“Emerging in Hope” is the theme for the Saint Paul Area Synod’s 2022 Synod Assembly. We are excited to gather in person as we step forward into new ways to serve as Christ’s Church. We will pay particular attention to the lives of children in the East Metro. In addition to presenters on this topic, during the assembly we will worship, do business, consider resolutions, elect people to leadership roles and experience being part of a wider church in this synod. More details will be shared soon.

Registration for Synod Assembly will open this Friday, March 4! The cost is $65 per person. As you gather information for registering your voting members, please note that we will be asking for personal emails so that messages and materials go directly to those who will be present for assembly. An email with more information about the registration process will be sent to rostered ministers and congregations this week.

You are invited to an open house to help us express our gratitude for the work and mission of Pastor Peter Harrits, director of Bega Kwa Bega and Assistant to the Bishop, and Alicia Rodriguez, office manager, both of whom are leaving the synod staff in the coming days. A short program will begin at 11 a.m. For those unable to attend in person, you may watch the live stream of the program, courtesy of Christ on Capitol Hill and Ben McDonald Coltvet.

Now that we know that the 2022 Youth Gathering has been cancelled, we are wondering what to do this summer. Join other youth ministry staff and volunteers to share ideas and questions for new summer youth ministry plans! This meeting will be led by Lisa Sampson, director of faith formation at Grace, Apple Valley.

glcav.us/zoom 

At Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, we are very interested in reducing our expenses while promoting environmental efficiency. We had already changed standard light bulbs to LED, but we did not have the resources to do a full-scale conversion of all our 4’ ceiling ballast fluorescent tube lights and outside lighting.

Also, we have two heating systems – one for our 100+ year historic sanctuary and another for our 50-year-old Learning Center. Our heating costs were astronomical. We learned about Enerchange through the Saint Paul Area Synod. Karen Malkowski met with us, toured the building, and then brought in the necessary professionals to help us assess our energy needs.  With Karen serving as liaison, we were able to replace over 400 ceiling lights and upgrade our outdoor lighting, saving us over $4,000 in annual costs.

In 2020, 500 Minnesotans died of gun violence: 340 died by suicide, 154 by homicide, and the remainder by accident or unknown cause. Included are 34 youth deaths. (Protect Minnesota). The Giffords Law Center reports the annual cost of gun violence in Minnesota is $2.2 billion. How can we do better? What commitments can Minnesotans make to create a more gun safe state?

ENGAGE, the Saint Paul Area Synod's Public Witness work group for gun violence prevention, is hosting an evening Zoom meeting to design a gun violence prevention strategy. Participating will be leaders representing the Brady Campaign, Moms Demand Action, Protect Minnesota, Interfaith Alliance for Gun Safety and ENGAGE. We invite your participation and commitment to make Minnesota more gun safe.

Join other children's ministry staff and key volunteers for a discussion of summer plans. Let's think outside our walls! We'll look forward to the summer as we share ideas to spread the love of Jesus outside our walls. Let's work together!

Meeting ID: 850 7612 9637

Passcode: 473439

Questions? Contact Rachelle Gill from Easter Lutheran Church in Eagan.

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, a two-year, comprehensive process. SAS congregations embrace an impactful annual appeal and move into other vital realms of a culture of generosity:

The Saint Paul Area Synod invites you to an informational session to meet SAS Facilitator Pete Reuss and learn more about the process! Congregations will sign up for SAS by the end of April with the first cohort session to be held in May. Contact the Rev. Justin Grimm at justin.grimm@elca.org to confirm your attendance or with any questions.

March is a good month for reminding us of the bigger picture. March 31 has been a federal commemorative holiday since 2014, named in honor of Cesar Chavez. Chavez (1927-1993) was an American farm worker, labor leader and civil rights activist who co-founded the National Farm Workers Association….

March makes me think each year. As we pray for, think about, and care for those who live with hunger, does it make a difference what we eat each day? What might be in my refrigerator or pantry that I may not want to know who suffered so I might enjoy it? Could it have been a farm worker? A processing plant worker? A child laborer harvesting cacao in Africa?

Join the synod's Advocates for Racial Equity (ARE) work group on Zoom as we learn about the Saint Paul Industrial School, which operated at one time as an Indian Boarding School in Clontarf, Minnesota. This will be a chance to get a closer look into what led this small town to build and operate such a program. We'll examine the ongoing impact of Indian Boarding Schools and discuss the ways in which suppression keeps us from rumbling with our past. Presenters include:

If you are a rostered minister or a leader for your congregation's Planting Hope Campaign and missed the Zoom update last Thursday, a recording is available for viewing. You'll hear more details on the Families Together Preschool project on the East Side, a description of the internships portion of the "Raising Up the Next Generations of Leaders" initiative, and much more. View the recording here.

The NE MN Ecofaith Network and our synod's Care of Creation Work Group invite you to "Holy Ground, Holy Table: Regenerative Practices for the Wholeness of the Earth." This summit over Zoom features keynote speakers George and Annaliese Walker, Minnesota farmers and leaders in the international regenerative agriculture movement. A remarkable and diverse group of seven storytellers will also share their experiences in a full range of regenerative food practices.

