2015 Annual Meeting focused on increasing congregational vitality  

Stromberg re-elected as NWC Superintendent 

With a theme of "Strengthen Churches," the 2015 Northwest Conference Annual Meetings-for both the Ministerial Association and church delegates-took place at Salem Covenant Church in New Brighton, MN, April 16-18.

Northwest Conference Superintendent Mark R. Stromberg, who was re-elected to serve another four-year term, shared about the many great things that churches can do when united together in service.

MOVE 2015 photos and highlight video available online 

MOVE 2015 took place at Minnehaha Academy's south campus in Minneapolis on April 10-11, and students and youth workers from throughout the NWC experienced a powerful weekend of teaching, worship, service and experiential learning. A more detailed follow-up story is coming soon, but in the meantime, use the links below to get a glimpse of the event. 

View photos from MOVE 2015 Day 1 and Day 2 on Flickr

Check out the MOVE 2015 Highlights video on Vimeo 

History becomes real for MA students on Sankofa Journey   

Participants in the first-ever Sankofa trip for high-school students say the experience gave them fresh perspectives on the history of racial injustice as well as ongoing issues of disparity.

Minnehaha Academy, a K-12 school owned by the Northwest Conference, paired with Hope Academy, a K-12 school that works closely with Minnehaha, for the bus trip March 25-29. Thirty students participated in the trip.

Sankofa is a West African word meaning "looking backward to move forward." During the four-day bus journey, participants are paired with someone of another race and travel through historic sites of importance to the civil rights movement, such as the Martin Luther King Center in Atlanta, Georgia, and the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, where four young girls were killed when Ku Klux Klan members exploded dynamite there in 1963.

One Minnehaha Academy student said that visiting the sites, "really enlightened me to see how far we've come, but also hurt me to realize that these horrific events were taking place not that long ago."

Read the full story on the Covenant Newswire 

Clifford Eugene Biel  

Clifford Eugene Biel of Mondovi, WI, died on Sunday, April 12, 2015, after complications from heart surgery that led to a major stroke in November 2014. His final days were spent at the Spring Valley Health and Rehabilitation Center.

Born on May 29, 1936, in Wykoff, MN, to Harvey and Mary Biel, Clifford, known as "Joey" to the family, and his five siblings, Stanley, Marian, Julia, Cynthia and Louis, grew up on a small dairy farm in Harmony, MN.  

He found his life partner in Donna Gislason, a nursing graduate of St. Olaf. They were married on Aug. 20, 1960 at Hope Lutheran Church in her home town of Minneota, MN. Both were interested in mission work and accepted a call from the Evangelical Lutheran Church to Brazil as missionaries in 1962 which would last through 1980.

Upon return to the United States, Pastor Biel served at Pleasant Valley and Drammen Lutheran Churches near Mondovi, WI (3 yrs). In 1984 he joined the Evangelical Covenant Church, founding and serving at Prince of Peace Covenant Church until his retirement.

Pastor Biel was known for his joy of life and love for the Lord. He had a wonderful smile and a twinkle in his eye, deep compassion and a warm heart. 

Survivors mourning his loss include: wife, Donna; daughters Rachel and Helen and son Charles.

Visitation 

Sunday, April 26, from 4 to 7 p.m. 

Talbot Family Funeral Home

679 Hehli Way

Mondovi, WI

Funeral 

Monday, April 27, from 10 to 11 a.m. Visitation

11 a.m. Funeral Service followed by Burial

Prince of Peace Covenant Church

S12605 State Road 37

Mondovi, WI

Youth Ministry 

Did you go to CHIC? 

As a CHIC alumni, you know how God works in high school students' lives at this triennial Covenant event. Would you help a teenager get to CHIC? It's expensive. $649 for registration + $205 for transportation makes it a challenge for a number of our kids. 

We want to raise enough money to fund 100 $100 scholarships to invest in students who desperately want to go but can't quite afford it. This CHIC, we're planning on over 1,500 people from the Northwest Conference alone. Please partner with us to get each kid who wants to go to CHIC to CHIC. Every dollar helps us reach our goal.  

http://www.youcaring.com/other/get-northwest-conference-kids-to-chic/265502