Synod News and Events - March 12, 2015
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Health Assessment 2015 March Report.
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Synod Events
Below is a list of all the upcoming synod events. Visit the synod events webpage for more information.

MARCH
LMM Retreat 
March 14 
St. Andrew's Village, 
New London

APRIL
PSST Retreat
April 16-17 
Green Lake Bible Camp, 
Spicer
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Proclaim Detroitapalooza
April 18 - 9:45am - 1:30pm
Danube School, 
Danube
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First Call Retreat
April 20-22 - Shalom Hill Farm
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Bishop Forum 
April 26 - 2:00 - 4:00pm
Zion Lutheran Church, Litchfield
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Bishop Forum
April 26 - 7:00 - 9:00pm
Trinity Lutheran Church, Montevideo
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Bishop Forum
April 27 - 7:00-9:00pm
Our Savior's Lutheran Church,
New Ulm
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Bishop Forum
April 28 - 7:00-9:00pm
American Lutheran Church, Windom 

JUNE
SW MN Synod Assembly 
June 12-14 - St. Peter 
Click here for more information.
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Hope for the Prairie: Building Vitality in your Congregation
June 27, 2015
Locations: TBD
Congregation Events

Concordia Handbell Choir

Tintinnabula, the advanced handbell ensemble at Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota, will be touring Minnesota in March.  They will be performing in Alexandria on Friday, March 27th at First Lutheran Church.  A free-will offering will be accepted to help the choir's travel expenses.


Tintinnabula accepts 13-15 students each year by audition and performs a wide variety of music.  They perform on a 5-octave set of Malmark handbells, and 6 octaves of Malmark Choirchimes.  The group rehearses for 90 minutes twice weekly during the school year.  They accept students enrolled at NDSU and MSUM as part of the Tri-College program.  
Other Events & Resources

Minnesota Food Share 
March Campaign 
+Bishop Jon V. Anderson

One of the things we learned in The Listening Project was the breadth of concern about food insufficiency across our synod. 

If you are not aware "during the 2015 March Campaign, Minnesota FoodShare will host a Pack the Pews weekend from Friday, March 20 to Sunday, March 22. Pack the Pews weekend is an opportunity for congregations across the state to engage their members in supporting Minnesota food shelves by bringing non-perishable food items to worship services. Invite people to pack the pews to fight hunger in your community.  Click here to learn more and how to participate.


Gustavus Symphony
Orchestra Tour
Ruth Lin, conductor
Click here for the 2015 East Coast Tour dates.


2015 Earth Day - April 22

Earth Day is Wednesday, April 22nd and many congregations are celebrating in their churches on April 19th or the 26th. Creation Justice Ministries has resources like sermon prep, Christian education ideas, song suggestions, denominational resources and much more.  Visit their Earth Day resource webpage by click here.


 

Continuing Education Opportunity -  
Peer Power: Cultivating Clergy Communities of Practice and Training for Peer Group Facilitators
The Pastoral Excellence Network, a program of the Center for Pastoral Excellence at Christian Theological Seminary funded by Lilly Endowment Inc., announces they will be offering this training retreat twice in 2015:

May 5-6 at the Mercy Center near San Francisco, CA
Click here for more information.

May 5-6 at the Mercy Center near San Francisco, CA

Click here for more information. 
Lilly Endowment Planning Grant:
National Initiative to Address Economic Challenges Facing Pastoral Leaders

We have exciting news to share!! Southwestern Minnesota Synod and New Jersey Synod received confirmation in early February of a joint grant given by Lilly Endowment Inc., regarding economic challenges for pastors.

This initiative has two goals: 1) assisting invited national and regional church-related organizations in developing new programs or strengthening existing programs to alleviate some of the financial pressures that inhibit effective pastoral leadership;
and 2) improving the financial literacy and management skills of pastoral leaders through educational programs to provide capable fiscal leadership for the parishes and ministries under their care.

The grant proposal process for SW MN and NJ Synods has two parts:
1) A six-month Planning Phase was the focus of a planning grant proposal that was submitted in January. SW MN and NJ were selected in February to proceed with a planning grant and will assess from February to August 2015 current data and programs relating to pastoral finances and stewardship education.
A Research & Planning Team has been formed, including Marv Isder, Kirsten Rabbe, Pr. Tim Wrenn and Pr. Mark Yackel-Juleen. They will meet with leaders in each synod to gather existing and new data, expand educational programs for pastoral and congregational stewardship, and propose fund-raising strategies for matching grants to Lilly Endowment funds.

2) A possible three-year Implementation Phase will emerge from the results of the six-month planning process. August 17th is the deadline to submit a proposal for an implementation grant. Notification of selection will occur in December.

