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December 5, 2023
Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA Enews
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Give a gift that changes lives (and still get a card!) | |
Searching for the perfect gift? Shop ELCA Good Gifts and choose from more than 50 life-changing charitable gifts to give in lieu of traditional Christmas presents.
Give online and you can personalize free printed cards to be sent directly to you or your loved ones. Make your donation by 11:59 p.m. Central time, December 9, for expected delivery before Christmas Day. (Slower mail times are expected this year due to postal service changes.) If you give ELCA Good Gifts after that deadline, you can still generate e-cards or download PDF cards to print at home anytime.
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LWF offers Advent calendar with greetings from around the world |  | |
During the Advent season, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) will be sharing short and inspiring messages of hope across its social media channels. This year’s Advent calendar builds on the theme of the Thirteenth Assembly which was “One Body, One Spirit, One Hope.”
“Advent is a time of hope, and we will prepare for Christmas together by listening to and sharing these inspiring messages,” said Rev. Arni Danielsson, LWF’s Head of Communication. “We are grateful to our messengers of hope and invite the whole communion to follow.”
Hope is the affirmation that God is faithful, that God will complete what God has begun. Hope is, therefore, the confident expectation and active waiting for God’s purposes to be fulfilled and the capacity to strive for what must be altered, amended, and rectified to realize that promise “on earth as it is in heaven” (Mt 6:10).
— Assembly Study Guide
The calendar features 24 messengers of hope from LWF member churches and country programs. Representing all regions of the LWF, they will share insights from their local contexts which can inspire globally.
Over the past five years, the LWF has shared hymns during advent. They have been received with great appreciation. This year’s advent calendar builds on that tradition.
Follow the Messages of Hope this Advent on LWF’s social media channels Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter) December 1-24. They will also be available on the LWF website.
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Lutheran Summer Music provides a musical Advent calendar for the 2024 Advent season | |
Since the nineteenth century, households and congregations have marked the days before Christmastide with many kinds of Advent calendars. The season of waiting and longing for the “already-but-not-yet” incarnation of Jesus unfolds amidst waning daylight in the Northern Hemisphere, a time of yearning for hope, joy, and peace.
Join Lutheran Summer Music (LSM), December 3-24, for its third annual Musical Advent Calendar – a daily moment of music and reflection on the LSM Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube pages, as well as archived on its website.
| The Lutheran World Federation in previous years has offered an Advent hymnody of Lutheran bodies from around the world. Check out the LWF YouTube channel to listen to familiar and new hymns from Denmark, Germany, Nigeria, Guatemala, Japan, Argentina, and many more places where Lutherans live. | | |
Professor Levine to deliver 2024 Fretheim Lecture | |
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Renowned biblical scholar Amy-Jill Levine will deliver the 2024 Fretheim Lecture in Biblical Theology. She is the Rabbi Stanley M. Kessler Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace as well as the University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies Emerita and the Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Jewish Studies Emerita at Vanderbilt University. The annual public lecture honors the legacy of the late Professor Terry Fretheim in making biblical-theological scholarship available to Luther Seminary students and surrounding communities.
Tuesday, January 9, 2024
Chapel of the Incarnation, Olson Campus Center
Luther Seminary, St. Paul
Professor Levine will offer a free workshop at 3:30 p.m., for area clergy and seminary students that discusses why anti-Jewish preaching and teaching continue, details the popular misconceptions about the Jewish context of Jesus and Paul found in sermons and church-based curricula, and offers alternatives for reading the texts on which they are based.
During the public lecture at 7:00 p.m., Professor Levine will present “The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector: Why Knowledge of Jewish History Matters for Christian Preaching and Teaching.” Both events are free; no registration is required. The lecture will be livestreamed for those unable to attend in person.
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Christmas Concert fundraiser for youth | |
Come sing with members of Redeemer and Edina Community Lutheran churches: Enjoy an evening of music with a purpose! Members of other congregations are invited to join. Expect to sing some of everyone's favorite Christmas hymns, hear some wonderful solos, as well as participate in a faith-filled event.
Sunday, December 10; 5:00 p.m. (doors open at 4:30 p.m.)
Redeemer Lutheran Church
1800 Glenwood Avenue, Minneapolis
Free will offering: proceeds go to Redeemer Glenwood Young Adult Housing, with a goal of $5K! Light refreshments to follow.
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Tapestry Congregation responds to Latin American immigrants | |
Tapestry, a bilingual congregation based in Richfield, has welcomed immigrants into the congregation's life. It is now offering an opportunity to discuss a faithful response at an event titled "Latin American Immigration to Minnesota: Our Faithful Response."
Wednesday, December 13
9:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Tapestry
7045 Lyndale Avenue South, Richfield
The event is co-sponsored by Rev. Julie Luna, Casa Maria, a ministry of St. Nicholas Episcopal Church, Richfield, and Rev. Ana Laura Becerra, Cristo Rey Iglesia Luterana, New Brighton. RSVP by December 12 to Pastor Melissa Melnick Gonzalez.
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Gustavus Adolphus College awakens interest in science, faith | |
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Does your congregation know a high school student eager to be a change-maker in their world?
