News & Events: Where is God Calling Your Congregation Now?

September 26, 2022

Vitality 101: Where Is God Calling You Now?

Saturday, Oct. 1 - 9 a.m.-3 p.m. | Gustavus Adolphus, St. Paul

The synod's Vitality Team has an opportunity for your team to wrestle together with other congregational leaders about what it means for your congregation to be vital today. This interactive day features inspiring speakers, worship, activities and an opportunity to create your plan for implementing what you've learned into your own congregational setting. Based on the foundation of "vitality" and an urgent need to rediscover your "why," the mission/vision/values exercises included in the day will inspire you to get to work. In addition to some basic teaching around vitality, you will be invited to learn about having one-on-one conversations in your community and lining up what you hear with the mission you are called to live out. The cost is $10 per person and includes lunch. Register here.

A Deeper Dive: Leadership Conversations for Congregation Presidents & VPs

Thursday, Sept. 29 - 6:30-7:30 p.m. | Online

For presidents and vice presidents of congregations in our synod.

Are you curious about best practices around how a church council can function effectively? Do you have questions about the particular roles and responsibilities of a president or vice president of a congregation? Are you looking for knowledge and wisdom from others who have been in this role recently or are currently in this role?

Join Rolf Lowenberg-DeBoer (assistant to the bishop for lay leadership) and Dr. Dave Webb (retired school superintendent and council president at Shepherd of the Hills) for a series of discussions about these and other questions. We're registering now for the first session on Sept. 29; additional sessions will be Oct. 27, Dec. 1, Jan. 26, March 30 and Feb. 25 as part of the synod's Tool Kit for Congregational Leaders. Register here!

ENGAGE: Election 2022 and Gun Violence Prevention

Thursday, Sept. 29 - 7 p.m. | Online

In 2021, 571 Minnesotans died of gun violence: 176 by homicide and 391 by suicide. Join us for a discussion about gun safety legislation that makes a life-saving difference! Our special guests will include:

Sen. John Marty (DFL-Roseville)
Sen. Jim Carlson (DFL-Eagan)
Rep. Kelly Moller (DFL-Shoreview)
Rep. Dave Pinto (DFL-St. Paul)

We urge support of candidates of all parties who will commit to passing gun safety laws. Register here for the Zoom link and join the synod's ENGAGE Gun Violence Prevention work group in conversation!

Updated Model Constitution

One of the responsibilities of the Churchwide Assembly is to act on proposed updates to the model

constitution for ELCA congregations. The voting members did just that during the recent Churchwide Assembly in Columbus, Ohio. If your congregation is working on updating your constitution, please use this updated version, which provides all the required sections. Not sure what to do? The synod has a constitution review committee that can help you sort through the steps. Contact Leslie Ortiz at leslie.ortiz@spas-elca.org to start the conversation.

Fall Joint Ministerium

Thursday, Oct. 27 - 9 a.m.-12 noon | Luther Seminary, St. Paul

For rostered ministers in the Saint Paul and Minneapolis Area Synods

The bonds within the region feel frayed as we rebuild from the pandemic and the uprising in the Twin Cities. Some rural and suburban people question the livability of the core cities. People in the core cities talk about frustration with losing businesses to the suburbs, meaning a declining tax base, even as challenges remain. Social media amplifies the disconnect and distrust. Judgment abounds. Some agendas even benefit from a sense of suspicion and division amongst us. And yet, we are tied together economically, politically, socially and spiritually. Our current public discourse seems to neglect that reality. What can pastors and deacons do as mediating leaders within communities to counter a narrative or fear and suspicion? How can we begin to heal the breach?

Panelists include: Lori Sturdevant, Star Tribune columnist (moderator); Irene Fernando, Hennepin County Commissioner, District 2; Jim McDonough, Ramsey County Commissioner, District 6 (retiring); and

Laurie Halvorson, Dakota County Commissioner, District 3. Click here to register.

A Message From the Presiding Bishop:

We are Woven Together

In her September column for Living Lutheran, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton writes:

In Christ we are individually members one of another. Sometimes we might feel like we are stuck with each other. This is the great mystery and beauty of the wounded body of Christ—we are woven together.

Read Bishop Eaton's full message in English or Spanish.

ELCA Youth Leadership Summit

Application deadline: Sept. 30! There will be a Youth Leadership Summit Nov. 3-6 at Carol Joy Holling Camp near Omaha, Neb. As a synod, we are invited to send two high schoolers and one adult to participate. All expenses for travel, lodging, meals and program are paid by the ELCA and the synod. Pairs of high schoolers (grades 9-12) with an adult leader are invited to apply by Sept. 30 to represent the Saint Paul Area Synod. Applications need to include a 60-word essay on “Why We Are The Best Team to Send” along with the three names, email contact, and congregation’s name to Bishop Lull at patricia.lull@spas-elca.org. This year’s theme is “Beloved – No Matter What,” based on Colossians 3:12. The event will include training in peer ministry.

