One of the best gifts of serving in this office of bishop is the days when I see clear evidence that God is renewing God's Church. 

 
Last Friday night was one of those times. The SW MN Synod's Sr. High Youth Gathering had a great crew of Sr. High Youth and a large group of adults who were willing to give up time to share their life in Christ and grow deeper in faith, hope and love. I give thanks to God for Sarah Hausken, Dana Lamb, Pr. Matt Hausken, Shaun Luker, Tori Raths and many other leaders.

 Check out the Sr High Youth Gathering Facebook for random acts of kindness photos! 

And earlier in the week, I rejoiced as Dr. Robin Steinke was named the new president of Luther Seminary. I have known Robin through my years as bishop. I have come to respect her deeply.

Dr. Robin Steinke President of Luther Seminary

When we started praying about who might be best gifted to serve as the new president, I created a list of very gifted people who might be open to serving and called to serve in this way. Robin's name was at the top of that list of gifted people who I know. I trusted God would lead the call committee's work.

When I had a short time to visit with Robin after she was elected. I learned how she grew up in a simple home in Courtand, MN between New Ulm and Mankato. She grew up at the LCMS congregation near Courtland called Immanual. Her parents later became members at Our Savior's in New Ulm. I look forward to having Robin come and teach in our synod. The formation of evangelical leaders to serve in the many cultures of our time is a key task of our seminaries. I am thankful for all the staff, professors, administrators and students who God uses to create a seed bed for God's preferred and promised future.

Watch this week with me for signs of God's work renewing our spiritual life and renewing our life together as a community who calls Jesus lord.

A baptism is always a time of joy and blessing as a child of God is welcomed into the community of faith, God's promises are affirmed and God's Spirit is bestowed through water and Word. It was a particularly special day March 16, 2014 at West Zion Lutheran, rural Hancock, when Zoey Anna, a 7th generation Nelson of West Zion was baptized. Her great, great, great, great grandfather Niels Elingson was a founding father of West Zion, along with his wife Annie. The Elingsons changed their sir name early on to avoid its commonness. The irony of changing it to "Nelson" continues to bring humor! God is indeed faithful throughout the generations.

Campaigns - Churchwide & Synod

+ Bishop Jon Anderson

Southwestern Minnesota Synod 
Friday, March 21, 2014 - 10:00 AM
The agenda for Synod Mission Table, meeting Friday, March 21, 2014, began with Word and prayer and conversation around the text, 1 Corinthians 12. It then moved into the first step in congregational missional planning, Listening to Our Community and Synod. A key resource for this listening was a video documentary prepared by Mr. Kelly Asche from Hancock. Asche works at UM-Morris in the areas of demographics and rural community life. The video can be found at MPR, Fighting for an American Countryside: People in rural Minnesota are battling small-town decline with determination, resourceful thinking, and unwavering belief. It is powerful and well-done. Some highlights we found included: "Churches should be among the agitators to encourage people to move to rural areas." "One change in mentality can change a culture." "We need to get our hands dirty more (as Lutherans)." The video prompted emotional responses in all of us, and we felt it would be a valuable resource to show in other contexts.

The group also looked at FactFinder2 - a Web site that could be helpful in getting an overview of demographic and assets information for particular counties and cities. This could be used in congregational and conference settings, yet it is always good to speak to those "in the know" in communities and to have face-to-face conversations to gather insight and...read more.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) seeks a Regional Gift Planner for Western Minnesota / Eastern North Dakota.

Territory: Northwest MN synod, Southwest MN synod, and Eastern ND synod.

The Regional Gift Planner is responsible for identifying, cultivating, soliciting and securing new and ongoing gifts from individuals in support of churchwide ministries, congregations, synods and related ELCA ministries. Each Gift Planner lives and works within their assigned territory (home office).
Click here to download the full position description.

April

April 12 - Multiple Area Parishes (MAP): Framing Our Unique Ministry

April 25 - P.I.E. (PROSPER INVEST ENDOW): A Recipe for Generosity (morning)

April 25 - ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton (afternoon)

April 25 - Pastoral Staff Support Time (PSST) Healthy Staff Relationships Retreat (evening)

April 26 - P.I.E. (PROSPER INVEST ENDOW): A Recipe for Generosity

175 East Bridge St. PO Box 499

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