The Coronavirus pandemic, now named COVID-19, is having significant impact on public events around the globe. As the number of people infected grows, organizations and institutions must discern a response, especially those that are communally focused. The congregations of the Minneapolis Area Synod are important partners within the various communities they reside, and individual members are finding themselves needing to figure out those times and places where it’s important to be careful and those times and places where it is critical to have a ministry of presence.

This web page is developed to contribute to the discernment process for leaders of synod congregations. It includes practical information from public health sources about the virus and its spread, as well as theological reflections on how to be church in times like this. It is the desire of the synod staff to provide helpful, but not overwhelming, content for consideration in the decision-making process. Each congregation has its own culture and will make its own decisions, hopefully based on listening careful to health care professions and consideration of our health care system. We hope these articles enable good conversation within the congregation.

During these times, it is vital to remember that our God is a God of faithfulness and steadfast love. It is vital to remember that we are a community of people committed to stand with those who are suffering. We are a church that faces challenges together; a church that exists for the sake of the world.

–Bishop Ann Svennungsen