October 20, 2020
Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA Enews
|
|
Minnesota congregations engaging a jubilee message |
|
Five Winona faith communities, including Central Lutheran Church, Cedar Valley Lutheran Church, and Lutheran Campus Center of Winona, recently purchased the medical debt for 1,057 households in Minnesota and Wisconsin through New York-based PIP Medical Debt. By raising collectively $15,000, these congregations bought more than $2 million dollars of debt on behalf of those families, who are being notified of their debt freedom this week by mail.
Earlier this year, Lord of Life Lutheran Church, Maple Grove, similarly bought the debt of thousands of 472 families in Arkansas and Texas. A congregational solicitation effort raised $15,000, which was used to purchase $1.6 million in medical debt.
The Minneapolis Area Synod's theme for events between now and the 2021 Synod Assembly is "Jubilee Reclaimed: The Time is Now." Synod leaders will be examining debt theologically, ethically, sociologically, economically, and culturally over that time. From redemptive debt to predatory lending in vulnerable communities, the interconnectedness of our financial and spiritual lives will be examined.
What do you anticipate the reaction of those whose debt is forgiven will be? What do church people have to learn from such an experience? Is there a connection between debt forgiveness and grace? Those are questions for the synod's examination of jubilee; there is much to learn from the experience of faith communities that are trying to make an impact in people's lives.
“My community is made up of college students, so they have limited means,” said the Rev. Corrine Haulotte, pastor at Lutheran Campus Ministry of Winona. “But by partnering with RIP Medical Debt, their small donations created a huge difference in the lives of many people.”
RIP Medical Debt is able to bundle contributions from organizations and agencies to purchase bulk debt deemed unlikely to be paid by collectors at a reduced price, often less than a penny on the dollar.
|
|
 |
Being Church:
Be the Best Neighbor
|
“Be the Best Neighbor” is one of six essential strategies that will help young people discover and love your church. The Best Neighbors ask, “Who is my Neighbor?” Asking the question helps ground young people’s response to the needs and culture around them in more than self-congratulatory benevolence.
The featured speaker for this week's "Being Church" conversation will be Makota Fujimura, writer, artist, and director of Fuller Seminary’s Brehm Center for Worship. Also presenting will be Emily, a college student from Minnesota, and Hope, a high school youth from Chicago, who are actively engaged in their neighborhoods will discuss their work with their church.
Wednesday, October 21
1:00 p.m. Central Time
Meeting ID: 180 439 412
Password: 648160
Dial by your location:
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
|
|
|
|
Leading with Love
Beyond Prison Walls
|
According to many advocates, the criminal justice system in this country (which has led to the disproportionate mass incarceration of Black and Brown bodies) is steeped in white supremacy. But what happens when someone is labeled a “felon”? The answer: collateral sanctions.
Join the Minneapolis Area Synod’s SOAR (Strategic Organizing Against Racism) team to learn more about civil rights violations facing the community’s most marginalized and what you can do to take action.
Thursday, November 19
6:30-7:30 p.m.
|
|
|
|
Subscribe to the 2020-2021 National Lutheran Choir |
|
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.
|
|
Where is the synod staff in upcoming weeks? |
|
-
Bishop Ann Svennungsen will be ordaining Deanna Kim Bassett at Saint Andrew Lutheran, Eden Prairie, on Saturday, October 24.
-
Pastor Kelly Chatman will be preaching at the ordination of Deanna Kim Bassett at Saint Andrew Lutheran, Eden Prairie, on Saturday, October 24.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
