Enews: The Great Resignation has Pastor Craig wondering; can you help ensure a Lutheran university in Nigeria?; and more

October 26, 2021

Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA Enews

Synod office update

Synod staff are celebrating the fact that Minnesota is officially at a 70% vaccination rate. Although the staff is now splitting time between in-office and remote work, the office will remain closed to public meetings. This protocol will be evaluated periodically to reflect the CDC guidelines for vaccinated persons.

CLNE to convene discussions

on racial justice ministry

How do we build true relationships across differences? That is a common question these days. Increasingly, people know that trust must be established. But, how is that done? How is it maintained? What moves BIPOC folks to risk potential harm for the sake of community? How do white folks acknowledge the systems that don't merit trust from BIPOC communities? These are questions that will focus the discussion for this event, under the name "Come Together for Racial Justice," and facilitated by the Center for Leadership and Neighborhood Engagement.

Thursday, October 28

7:00-8:30 p.m.

Online

There has been some important collective learning over the past few years. This event will provide a space for brave conversations to explore the above questions and to live into the answers.

Panelists for the event will be Pastor Kelly Chatman, Pastor Paul Slack, and Commissioner Jodi Harpstead.

'We can do better'

“In terms of resignations, we have seen a significant increase in our synod in the number of pastoral transitions taking place since the late spring of this year. Some pastors had been delaying their retirements and other pastors were deferring their discernment of new calls as they worked with their congregations through COVID. A few pastors decided it is time to step away from ministry completely for a while. In addition, some congregations held off the calling of a new pastor (and some still are) until they had a better sense of what a ‘new normal’ might look like in congregational life.”

Read Pastor Craig's blog

Support our companion synod's dream to start a university

As Bishop Ann announced in her recent blog titled "In the legacy of Luther," the Minneapolis Area Synod is taking an audacious step by raising half-a-million dollars to bring to fruition the dream of a Lutheran University in Nigeria. This institution has been a dream of the leadership of the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (with 2.5-million members). The Minneapolis Area Synod (MAS) is the LCCN's only companion synod.

MAS staff will be producing resources for congregations and individuals to use as they prayerfully consider this synod-wide effort to raise $500,000 by December 31. (The Nigerian government wisely requires that sum to be in a bank account before granting approval of a new university, simply to prove viability over the long haul.)

You can help raise these funds in a variety of ways.

Read the case statement for a Lutheran university and the commitment of the LCCN to bring it into being.
Watch the synod's web page for upcoming resources, including a video about the effort by our synod to raise $500,000 with and for our companion synod.
Consider your capacity to make a special thank offering for Archbishop Musa Filibus and the leadership of the LCCN and the university.
Give in these ways:
Text "LUN" to 44-321
Visit the website and donate online
Contribue on Give to the Max Day
Send a check to the synod office:
122 West Franklin Avenue, Suite 600, Minneapolis, MN 55404

Scan this QR code to make an online contribution
Pray for the fundraising effort and for the leadership of the Lutheran University Nigeria, including Archbishop Musa Filibus, who is also the President of Lutheran World Federation.

Thank you for any and all support you are able to offer in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to support the building of a university in our companion synod.

Stewarding just and

healthy neighborhoods

as a spiritual discipline

“Stewarding a garden is not a once-a-year action, it is not even a once-a-month or once-a-week action. In order to properly nurture a garden you have to water it regularly, set aside time to pull out weeds, keep your tools clean, prune damaged limbs, clear your garden of leaves, dead plants, and other debris, the list goes on. Stewarding a garden requires series of intentional, on-going acts of love and care in order to help new life flourish. When it comes to stewardship in the context of congregational involvement and generosity, the lens used in this garden analogy can be a helpful way to contextualize the call to steward our own communities.”

Read the rest
of this reflection

Fulfilling the dream of a Lutheran university in Nigeria

The Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (LCCN) headquarters is located in the Numan Adamawa State, in the North East region of Nigeria. This region of the country currently has no private, church-related universities. In Nigeria, priority for admission to regional universities goes to local students. Therefore, qualified students in northeastern Nigeria have limited access to the several universities in the southern region. There are many gifted and qualified students who are missing opportunities to further their education and their dreams.

Creating an LCCN-sponsored university in Demsa would have an immediate impact because of its excellent reputation for primary and secondary schools. In addition, a Lutheran university would provide educational opportunities and tangible hope in a region of the country that has suffered from violence and civil unrest for well over a decade. Bishop Ann Svennungsen of the Minneapolis Area Synod emphasizes that “Today only 40% of Nigerian students eligible for college can find placement in a university. That’s why [a] Lutheran university is needed now.”

Read the rest of the story on the
Lutheran University Nigeria

A public service reminder

Don't forget: Tuesday, November 2, is election day in most of the municipalities within the Minnneapolis Area Synod region. If you want to check to see what you might be voting for in your township, city, or village, go to the Minnesota Secretary of State's website to check it out. You want a little sticker, don't you?

