Thank you to all who continue to support the work of Local Mission here in the Saint Paul Area Synod. Our new starts and redevelopments are making beautiful connections in their communities as together we serve God.

Humble Walk ministers in the West 7th neighborhood of St. Paul. Pastor Justin Grimm, director of evangelical mission for the synod, recently caught up with Humble Walk's Pastor Jodi Houge to find out how people are finding life in these challenging times. Click below to watch their Zoom conversation:

Funding for Local Mission Partnerships helps ensure adequate salaries and support for new ministries and encourages vitality through renewal and stewardship programs for existing congregations. Click here to make an online personal or congregational donation (enter amount on the line marked Local Mission Partnership). Checks may also be sent to the synod office (105 University Ave. E., St. Paul MN 55103); please write Local Mission Partnership in the memo line. Thank you!

The Saint Paul Area Synod and St. Paul Reformation are teaming up to provide an online Christmas Day worship service with Bishop Lull preaching. Thank you to Pastor Patrick Shebeck and Sister Stacie Lightner for this opportunity to partner on behalf of all of the congregations in the synod!

The service will be available for viewing on Christmas morning (Friday, December 25) on the synod's website (you'll see it on the homepage). It will also be scheduled as a premiere for 9 a.m. on our Facebook page.

Concordia College in Moorhead is offering congregations a worship service recording for Sunday, Dec. 27. The service includes lessons, carols, poetic readings and music performed by Concordia students and alumni. The service may be viewed on the Concordia website or downloaded to share on your congregation's website. Participants are encouraged to have a candle available for the service. The service will be available on Dec. 21 here.

Local composer Cathy Skogen-Soldner is offering our congregations access to an original lament, How Long, O God? as a free resource. The song can be accessed in a virtual worship service on St. Timothy's website. The song is at the 25:53 timestamp on the service. Cathy was a grand prize co-winner in the synod's hymn contest this year. She can be reached at cathy@cathysmusic.com.

The 13 bishops of the class of 2019 will be leading a joint synodical Epiphany of Our Lord service on Jan. 6. This service will be streamed on those synods' social media platforms and on the Southeastern Synod’s Facebook and YouTube channel. Participating bishops include: Laurie Larson Caesar (Oregon Synod), Shelley Bryan Wee (Northwestern Washington Synod), Laurie Jungling (Montana Synod), Lorna Halass, Western Iowa Synod), Michael Lozano (Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod), Bill Tesch (Northwestern Minnesota Synod), Susan Candea (Central States Synod), Yehiel Curry (Metropolitan Chicago Synod), Leila Ortiz (Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Synod), Regina Hassanally (Southeastern Minnesota Synod), Constanze Hagmaier (South Dakota Synod), Paul Egensteiner (Metropolitan New York Synod), and Kevin L. Strickland (Southeastern Synod). Questions? Contact mjannett@elca-ses.org.

In her Christmas 2020 message, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reminds us that precisely in our distress, in our dislocation, the Lord shows up. Emmanuel—God with us—makes his home in the very places we find foreign or isolating.

Read her complete message from the December 2020 issue of Living Lutheran in English or Spanish.

Last week, we announced that Dr. Michael Osterholm will be our keynote speaker for a reformatted Tool Kit for Congregational Leaders in 2021. This event will be held on Zoom for council and committee members, staff, volunteers or others who are interested in what makes churches tick. There's no cost to attend and registration will open on Jan. 11.

Besides the keynote, the event also includes a time slot for a variety of workshops that appeal to many aspects of a faith community. Here's a spotlight on one of our planned workshops:

The pandemic has forced us to re-examine many aspects of ministry, and this actually presents some opportunities in terms of your church building. Take advantage of this time when people aren’t in the building to thoughtfully evaluate what the church building is used for, and prepare it for when people return. You'll explore changes big and small that you can make in your building to help your ministry be more focused and environmentally friendly...and how to get the biggest bang for your bucks!

Presenter Anne Gerrietts is the Church Building Consultant with the ELCA’s Mission Investment Fund. She has been providing resources to churches for building improvements and guiding them in building projects for 12 years.

Join Julie Vagle and Rachelle Gill to discuss what Children’s Ministry might look like in 2021. What did we learn in 2020 and what’s new for 2021? This gathering is offered jointly by the Saint Paul and Minneapolis area synods.

Join the Zoom Meeting:

Meeting ID: 863 7898 4014

Passcode: 401507

By nature, many of the things churches do in worship and ministry fall under copyright laws - printed bulletins that include hymn text or tunes, projection of lyrics or liturgy and everybody's 2020 favorite: streaming to the internet (whether Facebook, YouTube, Zoom or a website).

