August 24, 2021
Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA Enews
Synod office update
Synod staff are celebrating the fact that Minnesota is officially at a 70% vaccination rate. Although the staff is now splitting time between in-office and remote work, the office will remain closed to public meetings. This re-entry plan will be evaluated periodically to reflect the CDC guidelines for vaccinated persons. 
As college students prepare
to return to campus ...
The Rev. Kate Reuer Welton, the Lutheran Campus Ministry--Twin Cities' pastor, has written an open letter to parents of college students. She invites you to share this letter with people you know who have children attending college this fall.

Also, you can refer students to campus ministry events and connections. Staff and volunteers from around the country will welcome incoming students to Lutheran Campus Ministry wherever it exists.
The care and feeding of pastors  
“I’m not a pastor and I don’t play one on television. But I am aware that all pastors and deacons (as well as other church staff members) have borne a great burden the last year-and-a-half. The pivot required to move from the familiar and traditional to the new and innovative created anxiety and doubt for staff members in our congregations.” 
Going back to summer school ...
and learning advocacy for the sake of the world
Through advocacy, the ELCA community can create lasting, systemic change. If you want to get involved in faith-based advocacy but aren’t sure where to begin, sign up for Advocacy Summer School. The five-part, online series is being offered by ELCA Advocacy in collaboration with ELCA Peace Not Walls. The first session on Aug. 11 will paint a picture of advocacy and explore how it is shaped by a faith foundation, especially in members and affiliates of the ELCA. Future sessions will cover ways to carry out advocacy work and specific policy issues where the Lutheran community can make an impact.

Wednesdays, August 11 through September 8
1-1:45 p.m., Central Time
Online

Join one session or all five, and learn how to lift our voices together to advance the common good.
  •  August 25 -- How Do I Use Media for Impact?
  • September 1 -- Let's Talk: About the Holy Land
  • September 8 -- Let's Talk: About Immigration
Church Anew offers virtual preaching conference
In a short-form, intentionally crafted gathering, distinct voices, speaking from their own communities, will be enfleshing witness for this moment of challenge and creativity in the church and in the world. Between these witnesses, you will encounter liturgical experiments and collaborations to help digest the call of the divine.

Church Anew is inviting preachers, storytellers, activists, and community leaders of color to perhaps hear some of their own stories in the pieces shared. White leaders are welcome but expected to participate with a posture of overhearing the witness rather than expecting it is for you.

Enfleshing Witness
Thursday, August 26
11:00 a.m.

The event is free to attend virtually and we invite support from congregations and institutions to form in-person viewing gatherings for conversation and creative response. Mutuality groups for people of color interested in connecting and continuing the conversation will be provided immediately following the event for those who wish to participate.
Bell ringing on anniversary of September 11
City of Bells has been invited to participate in the official State of Minnesota 9/11 Ceremony on Saturday, September 11. Congregations with bells are invited to join the community in bell ringing according to the follwing schedule:

  • 7:46 a.m.-7:47 a.m. (honoring Flight 11);
  • 8:03 a.m.- 8:04 a.m. (honoring Flight 175);
  • 8:37 a.m.-8:38 a.m. (honoring Flight 77); and
  • 9:03 a.m.-9:04 a.m. (honoring Flight 93)

The goal of City of Bells is to surround the metro community and beyond in bell ringing at the times listed below in coordination with the bell ringing by The Liberty Bell and a bell from the Minnesota Military Museum on the steps of the State Capitol.
Lutheran Disaster Response responds to wildfires
The 2021 wildfire season is devastating the western United States. A prolonged drought and extreme heat waves are causing wildfires to spread rapidly, which makes them difficult to contain. California is currently the hardest-hit state — the Dixie Fire, in Northern California, is already the second largest wildfire in the state’s history, having burned over 505,000 acres. Tens of thousands of people are under evacuation orders, and hundreds of buildings have been destroyed.

The fires are not limited to California; more than 100 wildfires are now burning throughout 15 states. Smoke from these fires is carried across the country, a sign of the far-reaching effects of worsening wildfires.
Lutheran Disaster Response is working with synods and social ministry organizations in California and other western states to develop a coordinated response to the wildfires. We anticipate that immediate needs will include food and other necessities. Long-term recovery will likely take years. Because emotional and spiritual care is a key aspect of disaster response, the Sierra Pacific Synod is developing a Lutheran Chaplaincy Corps, training rostered leaders and laypeople to offer such care to first responders and survivors after a disaster.
"God's Work Our Hands" is only a few weeks away
“God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday is Sunday, September 12, 2021. This day is an opportunity to celebrate who we are as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America – one church, freed in Christ to serve and love our neighbor.

Service activities offer an opportunity for all church members to explore one of our most basic convictions as Lutherans: that all of life in Jesus Christ – every act of service, in every daily calling, in every corner of life – flows freely from a living, daring confidence in God’s grace.

If you take photos of your congregation's activities on "God's Work. Our Hands" Sunday, please send copies to Kayla Zopfi. The synod would love to share the photos via social media. (Please make sure that you have permision to share the photographs.)
Where is the synod staff in upcoming weeks?
  • Pastor Craig Pederson will be attending the farewell for Pastor Gary Guptill at Glen Cary Lutheran, Ham Lake, on Sunday, August 22.
  • Pastor Craig Pederson will be attending the ordination of Gretchen Pierskalla at Christ Memorial Lutheran, Plymouth, on Sunday, August 22. Bishop Jon Anderson, Southwestern Minnesota Synod, will ordain her.
  • Pastor Norma Malfatti will be preaching at St. Andrew Lutheran, East Bethel, on Sunday, August 22.
  • Pastor Craig Pederson will be attending the farewell for Pastor Anna Brit Aasland at Mindekirken, Minneapolis, on Sunday, August 29.
  • Pastor Norma Malfatti will be preaching at Zion Lutheran, Minneapolis, on Sunday, August 29.
  • Bishop Ann Svennungsen will be attending a "back to school" event with Cristo Obrero Church, Chaska, at Riverview Terrace Mobile Home Parks on Wednesday, September 1.
  • Pastor Norma Malfatti will be preaching at Minnesota Swahili Congregation, Minneapolis, on Sunday, September 5.
  • Bishop Ann Svennungsen will be attending the "holy closure" final worship service at Bethany Lutheran, Minneapolis, on Sunday, September 12.
Upcoming Events
Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA www.mpls-synod.org