is the synod staff in upcoming weeks?
  • Bishop Ann Svennungsen will be preaching at the Spring Ministerium at Advent Lutheran, Maple Grove, on Thursday, March 26. Postponed
  • Bishop Ann Svennungsen will be preaching at St. Timothy Lutheran, Columbia Heights, on Sunday, March 29. Postponed
  • Pr. John Hulden will be installing soon-to-be-Pastor Sherri Lawrence at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran, Edina, on Sunday, March 29. Postponed
Upcoming Events
Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA www.mpls-synod.org