The Saint Paul Synod is pleased to announce a partnership with Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota (LSS) as part of its Planting Hope Campaign! This collaboration will provide new and critically important services to children and families living on the East Side of St. Paul, an area known to have a high concentration of families and vulnerable populations facing economic disparities and home to seven ELCA congregations.

“We’ve been in meaningful conversation with LSS for many months about this project,” said Bishop Patricia Lull. “We couldn’t ask for a better partner for this aspect of the campaign: investing in a transformative project on the East Side of St. Paul with other community partners.”

The other key areas of The Planting Hope Campaign include:

This three-year campaign seeks to raise $2.75 million help the synod’s 110 congregations and mission starts adapt to changing realities and equip a vibrant church for the future. “This campaign builds on our strengths and call us to stretch in new ways,” said Bishop Lull.

Patrick Thueson, CEO of LSS, said, “For greater than 155 years, LSS has expressed the love of Christ for all people through acts of service that inspire hope, change lives, and build community. It is an honor to work in concert with the Saint Paul Area Synod to achieve shared goals.” He added, “I am so grateful to every member of the Saint Paul Area Synod for allowing LSS to be a part of the Planting Hope vision for improving outcomes for kids and families on the East Side.”

The synod's Planting Hope capital campaign is progressing on its planned timeline and we ready to train congregation leaders! Our first sessions will be on Tuesday, Nov. 30, with an in-person gathering at 3 p.m. at Roseville Lutheran and another session available at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom. We are excited that nearly 70 of our congregations have already committed to supporting the campaign! Leaders - click here for details about the training.

This year, the first Sunday in Advent comes at the close of the Thanksgiving weekend. Our season of preparation for the coming again of our Lord Jesus begins BUT the Christmas season is now yet here. As we prepare our hearts for the birth of Jesus, we also prepare for the sharing of gifts with family and friends. As you do that in this year of 2021, still in pandemic mode, consider gifts that give twice…gifts that provide life and livelihood to those who produce them and those receive them. Consider alternative gifts for those who do not need material items, but which can bring life to someone else.

Staff and volunteers who lead middle and/or high school youth in their congregations are invited to gather on Zoom for conversation and brainstorming! We'll discuss what programming might look like in the new year, the 2022 ELCA Youth Gathering and more! Join the conversation with the Saint Paul and Minneapolis Area Synods' CYF team! Lisa Sampson from Grace in Apple Valley is the host. Questions? Contact Lisa at l.sampson@graceofav.org.

Guns are the second leading cause of death for American children and the leading cause for Black American children. As caring and compassionate Lutherans, we are called to do something about these tragic statistics. The “good news” here is that all of these deaths are 100% preventable. If we join forces, gun owners and non-gun owners together, we can learn to “Be SMART” about gun safety for children, teens and families. And we can spread this important message in our congregations and communities.

This class will feature an awareness-raising non-partisan presentation from Be SMART (www.besmartforkids.org), a national organization for promoting firearm safety for children and teens. Also included in the discussion will be information on how to access the Be SMART presentation for use in congregations. Other ideas for ways to present and discuss firearm safety and teen suicide prevention in church settings will also be discussed.

Jill Chisholm will present the Be SMART material and will lead the discussion along with Pastors Ron Letnes and Rolf Olson. Jill is a licensed parent educator and a trained Be SMART presenter. She has trained Be SMART presenters throughout the state and nation and has presented to a variety of educational and community groups. Questions? Email letnesron@gmail.com.

Staff and volunteers who lead children's ministry in their congregations are invited to gather on Zoom for conversation and brainstorming! As kids are now being vaccinated, what changes are in store for 2022 in your ministry? Join Rachelle Gill and Julie Vagle to discuss what programming might look like in the new year. Questions? Email rgill@easter.org.

Meeting ID: 850 7612 9637

Passcode: 473439

Children's ministry gatherings are offered regularly as a partnership of the Minneapolis and Saint Paul Area Synods. Notes from previous gatherings may be found in the “files” section of the Twin Cities CYF ELCA Facebook group.

The ELCA has released a study guide for the church's newest social statement, Faith, Sexism and Justice: A Call to Action. The new study guide features six flexible sessions that can be customized for in-person gatherings, virtual discussions or interactive virtual meetings. Each session includes prayers, videos, engaging activities, Scripture study and invitations to live out the social statement's call to gender justice in the world. Click here to download the study guide and view a video on this social statement from Presiding Bishop Eaton.

Each year during the season of Advent, churches in the Lutheran World Federation share hymns from their congregations to show how the Lutheran communion regions prepare for Christ's coming into this world. This year, participating churches include the Lutheran Church in Singapore, Romania, the Netherlands, Malawi, Guyana, Canada, Burundi and Angola. The first hymn will be shared on Nov. 28 and the last on Dec. 24. Learn more.

Applications are now being accepted for the ELCA's Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) for 2022-2023! Please share the news about this amazing opportunity for a year of international service for those ages 21 to 29. YAGMs walk alongside our global church companions in the spirit of accompaniment.

Participants form deep relationships, live in intentional community and confront issues of globalization, economic disparity, colonization, race, gender, sexuality, and more through the lens of faith. Current YAGM country programs include Argentina/Uruguay, Cambodia, Central Europe, Jerusalem/West Bank, Madagascar, Mexico, Rwanda, Senegal and United Kingdom. Learn more.

Current research on addiction and recovery reveals important facts about the important of gratitude. The roots of gratitude are found in the world's great religions but in recent decades psychologists have been studying the emotional benefits of gratitude. In even more recent years, social scientists have been studying the impact of gratitude on addiction recovery. Dr Amy Krentzman will discuss six prominent ideas from psychology that explain how gratitude supports addiction recovery. She will also discuss recommendations for a daily gratitude practice that come from her research. This webinar is free from The Center of Addiction & Faith. Register here.

The National Lutheran Choir invites you to experience its 36th annual Christmas Festival, "The Earth Adorned." The program features Aaron David Miller's Chanticleer, Paul John Rudoi's Orbit Carol and the Creation Suite by Dr. Larry Fleming. In-person performances will be held Friday, Dec. 10 (4:30 and 8 p.m.) and Saturday, Dec. 11 (8 p.m.) at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. Tickets for adults and seniors are $33; students may pay what they can; 18 and under are free. If you can't make it in person to the concert, you can watch the livestream for free on https://nlca.com/ in real time on Friday, Dec. 10, at 8 p.m. Learn more.

The 2022 Ignite the Church Conference will be a hybrid event offering both an in-person gathering in Orlando, Florida, and an online option. The conference theme of "Seismic Shifts: Where Do We Go From Here?" is grounded in Psalm 46:1-2. Four group sessions will focus on the following shifts:

Ten 90-minute workshops will dig deeper into these shifts to offer encouragement, inspiration and challenge for church leaders. Register by Nov. 30 to access the lowest $99 in-person rate. The online option will provide live and recorded access to each large group session and the post-conference resource page. The online option is free with a suggested donation of $30 to the ELCA Fund for Leaders. Learn more.

If COVID-19 has taught us anything homiletically, it is that trauma should be a regular part of our preaching. The 2022 Festival of Homiletics will create space for learning and conversation that honors what we have been through and what kind of preachers we want to be as survivors of the storm. Christian preaching knows it can’t get to the resurrection without going through the cross. But COVID-19 revealed that we are less aware of what it means to preach resurrection with the cross remaining. Registration is open. Learn more.

www.spas-elca.org | 651-224-4313