As I awoke on Easter morning this year and stood outside with my little dog, my senses were overwhelmed. The sky was golden with early morning light. The breeze smelled of warming soil and the sweetness of last year’s leaves and early spring flowers. And the sounds - oh my! Songbirds, eager to greet the dawn, were singing their chorus. Woodpeckers were busy filling the air with their rhythmic drumming. Geese, in pair after pair, sailed over my head, honking urgently in what sounded like joyful trumpets announcing something wonderful. It was as if all creation knew the significance of that morning for me, for us, and indeed for all creation!

Now, one can say that the geese are just being geese, that the birds are just being birds, and that the golden sky and warming soil are just predictable signs of the seasons’ cycle. That is fair. My perception was just that: mine. But what if there was something more at work in creation that blessed morning? What if the “birds of the air” and the “lilies of the field” and, for that matter, all the other plants and animals of God’s good creation indeed recognize the gift of Easter? The gift of life? What if, at some level, the non-human beings around us really do resonate with the Holy Spirit, singing along in joy and praise for the gift of life? What if all creation really was announcing the glory of the resurrection that Easter morning – and that it does so every day? And if so, would it matter?

To recognize a spiritual awareness in creation certainly changes our perception – not just of birdsong and sunrise on an Easter morning, but of our place in creation and of all that lives by the creative grace of God. And such a change in perception naturally leads to changes in our living and in our witness to the gospel.

Where do you experience creation’s song of praise? In what ways does the witness of non-human beings teach you and inspire you to wonder about the life of the Spirit and the power of God? How will it change your ways and your witness?

The Rev. Peder Johanson

SCSW Care for Creation Team

Registration for the 2023 Synod Assembly is closing soon. Registrations must be received by no later than May 1, 2023.

Click the button below to view the Synod Assembly page on the synod website. There you will find information about how to register, our speaker, this year's in-kind offering and much more.

The page will be updated regularly as more details are confirmed, so be sure to check back often!

We are delighted to share that on-site childcare will be available for ages 3 to 12. The cost is $15 per child to cover the cost of lunch, snacks, and supplies. Children will be invited to worship with their parents at the start of the assembly, and will then head off for a day of fun and activities! Registration information is on the synod assembly page.

The SCSW Care for Creation Team invites you to celebrate Earth Day through a Church of the Wild outdoor worship service.

On Saturday, April 22, Church of the Wild will be held at two locations and times within our synod:

Madison Christian Community (MCC) - 3pm to 5pm

7118 Old Sauk Rd., Madison

Vermont Lutheran Church - 2pm to 4pm

9886 Vermont Church Rd, Black Earth

Church of the Wild is an invitation to “rest in the grace of the world” (Wendell Berry) as we gather and then separate to wander into nature to see, to listen, to contemplate, and to sense our connectedness to all living things before rejoining one another to share and offer our gratitude.

Finish your Earth Day observance at Bethel Lutheran, 312 Wisconsin Ave., Madison, with dinner at 6pm and a viewing of The Letter, a documentary on Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si. See below for more information about the dinner and movie, including how to register.

For more information about synod events, contact Deacon Meg Nielsen, SCSW Care for Creation team chair. 

The South-Central Synod of Wisconsin Care for God's Creation Team encourages you to attend the following event, sponsored by Bethel Lutheran in Madison.

Join Bethel’s Caring for Creation and social-justice ministries to celebrate the gift of God’s creation and to strengthen our commitment to care for our common home and its inhabitants.

Dinner: (6:00 pm)

Enjoy a light meal prepared by our in-house chef before the big show.

Movie: The Letter (7:00 pm)

Featured on PBS, this documentary tells the compelling story of the Laudato Si' encyclical letter by Pope Francis through the eyes and stories of people who face the effects of our planet’s ecological crisis. Click here to view the trailer. As a special short feature, we’ll begin with Bethel’s own music video, Suite Prayers for Our Earth. Sung by the Bethel Choir and composed by our Minister of Liturgical Worship Zach Busch and Minneapolis songwriter Bret Hesla, Suite Prayers is a musical setting of the moving “Prayer for our Earth” that concludes the Laudato Si’ encyclical.

Don’t miss these 90 minutes of beauty and inspiration!

Click the button below to learn more and register. If you have any questions, please contact Todd Fansler from Bethel's Caring for Creation Team.

The Food, Faith and Farming Network (FFFN), established in 1989 as Churches’ Center for Land and People, has been steadfast in accompanying farmers through challenging circumstances, and connecting faith to food systems that are just and sustainable.

This March and April, FFFN is offering $100 Grants for Gardens to congregations wanting to incorporate gardening into their mission. In addition, retired pastor and seasoned church gardener, Jeff Wild, is available to offer guidance and support with a biblical undergirding, to assist congregations in establishing a fruitful garden experience. Jeff is also active in the guns to gardens movement that turns firearms into garden tools, and hopes to teach gardeners how to make garden tools for their use in gardening.

To learn more about Grants for Gardens contact Jeff at jtwildwi@gmail.com.

