Staff Blogs

By Pastor Jen Collins

Since God chose you to be the holy people God loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. ¹³ Make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. ¹⁴ Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵ And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.By P

(Colossians 3: 12-15, New Living Translation)

In October and November, I’ve had the opportunity to engage in many 1:1 conversations, building relationships in a variety of ways, from congregants to churchwide staff leaders, to local leaders and folks along the way. This is part of my role as a pastor and as a Synod staff member. The deep investment in relationships allows me to continue to find support, to learn and grow, and to uplift our value of being Church Together. These conversations with our Minneapolis communities and beyond show me that I need the support, continued learning, and growth so that I can too support, teach, and grow with others! In the prophetic and truth telling words of Maya Angelou, “Do the best you can until you know better, then when you know better, do better.”

In a specific 1:1 conversation recently, scaffolding was used as a metaphor to speak about the continued support, learning, and growth for us as people. Scaffolding by definition is defined as a temporary structure used while building, repairing, or cleaning a building. I really appreciate this imagery as I think of our faith formation journeys and commitments to building a sense of community and collective work for common good.

Pastor Jen Collins at the ELCA Churchwide Synod Racial Justice Leaders Gathering in October

I attended the first ELCA Churchwide Synod Racial Justice Leader Gathering the last weekend of October. Racial Justice work in the Minneapolis Area Synod is a part of the portfolio I hold as Assistant to the Bishop for Congregational Vitality. At the gathering, we centered our time on relationships, rest, and reforming! The tagline for the weekend was: “Braver conversations, bolder witness…for such a time as THIS!” This time spent was so valuable. It was scaffolding for me.

This time at the gathering provided support to help one another learn new skills and be renewed and empowered for this lifetime journey. I acknowledged that we’d gradually be removing the supports, heading home, and coming back from Chicago to our home synods in order to walk with our communities, to be Church Together, and to flourish as we practice entering braver conversations and becoming bolder witnesses. I give thanks to all our leaders that weekend: ELCA Director of Racial Justice in the office of Presiding Bishop, Jennifer De Leon, and Racial Justice Manager Rev. Christina Montgomery (ELCA Racial Justice Ministries). Our keynote speakers were Robert Smith and Aja Martinez (authors of The Origins of Critical Race Theory: The people and ideas that created a movement), Kyle Williams and Kamal Carter (A Long Talk), and Rev. Lucille “CeCee” Mills (the newly-elected Secretary of the ELCA).

This concept of scaffolding applies in so many areas of faith formation. It is my hope for you — in your places and space and as followers of Jesus — you are encouraged. Whether you are a person who needs the scaffolding or you are the one putting up the scaffolding in order to guide another. May we strive wholeheartedly to continuously be learners, teachers, and mentors, where we help one another develop resilience. This takes time…

I love the space to wonder about scaffolding in this upcoming season of Advent. We have time individually and collectively to imagine the work that needs to be built, repaired, or renewed. We can enter these new days as reformer — strong, bold, committed to building a sense of community, and an active a part of the collective work for common good. “God chose you to be the holy people God loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”

I will end with this blessing for rest and renewal from Black Liturgies by Cole Arthur Riley

Go in courage to lie down, in sacred defiance of a world that would rather own your body than protect it. May you say, “no” and “I’m leaving” and “I’m not saving this,” your boundaries never predicated on apology. In a time of frenzied activity, may you choose stillness, and this breath, and this silence… and sleep, that you might dream. Amen.

To learn more about Minneapolis Area Synod Racial Justice work, visit the Racial Justice page on our website. You will find information about the MAS Racial Justice Team, resources, and dates for upcoming gatherings.

By Nicholas Tangen

Last month, we received word that the Minneapolis Area Synod would receive a “scaling grant” from the Lilly Endowment to continue and expand the work of Faith & Neighboring Practices. We are so grateful for the possibilities that this grant affords us and are looking forward to growing our team and imagining new pathways for accompanying churches as they embed themselves in the places where God has called them.

Over the past months, I’ve been struck again and again by the power and necessity of connected communities – those networks of gifts, strengths, and capacities that build resilient neighborhoods. I’m curious and committed to discovering ways that our Synod can be part of supporting those networks in churches and neighborhoods across the region, learning from neighbors across the country and right next door.

In September, I attended the World Hunger Leaders Retreat in Columbus, Ohio, for a few days of community-building and learning alongside hunger leaders from across the country. We spent one of our days visiting ministry and hunger sites across the city, connecting with neighbors, church members, and clergy committed to the common good.

I was especially inspired by the Church for All People on the South Side of Columbus – a community grounded in Asset-Based Community Development and the power of relational transformation. We spent the afternoon with Deacon Katelin Hansen who introduced us to the South Side and talked about Church for All People’s core values — a divine economy of abundance, a front porch for all people, the glass is half full, hospitality is radical, start small but start, and grace is touchable.

Grounded in these commitments, Church for All People has created an incredible network of ministries and communities contributing to the common good in Columbus. Their church began with a free store, where neighbors can shop for clothing and household goods. They run the Fresh Market, one of the largest distributors of free food in the city. And through their community, housing development organizations have contributed to the creation of more than 350 units of affordable housing. I was blown away by the incredible reach of this one faith community in their neighborhood.