The summary statement of our planning grant proposal includes the following:
"Our ecclesial and social structures are operating in an ongoing era of dramatic and rapid economic change and challenge. The changing church context, the post-9/11 recession, and the financial experience of millennial leaders makes the experience of past pastoral cohorts less applicable and highlights the value of reviewing contextual factors. Pastors and congregational leaders sometimes function in the midst of financial silence. We want to break through the silence that often surrounds financial conversations and build trust in more open partnerships between pastors with their congregations and among mission partners and ministry contexts. We wish to equip pastors and congregational leaders in financial facility to navigate the distinctive challenges and financial concerns of this 21st century."

Assignment News 

+Bishop Jon V. Anderson

We are excited to announce the assignment of four new candidates for rostered service in our synod.  We will share more information in the coming days.

  • Trish Reedstrom
    Luther Seminary, Ordained Ministry
  • Nathan Luong
    Luther Seminary, Ordained Ministry
  • Ryan Prondzinski
    Luther Seminary, Ordained Ministry
  • Sarah Hausken
    Associate in Ministry Candidate

Your synod supports the work of forming leaders to serve in our congregations and mission field through the mission support of your congregations.  We give thanks to God for your support that makes it possible for congregations to receive the gifts of new rostered leaders. We give thanks to God for their teachers in the faith, parents, friends, family, professors and pastors to name a few key people. Please welcome these new leaders who we trust will soon be serving in our synod and joining our call to be stewards of the Good News we know in and through Jesus.

 

This is part of the work of our recent Conference of Bishop's gathering. I will share more information about that next week. 

Pastoral Staff Support Time 

Retreat: "Facing Conflict together....I've got your back"

Thursday-Friday, 

April 16-17

Green Lake Bible Camp, Chrysalis House

PSST... Represents a new network in our synod designed for pastors serving in settings with other pastors.

 

Presenter: Susan Nienaber 

Just about every pastoral team will encounter folks who are challenging to leaders and other members. Unfortunately, not everyone experiences their behavior in the same way which then causes conflict within the team about how to respond. No matter who these difficult people are it is important to know when to embrace these folks, when to negotiate, when to stand your ground, when to withdraw and how to increase the congregational system's ability to maintain health and integrity. This training will use case scenarios to provide you with the tools, skills, appropriate mind-set and spiritual resources to deal with the most challenging folks in your congregation. Learn to evaluate the costs and benefits of different courses of action, how to manage your own reactivity and emotional "buttons" so that you can remain clear in your thinking, how you typically respond in stressful situations and how to make wise decisions.

Click here to read more information about this retreat.

Click here to register. 
SAVE THE DATE
"Hope for the Prairie:
Building Vitality in Your Congregation" Event
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Live Event: Concordia College, Moorhead
Virtual Event: Locations throughout the SW MN Synod, Locations TBD. Each Virtual location will be staffed with a facilitator for group learning.
 
Registration opening April 2015
An event for small churches, sponsored by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Region 3.

 

Pastor Nancy Nyland, the event leader, served multiple rural and small town congregations in South Dakota and Nebraska for 21 years, before joining ELCA Congregational Synodical Mission in 2011 as the Director for Evangelical Mission in the Indiana-Kentucky Synod.  As a former evangelism partner and member of the Discovering Hope initiative leadership, and now as a member of the ELCA Renewal Team, Pastor Nancy speaks at many state and regional conferences to bring a word of HOPE to small congregations.

A copy of the book, Discovering Hope, provided FREE to each participating congregation.

Attention Rostered Leaders!

The Southwestern Minnesota Synod Endowment Committee has been developing a Pension Equity Fund in our Leadership Endowment.  With almost $5,000 now available for annual distribution we are pleased to announce you may be eligible to receive a 2015 Pension Equity Grant.

Click here for grant qualifications and to apply. 

Position Opening:

Youth Activities Director
(part-time position) 
Trinity Lutheran Church in Sleepy Eye, MN 
is seeking a Youth Director. Please click here for a full job description and application. 

Check List Update

The last few weeks we have sent emails with detailed information on these tasks below. Click here if you missed it. We will continually update and remind you about these important tasks. Any questions on forms, links or passwords please call the synod office at 507-637-3904. We are happy to help!! 

 

Mission Support Intents

Below is a graph of how many congregations have submitted their mission support intents. If your congregation still needs to share your intent amount click here. 

 

Forms A & C (Congregational Reports)

Below is a graph of how many congregations have completed Forms A & C. If your congregation still needs to fill out these forms please click here. 

Rostered Leader Reports

Health Assessment (HA)

Click here!

AFTER you take the HA click here to enter into a $100 drawing.