We are a church that is energized by lively engagement in our faith and life.  

The synod staff will pray for these congregations and rostered leaders during their next weekly staff meeting. We invite you to include them in your prayers this week as well.

Pleasant Valley Lutheran Church, Eleva, Jason Clifton

West Akers Lutheran Church, Prairie Farm, Pastor Mark Woeltge

Installations and Ordinations

Kristine Stedje will be ordained by Bishop Rick Hoyme at Central Lutheran in Minneapolis at 11 a.m. Saturday, September 13.

Josh Toufar will be ordained by Bishop Rick Hoyme at Chetek Lutheran, Chetek, at 5 p.m. Saturday, September 13.

Last week the Rev. Donna Rutten was installed to serve at Peace Lutheran, Poplar; the Rev. Jamie Brieske was installed at Hope Lutheran, Eau Claire; and the Rev. Marilyn Crossfield was installed at First and Laketown Lutheran Churches, Cushing.

A warm welcome and blessings to all as they begin their new ministries!

Thinking about our health and the cost of health insurance -- a shared journey.

By now you probably know that there will be an 11% increase in Portico's Health and Disability contribution rates for 2015. First, I want to thank THIS SYNOD for its faithfulness in taking the Mayo Clinic Health Assessment each year in numbers that allowed us to decrease rates by 2% each year over the past 5 years. You are to be commended for this. Because our rostered leaders reached 65% participation, congregations received a 2% discount on premiums and our synod received 1% back in wellness dollars to be used for continued healthy leader incentives.

The increase in contribution rates for 2015 is due solely to increased claims. No one is to blame for this, it is what sometimes occurs when an organization takes the health of its entire community seriously and pays out accordingly. Members ought to use health care when it's needed. Still, I know this will increase stress for some. All of us; church councils, pastors, other rostered leaders, and congregations need to be understanding with each other. We bear increased health care costs together.

Sponsoring employers and plan members will be invited to begin Open Enrollment for 2015 starting September 15. At that time, both groups will be able to go online and compare their current costs to projected 2015 costs. Like last year, the synod recommends the Gold+ option. The health contribution rate is designed to share costs between the sponsoring employer and the plan member on an 80/20 basis: 80% is paid by the plan through sponsor contributions, and 20% is paid by plan members through deductibles and additional out-of-pocket costs. Be ready to sign in online at Portico. You'll make 2015 benefit selections on Employerlink ( sponsoring employers) and myPortico (sponsored plan members.) You can read more about all of this at www.porticobenefits.org