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July 19, 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.
Churchwide Assembly August 8-12
The 2022 triennial ELCA Churchwide Assembly will be held in Columbus, Ohio, August 8-12. The Minneapolis Area Synod will send 34 voting members to the assembly, where they will worship, discern, celebrate, share, listen, and vote. Keep our voting members, as well as those from across the ELCA, in your thoughts and prayers during this important time.

The event will be open for visitors to view via livestream. If you are interested, some synod staff members will be following the livestream from the conference room in the synod office. You are welcome to join us if you'd like company for your viewing pleasure. (There are even rumors of popcorn for those who attend.) A schedule of the assembly sessions is available online.
“Here’s the church, here’s the steeple, …”
“On a white board in my office is a growing list of congregations that are actively considering a variety of transitional options with their buildings and/or properties. Some of those facing transitions are urgent, either because of financial challenges in the congregation or facility realities that are staring them in the face (i.e., deferred maintenance, emergency repairs, or other overdue upgrades to the structure or utilities).”
Celebrating a second chance
The Minnesota Second Chance Coalition, a partner organization with the synod's racial justice work, is hosting a community celebration and you are invited!

Thursday, July 28, 2022; 4:00-7:00 p.m.
The Northside Healing Space
2100 Emerson Avenue North, Minneapolis

Join in to connect with Minnesota Second Chance Coalition members and supporters, hear testimony from people with lived experience with incarceration, talk about actions by the 2022 legislature, plan for the 2023 session, enjoy a kid-friendly activities, and celebrate the community.

The future of ministry
may be bi-vocational
Whether you’re experiencing burnout, approaching retirement, or wondering how to pursue that business idea you’ve been thinking about, you may be asking yourself one very important question — Now what?

No matter where you’re coming from, figuring out the next step is critical – for you and your congregation. Do you need an exit strategy? How much time will this side project take? And what about the Business 101 you probably didn’t cover in seminary? They’re all good questions, and you deserve good answers. 

Those answers – and so much more – are exactly what our new course is all about. It’s called Bi-Vocational Ministry: An Introduction to Entrepreneurship, Gigs, and Side Hustles. If you’re ready to explore how God’s calling includes all of your gifts, skills, and interests, you’re not going to want to miss this.
Help synod staff shape childcare policies for upcoming events
The synod is increasingly aware that care for children can exclude parents from participation in synod events. We want to lower all barriers to participation. 

But, it is also sometimes hard to know just what might be most helpful to parents of young children. Does onsite childcare meet needs? What other accommodations might be even more conducive to supporting family life? 

Join our virtual focus group to help think how we might best support rostered leaders with children on Wednesday, July 27, from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Indian Boarding Schools:
Truth-Seeking and Truth-Telling in the ELCA
The ELCA is beginning a coordinated effort to research Lutheran involvement in Indian boarding and day schools dating back to the 1820s. We are seeking both clergy and lay people who want to be part of this initiative. All are welcome, with a particular need for people with skills in research, data collection, organizing, and education. The goal is for our church members to know the history of church-sponsored Indian boarding schools and their devastating impacts on Native communities, and to participate in an ongoing truth and healing process.
Young Adult Book Project: The Threshold
The Riverside Innovation Hub is endeavoring on a book project that seeks to amplify the voices of young adults!

From November 4-6, 2022, a diverse community of approximately fifty young adults between the ages of 23 – 35 who are committed to helping God’s people find ways to express the fullness of God’s love and mercy will gather at Augsburg University in Minneapolis.

The group will begin to identify concerns, hopes, and dreams for God’s church and distill them down into key themes we want the church to know as it moves from the present moment, into the future.

Participants’ lodging and food expenses will be covered. Travel expenses, including airfare or mileage, will be reimbursed to the participant after the gathering in the form of a check.
Resources for the ELCA World Hunger — Global Farm Challenge
Join ELCA World Hunger this summer in the Global Farm Challenge, a youth-focused, whole-church campaign to accompany our neighbors who are facing threats of hunger and poverty around the world. Find prayers, podcasts, guides, and games, to be used at home, at church, or even in the car as you travel this summer linked below.

Also consider donating to the Global Farm Challenge. All donations are being matched dollar for dollar up to $525,000. This means that gifts will go twice as far in the work to alleviate and end world hunger.
Where is the synod staff in upcoming weeks?
  • Mr. Jack Hurbanis will be leading an adult forum at St. John's Lutheran, Mound, on Sunday, July 24.
  • Pastor Norma Malfatti will be preaching and presiding at House of Prayer Lutheran, Richfield, on Sunday, July 24.
  • Mr. Nicholas Tangen will be preaching at Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran, Robbinsdale, on Sunday, July 24.
  • Pastor Craig Pederson will be attending the farewell service for Pastor Sarah Bunge at East Union Lutheran, on Sunday, July 24.
  • Pastor John Hulden will be be attending worship at Braham Lutheran, Braham, on Sunday, July 24.
  • Ms. Meghan Olsen Biebighauser will be speaking at the Worship on Wednesday(WoW) at Christ Lutheran, Blaine, on Wednesday, July 27.
  • Pastor John Hulden will be installing Deacon Justin Rimbo at Spirit Garage, Minneapolis, on Sunday, July 31.
  • Pastor Norma Malfatti will be preaching and presiding at MN Swahili Christian Congregation, Minneapolis, on Sunday, July 31.
  • Pastor John Hulden will be installing Deacon Justin Rimbo at Spirit Garage, Minneapolis, on Sunday, July 31.
  • Pastor Norma Malfatti will be participating in VBS on the Farm with Cristo Obrero, Chaska, from Monday, August 1, through Friday, August 5.
  • Pastor Norma Malfatti will be preaching and presiding at St. John’s Lutheran, Minneapolis, on Sunday, August 7.
Upcoming Events
Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA www.mpls-synod.org