|
August 22, 2023
Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA Enews
| |
ELCA Youth Gathering Volunteer Applications Open | |
|
Would you like to volunteer at the Gathering and help our young people grow in faith and encounter Christ? Serving the youth of this church is a vocational calling that requires careful discernment.
There are five volunteer categories: the Gathering Volunteer Corps (GVC), servant companions, local volunteers, MYLE and the tAble volunteers, and Young Adult Gathering volunteers. Responsibilities and commitments vary by category, but every volunteer must agree to a volunteer code of conduct and submit to a background check run by the ELCA.
Applications are open now!
| |
|
WELCA plans fall event that emphasizes "just love" | |
Under the theme of "Just Love," Women of the ELCA in the Minneapolis Area Synod is inviting congregational leaders to "gather your gals" and come to an incredible opportunity to connect, inspire, and create a better world – one act of love at a time!
Inspire: Bible Study • Worship • Connection • Music Friendship
Ignite: Explore Mental health and loneliness, Social justice and women’s imprisonment
Refresh: Coffee and Lunch • Childcare Chair Massage • Yoga
Serve: On-site impact projects – Global market
Saturday, November 4; 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
First Lutheran Church of Columbia Heights
1555 40th Avenue NE, Columbia Heights
| | |
Indian Boarding Schools: ELCA Truth-Seeking and Truth-Telling | |
|
The ELCA is leading a coordinated effort to research Lutheran involvement in Indian boarding and day schools dating back to the 1820s. Leaders are seeking both clergy and lay volunteers who want to be part of this initiative. All are welcome, with particular need for people with skills in research, data collection, organizing, and education.
The goals are to find and gather information in order to share it with impacted Indigenous individuals, families, and communities; for ELCA church members to know our history of church-sponsored Indian boarding schools and their devastating impacts on Native communities; all as part of an ongoing truth and healing process.
This project started in 2022 with 15 synods across four states. In May 2023 it expanded to 27 synods across ten states (all of ELCA Regions 3, 5, and 6). Your participation would be welcomed!
| |
Faith-based nursing event about presence with those who are dying | |
The Lutheran Faith Community Nurse Association (LFCNA) is offering a three-part series entitled This is How We Die. The series includes content from Barbara Karnes’ DVD series, This is How People Die, with dialogue and reflection.
Mondays, September 11, 18, and 25
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Online
While this series was initially offered for faith community nurses, it is now open to anyone who wishes to attend: other nurses and healthcare providers, clergy, chaplains, and/or congregants who want to know how to be present to those who are dying and are on their home-going journey, as well as their families.
The registration fee is $40 for LFCNA members and $60 for nonmembers. Nursing contact hours will be provided for the sessions attended.
| |  |
Lutheran Campus Ministry plans fundraiser in October | |
Join Lutheran Campus Ministry – Twin Cities for its Second Annual Fall Gathering and Fundraiser at the beautiful Campus Club Terrace overlooking the city. We’ll gather around There will be hearty appetizers, a cash bar, and good music to hear inspirational stories from students and alumni.
This gathering will be a chance to connect with each other and to raise money for the transformational work happening at Lutheran Campus Ministry – Twin Cities!
Thursday, October 5
Campus Club at the U of M
300 Washington Avenue SE, Mpls
5:00 p.m. Cocktails and appetizers
6:00 p.m. Program
7:00 p.m. Jam session and singing around the fire (bring your instruments!)
Tickets: $30
| | |
ELCA Churchwide shares stories about how mission support changes lives -- what every congregant should know (and be encouraged by) | |
|
There are so many powerful stories of ways people's lives are being changes by the ministry and mission of the ELCA around the world. Too often those stories are unknown.
Stories of Faith in Action, a publication about how your congregation's mission support brings abundant life in challenging circumstances, is available for members of ELCA congregations. For instance, in a recent issue the stories told included: The United Evangelical Church in Cuba Lutheran Synod's newest pastor, an ELCA street minister in Baltimore, a welcoming comunity for all gender identities and sexual orientations in the Northern Texas-Northern Louisiana Synod, an outdoor worship experience in the Upper Peninsula, and the pastoral emergency the Lutheran Church in Rwanda is facing.
All these stories and more will stimulate conversations taht counter the narrative of a dying church. This is the church engaged, and can bring hope to those who worry about the church's future.
If you have suggestions to share about how your benevolence supports important ministry, contact Karen Kretschmann, coordinator for storytelling engagement, at ELCA Churchwide.
| |
New National Lutheran Choir artistic director recently took the reins | |
Dr. Jennaya Robison assumed her position as the artistic director of the National Lutheran Choir in July, and is now busy preparing for the 2023-2024 season.
Robison has had a distinguished career as conductor, educator, and vocalist. She served as the Raymond R. Neevel/Missouri associate professor and director of choral studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory until earlier this year, associate professor of choral music at Luther College from 2013 to 2020, and founded Scottsdale Musical Arts in 2009.
Robison is in demand as a clinician and guest speaker across the country at choral conferences and seminars, and she regularly leads All State and honor choirs, workshops, and festivals.
| | |
How to create a recovery friendly church | |
As congregations seek to find themselves and refocus mission in this post-pandemic reality, perhaps they may wish to consider the growing addiction and mental health crisis in the U.S. right now. People are suffering and too many are dying. The church could play a major role in bringing healing, hope and new life.
But where can you start? Join Drew Brooks (executive director of Faith Partners), Pastor John Sutherland (Cross in Roberts, Wisconsin) and Center of Addiction & Faith founder Pastor Ed Treat as they share their experience, strength and hope for how to start and sustain meaningful addiction awareness ministry in the local parish.
