September 29, 2020
Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA Enews
Synod staff email problems
In the midst of a migration of the synod's email system, all access to the mail boxes of most synod staff people were lost for almost a week. We apologize for any inconvenience. If you feel that we might have missed something from you, please send again.
ELCA World Hunger
Advent Resources now available
New resources have been prepared by ELCA World Hunger to enrich the life of your congregation this Advent season. As congregations across the ELCA creatively find new ways to worship online and in person and continue to support the work of important ministries, including ELCA World Hunger, World Hunger staff persons want to equip leaders with useful resources this season.
 
All of these resources are available at ELCA.org/hunger/resources. These invlude a new Advent calendar, a weekly Advent group study, an action guide for congregations, and reproducible stories for digital or printed bulletins.

As careful stewards of resources, ELCA World Hunger won’t be sending a full sample packet of Advent resources this year; use the links above to order or to download these resources for congregational use. 
The wisdom of mosses
“Last year, while living in the Cascade mountain at Holden Village, I spent a lot of time thinking about mosses. I had a ritual of getting up at daybreak at least a couple of mornings a week to read in early morning light sitting on the porch swing or curled up in a chair by the window. In this sacred time of the morning quiet, I read Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer.” 
Synod Staff Features
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 Bishop Ann Svennungsen. She's the Bishop.
Ann Svennungsen

What has been the best or most surprising part about the stay-at-home orders?
  • How the information is always changing -- making incremental decisions because your'e waiting for the scientists to have the information you need and it's not quick
  • One of the most helpful things is when I get impatient, I remember my mom's story about WWII, dealing with a lot of unknowns. I don't have anyone fightsing a war.
  • How dirty my house gets when I'm here 24/7 -- dishes to wash, clean out refrigerator
Do you have any pets or wish you did?
  • We don't have any pets, but I do recognize that people who have dogs esepcially there's undonditional love that meets you every day
What book are you currently reading or show are you binge-watching?
  • Caste, by Isabel Wilkerson, and White Too Long, by Robert Jones
  • "The Queen" and "West Wing"
What is your favorite restaurant to order take-out from?
  • French Meadow in Minneapolis
What late summer or fall activity are you most looking forward to?
  • In July we drove 1,200 miles, stopping to sleep at Badlands Bible Camp, so we could see family and stay in our rustic cabin west of Glacier Park
What is giving you hope right now?
  • My new grandson is changing every day and I get to be with him. COVID is shaping his life but he doesn't know it and it doesn't phase him.
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. 
As the weather changes,
think about Good Gifts
With Christmas right around the corner, ELCA's Good Gifts is the perfect option to replace traditional gift-giving with something more meaningful. Each gift in honor of a loved one supports the lifesaving ministries of the ELCA and the people it serves – one goat, water well, or school uniform at a time.
Whether you organize a special event or simply promote the program with members of the congregation, everything done to share ELCA Good Gifts is deeply appreciated and impactful. And this year, with hunger and unemployment on the rise, people in need could really use help. Will the community of the faithful respond?
Ministry Imagination Grant October deadline postponed
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.  
Providing Daily Bread
In an effort to address the growing need for food in hard hit communities across the U.S., ELCA World Hunger launched Daily Bread Matching Grants this past spring. Ministries that participated in this grant process gained access to knowledge and tools to strengthen the financial capacity of their congregational feeding ministries. Altogether, 200 congregations raised more than $200,000 for their relief efforts!
 
Due to the positive response from participants and donors alike, ELCA World Hunger has committed to awarding another 300-plus grants this fall. These grants are awarded on a first-come, first-served based; however, ELCA World Hunger will prioritize congregations that were unable to participate in the last round due to capacity, as well as congregations that are members of ELCA ethnic-specific and multi-cultural ministry, or are priority vulnerable congregations as identified by synods. To increase the accessibility of our grants, these round Spanish translated overview documents are included.

Please read the invitation to apply in English and in Spanish.

The application process will open October 1 and close on October 18, with fundraising events taking place in November.
Where is the synod staff in upcoming weeks?
  • Pastor John Hulden will be installing Pastor Colin Grangaard at First Lutheran, Crystal, on Sunday, October 4.
  • Pastor Craig Peterson will be installilng Pastor Matt Schroeder as associate pastor at All Saints Lutheran, Norwood Young America, on Sunday, October 11.
  • Pastor John Hulden will be installing Pastor Marcia Rosa at Faith Lutheran, Coon Rapids, on Sunday, October 11.
Upcoming Events
Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA www.mpls-synod.org