Synod News & Events 
July 24, 2014
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Synod Events 
Below is a list of all the upcoming synod events.
JULY 
First Call Family Camp
July 27 - August 1, 2014
St. Andrew Village,
New London
Lutheran Men In Mission Golf Tournament
July 25, 2014
Redwood Falls Golf Club, Redwood Falls

AUGUST 
Full Bodied Stewardship
August 12, 2014
Trinity Lutheran,
Sleepy Eye
Full Bodied Stewardship
August 13, 2014
Peace Lutheran,
New London
Region 3 Practice Discipleship Retreat
August 24-26, 2014
Lutheran Crest Bible Camp, Alexandria

SEPTEMBER 
September 16, 2014
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Redwood Falls
Fall Theological Conference
September 21-24, 2014
Mount Carmel & Luther Crest Ministries, Alexandria

OCTOBER 
Elderberry Retreat
October 23-24, 2014
Green Lake Lutheran Ministries, Spicer

NOVEMBER 
NW & SW MN Synod Clergy Spouse Retreat
November 7-9, 2014
Luther Crest Bible Camp, Alexandria
Jr High Youth Gathering
November 21-23, 2014
Willmar

SAVE THE DATE 
All Conference Assemblies
February 8, 2015

FLY (First Lutheran Youth) Alaska 2014
God can do anything, you know--far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. Ephesians 3:20  

IMAGINE NO BOUNDARIES!!

My name is Tonya Tomasek, Director of Youth and Family Ministries here at First Lutheran in Marshall. The "Summer" Youth Ministry at First Lutheran runs on a three year cycle. One year is the ELCA National Youth Gathering, one year is a mission trip, and the third year is our "High Adventures" summer. The high adventures year can mean a variety of things.... Bible Camp, YMCA camps, etc. So when Pastor Scott came to First Lutheran, he asked me to explain what "high adventures" meant..... this is when the Holy Spirit started "working within us.... deeply and gently within us" to imagine NO BOUNDARIES!

No Boundaries!.....imagining going to ALASKA?!?! No Boundaries!......breaking down the preconceived thought that this could never work......NO Boundaries!..... imagining what God can do in our lives and how God can use us for ministry when we take down our boundaries...! And so the Alaska Adventure began.....
The following link is a blog that I wrote every day about our adventures, devotional time, and group bible studies. 
Click here to read FLY Alaska Blog.    
Instruments of Peace
+Bishop Jon V. Anderson
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is discord, harmony;
Where there is error, truth;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
This week we have many things to hold in prayer such as the young refugees fleeing from violence into the southwest part of our country. We also grieve with the families of all the places torn by war, but the images from Gaza and from the Ukraine in the aftermath of the passenger airplane being shot down remind us of the many people whose lives have been lost and changed forever by violence. May God use us all as instruments of his peace and healing in our families, neighborhoods, communities, congregations, states, nation and world.
ELCA presiding bishop joins call for peace
in the Holy Land
ELCA News Release

As the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip further escalates, the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), expressed her profound concern for members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land in a July 17, 2014, letter to that denomination's bishop, the Rev. Dr. Munib A. Younan.

"Our hearts are heavy as we read about and see images of the violence being inflicted on both Israelis and Palestinians. This suffering and loss of life are inexcusable before God. Click here to read more. 
The full text of Eaton's letter is available by clicking here. 
Young Adults in Global Mission - Sarah Brock
+Bishop Jon Anderson
Sarah Brock from Zion Lutheran, Litchfield is heading off to Rwanda for a year, serving the ELCA's Young Adults in Global Mission program. Follow her blog, 10,000 Lakes for a Thousand Hills and click here to read more about her plans in Rwanda from a letter she wrote to her home congregation. 
 
If there are other YAGM's who wish to share their blog or plans, please pass them along so we can join in their pilgrimage and see the world more clearly through their eyes. E-mail Kristin Bakeberg at kristin.bakeberg@swmnelca.org. 

The Listening Project is Coming - The Landscape

+Bishop Jon V. Anderson

In August, we are going to engage in a deep listening project as a synod. Our goal is to invite over 700 leaders to take our survey called The Landscape. The survey will be done online and take you about fifteen minutes. It will give us a deep look into the life of our synod and our mission field. There are multiple other layers of The Listening Project that have begun or are coming, but our next step will be this survey of leaders across our synod.


Click here to watch a video clip from our assembly that shares about this project. 

 

For you to have a voice in the coming Landscape Survey it is especially important that you and your congregation update your personal and congregational information. We use your information in a variety of ways, congregational information is needed during the call process when administering Minnesota Statute 604.20 Background Checks on pastors. Out of date information can make the call process longer. It means we do not get information to the congregational leaders who might need it.  

ACS Tip of the week! 
Throughout the year we will be teaching leaders how to use AccessACS our online directory/handbook.

 

Did you know the synod has an online directory/handbook? YES! 

How to create your account in Access ACS, the synod's online directory/handbook.

How to make changes in your ACS profile.  
 
Coming Soon! AccessACS - Tip 4
How to search people and congregations

How is an online directory helpful? 
Our rostered leaders are very relational and it's important for them to be able to connect with one another. Calls change all of the time. Having an online directory helps keep our rostered leaders up-to-date with the movement of their colleagues.
Please contact the synod office if you would like more information. 
507-637-3904 
Long-term Care Insurance.....Looking over your options
Rev. Andrea DeGroot-Nesdahl
Portico has recently made a connection with a Long Term Care Insurance provider so that Portico participants can have access to, and a percentage discount on such a plan, if they choose. The sign-up time extends until September, 2014, so it is important to look over the brochure, and pursue learning more about whether this option is right for you.

Hours: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. (Central) Monday - Friday 

As a Baby Boomer I know my generation is aging daily (a reality I'm grateful for, personally!) in significant numbers. Our needs will change as we move into the later decades of life. How will we provide the proper care for ourselves or our spouses if/when the need arises? Can we stay in our homes? Will we need nursing care? What level of care will be adequate - skilled, assisted, home health? What will the care we need cost? How will we pay for it? Though we can't know the exact answer to these questions, we can become aware of the options before us.

Long Term Care Insurance is one of those options. It could provide a level of financial support for the different levels of care we may need. Long-term care insurance is one way to save for those future costs and needs. Even though any insurance plan or our own savings may not pay for everything when the time comes that we need it, due to changing costs and the particular needs we may have then, there will be assistance from such a policy toward those situations. Click here to read more.


2014 Church Staff Workers Association Retreat
September 16, 2014 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.at
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church
The annual CSWA retreat offers an opportunity for
congregational staff to come together for a day of inspiration,
learning and sharing hopes and concerns.

Join us for speakers, Rev. Dr. Anna Madsen from
OMG: Center for Theological Conversation and
Jodi Harpstead, CEO of Lutheran Social Service of MN.
As well as, free chair massages, lunch and time to gather with other church staff workers.
Save the Date - Elderberry Retreat
There is annual retreat for pastors who have retired or who are approaching retirement. This year the retreat will be on Oct. 23-24, 2014 at Green Lake Bible Camp in Spicer, MN. We encourage our newly retired pastors and spouses to attend and invite your friends.
This year's theme is "Wellness and Mindedness" Retreat. Portico's representative for our region Diaconal Minister Terri Endres and their Chief Executive Officer Pr. Jeff Thielmann will be leading the retreat.
You can learn more from Pastor Duane Kamrath at duanekamrath@gmail.com who is on the leadership team.
Registration forms will soon be available.
Upcoming Seminars
Portico Benefit Services is offering some great seminars coming up!
Click on the event for more information.