The Gustavus Adolphus College Academy of Faith, Science, and Ethics is a unique experience crafted to empower and inspire the young minds in your congregation. This summer, the Academy is calling on students nationwide to embark on a transformative journey alongside top scientists and theologians.
The Gustavus Academy isn't your average summer program – it is a dynamic community of change-makers-in-the-making that is dedicated to collaboratively exploring the intersection of faith and science. Here's why your students won't want to miss out:
- Exciting hands-on learning: From talks from experienced scientists to in-person lab experiences, this opportunity offers significant hands-on learning
- Unleash curiosity and creativity: The Academy fosters a culture of wonder and curiosity. Your students will have the space to ask questions, explore new ideas, and unleash their creative potential.
- Building a more beautiful future: Beyond learning, this program is about creating. Fellows will discover firsthand how faith and science can collaborate to shape our planet's more beautiful and sustainable future.
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National Lutheran Choir's annual Christmas festival | |
In Christ’s birth we see, hear, and feel a sense of renewal as Christmas connects us to the roots of our faith. Join the National Lutheran Choir at the magnificent Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis for this Christmas Festival tradition!
This year’s festival, titled New Hope, will celebrate old beside new; the program will include works from the 16th century to the present, including Gabrieli’s Hodie Christus natus est, Randall Thompson’s Ye Were Sometimes Darkness, and an arrangement by new Artistic Director, Jennaya Robison. Carols, readings, and music from brass, oboe, harp, and organ will sound throughout the Basilica to ring in another Christmas.
In Person
Friday, December 8; 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, December 9; 1:30 p.m.
Saturday, December 9; 8:00 p.m.
Basilica of Saint Mary
1600 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis
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Opinions on gun violence social message sought | |
ENGAGE: Lutherans for Gun Violence Prevention, a public witness work group of the Saint Paul Area Synod, invites members of ELCA congregations to a Zoom conversation on the ELCA’s Social Message on Gun Related Violence and Trauma.
Tuesday, December 12
7:00 - 8:30 p.m. Zoom
Dr. Per Anderson, who wrote the social message draft, will guide participants through a discussion during this time of public commentary. The final draft will be submitted to the ELCA Church Council in consideration for final adoption as an official ELCA statement.
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ELCA couragesous conversations on Advent for leaders | |
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No matter what your emotions are, from grief to joy or anything else. No matter what is your capacity is, from nothing left to abundant. No matter what you do to avoid or celebrate this holiday season. No matter what you believe, or even if you have lost all belief. You are invited into community to be witnessed as you are and to leave with encouragement and affirmation.
Wednesday, December 6; 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Zoom
Join ELCA Coaching to listen, ponder, cry, laugh, worship, play, reflect, and share -- practicing together that infamous Lutheran both/and -- mourning and celebrating the wonder and chaos of this season of anticipation and waiting.
Jill Beverlin, director of the ELCA's Coaching Ministries, and Jason O'Neill, senior administrative support for ELCA Coaching, will facilitate this sincere and humorous three-week series on how we survive and prepare ourselves to journey through the seasons of Advent and Christmas in 2023, and beyond.
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Minnesota bishops address cuts to chaplaincy | |
M Health Fairview recently announced cuts to its chaplaincy program. Ten of the 13 chaplains of that hospital were laid off, including all the non-white chaplains. In response to this action by a hospital originally founded by Lutheran deaconnesses, the six ELCA bishops of Minnesota penned an Opinion piece for the Star Tribune. This article, under the headline "Chaplains provide critical care: M Health Fairview termination," ran in the newspaper on November 28. | |
Where is the synod staff in upcoming weeks? | |
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Bishop Ann Svennungsen will be ordaining Trevor Skorburg at St. Stephen Lutheran, Bloomington, on Saturday, December 9.
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Bishop Ann Svennungsen will be leading a Ministry Site Profile review at Light of Christ Lutheran, Delano, on Sunday, December 10.
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Pastor John Hulden will be preaching and Leading a Ministry Site Profile review at Community of the Cross Lutheran, Bloomington, on Sunday, December 10.
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Bishop Ann Svennungsen will be leading a Ministry Site Profile review at Faith Lutheran, Isanti, on Sunday, December 17.
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Minneapolis Area Synod candidates being ordained | |
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Bishop Dee Pederson will ordain Sarah Zender at Our Father's Lutheran, Rockford, on Saturday, December 9. Once ordained, then-Pastor Sarah will serve a call at Grace Lutheran, Luverne, Minnesota.
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Courageous Leadership Webinars, Wednesdays
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Christmas Concert Fundraiser, December 10
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Children's Ministry Gathering, December 11
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Youth Ministry Leaders Social, December 12
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Children's Ministry Gathering, January 8, 2024
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JUSTmove! A justice-centered lock in for youth, January 14-15
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2024 Youth Ministry Extravaganza, January 17-24
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Youth Group Confirmation Night at Luther Seminary, January 31
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Refresher Course for Faith Community Nurses, February 1
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Conference Assemblies, February 10, 2024
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Minneapolis Area Synod Assembly, May 2 - 4, 2024
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