News and Events

News and Events

Saint Paul Area Synod
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

February 10, 2014

2014 Conference Assemblies
List of nominees now available

The six conferences of the synod met in assembly on Saturday, Feb. 8 at St. Andrew's, Mahtomedi to elect nominees for the office of bishop of the Saint Paul Area Synod. Following a series of ballots and prayerful deliberation by each conference, a total of 49 individuals was nominated with nine moving forward as finalists.

The full list of nominees and information about the bishop election process going forward can be found on the bishop election homepage.

A confirmed list of candidates and biographical information about each of them will be available by mid-March.

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ELCA launches five-year comprehensive campaign:

"Always being made new"

For the first time in its 25-year history, the ELCA will take on a campaign to give each of us the opportunity to make a transformational impact on the ministries of our church. Approved by the 2013 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Pittsburgh, this five-year, $200 million campaign will:

Increase this church's capacity to support congregational renewal and the planting of new congregations,
Form and support new lay, ordained and global leaders for mission,
Encourage and form lay youth and young adult leaders,
Support this church's disability ministry,
Bolster our commitment to walk with global companion churches in shared witness, and
Expand our efforts to address poverty and hunger.

For more information on how you and your congregation can get involved, please visit www.elca.org/campaign.

Tool Kit is less than two weeks away! Are you signed up?

Tool Kit for Congregational Leaders is annual event that gives leaders in your congregation the opportunity to hear a message from Bishop Rogness, network with other leaders, and address the nuts and bolts of leadership in congregations.

Registration deadline is Feb. 18

Workshops are filling up fast so register today to ensure your top picks! Click the icon below to register. Cost is $20 per person. More information.

Find this event on Facebook!

Mission Intent Forms: Have you sent yours in yet?

Thus far, we have received a meager number of mission intent forms. Thankfully, filling out and submitting your mission intent forms is easy! You can either complete the form online (PDF) and submit it via email; or fill it in manually and send to the synod office at 105 University Ave W. St. Paul, MN 55103.

In addition, make sure to complete your annual ministry and congregational reports by this Saturday, Feb. 15!

Links to these forms can be found at right>>>

New Seasonings of the Synod
Act 2Day 4Tomorrow

Yes, I did put the numbers in there purposefully.

The latest Seasonings of the Synod hunger blog features a new resource from ELCA World Hunger with this same name based on Acts 2:42 which illustrates the activities and behavior of the early disciples. And, hunger blogger, Vernita Kennen has a creative idea of how you can use it in your congregation...Continue reading

Seasonings of the Synod provides food for thought from the Saint Paul Area Synod's Hunger Work Group. More at www.spas-elca.org/seasoningsofthesynod.

From Presiding Bishop Eaton
Learning to speak a hard truth:
Needle barely moved on ELCA becoming a diverse church

Consider this: how many of you are left-handed? Of those of you who are, how many times a day are you reminded that you are left-handed? [...] Now, how many of you are right-handed? Chances are you never have to think about being right-handed. Most of us are right-handed. The world is set up for right-handed people. This isn't necessarily bad. It just is.

The problem starts when the practical application of an economy of scale slides into a value judgment, when the majority's physical characteristic shifts from an objective fact to a subjective model of what is proper and good [...] I use this illustration as a way to start to look at some of the complicated issues involved in this church's uneven, and still incomplete, effort to be a truly diverse and multicultural people. Continue reading...

This column originally appeared in the February issue of The Lutheran. Reprinted with permission.

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