Throughout the morning, there will also be small group "table talk" breakout sessions and original music videos featuring Susan Palo Cherwien's and Robert Buckley Farlee’s hymn, In Sacred Manner, with the paintings of Robyn Sands Anderson and Charlotte Schuld.

Partners for the 2022 EcoFaith Summit include: Luther Seminary, Lutheran Advocacy-Minnesota, Lutherans Restoring Creation, Minneapolis Synod EcoFaith Network, Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light, The Land Stewardship Project, and Together Here Ministries. Learn more and register.

The final episode of Talks at the Desk from African Descent Ministries of the ELCA aired last week. Titled "Black Lives Matter," the episode features members of the African descent community as they share the many ways they work toward justice. They explore the deep connection between events, politics and faith. Watch the episode here:

What to do when the MYLE (Multicultural Youth Leadership Event), planned in conjunction with the ELCA Youth Gathering, gets cancelled? The team leaders are doing a quick pivot to planning a separate hybrid event called the Multicultural Youth Justice Experience (MYJ) that can be done online or in small, local in-person gatherings. The event is specifically for ELCA members who are Black, Indigenous, +/or People of Color (BIPoC0 who will be entering grades 9-12 in the 2022-23 school year and their youth group peers who are of European Descent. European Descent youth in these grades will acquire training in allyship to BIPOC people and experience and celebrate the cultures of our BIPOC youth in unique ways. Learn more at www.2022myj.com or follow them on Facebook.

Get out for a walk or your own favorite winter activity anytime during February and March while sporting a new Cherish All Children beanie. Donate now and your beanie will be on its way to you!

Join Cherish All Children for the return to live musical performances by Caritas! This year’s theme is Inspiring Harmony. “When we sing, we build community. When you join us, you strengthen community.”

A free-will offering benefits Cherish All Children. COVID Safety Protocols include proof of vaccination or a negative test. See full details here.

Sarah Garner is the director of music at St. John's Lutheran Church in Mound. She received her Master of Music in Organ Performance from Southern Methodist University and graduated with High Honors from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. A simple lunch follows this noontime recital. Admission is free.

Looking for a Lenten practice tailored to you as a woman in ministry? Join Dr. Crystal Hall in reading Dr. Karoline Lewis’ She: Five Keys to Unlock the Power of Women in Ministry. She’ll offer actionable tools you can apply in your ministry working with difficult people, setting boundaries and addressing sexism. Open to seminarians, clergy, staff and volunteers. Dr. Hall teaches biblical studies at United Lutheran Seminary and is a certified life coach for women in ministry. Registration is free. Learn more.

This is a free, practical preaching workshop by Backstory Preaching. As preachers begin their sermon prep and open the text, the first question they often ask is "What am I going to say?" It's a question fueled by anxiety that they won't find something worthwhile to say—or worse, won't have anything to say—especially when they've seen the text a thousand times before. But what if they never had to ask that question again? This one-hour workshop will guide lay and ordained preachers through the simple process that lets them see the text with fresh eyes, allows the message to reveal itself, and draw them closer to God at the same time. This session is offered by the Rev. Dr. Lisa Cressman, founding steward of Backstory Preaching. Register here for the Zoom link.

The Joint Religious Legislative Coalition invites you to the online, evening "Day on the Hill" to learn about legislative advocacy to help struggling Minnesotans. Be inspired by the keynote Maharat Rori Picker Neiss, an Orthodox religious leader and Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, St. Louis. Learn about the 2022 legislative priorities, and be equipped to meet with your state legislators. Make a difference – and make connections between charity and justice – for your neighbors! Trainings available prior to Day on the Hill. Click here for a flier.

Questions? Contact Statewide Organizer Joan Miltenberger at jmiltenberger@jrlc.org or 612-230-3232. Learn more and register.

Bread for the World regional organizers hold quarterly regional online meetings to update and equip our members and to introduce Bread to those who are new. In these meetings, you will learn about the status of Offering of Letters and current legislative priorities, hear from and connect with Bread members in your region, and consider timely action steps you and your group can take to advocate for an end to hunger. Register here.

The Cantorei and Manitou Singers of St. Olaf College (Northfield, MN) will perform a concert centered around the work, True Witness: A Civil Rights Cantata, composed by Jodi Goble. This work features texts drawn from African American women poets and civil rights activists from 1863 to the present day. At this time, proof of vaccination and masks are required for this concert.

Augsburg University Campus Ministry invites you to participate in its 6th annual Fosdick Lecture on Preaching. "Preaching in a Time of Crisis" features Pastors Ingrid Rasmussen and Angela Khabeb from Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. This webinar will be live streamed from Hoversten Chapel in the Foss Center at Augsburg University.

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, located just off of Lake Street in the 3rd Precinct, found itself at the heart of the explosive response to the brutal killing of George Floyd and the centuries of trauma that preceded his death. During the months that followed the uprising, the church responded by distributing donated food, diapers, toiletries, plywood for boarding up broken windows, cleaning supplies, and tools to the community. This remained a primary part of Holy Trinity’s work throughout the summer and fall of 2020. Pastors Rasmussen and Khabeb share their insights on preaching during this time of crisis and reflect on how these experiences continue to shape their understanding of theology and ministry. Register here.

www.spas-elca.org | 651-224-4313