Join us on Zoom to hear it all explained by Michael Moore, Rights Management Specialist, Content Management, for 1517 Media. This session is for pastors and deacons, worship leaders, musicians, communicators, Christian Education staff and anyone else who wants (or needs) to learn about churches and copyrights. There's no fee to participate! Register.

Explore these and other questions in the context of our faith with other wonderers through storytelling, introspection and studying of Scripture. There's no cost to participate. Questions? Contact Deacon Krista Lind at krista.lind@spas-elca.org. Register.

Applications are now being accepted for the ELCA's Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) program for the 2021-2022 program year. If you're a young adult ages 21 to 29, you can apply for an international service year that will shape your faith, career, identity and understanding of how you fit into God's work in the world.

Through YAGM, you'll learn what it means to serve in a spirit of accompaniment as you walk alongside global church companions. You'll immerse yourself in new community and form deep relationships with the people you meet. And you'll confront issues of wealth and poverty, racial privilege, gender privilege, economic disparity and globalization, all through the lens of faith. Learn more and apply on the ELCA website. Application deadline: Jan. 15, 2021.

The synod office is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. A limited number of staff are on-site each day. You may continue to reach all staff members by phone (651-224-4313) or by email.

Rostered and lay leaders are invited to a weekly gathering of topical presentations designed to provide encouragement and support for ELCA leaders. On Dec. 16, the topic is Growing Young: Empathy, led by Rachel Alley and others. Recordings of past sessions are available at www.elcacoaching.org/podcasts/media. Upcoming topics and presenters may be found at www.elcacoaching.org/.

or by phone: +1 312 626 6799

This Advent you are invited to center yourself in the presence of God, anticipating the arrival of Emmanuel, "God with us." Scripture, prayer, readings, music and silence will be incorporated in a gentle Yogadevotion practice that explores the Advent themes of hope, peace, joy and love. A freewill offering will be designated to a local charity. Learn more.

Lutheran Church of the Redeemer is hosting free COVID-19 testing on Thursday and Friday, Dec. 17-18. The testing is provided by the MN Department of Health, thanks to Stairstep Foundation, Mount Olivet Baptist Church, New Hope Baptist Church, Lutheran Church of the Redeemer. The church is located at 285 N. Dale St. in St. Paul, two blocks south of I-94 on Dale St. Learn more.

The Minneapolis Area Synod invites communicators from St. Paul area congregations to join them for a discussion on stress. We've had to change, adapt and learn so much during 2020 and all of that stress can impact our mental health. The Rev. Sarah Ciavarri, a certified coach, will share Biblical reflection as she provides information on what stress does to our brains, plus resiliency practices to help us cope. Register here.

Do you feel like you are standing at the edge of burnout? Are you just plain tired and long for support and some space to tend to your own spirit? Pastors and deacons are invited to participate in a five-week group spiritual direction session as we live into the season after Epiphany. The focus will be on keeping our eyes on the revelations of God in Christ, supporting one another in a safe space, and how to rest and reset well as we travel the long road of ministry in the time of COVID. Each week will include a breath or body-based practice, a reflection piece for discussion, facilitated sharing and support, and prayer. All sessions are held over Zoom.

The series will be led by Rev. Ruth Sorenson-Prokosch, who is a spiritual director (Front Porch Spiritual Direction) and serves as Pastor for Visitation and Congregational Care at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Roseville. She has a passion for working with clergy around issues of discernment, spiritual and emotional wellbeing, and creating and holding safe space for those in ministry. During the week of Feb. 8, she will hold space for individual sessions for participants to look ahead at how to hold space for the Spirit in the coming months. The cost is $200 for the five-week sessions. For more information and to register, email Ruth at sorensonprokosch@gmail.com.

Recharge is a one-day, multicultural, multi-denominational conference created to inspire and equip church staff and their volunteers serving in children’s & youth ministry. It draws regionally from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North and South Dakota from 30+ denominations.

Participants may attend up to three workshops on digital ministry, personal growth, or age-specific ministry. There's also a digital exhibit hall and keynote addresses by:

The Center of Addiction & Faith and the Fellowship of Recovering Lutheran Clergy are hosting a new weekly online meeting every Sunday night at 7 p.m. The meeting is open to anyone in 12-setp recovery of any kind and for those interested in learning more about 12-step recovery. Join the meeting.

www.spas-elca.org | 651.224.4313