January 11, 2022
Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA Enews
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Available Now: Bishop Ann Svennungsen's Annual Report |
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Despite a second year of life and ministry during a global pandemic, as a synod we have taken bold, new steps in serving God and neighbor. Looking back we realized that we have experienced many firsts in 2021 and Bishop Ann Svennungsen’s Annual Report to congregations shares many of these new things that God is doing among us. Access the report below. |
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Discerning a Call to Public Ministry |
God calls everyone to do God's work in the world. How is God calling you? Explore that quesiton in a series of Zoom conversations.
Session One: "Public Ministry in the ELCA"
Learn about discernment resoucres.
Thursday, January 20; 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Session Two: "How Do I Get There?"
Learn about the ELCA candidacy process and hear from seminary partners about various programs.
Thursday, January 27; 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Attending both sessions is enouraged, but you are welcome to attend just one.
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YAGM priority deadline is one week away, on Jan. 15, 2022. |
Over the past two years, YAGM staff have taken time to deepen relationships with our global partners and reimagine our future together. Watch this new video message from YAGM Program Director Dan Beirne to hear about that work. You can also learn more at ELCA.org/YAGM or from our previous email, forwarded below.
Do you know a young adult who is ready for a transformative journey of service and fellowship? Tell them about YAGM today!
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Virtual MLK Day Intergenerational Event Invitation - The King Lives: Call Us What We Carry |
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In honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we are convicted and compelled to speak the words of world changers who have brought inspiration to make our world a better place. Why? Because words matter!
Join us for “The King Lives - Call Us What We Carry”. (Program title is a salute to local artist Joe Davis’s latest poem, and Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman’s latest book.)
This intergenerational virtual event will bring together speakers of all ages, to re-enact a 3-minute segment of a speech made by a world changer of their choosing. Music and spoken word performances will also be celebrated!
It is our collective responsibility to ensure that the words and the stories of changemakers continue to be seen, heard, and remembered. We must not forget. Hearing and reciting hopeful words creates more hopeful words. Just like Scripture - the more we read, and the more we hear, the more we believe!
Show up to this virtual event and support our courageous “dream tellers” on Monday, January 17 at 11:30. Join us - and them - as we celebrate the lives and the words that continue to heal the world.
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Mosaics available for congregational display
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These panels are once again available for congregations to borrow in 2022!
The panel “Feed the World” is our call to end world hunger. The images reflect the Three Sisters that native peoples planted together: corn, beans and squash. It is a planting that naturally calls to cooperation. As in nature, we are all one; we are all in this world together.
The panel “Love the Earth” shows native flowers of Minnesota, which attract pollinators needed for life: butterflies, bees, hummingbirds. Under the earth, you can see a different kind of pollinator: bugs and animals that help create the soil that nourishes all of us.
The middle panel was done by attendees of the 2019 synod assembly, under the direction of Pr. Luisa Cabello Hansel, artistic director of Semilla and co-pastor at St. Paul’s. It shows the unity of the church with our Creator, the creation, and one another.
They were created by the Semilla Center for Healing and the Arts at St. Paul’s Lutheran in south Minneapolis. Semilla means seed in Spanish, and the center works to plant seeds of hope by teaching and creating public art that can help make the community healthier, safer and more beautiful.
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Annual Tool Kit Workshop
Session Highlights
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We are looking forward to offering 12 virtual Tool Kit workshops on several Tuesday and Thursday evenings in March. The schedule, list of all workshops, and registration will be available soon. See the link below to stay up to date and for more information. For the next several weeks, we will be highlighting 2 workshops in our e-news so you can learn more about what will be available.
Effective Congregation Councils, led by Paul Walters from GSB Fundraising
During these challenging and anxious times, church leaders are feeling pressure from all directions. You will come away from this workshop with tools to help respond rather than react when anxiety rises. This is no quick fix, but rather an invitation to grow over time.
Building a Social Media Campaign: Engaging your Audiences, led by Kayla Zopfi and Maya Bryant from MAS Staff
This workshop will cover how to build a basic social media campaign from premise to the final product. This includes: cross-platform campaign building, catering to various demographics, and solidifying cohesive material for media consumption. Please note that the workshop content will not go beyond brief overviews of different social media platforms, so the session might not be considered entry-level knowledge for all people.
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Holy Innocents Worship Service laments Boarding School atrocities |
Thus says the Lord: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more. -- Jeremiah 31:15
Recent media coverage across the U.S. and Canada has been focused on the remains of Indigenous children at Indian Residential and Boarding Schools, with now more than 7,000 children recovered. For
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Tree of Life Releases Original Worship Service |
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Tree of Life Lutheran has released it's original verspers worship service: Brightness and Shadows Evening Prayer for Time after Epiphany.
Visit the Tree of Life online store to download the service. Minneapolis and St. Paul Area Synods can download all the materials for free by using the code "SYNOD". (There are two bundles: one for a standard vespers service and the other for a service with communion.)
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Courageous Leadership Series for January 2022 |
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ELCA Coaching is mixing things up in 2022. Starting in January, weekly sessions on the theme of courageous leadership will be held. These session will highlight different leaders and ministries from across the Church each week. There will also be time for small groups in breakout rooms so that leaders across the church can continue to learn from each other and leave each gathering with at least one action step.
For January 2022:
Week One (January 5) - Coaching - Choose Your Own Adventure (Topic)
Week Two (January 12) - Young Adults - TBD
Week Three (January 19) - African Decent Ministries - Preparing for Newness
Week Four (January 26) - Tentative - Homelessness and Justice / Economic Diversity
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Where is the synod staff in upcoming weeks? |
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Pastor Norma Malfatti will be preaching at Trinity Lutheran Congregation, Minneapolis, on Sunday, January 16.
- Pastor Norma Malfatti will be preaching at MN Swahili Christian Congregation, Minneapolis on Sunday, January 16.
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Pastor Craig Pederson will be installing Pastor Sarah Fike at St. Andrew Lutheran Church, Eden Prairie, on Sunday, January 16.
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Pastor Norma Malfatti will be preaching at Zion Lutheran, Minneapolis, on Sunday, January 23.
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Bishop Ann Svennungsen will be installing Pastor Gretchen Rode at House of Hope, Minneapolis, on Sunday, January 23.
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Pastor Norma Malfatti will be preaching at St. Paul/San Pablo, Minneapolis, on Sunday, January 30.
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