CYF Welcome Event

Thursday, Oct. 6 - 9-11 a.m. | Pilgrim, St. Paul

All Children, Youth and Family staff new(er) to the Minneapolis or Saint Paul Area Synods are invited to attend to make some new connections. We are grateful you are part of the synod and want to welcome you! Enjoy light snacks and fellowship and discover information/networks where you can find support. There's no cost to attend, but please register so we know how many to plan for. Register here.

Children's Ministry Gathering

Monday, Oct. 10 - 2 p.m. | St. Stephen, Bloomington

Join us in person to talk about what your ministry will look like for Advent/Christmas. Bring your thoughts and examples to share for take-home kits, during-worship ideas, separate pageants, gatherings and more! Questions? Email rgill@easter.org or juliev@trinitylonglake.org. These gatherings are sponsored jointly by the Saint Paul and Minneapolis Area Synods for staff and key volunteers who work in children's ministry. Notes from previous gatherings may be accessed in the files area of the Twin Cities CYF Facebook group.

A variety of congregational resources are available

for The Planting Hope Campaign: three videos of varying lengths, bulletin inserts, text for newsletters and bulletins, flyers, PowerPoint slides

and more! Download them at:

https://spas-elca.org/planting-hope-collateral/

World Food Day Celebration

Sunday, Oct. 16 - 4 p.m. | Online

Join ELCA World Hunger for a celebration of World Food Day, hosted by Rick Steves and special guest Mark Jansen, CEO of Blue Diamond Almonds. This special event will be streamed online so you can celebrate with ELCA World Hunger wherever you are. You may view it on the ELCA Facebook page or YouTube channel. A recording will be available on both mediums for those not able to watch it live.

The Saint Paul Area Synodical Women's Organization has published its Fall 2022 Bridges newsletter! Click here to view the edition. For more information about the SWO or Women of the ELCA, visit https://spas-elca.org/synodical-womens-organization/.

EVENTS OF INTEREST

When We Don't See Eye-to-Eye: How to Love Others Well & Remain True to Yourself

Monday, Sept. 26 - 6:30 p.m. | Shepherd of the Valley, Apple Valley

We could all use a little more honest-to-goodness kindness in our lives. Learn actionable practices to support others and self-compassion practices to support yourself. Unleash the power of curiosity to use when in hard, heated, or horns-locked conversations. Discover the three-step process for healthy conversations. We will look at "Minnesota Nice" and how it just might be keeping us from real authentic connections that move us forward. Presenter Rev. Sarah Ciavarri is a chaplain and professional certified coach who travels nationally to provide keynotes and facilitate workshops on resilience, vulnerability and shame. She is the director of spiritual care at Apple Valley Village Health and Senior Living. Online registrations are still accepted. The cost is $10 per family (suggested donation). Financial support is available.

Courageous Leadership Series

Wednesdays - 1 p.m. | Online

ELCA Coaching offers a weekly online gathering for ministry leaders. Each week features a new topic and presenters. The sessions often include time for small group break-out rooms so that leaders across the church can learn from one another and leave each gathering with at least one action step. Recordings are posted by the next day. Learn more.

Contemplative Evening Worship

Sunday Evenings - 6:51 p.m. | Pilgrim, St. Paul

Pilgrim in St. Paul offers a variety of contemplative worship experiences on Sunday evenings:

Celtic contemplative service with communion - Oct. 9, Nov. 13, Dec. 11 & Dec. 24
Contemplative prayer from nordic and other lands - Oct. 23, Nov. 27
Contemplative prayer from taize and similar traditions - Oct. 16, Nov. 20
Medieval night prayer (compline) - Nov. 6 (8 p.m.)

Learn more.

Contemplative Prayer Choir

Music Director Paul Stever is seeking tenors and basses to audition for his contemplative prayer choir, which occasionally leads the evening worship at Pilgrim or other locations around the Twin Cities. This ecumenical choir is specifically of interest to church workers! Email steverpaul55@aol.com for more information.

