January 4, 2022
Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA Enews
Synod office update
Synod staff members are splitting time between in-office and remote work; the office remains closed to public meetings. This protocol will be evaluated periodically to reflect the CDC guidelines for vaccinated persons. 
Be a servant companion
at ELCA Youth Gathering
Young adults (19-30 at the time of the ELCA Youth Gathering) are now encouraged to apply to serve as a Servant Companion for the 2022 Gathering! Servant Companions will accompany congregational groups as they encounter and serve the people of Minneapolis during their Service Learning day.

Applicants should be comfortable leading a group, thinking on their feet, and speaking about their faith. Applications are open until January 22, 2022. 
The holiness
of the darkness
“Perhaps last years’ season’s greetings came with restful tidings and hopes for light to shine brightly again soon. Perhaps you’ve come to feel less and less seen by these greetings. The tiredness and somberness may have weighed heavily for so long. It is finally a fresh year but 2022 has, so far, felt like 2020, too.” 
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.
Mosaics available for congregational display
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.
 
If you are interested in displaying the mosaics, please contact Brenda Blackhawk at b.blackhawk@mpls-synod.org or (612) 230-3305.
Save the Dates: Annual Tool Kit
If COVID-19 has given us anything, it's given us an opportunity to try things in a new way! So that's what we're doing with this year's Tool Kit!

While we really wish we could be in person with you, we believe an online Tool Kit is the best choice for the 2022 Tool Kit.

We've also consistently gotten feedback in previous years that people wish they could attend more than just two workshops, so this format will make that possible!

We are planning two evening virtual workshops for each of the following days:

Tuesday, March 8, and Thursday, March 10
Tuesday, March 15, and Thursday, March 17
Tuesday, March 22, and Thursday, March 24

More information will be available soon.
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
Support our companion synod's dream to start a university
UPDATE: We are almost three quarters of the way to the goal!
As Bishop Ann announced in her 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 has produced resources for congregations and individuals to use as they prayerfully consider this synod-wide effort to raise $500,000, and as of today we have raised $350,890.33. (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 in a variety of ways:
  • Read the case statement for a Lutheran university and the commitment of the LCCN to bring it into being.
  • Check the synod's web page for resources, including a video about the effort by our synod to raise $500,000 with and for our companion synod (more information below).
  • 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 for online donation options
  • Send a check to the synod office:
  • 122 West Franklin Avenue, Suite 600, Minneapolis, MN 55404
  • 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.
Being Here Podcast –
New Episodes
Being Here, a podcast that explores real world issues and topics important to professionals in the faith community, has added three new episodes. Join host the Rev. Melissa Pohlman, as she welcomes three new guests to share their experiences and points of view on navigating retirement; Christian conversations about racial justice; and creative approaches to innovative ministry. Being Here invites us to learn together, listen to each other, grow together, and move forward together — stronger, more resilient as a unique community.
Rebranding Just-a-Minute as Living the Word
Those of you who receive "Just-a-Minute," the synod's weekly lectionary study, using both the Revised Common and the Narrative lectionaries, will notice some changes beginning in January. First, the eblast will be renamed “Living the Word,” reflecting the addition of newsletter section titled “Spiritual Practice of the Week.” (This section is provided by our Lilly Grant program, Faith Practices & Neighboring Practices.)

The Rev. Mark Wegener will continue his years-long commitment to bring brief introductions to both assigned lectionaries, as well as incisive and often humorous questions for reflection. If you don't receive this study, you can sign up to be added to the list, or you can send the information to a friend you believe might be interested.
Boy Scout bankruptcy could impact congregations
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) filed fer to file a proof of claim in the bankruptcy to protect their interests.

The ELCA counsel prepared a resource on the BSA Bankruptcy; it is available for review by congregational leaders.
Where is the synod staff in upcoming weeks?
Upcoming Events
Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA www.mpls-synod.org