SYNOD NEWS AND EVENTS - December 11, 2015

Stir up the wills of your faithful people, Lord God, and open our hearts to the preaching
of John, that, rejoicing in your salvation, we may bring forth the fruits of repentance;
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirt, one God, now and forever.  Amen. 

We invite you to help us equip youth and those who work closely with youth to hear that same call through this year's Advent Appeal.
Click here to give now.
Click here to read Bishop Jon Anderson's Advent letter.


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Synod Events
Below is a list of all the upcoming synod events. Visit the synod events webpage for more information.

DECEMBER 

JANUARY

FEBRUARY
Equipping Congregations Day
February 20, 2016
Willmar

ELCA Region 3 Hunger Retreat
February 5-6, 2016
Luther Crest, Alexandria 

MARCH
Sr. High Youth Gathering 
March 4-5, 2016
Mankato

Lutheran Men in Mission
March 11-12, 2016
Green Lake Bible Camp, Spicer 

APRIL
First-Call Retreat
April 4-6, 2016

PSST Retreat
April 14-15, 2016
Green Lake Bible Camp, Spicer

SAVE THE DATE 
SW MN Synod Assembly
June 10-11, 2016
Gustavus, St Peter 

August 10-13, 216
New Orleans

ELCA Churchwide Assembly
August 8-13, 2016
New Orleans  
Other News, Events & Resources

Confronting Racism: A Holy Yearning
Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eatonand William B. Horne II, an ELCA member from Clearwater, Fla., will continue their conversation on racism in another live webcast January 14, 2016, at 8 p.m. (CST). Eaton and Horne will be joined by other ELCA members including Judge Yolanda Tanner, Leonard Duncan, and Charlene Guiliani, who bring various perspectives on the U.S. criminal justice system. As with the previous webcast, this one will be grounded by two commitments. One is this church's proclamation of Christ and the confidence this good news brings to set us free from the captivity of racism. The second is this church's enduring commitment to address the complexity of racism and end discrimination. Click here for more information.
Safeguard Your Vital Congregational Records Now:  New Scanning Service of the ELCA Region 3 Archives

The Region 3 Archives serves congregations in the 9 synods of ELCA Region 3 (Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota).  We are pleased to announce the start of a digital scanning program for congregational records.  This program replaces the earlier microfilming program that had operated from 1990 - 2013. The costs are roughly the same as the previous program, or approximately .15 per page of scanned material.  We are most concerned that ministerial records (baptisms, confirmations, marriages and funerals) as well as annual meeting material be scanned.

Following the scanning by our vendor in St. Paul, The paper records are returned to the congregation along with a CD of the contents and the invoice.  We anticipate a 3-4 week turnaround with each scanning order.

or 651.641.3205.
Call for Wellness
+Bishop Jon V. Anderson 
When John the Baptizer called people to repent, he was calling people to turn around spiritually. He was calling for people to change their minds, hearts and their way of being. He called for people to change their behavior. Repentance took the form of very concrete things. John the Baptizer, even more importantly, pointed to the coming of the Messiah. 

I reviewed a video that is available from our last Conference of bishops meeting. Call For Wellness 2.0 by Portico Benefit Services. It was a serious and challenging speech we heard. It is worth listening to. I heard a call to repentance that is different, but serious and important. 

Jeff is not John the Baptizer but he was calling us to repent as leaders in terms of how we steward our bodies, health and health care dollars. The short summary is that we, as people insured by Portico, have to change our behavior and work on becoming healthier for our personal wellbeing, for the sake of our call to ministry and for the sake of our congregations.   

Call For Wellness 2.0 Video

The video has stunning and sobering statistics.  Some are captured in the picture in the article. Our health care costs are up compared to similar sized groups because people insured by Portico are less healthy. 

It can be done. Two years ago in November I began to change how I was eating. My weight was up. My racquetball therapy was not frequent enough to let me eat as much and in the ways I was used to. My doctor was concerned by my blood tests. I began a long term and persistent approach to caring for my body. I have exercised more often, ate healthier and sought to be a better steward of my body.  I have lost twenty five pounds. 

Our recent move to Redwood Falls is one more adjustment in a chain of decisions to seek a healthier lifestyle. My walking desk on my treadmill is another smaller but important step (It was handmade by my son in law.). I have more work to do in this stewardship project. The work of being a steward of your health is never finished. It just changes as we mature.

Portico's Wellness 2.0 is a call to steward our health so that we can more effectively be stewards of the Gospel. I would love to hear your stories about making choices to be healthier. Instead of feeling guilty or mishearing Jeff or me to be scolding in sharing our thoughts, hear God's call to greater wellness. Your witness matters in all kinds of ways. How you care for your whole being matters.

As the holidays approach it is a great time to make choices for life and see it as one dimension of John the Baptizer's call to repent. 
The unsettled season of Advent
In incarnate Christ, God finds us and gives restless hearts rest

The unsettled season. In her December column for The Lutheran, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton reflects on Advent. In some ways, the season creates a certain restlessness, she says. But in the incarnate Christ, God comes to us, finds us and gives our restless hearts rest. Click here to read her column.
+Pr. Kathryn Skoglund, Synod Minister 
Now that I am beginning my fourth week in the synod office I suppose I should introduce myself. I come to this position after having served in a co-pastor position at Trinity in Montevideo and Maynard in Maynard. I had been serving in the Montevideo area for about 7 ½ years. Previous to that I served for 4 years as chaplain at Project Turnabout in Granite Falls. My first call after graduating from Luther Seminary in 2002 was a half-time call at Trinity of Hector, and St. John's of Bird Island, as well half-time as the Latino outreach coordinator for the 212 corridor. I have been married to my husband John, for 34 years and we have two adult children. Brady, our 27 year old son, (and his fiancée Jessi Roggatz) live in Sioux Falls, SD and Taylor, our 26 year old daughter, lives in Southlake, TX.

It amazes me how quickly the days fly by at this new position, and I am starting to get used to the rhythm of reading and answering e-mails, making phone calls, attending meetings, and all of the other things that the job of Synod Minister entails. When I was first thinking about interviewing for this position I talked to Pr. Joyce Piper and asked her what she liked most about her work. One of the first things she said was her colleagues and staff in the synod office. I understand why. I have found everyone here to be supportive, patient, and willing to take time to teach me all the things I will need to learn for this position. The second thing Pr. Joyce said was working with all the candidates, pastors, and churches in the synod. After just a few weeks I am beginning to understand that as well. I look forward to meeting and serving you as a Synod Minister in the years ahead. 
New student loan repayment counseling available in Minnesota
Minnesota, which ranks 5th in the nation for student debt, is taking action to help student loan borrowers who are struggling to make their payments.

To help student loan borrowers  and their families, LSS Financial Counseling received a two-year grant from the Minnesota Office of Higher Education - funding authorized with bipartisan support by the Minnesota legislature - to provide student loan repayment counseling to Minnesota residents. The new program will provide guidance to Minnesota residents who are repaying their federal, state, and/or private student loans, but have missed a payment or two. Efforts will be aimed at reducing default rates at Minnesota schools, improving credit scores and overall financial literacy while repaying student loans.

In Minnesota alone, more than 15,000 students defaulted on their federal student loans in 2012. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis estimates the true national default rate at 31% of all graduates.

Student loan debt is a major challenge for individuals the moment they graduate. Click here to learn more.