September 15, 2020
Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA Enews
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Join us over the next few months as we highlight different members of our staff. The Minneapolis Area Synod staff is comprised of 15 people who live in the city, suburbs, and rural areas. We are fairly racially and age diverse for an ELCA office. We hope you get to know us better through these fun interviews! This week's featured staff member is Bob Hulteen, director of communications and public voice. |
Bob Hulteen
What has been the best or most surprising part about the stay-at-home orders?
- I’ve learned more about how my house works and the sounds it makes in the last two months than ever before. It makes it feel more like home.
Do you have any pets or wish you did?
- I do not have any pets, but Fern (my daughter’s dog) comes over once in a while.
What book are you currently reading or show are you binge-watching?
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I am wasting time currently on Hulu with Timeless, a fun but mindless sci-fi show. But, I am planning on getting CBS on Demand so I can watch the two new Star Trek series.
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I just finished reading a novelization of the TV show Firefly and The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates (which was loaned to me by Brenda Blackhawk). I just started to read Louise Erdrich’s The Night Watchman and Edgar Villanueva’s Decolonizing Wealth.
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An avid comic book reader, I am also reading the Old Man Hawkeye graphic novel.
What is your favorite restaurant to order take-out from?
- Reverie -- both the brick and mortar on Bloomington Avenue and the food truck
What summer activity are you most looking forward to?
- Planning fall and winter vacations
What is giving you hope right now?
- I have hope when I hear people say, "Let's not go back to normal; let's go back to better." Watching my congregation's response to the murder of George Floyd and the Uprising keeps me connected to hope.
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Ministry Imagination Grant October deadline postponed |
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The deadline for the next round of Ministry Imagination Grant proposals was scheduled to be October 15, 2020. That deadline has been postponed by the Synod Council; a future deadline date is yet to be determined. If you have further questions, contact Craig Pederson by email or (612) 703-1586.
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“Martin Luther knew about trouble. He had been excommunicated by the church and declared an outlaw by the emperor. The bubonic plague had returned to Wittenberg, Germany. His 7-month-old daughter, Elisabeth, had died. Western Europe was under attack by the Ottoman Empire. Civil unrest resulted in the Peasants War, which was brutally crushed by the nobility. Luther lived in uncertain times.”
Read the rest of Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton's September column.
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How to get a congregational racial justice group started |
The Minnepolis Area Synod's Unite Table is hosting a conversation on how to start working on issues of racial justice in your congregtions. Hear from a panel of leaders who started successful racial justice teams in their congregations. Learn about how they started, what they’ve done, and what prepared them for our current moment.
Thursday, September 24
6:30-8:00 p.m.
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Family systems theory in a time such as this |
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What does it mean to be a Christian public leader in a time such as this? In this odd and challenging year, a natural family systems lens might offer a helpful examinaton of leadership. The Rev. Dr. Jules Erickson and the Rev. Tom Olson are leading a learning opportunity through the lens of Bowen-Friedman Systems Theory and the work of Brené Brown (The Daring Way™).
Sessions will run from September through May on each third Tuesday. The cost is $20 per session or $120 for the series.
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Addiction and Race: Generations of Trauma |
Addiction and drug policy in America are inextricably linked to race. In this seminar, participants will dive into the dynamics of racial injustice, trauma, and oppression that contribute to addiction rates. The impact of ongoing racial disparities in policing and incarceration that perpetuate inequality and fail to address the root causes of addiction and the potential negative consequences of drug use will also be examined.
Thursday, September 24
Noon- 1:00 p.m.
This webinar will benefit those working to lead congregations or communities through issues of racial justice.
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Celebrating Changed Lives |
Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota (LSS) has been helping to meet the growing and changing needs of neighbors for 155 years. A gift to LSS means stable housing for families and youth experiencing homelessness. It means connection for people with disabilities, veterans, and old adults. It means greater safety and health during the pandemic.
Saturday, September 19
6:45 p.m.
Support LSS during its virtual 2020 Celebration for Changing Lives. The event begins at 6:45 p.m. with a virtual reception and continues with a livestream at 7:30 p.m.