The SCSW Synod Council is a faithful, dedicated group of rostered and lay leaders who are tasked with setting policy, coordinating with the bishop and her staff, providing a strategic plan for the synod and stewarding our programs and resources. After our retreat last fall, we asked our council members to complete a short questionnaire to help the synod get to know them a little better.

Visit the Synod Council page on the synod website to view the full roster of council members.

Name of your congregation/ministry: Bethlehem Lutheran Church (Brodhead)

What excites you about serving on Synod Council?: I enjoyed the dynamics [at the retreat] with everyone bouncing thoughts back and forth. I tend to talk a lot but ideas I brought up were tossed about and Ross added needed clarification and I think a plan was developed on one point. Everyone brings something different to our table. That was neat. I didn't grow up active in the church per se but have been active for last 30+ years with council and Sunday School and try to think I show God's Love through my actions.

What gifts do you feel you bring as a Synod Council member?: My career has been in Agricultural Sales and Support. I like to think I am able to analyze problems and develop solutions while taking care of our customer. I usually have a lot of irons in the fire and I am happiest when I am busy finding answers.

Favorite Bible verse/passage: I keep going back to the 23rd Psalm. I don't know if it was because we were forced to memorize it back 45 years ago but it has stuck with me. Also I like Romans as it was (and is) the only book I have read in entirety. Themes, like running the race and prepare the way for the Lord that also are reflected in Handel's Messiah, stick with me.

Where have you seen God at work in your life, your church, your community, or the world this past week?: I pulled a young lady (age 3?) to help me with offering one Sunday at our church. She passed the plate on her side of aisle with such a big smile while I did the other side. She carried her plate up to Pastor so proudly. When we got to the back, her mother was so proud and whispered, "Thank You."

What do you like to do to have fun?: Fishing - I travel the state for work and keep a fishing pole in the back seat or truck bed. I pull over and make a few casts at trout streams I pass when I have time. About 15yrs ago, I caught a huge Muskellunge below dam at Tomahawk and managed to land it without a net. Also, see below on support of family.

Waffles or Pancakes?: Both

Is there anything else you'd like the synod to know about you?: I am an open book as I am proud of my Ohio Heritage. I am proud of our three daughters as they make their way through early careers.  My weekends are busy with "daddy dos" as two have houses/farms in Darlington, WI and Lafayette, IN. Our youngest lives in Kansas City, MO and works full time at Starbucks and in costuming for various KC Theaters as a side gig after getting her Masters degree from UM-KC in June.

This past week, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton announced the launch of the ELCA's Truth & Healing Movement, an opportunity for this church to increase our understanding of our colonizing impacts on Indigenous people in the past and present." Click on the image below to view the video introduction from Bishop Eaton.

Click the button below for more information about the Truth & Healing Movement and how you and your congregation can participate.

Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) invites you to the "Muck and Gut" webinar on April 28 at 10am (CDT).

The webinar will touch on:

• Behind the scenes preparation before volunteers arrive
• Forms to identify volunteer skills and client information, as well as release forms
• Safety issues before, during, and after clean-p
• Preventive steps to reduce risk to further damage to a residence

To register, click on the button below. You will be invited to create an account on the Learning Management System used by LDR. Once your account has been created you can register for this webinar and view other training materials created by LDR.

To view an informational flyer, click here.

The ELCA Mission Support Team has resumed its monthly update, the "Mission Support Memo."

The memo will include each month a story about mission support in action. The intent is to share the stories of God at work in the world, and to show where and how our mission support is being used through the churchwide organization.

Click the button below to view and download the most recent edition from March 2023.

Below are a few Continuing Education and other learning opportunities that the Synod Office has been made aware of, which may be of interest to our rostered and lay leaders.

The ELCA First Call Planning Committee invites rostered leaders in the first 3 years of call to join a Zoom event on May 2, 1pm (Central Time).

The topic will focus on your congregation’s constitution. The presenter is Deacon Sue Rothmeyer, Secretary of the ELCA. Deacon Rothmeyer is well steeped in the knowledge of the Model Constitution for Congregations and plans to speak to the parts of the constitution that are most helpful and important for you to know in your roles as first call rostered ministers, as well as to the importance of updating your congregation’s constitution and how best to do that. The time with Sue will be informative and enlightening as she always brings a joyful spirit to her work and ministry on our behalf at churchwide and beyond.

First call rostered leaders will be contacted closer to the event with information about how to access the Zoom. If you would like to ensure you are included in this communication, please email Rev. Jen Christenson, Associate to the Bishop for Communication and Relationship, and she will forward your name to the planning team.

Going Deeper: Clergy Spiritual Life and Leadership, offered through Shalem Institute, is a 14-month program designed to address ministry challenges and provide clergy of all denominations the chance to focus intentionally on inner work. Contemplative practices shape the program and foster a transformation of heart. The program seeks two focal points: the nurture of a transformation of the spiritual heart and the opportunity to embody Spirit-led practice in ministry.

For more information on the program, click the button below.

The cohort that begins this summer is led by ELCA pastors Kathie and Peter Nycklemoe. You can e-mail Kathie for more information at pknyck@gmail.com or Peter at pnycklemoe@centralmpls.org.