Ballots Beyond Bars: Restoring voting rights for ex-felons

Let Lutheran World Relief

help you this Advent

Twenty-one states restore full voting rights once a felon completes a prison term, but not Minnesota. People who have left prison but are still on parole or probation do not regain the franchise until they are “off paper.” Some Lutherans, based on ELCA social teaching, don’t think this is fair, wise, or faithful.

Learn about voting rights in Minnesota, hear stories from real people with lived experience of disenfranchisement, and lend your voice to a growing movement to Restore the Vote!

Thursday, October 28

6:30-8:00 p.m.

Advent Lutheran Church

8475 Jefferson Highway, Maple Grove

Lutheran World Relief has created free, easy-to-use resources based on the RCL Advent texts from the Gospel of Luke, all available at lwr.org/advent:

4 weeks of new sermon illustrations (with photos and video)
4 powerful videos to highlight your congregation’s love in action around the world
4-week small group Bible study guide
Candle lighting litany

For Seasons of Hope resources

Pre-Reformation Day Workshop on telling God's story, our story

During this workshop, church members will reconnect with each other, meet and relate to peers from other congregations, rediscover the rootedness of their faith, and be reminded of our rich history in the faith through Scripture. And we’ll do all of this right before we celebrate our Lutheran Reformation on the last Sunday of October.

Wednesday, October 27; 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Trinity Lutheran Church, Watertown

513 Madison St. SE, Watertown

This workshop will revert to an online format in the event of a no-contact scenario. Either way, the event will be capped at 65 participants. A team of leaders from a congregation is encouraged. Attendance is free, but registration is required.

To register, contact Rev. Susan Engh, event trainer and coordinator, at revsue@engh.casa.

For more information

New resource now available

on youth and safe, healthy relationships

LSS of Minnesota and Cherish All Children are offering a new resource for church middle school and high school youth. Four interactive sessions guide youth in understanding how they can engage in healthy friendships and dating relationships, and stay clear of exploitative situations.

Sessions include:

Healthy Relationships
Online Safety
Understanding and Preventing Sexual Exploitation & Trafficking
Making a Safety Plan and Resources

Throughout the sessions, leaders are given the opportunity to reinforce the youth’s value as children of God and to identify safe, supportive adults and friends. Having these conversations in the safe space of Confirmation class or Youth Group, while encouraging open dialogue at home, provides youth with a supportive network and skill-building for situations they may encounter in their lives.

Download the Yough Guide and Leader's Guide or contact Joy McElroy

Where is the synod staff in upcoming weeks?

Bishop Ann Svennungsen will be preaching at the Joint Ministerium of the Saint Paul Area and Minneapolis Area Synods on Thursday, October 28.
Pastor Norma Malfatti will be preaching at Peace Lutheran, Coon Rapids, on Sunday, October 31.
Pastor John Hulden will be preaching at Family of God Lutheran, Brooklyn Park, for the farewell for Deacon Raul Garcia on Sunday, October 31.
Pastor Craig Pederson will be attending the farewell celebration for Pastor Maria Anderson-Lippert at Christ the King Lutheran, Bloomington, on Sunday, October 31.
Pastor John Hulden will be preaching at the ELCA Youth Leadership Summit/Youth Gathering Synod Day rehearsal, Marriott City Center, Minneapolis, on Friday, November 5.
Bishop Ann Svennungsen will be installing Pastor Kyle Jackson at Mount Calvary Lutheran, Excelsior, on Sunday, November 7.
Bishop Ann Svennungsen will be installing Pastor Justin Lind-Ayers and Pastor Amber Ingalsbe at Grace University Lutheran, Minneapolis, on Sunday, November 14.
Pastor Norma Malfatti will be preaching at Lake Nokomis Lutheran, Minneapolis, on Sunday, November 14.
Ms. Emilie Bouvier will be leading an adult forum at Crown of Glory Lutheran, Chaska, on Sunday, November 14.
Bishop Ann Svennungsen will be attending the farewell celebration for Pastor Eric Aune at All Saints Lutheran, Norwood Young America, on Sunday, November 21.

Upcoming Events

Joint Ministerium, October 28
Ballots Beyond Bars, October 28
Come Together for Racial Justice, October 28
Formula Missae of 1523, October 31
ELCA Youth Leadership Summit, October 31-November 3
Organ Soup, November 4
All Saints: We Remember and Requiem Aeternam, November 5-7
White Privilege: A Production of Chain Reaction Theatre, November 5
The Shape of Leadership, November 8-10
Faith Partners Leadership Training, November 13
Not-Your-Average Boundaries Training, November 17-18
Wade in the Water: A Water and Faith Education Event, November 18
From Suffering to Hope Retreat, December 6-8
The Earth Adorned, December 10-11

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