SYNOD NEWS AND EVENTS - JULY 19, 2016
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Build A Ministerial Excellence Fund


Our mission as a synod calls us to empower and equip leaders. Through this Funding Initiative we will gather resources to empower leaders in three main areas identified as priorities, which will be highlighted each week in your enews. 
Build a Ministerial Excellence Fund 
is one of our priorities.

Lilly Endowment, Inc. has provided our Synod with a challenge grant of $250,000 to create a Ministerial Excellence Fund that will provide much-needed financial resources to help reduce burdensome educational debts of new pastors, help meet difficult medical emergencies of clergy, and help provide greater pension equity for our pastors as they prepare for retirement. We are called to raise $250,000 in matching funds as soon as feasible and to build a sustainable Ministerial Excellence Fund.
Opportunities to learn more:
Ministry and Money
Saturday, September 10, 2016, with special sessions for Pastors and Spouses on Friday, September 9, Calvary Lutheran Church, Willmar, MN.
Philip and Janet Jamieson, authors of the book, Ministry and Money: A Practical Guide for Pastors, will lead sessions on Saturday concerning the Biblical witness about money, the importance of financial transparency, expressing mission through budgeting, and improving generosity. Up to 20 Congregations will be able to send teams including pastors and lay people involved in finance, stewardship, endowments, and council leadership. On Friday pastors and spouses from throughout our Synod will be engaged by the Jamiesons in discussing pastoral leadership concerning money matters in the church as well as money issues in the personal lives of pastors and spouses. 

Like us on Facebook This book is also the featured book for the synod's "Book of the Month FB Group." Join the Facebook group and receive a FREE copy of Ministry and Money: A Practical Guide for Pastors. You must sign up online by clicking here. 
Scholarships, debt reduction payments
+Carla Klawitter
Over the past five years, your synod has been able to provide seminary education scholarships and debt reduction payments to many in formation or serving in calls, thanks to the generosity of individuals, organizations, and congregations.
 
Most recently, Fund for Leaders endowment awards for scholarships for the 2016-17 academic year, disbursed by the ELCA with guidance from the Engaging Leaders Board and synod staff, total $21,837.00 and will benefit nine recipients. Of that amount, $12,491.28 is from the endowments established by the synod and two congregations which have closed, Trinity (Chandler) and Marble (Hendricks) Lutheran Churches. The other $9,345.95 is from the Lutheran Men in Mission endowment.
 
Another source for scholarships for seminarians is the synod's Fund for Leadership Support endowment. The anticipated distribution this year is $10,000.00. Seminary students will be notified about applying for these funds.
 
Over the past five years, $80,765.56 has been added to the endowment for scholarships, from which these distributions are made.
 
Also over the past five years, other gifts totaling $129,222.33 from individuals, WELCA and LMM groups, and congregations were received for immediate distribution to assist our seminary students. Many have benefited from these generous financial gifts.
 
Your synod also has an endowment fund established for the purpose of debt reduction payments for rostered leaders serving here. In the past five years, $49,120.60 from individuals, congregations, and estate gifts has been added to this endowment.
 
Disbursements for debt reduction over the past five years totaled $59,180.82 and benefited 26-30 individuals each year. This amount included some temporarily restricted funds, which have now been spent, besides the endowment distributions.
 
The anticipated endowment distribution for debt reduction payments this Fall is $8,800.00. Rostered leaders will be notified about applying for these funds later this Summer.
 
Our recent receipt of a $500,000 grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc., which requires us to raise $250,000 in matching funds over the next three years, will strengthen current programs. More information is available on our website (www.swmnelca.org) under the Funding Initiative link. You - individuals or congregations - can help with your donations to our Funding Initiative or the Ministerial Excellence Fund, either by check to the SW MN Synod or on our website under the "To Give Online" link.
Legacy planning
When is the best time to review your estate plan?  Many like to do it in January in response to a New Year's resolution.  However, summertime can be an even better time as we reflect on past summers spent with family, and how we now want to honor them as we consider what our legacy will be.  Whatever time of year you
Amy Bigot
Amy Bigot
choose, it is important to review your estate plans every three to five years, or sooner, if there have been major changes in your family situations or estate tax laws. 

