News and Events

News and Events

Saint Paul Area Synod
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

July 29, 2013

Theological conference registration opens Aug. 1

Registration for this year's Bishop's Theological Conference will be available starting Thursday Aug. 1, 2013.

More information about the fees, schedule, break-out sessions, and worship will be available later this week. Because our group will be housed in the hotel only (and not the cabins and duplexes) space is limited, so register early! Once again, a generous donor has provided funds that reduce the cost of the registration fee by $100.

More about this year's theological conference at www.spas-elca.org/events/bishopstheologicalconference

Bishop election website launched!

In mid-July, the Bishop Election Committee (BEC) launched a new website to provide information on events and developments in the process to elect a new bishop in May, 2014. Visit the site at

www.spas-elca.org/bishopelection2014.

Synod Assembly 2013 Survey & Discussion Report

On the site you will find a report detailing the results of the survey and discussion at the 2013 Synod Assembly, where participants identified their highest priorities for mission in coming years and considered the skills and gifts needed in the next bishop. The results of the survey and discussion will serve as input to the synod profile, which is being developed and will be published in early November.

Download the report (PDF)

Congregation of Care Training

Graceful Journey is a project of the Minnesota Council of Churches (MCC) in partnership with Honoring Choices Minnesota. Learn to better integrate ministries of caregiving, caregiver support, end-of-life preparation, and grief support into the whole life of your church and each person's walk of discipleship.Congregations are invited to send a team of 3-4 people to an upcoming series of workshops. MCC Graceful Journey will provide coaching, support and opportunities to learn and share.

For this cohort, the first full day of training will be Friday, Sept. 20 in Minneapolis, with additional partial-day trainings on Oct. 18, Nov. 15 and Dec. 13. To apply, contact Helen Jackson Lockett-El at Helen.JacksonLockett-El@mnchurches.org or by calling 612.230.3345. More about Graceful Journey at www.mnchurches.org/respectfulcommunities/endoflife

Forests, Fields, and Food

Latest blog from Seasonings of the Synod--food for thought from the Saint Paul Area Synod's Hunger Work Group.

We just returned home after a drive to/from California for a family celebration. The drive gave us another great opportunity to see the natural wonders of God's world as well as to do some thinking about food as we traveled.

It was heartening to see that some of the areas of the country that had been in extreme drought have begun to "green up" again. Conversely, it was frightening to see the damage to land and to air quality that forest fires bring. We could actually see the flames from two of the larger fires in Arizona and Nevada and share the sadness for those who lost lives, homes, and livelihoods and for the many critters that lost their homes and habitat, too. Continue reading

For more from Seasonings of the Synod, visit www.spas-elca.org/mission/justiceadvocacy/seasonings-of-the-synod

Church banners available

Redeemer, White Bear Lake has beautiful banners looking for a new church home following a recent sanctuary renovation. They are available for no cost to any congregation(s) that might make use of them. Click to see pictures and dimensions of specific banners. Please contact Darlene Carter if you have an interest: 651.653.9838.

Summer synod office hours

Effective now through Aug. 9, the synod office will be closing at 12:00 noon on Fridays. Office hours Monday through Thursday will remain same, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

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