Healthy Leaders: Bowen Family Systems Group

Monthly, Sept. 29-May 25 | St. Stephen, Bloomington, or Online

Pastors and interns with an interest with Bowen Systems theory are invited to join the 2022-23 systems series. Meetings are 1-3 p.m. on the fourth Thursdays of the month (third for November and December) starting Sept. 29. The monthly agenda is one hour of teaching and one hour of a shared case study using theory and each of the core concepts. Dates include Sept. 29, Oct. 27, Nov. 17, Dec. 15, Jan. 26, Feb. 23, March 23, April 27, May 25.

Presenters are the Rev. Wendy Vie Trittin, who is rostered in the ELCA and has a private coaching and counseling practice, and the Rev. Dr. Jules Erickson, a parish pastor, coach and adjunct faculty member at Luther Seminary. Jules will be on sabbatical the first months of the fall and will step in upon her return. Along with the Rev. Tom Olson from St. Stephen, the three have each spent more than 25 years studying and applying Systems Theory and the work of Dr. Brene Brown to life and ministry. The cost is $30 per session or $250 for all nine sessions. More registration information will be provided at the first session on Sept. 29. If you prefer to join virtually, email tolson@ststephen.net for the link. Learn more about Bowen Theory.

Listen • Understand • Connect

Oct. 2, Oct. 4, Oct. 5 | Trinity, Stillwater

Trinity in Stillwater invites you to its education series with Vance Blackfox, citizen of the Cherokee Nation, founder and director of Other+Wise, and director of Indigenous Ministries and Tribal Relations of the ELCA. Thanks to a Gleaning From the Harvest grant from the synod, events are free but do require registration. The series was planned by Trinity’s Racial Justice Ministry Team.

Sunday, Oct. 2 - Vance Blackfox preaches at 8:45 and 11 a.m. worship services | 2-4 p.m. – Blanket Exercise – Garden Room at Trinity (ages 15 and up)
Tuesday, Oct. 4 | 6:30-8 p.m. – Indigenous Thought & Theology – Worship Center at Trinity (all ages)
Wednesday, Oct. 5 | 6:30-8 p.m. – Indian 101 – Worship Center at Trinity (all ages)

Learn more and register.

Why Treaties Matter Interactive Exhibit

In conjunction with the education series, Trinity is also hosting the traveling exhibit "Why Treaties Matter: Self Government in the Dakota and Ojibwe Nations." This interactive exhibit emphasizes American Indian sovereignty as an ongoing continental reality. Learn from Dakota and Ojibwe Nations’ new and innovative ways to create community, build sustainable systems, and relate to one another. The exhibit is a collaboration of the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, the Minnesota Humanities Center, and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian. The exhibit is open to the public Wednesday, Sept. 28, 10 a.m.-Noon & 3:30-6:30 p.m.; Thursday, Sept. 29, 5:30-8:30 p.m.; Friday, Sept. 30, Noon-4 p.m.; Tuesday, Oct. 4, 3:30-6:30 p.m.; and Wednesday, Oct. 5, 10 a.m.-Noon & 3:30-6:30 p.m. Learn more.

LIFEU Speaker Series

Oct. 5-26 - 6:30 p.m. | St. Andrew's, Mahtomedi & Online

On Wednesdays in October, a series of LIFE Talks featuring Pastor Kelly Chatman will focus on serving our neighbor courageously and generously. Pastor Kelly serves as pastor of community engagement at St. Andrew's and is the director of the Center for Leadership and Neighborhood Engagement. He is a sought after speaker in the areas of multicultural leadership, community engagement and congregational revitalization. Weekly themes include:

Oct. 5 - Welcome, Safety & Belonging
Oct. 12 - The Power and Influence of Worldview
Oct. 19 - God's Intervention in cycles of Oppression
Oct. 26 - Courageous Conversations

Learn more.

Lutheran Campus Ministry Fall Gathering & Fundraiser

Thursday, Oct. 13 - 5-8 p.m. | Campus Club, Minneapolis

Join us for a fun in-person gathering at the beautiful Campus Club Terrace overlooking the city. We’ll gather around hearty appetizers, a cash bar, good music, inspirational stories from students and alumni, and a chance to raise some money for the transformational work happening at Lutheran Campus Ministry – Twin Cities! Tickets are $25 per person. Learn more.

Support in the Aging Process Series

Oct. 24, Nov. 17 | Shepherd of the Hills, Shoreview

Oct. 24 | 10 a.m. - Attorney Melissa Bayne (Larkin Hoffman) will discuss legal options for safeguarding assets, longterm care planning, powers of attorney and other legal matters.
Nov. 17 | 10 a.m. - Annual Medicare Update! Learn about recent changes and how they affect you, including reviewing Medicare Part D coverage during the open enrollment period, making health insurance comparisons and more.

The sessions are free but registration is required.