Wednesday, August 30; 12 p.m.
Online
The webinar is sponsored by The Center of Addiction & Faith and is open to clergy and lay people.
| | |
Continuing the legacy of the March on Washington | |
On the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, a community choir will offer a commemorative procession and concert, curated by G. Phillip Shoultz, III, associate artistic director of VocalEssence and music director at Westwood Lutheran Church, St. Louis Park. The theme of the event will be "Let Freedom Ring."
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was a 1963 march to Washington, D.C., organized by A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin and a coalition of civil rights, religious, and labor organizations. It was at this event that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., offered his "I Have a Dream" speech.
Monday, August 28
5:30 p.m., procession
6:30 - 8:00 p.m., concert
Northrup Auditorium, University of Minnesota
A coalition of choirs will join Jovonta Patton, Joe Davis and the Poetic Diaspora, Threads Dance Project, Thomasina Petrus, and rising local spoken word artist Eshay Brantley, as we remember the past, ground ourselves in the present, and look to the future.
| |
Synod website posts job opportunities and events | |
Did you know that there are several job opportunities posted on the synod website? Currently there are a lot of job postings on our website as churches prepare for fall. Check them out if you're looking!
Or, if you are an organization that has a partnership or affiliation with the Minneapolis Area Synod, feel free to post an opening that you may have.
| Churches and organizations can also post events to be shared on our community calendar. Check out the page to see if your event is a good fit. | | |
Addiction and Faith Conference announced for Twin Cities | |
The 2023 Addiction and Faith Conference is open to all who have been touched by addiction, with a special focus on leaders who provide spiritual care. Presenters in the fields of mental health, addiction, faith, science, justice, compassion, and more will share their expertise. The in-person package includes worship, a keynote and plenary sessions, breakout sessions, meals, 12-step meetings, Narcan training, exhibits, and opportunities to connect.
October 5 - 7
Hilton Hotel, Bloomington, and Online
Early bird registration through August 31 is $325; after that date, the cost is $375 per person.
Pre-Conference Retreat for Clergy: Prior to the conference, a 12-step pre-conference retreat is offered just for clergy. Registration for the October 3 - 5 retreat is open with a free-will offering.
| | | |
|
Defibrillator class open to all
Both Salem Lutheran and Siloa Lutheran have AED Defibrillator Machines available for emergencies. Does your church have a defibrillator? Do you know how to use it?
Siloa is hosting a class provided by Allina on defibrillator use and CPR. This class is not for certification, but for eduction purposes only.
Wednesday, August 23; 4:00 p.m.
Siloa Lutheran Church, 2607 405th Avenue NW, Braham
A light snack will be provided. All are welcome!
| | |
Portico shareholder advocacy report card available | |
Portico Benefits has produced a report about the results of its efforts to steer companies in which Portico invests through the ELCA Retirement Plan toward more sustainable corporate practices.
Why does Portico do this? Because what’s sustainable for people and our planet also tends to strengthen a company’s long-term growth potential and its ability to generate long-term returns for investors.
| |
|
ELCA Churchwide Unit
invites survey response
| |
Throughout the next couple of months, the ELCA Churchwide Unit is seeking your thoughts and ideas on how it is called to be a church in today’s world. Please visit the website for Future Church: God’s Love Made Real, where you can watch a video from Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton that explains more about this action and gives you an opportunity to complete a survey to share your views of the church and the world today.
In the coming weeks the ELCA will offer listening sessions where you can participate in online opportunities to provide your thoughts on God’s call for the church.
| |
Where is the synod staff in upcoming weeks? | |
-
Pastor Craig Pederson will be leading a forum at Calvary Lutheran, Edina, on Sunday, August 27.
-
Pastor John Hulden will be preaching at Trinity Lutheran, Monticello, on Sunday, September 3.
-
Pastor Craig Pederson will be attending a retirement celebration for Pastor Mark Johnson at St. John's Lutheran, Belle Plaine, on Sunday, September 10.
-
Bishop Ann Svennungsen will be installing Pastor Yolanda Denson-Byers as Senior Pastor at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran, Edina, on Sunday, September 10.
-
Pastor John Hulden will be preaching at Spirit of Joy Lutheran, Buffalo, on Sunday, September 17.
-
Pastor Craig Pederson will be installing Pastor Sarah Scherschligt as Shared Leadership Pastor at Westwood Lutheran, St. Louis Park, on Sunday, September 17.
| |
-
Courageous Leadership Webinars, Wednesdays
-
Weekly Community Cookout, Wednesdays
-
"Join or Die" film screening, August 22
-
Commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the March on Washington, August 28
-
How to Create a Recovery Church, August 30
-
Already Enough: Unlock Your Power as a Woman in Ministry, September 5, 12, 19, and 26
-
Lutheran Faith Community Nurse Association series, September 11, 18, and 25
-
Reclaim Gathering, September 14 - 17
-
The Worship Songs Worship Music Concert, September 17
-
Bishop's Theological Conference, September 24 - 26
-
Compassion in Self Care, a Pre-Conference Retreat for Clergy, October 3 - 5
-
Refresher Course for Faith Community Nurses, October 5
-
Faith and Addiction Conference, October 5 - 7
-
Fall Joint Ministerium, October 26
-
Boundaries Training, November 2
-
JUST LOVE (Fall Women's Gathering), November 4
-
Minneapolis Area Synod Assembly, May 2 - 4, 2024
| | | | |
