March 9, 2021 Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA Enews

Synod office update Synod staff members continue to work remotely for the foreseeable future. Contact them using their email or cell phone. Tool Kit for Congregations: Join more than 225 people this Saturday Hop on a video call with your church council, leaders from around the synod, and Bishop Ann Svennungsen to gain valuable tools to help your church in times like these. There will be workshops on preventing burnout, young adult ministry, racial justice, budgets, and more. Saturday, March 13 9:00 a.m. – Time with Bishop Ann 10:00 a.m. – Workshop I 11:00 a.m. – Workshop II The list of workshops is available on the website and on the registration page. Register for Tool Kit workshops Moses and Minneapolis ““Growing up in a small Montana town, I could not imagine how the trial of a single police officer would provoke the attention and action of thousands across the globe. I grew up, a white child, thinking the system of policing was just, good, and served everyone equally. Like the prophet Moses realized in Exodus 2:11, I now see things I once ignored.”” Bishop Ann's blog

Expanding Ministry and Growing Generosity

Just think of the lives your congregation could impact if your members grew their giving by 10%-15% next year! This is exactly the goal of Stewardship for All Seasons (SAS), a two-year, comprehensive process. SAS congregations embrace an impactful annual appeal and move into other vital realms of a culture of generosity: Communications and Story-Telling, Strategic Planning, Endowments, Special Appeals, Volunteer Recruitment, and Donor Cultivation.  The Minneapolis Area Synod invites you to a virtual informational session to meet Pete Reuss, the SAS facilitator, and learn more about the process on Tuesday, March 9, at 6:00 p.m. Contact the synod's new Director for Evangelical Mission, Rev. Norma Malfatti, to receive the Zoom link, or with any questions. Our synod has already had 16 congregations participate in SAS and their experiences tell us that this is an opportunity you won’t want to miss. Congregations are invited to register by April 15, with the first cohort session to be held in late April or early May.

For more information

Future Church: How do we get there from here? In her March column for Living Lutheran, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reflects on the meaning behind the word “evangelical” in our name and the future of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: “I believe God will transform this church.”  Read the rest of her column in English or in Spanish if you are wondering about the future of the ELCA.  Bishop Eaton's column in Spanish Bishop Eaton's column in English Remembering that "Hope Lives" through hymns The National Lutheran Choir will host a hymn festival on Sunday, March 14, during its Winter Virtual Program. This free program blends songs, images, hymns, and poetry around the theme “Hope Lives.” Sunday, March 14 4:00 p.m. Online The choirs will sing well-known hymns that highlight the joy of an ever-growing hope, and new hymns that speak to this very time, inviting all people to sing in joy together “… as all the world in wonder echoes shalom.” Join singers of the National Lutheran Choir and guest artists, the Keith Hampton Singers & Friends. Join this hymn festival

Living Well, Leading Well

Mount Olivet Conference & Retreat Center is promoting wholeness, wellbeing, and renewal in the personal and professional lives of church leaders.

Pursuing Justice Thursday March 11, 6:30-8:30 p.m. | $20 Join Rev. Chris Dorsey to learn about the call to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God” (Micah 6:8). Dorsey is president of Higher Education & Leadership Ministries and has worked as a university chaplain and professor of preaching. Dorsey has significant leadership experience in racial justice and equity in churches and seminaries.

Register for Pursuing Justice

Daily prayers for the city Beginning March 9, at 8:00 a.m., the Center for Leadership and Neighborhood Engagement will join other community groups on the Northside of Minneapolis in sponsoring a "virtual prayer tent" for those wanting to pray for justice, fairness, and peace in Minneapolis during the Derek Chauvin trial. Healing the City is the coalition hosting this prayer time. The daily 20-minute experience will include a reflection by different religious or spiritual leader each day. Following the reflection, participants will be invited into a period of 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silent prayer or meditation. The virtual prayer tent will continue throughout the course of the trial. Participants can join via Zoom or on a livestream from the Healing Our City Facebook page. The Center for Leadership and Neighborhood Engagement was started a year ago by Pastor Kelly Chatman, following the announcement of his retirement from Redeemer Lutheran in North Minneapolis. Being church As the pandemic twists and turns, much has been learned in the last year. As the second Easter of the pandemic approaches, this year we have more experience applying what we have learned. But there are still many who long to “go back to the building” when we can really only “go forward to the building.” That means more nuanced options and decisions and more complex paths than this time last year when “we simply can’t” was the proper and default mode for spring 2020. But spring 2021 means the unrolling of vaccines, new recommendations for long-term protocols, and choices about what to do on-the-ground and what do do online. The new church will have a wider reach (which is exciting) but more plates to keep spinning if we don’t make good choices (which is scary). And things like physical attendance may not look the same as before (which may cause real anxiety). Join the discussion. Wednesday, March 10 1:00-2:00 p.m., Central Time Zoom Pastor Dave Daubert will lead the discussion. Join Being Church

Where is the synod staff in upcoming weeks?

Ms. Emilie Bouvier and Ms. Madeline Troyer will be offering a short video pre-recorded message about the synod's EcoFaith Network at Cross of Hope Lutheran, Ramsey, on Wednesday, March 10. Bishop Ann Svennungsen will be offering the opening presentation for the 2021 Annual Tool Kit for Congregations via Zoom on Saturday, March 13. Bishop Ann Svennungsen will be conducting a Ministry Site Profile at Grace University Lutheran, Minneapolis, on Sunday, March 14. Pastor Norma Malfatti will be preaching virtually at Lord of Life Lutheran, Ramsey, on Sunday, March 21. Bishop Ann Svennungsen is leading a Ministry Site Profile discussion at Mount Calvary Lutheran, Excelsior, on Tuesday, March 23. Ms. Brenda Blackhawk will be speaking at a forum at Zion Lutheran, Anoka, on Tuesday, March 23.

Upcoming Events

Expanding Ministry and Growing Generosity, March 9 Region 3 Discernment Event, March 9 and 16 Child Abuse--Mandatory Reporting Training, March 11 Congregational Addiction Ministry Training, March 11 Pursuing Justice Retreat, March 11 One Year Changed: Faith in Pandemic, March 11 Make Justice Your Aim: JRLC Virtual Day on the Hill, March 11 Lenten Retreat, March 11 Minneapolis Area Synod Tool Kit, March 13 National Lutheran Choir Hope Lives Hymn Festival, March 14 Child Abuse--Mandatory Reporting Training, March 16 Child Abuse--Mandatory Reporting Training, March 18 Addiction and Motivational Interviewing, March 25 Minneapolis Area Synod Assembly, April 23-24

Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA www.mpls-synod.org

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