By Sarah Maslowski It’s Thursday at 1:00 p.m. and a zoom meeting has begun. Not everyone is there yet because CYF staff are known more for their relational skills than their timely ones. As the group waits a few minutes, people check in with one another and begin a devotion. This group of CYF [...]
By Bishop Jen Nagel More than 800 voting members and hundreds of visitors, observers, volunteers, and staff spent last week in Phoenix at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Churchwide Assembly. From Minneapolis Area Synod, we had a group of 30 voting members and a strong contingent of others supporting the assembly’s work. [...]
By Pastor Colin Grangaard, YAGM Alum First Lutheran Church of Crystal, Brooklyn Park God speaks to each of us as he makes us, then walks with us silently out of the night. These are the words we dimly hear: You, sent out beyond your recall, go to the limits of your longing. Embody me. Flare [...]
By Pastor John Hulden I’ve been blessed to work with dozens of first call pastors. I’ve also visited with many call committees pondering calling a new seminary graduate. To get a congregation in the mindset of bringing someone new on board, I often ask: “Who helped you in your first, major, full-time job?” My hands [...]
This post is one of the monthly posts blog posts written by the deans of the conferences of the Minneapolis Area Synod. By Pastor Rhonda Hlavinka Salem English Lutheran Church, Minneapolis Dean of the Central Conference South Minneapolis Day Camp is a collaboration of more than 15 congregations that come together each summer. This [...]
This post continues the Mission Table’s “Year of Partnership” highlighting the new and strategic ministries of the Minneapolis Area Synod. Lao Evangelical Lutheran is one of the strategic ministries and worships in Robbinsdale. By Pastor Thiem Baccam Lao Evangelical Lutheran Church, Robbinsdale My name is Thiem Baccam, and I have served as the pastor of [...]
By Nicholas Tangen In 2020, Pastor John Hulden and Former Bishop Ann Svennungsen submitted a grant proposal to the Lilly Endowment called “Faith Practices & Neighboring Practices: Renewing Congregational Imagination,” envisioning a learning community in the Minneapolis Area Synod helping churches to engage spiritual practices and deepen their connection with their neighborhood. The Lilly Endowment [...]
By Bishop Jen Nagel At the end of this month, July 28 - August 2, 2025, many will gather for our Churchwide Assembly, this time in Phoenix, Arizona. Just as congregations come together for annual meetings, synods host synod assemblies, our wider church - the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (the ELCA) - meets in a churchwide [...]
This post is one of the monthly posts blog posts written by the deans of the conferences of the Minneapolis Area Synod. By Pastor Sue Olson Long Lake Lutheran Church, Isanti Dean of the Northern Conference In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, chapter 4, verses 6 & 7, we are reminded: “ 6 Do not be anxious about [...]
By Jeni Huff One thing that makes my heart so happy is seeing how churches partner together through kids’ programming throughout the summer. I see Church Together when churches offer their Vacation Bible School (VBS) decorations to other churches in the area who might have their VBS later in the summer. I smile when I [...]