We encourage you to contact Amy Bigot, our regional gift planner, at 763-443-3750 or amy.bigot@elca.org. She will provide expertise and resources to help you create a gift plan to support ministries today and into the future.
Legal 101 Event
Hold August 25, 2016 on your calendar for a Legal 101 Event for Pastors, Administrators, Personnel and Council Leaders.
+Bishop Jon V. Anderson
We are working on putting together a day for leaders to review important legal issues including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Attorney Steve Knowles, who has helped your synod and churchwide organization, will be our teacher. We will have more event information in the days to come.
What's in a name?
Why long-standing Lutheran institutions are re-branding
When Lutheran Social Services of the South, based in Austin, Texas, changed its name to "Upbring" last spring, they joined the ranks of other long-standing Lutheran institutions around the country that have re-branded in recent years.

Why the name change? "We want people to know who we serve in one word," said Evan Molian, chief mission officer for Upbring.

The new name comes from the word "upbringing" and emphasizes the organization's commitment to serve children, he said.

Re-branding wasn't done impulsively. A two-year planning process brought about Upbring's new strategy and identity.

"Organizations re-brand in order to make sure they are meeting the needs of changing audiences," said Sian Muir, an expert on marketing and director of management studies at St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn. "They seek to serve new people as former audiences age or shift, and they want to be current.

"There is a general trend to be more inclusive, so organizations will move away from a specific identity, such as 'Lutheran.' Their mission pretty clearly states who they are supporting or serving." Click here to read more.
 
Online Giving Options for Congregations and Synods
+Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Click here to download a online giving guide provided by the ELCA. The guide outlines factors to consider when deciding how to offer online giving for your congregation. A companion spreadsheet helps you prioritize which features are important to you and compare pricing for vendors of online giving services.
New ELCA Federal Credit Union opens 
The ELCA Federal Credit Union, the new credit union of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony June 6 at its headquarters in The Lutheran Center in Chicago. This is the first credit union chartered by the National Credit Union Administration to open in Illinois in 10 years. The institution will serve ELCA members, congregations and ELCA-related ministries and their employees.

"We're so excited to be offering this new opportunity for all of our members and those affiliated ministries around the country," said the Rev. Arnold Pierson, president of the ELCA Federal Credit Union. "Our prime responsibility is to be able to offer all members of the church a socially responsible way to connect their financial services."

The ELCA credit union supports the ELCA's mission to promote wise stewardship of members' and congregations' financial resources, based on the ELCA's social statement on economic life, "Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All." The statement, adopted by the 1999 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, expresses ELCA teaching that economic activity is a means through which God's will is served for the thriving and wellbeing of humankind and the care of the earth. Click here to read more.
Synod Events
Below is a list of all the upcoming synod events. Visit the synod events webpage for more information.
JULY
July 22, 2016
Redwood Falls Golf Club, Redwood Falls

Better Together Hunger Event
July 28, 2016
Apollo High School, St Cloud

AUGUST
August 10-13, 216
New Orleans
 
ELCA Churchwide Assembly
August 8-13, 2016
New Orleans  
SEPTEMBER
Ministry and Money
September 10, 2016
Calvary Lutheran, Willmar 
Church Staff Workers' Retreat
September 13, 2016
Gloria Dei Lutheran, Redwood Falls 

LMM Fall Retreat
September 24, 2016
Shetek Lutheran Ministries

Fall Theological Conference
September 25-27, 2016
Mount Carmel Ministries & Luther Bible Camp, Alexandria, MN
Other great resources and events! 
  • PLAN-IT Workshop, August 13
    Hosting: Prairie & Shetek Conferences at Shetek Lutheran Ministries.
    This is a guided day of planning resulting in a one year outline for your youth ministry. Click here for more information. 

Southwestern Minnesota Synod, ELCA 
PO Box 499, Redwood Falls, MN 56283
Phone: 507-637-3904