Important Information About the
2021 Pacifica Synod Assembly
2021 Pacifica Synod Assembly
General Information
Dear People of the Pacifica Synod,

On June 17, 2020, the Office of the Bishop announced that Synod Council voted to postpone the 2020 Pacifica Synod Assembly and designated Saturday, May 1, 2021 as the date for our next synod assembly. This one-day assembly will be held completely online and planning for our time together has already begun.  

Please begin to consider who your voting members will be, keeping in mind the following:

  • Voting members will need to be familiar with computers or tablets (such as iPads) and able to learn an additional voting program/app. 
  • As this will be a one-day assembly on a Saturday, consider electing people whose schedules have prohibited them from attending past assemblies during weekdays.
  • Each voting member will need to have their own device. Even if voting members live together, they cannot share one device. Each person needs their own device to vote.  

Each congregation will receive their voting member allocations in January. There are still costs involved in creating an online assembly. Within two weeks, we will have the congregational fee cost available to assist you in your budgeting for the assembly. While there will be costs associated with an online assembly, there will be no costs for travel or housing, as is usually the case for this annual event.

This Assembly will elect Synod Council members and will also elect voting members from Pacifica to attend the Churchwide Assembly which will be held in August 2022 in Columbus, Ohio. Applications to be nominated for Synod Council positions or to become a Churchwide Assembly Voting Member will be coming soon.  
2021 Pacifica Synod Assembly
Resolutions and Memorials Process
THE DEADLINE FOR PRESENTING A RESOLUTION OR MEMORIAL TO THE 2021 SYNOD ASSEMBLY IS FEBRUARY 1, 2021

The resolutions process enables individuals or recognized groups within the synod to bring a request for action or a request for a statement to be made by the Synod Assembly. Since the ELCA Churchwide Assembly meets in 2022, this Synod Assembly will consider both resolutions and memorials. For information and resources about the differences between a “resolution” and a “memorial,” please visit the ELCA Office of the Secretary webpage found here.

Resolutions and memorials may be submitted by a congregation of the Synod, a Ministry Team, an ELCA institution or agency, a conference, or the Synod Council and must be signed by the appropriate leadership (i.e., president, chair, dean, etc.). Individuals may submit a resolution/memorial with the signatures of 10 other members of the Synod. The maker(s) of the resolution/memorial must be identified separately from the required signers.

Resolutions/memorials are to be submitted in writing 90 days in advance of the Synod Assembly (by February 1, 2021) for review by the Resolutions Committee and for placement in the pre-assembly materials. They may be mailed or emailed to the synod office at rachelline@pacificasynod.org, to the attention of the Resolutions Committee. Any resolutions received after the 90-day deadline will be considered by the Synod Council at its next meeting. Any memorials received after the deadline will be considered in the 2022 Synod Assembly.

Resolutions/memorials submitted are reviewed by the Resolutions Committee for proper form, appropriateness of subject, appropriateness of desired action, inclusion of a plan of implementation, and for elimination of duplication. The Resolutions Committee has the responsibility to ensure that resolutions/memorials brought before the Assembly are grammatically correct and factually correct as to existing church policies or structure. Therefore, the Resolutions Committee has the responsibility to edit resolutions/memorials as needed so that the Assembly can deal with the substance of the issues presented. The Committee shall report its action to the makers of the resolution/memorials and to the Synod Council, to which the makers can appeal the decision.

The Resolutions Committee shall report its action on each resolution/memorials to the group submitting it and to the Synod Council who can overrule the committee’s decision.

If you have any questions about the 2021 Synod Assembly, please contact Rachel Line at rachelline@pacificasynod.org.
Pacifica Synod, ELCA | www.pacificasynod.org