The Saint Paul Area Synod and St. Paul Reformation are teaming up to provide an online Christmas Day worship service. Most of the synod staff are participating in leading the service, with Bishop Lull preaching. Thank you to Pastor Patrick Shebeck and Sister Stacie Lightner for this opportunity to partner on behalf of all of the congregations in the synod! The service will be available for viewing early on Christmas morning (Friday, December 25) on the synod's website and Facebook page.

Concordia College in Moorhead is offering congregations a worship service recording for Sunday, Dec. 27. The service includes lessons, carols, poetic readings and music performed by Concordia students and alumni. The service may be viewed on the Concordia website or downloaded to share on your congregation's website. Participants are encouraged to have a candle available for the service. The service will be available on Dec. 21 here.

Local composer Cathy Skogen-Soldner is offering our congregations access to an original lament, How Long, O God? as a free resource. The song can be accessed in a virtual worship service on St. Timothy's website. The song is at the 25:53 timestamp on the service. Cathy was a grand prize co-winner in the synod's hymn contest this year. She can be reached at cathy@cathysmusic.com.

If you serve as your congregation's communicator for newsletters, websites or social media, please join your peers on Zoom next week! We'll talk about the go-to resources we each use to keep up with technology and trends, that give us professional inspiration or that just help us do our job better. The Zoom link has been emailed to the synod's communicator list and posted in the Facebook group. Email communications@spas-elca.org if you still need it.

Deacons are invited to join together with other ministers of word and service from across the synod for an Advent event on Zoom. We'll check in, ground ourselves in scripture and prayer and play some fun games together. Invitations have been emailed to deacons in the synod. Questions? Contact Deacon Krista Lind at krista.lind@spas-elca.org.

Explore these and other questions in the context of our faith with other wonderers through storytelling, introspection and studying of Scripture. There's no cost to participate. Registration is open! Questions? Contact Deacon Krista Lind at krista.lind@spas-elca.org.

In the first-ever ELCA event of its kind, ELCA World Hunger presents an online Christmas benefit concert featuring Peter Mayer, a longtime Lutheran and the lead guitarist for singer Jimmy Buffett. The concert will premiere on the ELCA Facebook page. The concert is a gift to you this Advent! Donations to ELCA World Hunger are encouraged. Register in advance to receive a free Peter Mayer Christmas album download.

This video series provides one lens through which to explore race in the United States. Focusing on the history of black/white relations in the U.S., it considers how race and Christianity have interacted, for good and for ill. It offers a narrative that helps to answer the question “how did we get here?” Sarah hopes that by offering a look at our racial past, we will better understand ourselves and be better able to have those challenging, complicated, and fraught conversations our churches and our country need. The videos and downloadable discussion questions are available at http://sarahruble.com/.

Applications are now being accepted for the ELCA's Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) program for the 2021-2022 program year. If you're a young adult ages 21 to 29, you can apply for an international service year that will shape your faith, career, identity and understanding of how you fit into God's work in the world.

Through YAGM, you'll learn what it means to serve in a spirit of accompaniment as you walk alongside global church companions. You'll immerse yourself in new community and form deep relationships with the people you meet. And you'll confront issues of wealth and poverty, racial privilege, gender privilege, economic disparity and globalization, all through the lens of faith. Learn more and apply on the ELCA website. Application deadline: Jan. 15, 2021.

Can I afford theological education? Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (LTSS) says, "yes"! LTSS offers up-to-full tuition grants for all ELCA students in the master's degree program required for rostered ministry in the ELCA. Another funding opportunity comes from ELCA Fund for Leaders, which provides full-tuition grants for ELCA students in candidacy. LTSS students who earn a Fund for Leaders full-tuition scholarship receive a housing scholarship which covers all or most of your on-campus housing expenses. Learn more at this website or email jennifer.shimota@lr.edu.

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.

Rostered and lay leaders are invited to a weekly gathering of topical presentations designed to provide encouragement and support for ELCA leaders. On Dec. 9, there is no planned presentation; instead, time is set for leaders to gather, share and just be together during this liminal time filled with both grief and hope. Recordings of past sessions are available at www.elcacoaching.org/podcasts/media. Upcoming topics and presenters may be found at www.elcacoaching.org/.

or by phone: +1 312 626 6799

Lutheran Church of the Redeemer is hosting free COVID-19 testing on Thursdays and Fridays, Dec. 10-11 and 17-18. The testing is provided by the MN Department of Health, thanks to Stairstep Foundation, Mount Olivet Baptist Church, New Hope Baptist Church, Lutheran Church of the Redeemer. The church is located at 285 N. Dale St. in St. Paul, two blocks south of I-94 on Dale St. Learn more.

This Advent you are invited to center yourself in the presence of God, anticipating the arrival of Emmanuel, "God with us." Scripture, prayer, readings, music and silence will be incorporated in a gentle Yogadevotion practice that explores the Advent themes of hope, peace, joy and love. A freewill offering will be designated to a local charity. Learn more.

Don’t miss the National Lutheran Choir’s signature Christmas Festival featuring new performances of NLC singers, socially distanced, filmed in the glorious Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis. This free concert celebrates Christ's birth with music, poetry and art from around the globe. Watch for free at nlca.com!

Recharge is a one-day, multicultural, multi-denominational conference created to inspire and equip church staff and their volunteers serving in children’s & youth ministry. It draws regionally from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North and South Dakota from 30+ denominations.

Participants may attend up to three workshops on digital ministry, personal growth, or age-specific ministry. There's also a digital exhibit hall and keynote addresses by:

The Center of Addiction & Faith and the Fellowship of Recovering Lutheran Clergy are hosting a new weekly online meeting every Sunday night at 7 p.m. The meeting is open to anyone in 12-setp recovery of any kind and for those interested in learning more about 12-step recovery. Join the meeting.

www.spas-elca.org | 651.224.4313