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The Director of Evangelical Mission position for the
Minneapolis Area Synod is open once again
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The Director of Evangelical Mission position represents the Domestic Mission (DM) unit in the territory of the Minneapolis Area Synod, and is responsible for engaging synodical leaders, structures, and strategies in the formation and development of congregational vitality: “Communities of Jesus that nurture life-changing relationships with God, one another, and the world,” and reflects the purposes, principles, and commitments of the synod, DM, and the ELCA as a whole.
This position will coordinate and staff the education of all evangelical mission, mission support, and stewardship ministries in the synod through the formation and coordination of three synodical initiatives: mission support and/or stewardship, congregational vitality, and alignment with "Future Directions 2025."
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Hunger in the time of COVID-19 |
Rick Steves, guidebook author and travel TV host, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, and Northwest Washington Synod Bishop Shelley Bryan Wee invite interested people to an online benefit for ELCA World Hunger. This Zoom virtual event has a goal of raising $250,000 to confront hunger in the time of COVID-19.
This is an historic moment, facing a once-in-a-century pandemic and a global change in hunger unlike anything we have seen in recent generations. Domestically and internationally, hunger is increasing at alarming rates. At this event, participants will learn about the unique ways ELCA World Hunger is responding. The hosts will also discuss the ongoing root causes of hunger and poverty addressed in Rick Steves’ recent special Hunger and Hope: Lessons From Ethiopia and Guatemala. And you will hear from ELCA World Hunger partners on the front lines of the current hunger crisis, who will tell you firsthand how your gifts make a difference.
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Lutheran Disaster Response raises funds
for West Coast fires
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Fueled by a heat wave and ignited by lightning strikes, some of the worst wildfires in California’s history have erupted across the state. With many deaths and tens of thousands of people are under evacuation orders, more than one million acres have burned, and more than 1,000 structures have been destroyed and thousands more are threatened. Some evacuees face the difficult decision of whether to stay in a shelter during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) is engaging with Lutheran Social Services of Southern California and Lutheran Social Services of Northern California, along with the three California synods (Sierra Pacific, Southwest California, and Pacifica), to assess the situation and determine the best ways to respond. Please consider partnering with LDR in this relief effort.
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Support the National Lutheran Choir with Subscriptions |
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A virtual subscription is a great way to get a front row seat for the National Lutheran Choir's 2020-2021 season! No longer constrained by geography, the choir is forming a national community of people who value sacred choral music and believe it speaks to us more than ever in these days of separation.
Subscribe to receive twice-monthly emails with musical content, reflections, interviews, devotions, and behind-the-scenes glimpses of our artists, community, and national thought leaders. The cost is $10 per month or $90 for the full season of monthly engagement (September-May). Pay now, or subscribe on a monthly basis via a credit card recurring transaction.
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Being Church by "Growing Young" |
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Churches are losing members and vitality as increasing numbers of young people disengage, but that isn't the final word. This week Phil Hirsch, director of the ELCA domestic mission will introduce "Growing Young" and why this matters as we look at the status of our church. Two young adults, Daniel Kirschbaum and Clair Embil, will share their own stories and experiences with the church.
Wednesday, September 16
1:00 p.m.
The Rev. Dr. Philip C. Hirsch is working to bring about the revitalization of ELCA congregations in the United States by recruiting, training, and supporting leaders. A nerdy board game player, Daniel Kirschbaum finds deep joy in dreaming with people and organizations about systemic ways to be radically welcoming and holy space co-creators. He is a student at Wartburg Theological Seminary. Claire Embil is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is a writer, photographer, and graphic designer with an eye for the beauty of the world and a passion for justice. Claire considers herself a faith-based activist who uses the social justice message of the gospel to be an advocate for all people. She hopes to be an ELCA pastor one day.
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Where is the synod staff in upcoming weeks? |
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Bishop Ann Svennungsen will be ordaining Ben Cherland at Christ Church Lutheran, Minneapolis, on Saturday, September 19.
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Ms. Meghan Olsen Biebighauser will be preaching at Christ Lutheran, Blaine, on Sunday, September 20.
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Pastor John Hulden will be installing Pastor Maria Markman as associate pastor at Grace Lutheran, Andover, on Saturday and Sunday, September 26 and 27.
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Bishop Ann Svennungsen will be installing Pastor Kris Capel at Nokomis Heights Lutheran, Minneapolis, on Sunday, September 27.
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