It was hard to not feel overwhelmed by the scale of Church for All People’s ministry – and at points I found myself thinking, “How does one community do all this?”. But Deacon Katelin reminded us that every single bit of their work started with small steps rooted in relationship. They didn’t just suddenly open a free store, but built relationships with neighbors, institutions, and organizations that over time made the free store a possibility. They didn’t just open Fresh Market, but tended relationships with neighbors, food shelves, and non-profits, and took advantage of a liquor store going out of business to invest in property that could serve a unique and needed purpose. And they didn’t open 350 affordable housing units at once but began with one property rehabbed by church members and neighbors. Start small, but start.

I was so grateful for the reminder that so much possibility exists in neighborhoods across our country – so much possibility exists in the neighborhoods across the Minneapolis Area Synod. And it’s easy for churches to feel like they need to launch massive initiatives from scratch to be successful. But Church for All People, and hundreds of ministries like them, remind us that it all begins by taking the relationships in our neighborhoods seriously and by taking the time to build deep and mutual connections with our neighbors, especially those who don’t often get invited to the table.

Faith & Neighboring Practices is one effort in the Minneapolis Area Synod to tend to these kinds of relationships. Our niche is accompanying congregations as they take those first faithful steps out into the community. The scaling grant from the Lilly Endowment will allow us to continue and expand this ministry in our Synod, and my prayer is that we can continue learning from partners and neighbors like Church for All People, — to start small, but to start – and to trust that God’s abundance is greater than the story of scarcity that so dominates our world. Imagine what might be possible!

By Mercy Zou Taithul

What is your favorite season? I want to believe that a lot of people will say “Fall,” and I agree, I love Fall – the color of the trees/leaves, sweater weather, harvesting seasons for farmers and gardeners, and many more things that I’m sure you already named in your head. I personally enjoy hiking and long drives during this time of the year, time to appreciate this short period of beauty.

Although, it makes me wonder why Fall? Because to be honest, all seasons are beautiful. Some love summer and soaking under the sun and enjoying the lake or beach. While some love winter, being cozy inside drinking hot cocoa. Spring boasts beautiful cherry blossoms, new leaves and buds – a sense of new beginnings!

Out of all the seasons, fall is the shortest. I think that’s one of the reasons I like it so much. Because it begins and ends so quickly, I want to enjoy every moment of it. When I think of this, it makes me consider our seasons of life. Humans could live for more than one hundred years, which might sound like a very long time. But, if we compare that with those in the Old Testament, where some people lived thousands of years, it’s extremely short. I asked God sometimes, why not 200 or 300 years? Because I have fear of losing someone in my life. However, I do know deep down that the decrease in years also makes me appreciate my life, my family and friends, and love them even more.

When I first moved here, I was not used to expressing my love or feelings to my dear ones because we didn’t do that much in my culture. It felt uncomfortable and cringe sometimes. For instance, I started saying “I love you” to my family like “Goodnight mom/dad/sis/brother, love you” and their responses would be, “Ok Bye.” Even though they didn’t say it, I could still feel them saying I love you too.

In the world that we live in – the unpredictable, the jealousy, the violence, and unexpected death, I find it essential to express our love and care towards one another as we don’t know when it might be our last time to say or hear it.

I invite you to take a pause for a minute:

As you inhale, think about the world that we live in, your loved ones, people or community that you care deeply about.
Now as you exhale, ask yourself what action you could take to make this world a better place.
Inhale again, and ask yourself, why that matters to you.
Exhale and invite the Holy Spirit to guide you.  

It is tempting to react with anger when children of God are treated with inhumanity, disrespect, power, indignity from their own siblings, and it hurts, I know, it hurts. But with all these uneasy feelings, I want to remind you that YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD and we have work to do – to serve and to live our Baptism life daily (as Rev. Leila Ortiz reminded many of us at the BTC). At the Bishop’s Theological Conference in September, Bishop Jen said, “baptism – it’s not always gentle!” As we walk, live, and serve our God, the path will not always be gentle, but the Holy Spirit will always be present with us.

So again, I invite you take some deep breaths, lift up your heavy burden to God, and exhale. Then, inhale love, kindness, compassion, and patience, then exhale with a smile believing that it will get better and you will be a part of that change one step at a time.

God bless you!

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 down favorite answer to that question came from a soon-to-be-retired science teacher in North Dakota. His first teaching job right out of college was forty years earlier in a small town in far northwestern North Dakota. This was back in the day when male teachers were expected to wear a suit coat and tie.

“The first day I showed up,” this teacher recalled, “the custodian at the school took a look at me, pulled me aside and said, ‘Buddy, let me help you tie that tie.’.” What a gracious gesture to a rookie teacher! I can picture this new teacher walking into school with a badly tied tie and that deer-in-the-headlights look of a first day on the job. The custodian to the rescue.

Every new job has its unique challenges, and starting work at a church is no different.

Years ago, when I was a seminary student, somehow, someway there was talk of an unwritten rule that the out-going pastor and the in-coming pastor shouldn’t talk to each other—ever. I went along with that advice, until … after talking to pastor friends and my two older brothers (both are pastors) … we started asking “Why?”.

Why not encourage a handoff of important things to know at a congregation. Wouldn’t it be nice to know that Minnie is deaf in one ear when you bring her Holy Communion, and that you always knock on the back door when you visit Ralph? I mean, even an outgoing US President writes a letter to the incoming President and puts it in on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.

Pastor Chris (left) and Pastor Ashley (right)

I saw a great example of two pastors having a healthy relationship and boundaries when I was at a congregational visit a few weeks back. Not so much about the hand off from one pastor to another, but how we as rostered leaders can show we are really on the same team.

Several years ago, Pastor Chris Bellefeuille served in our synod at Valley of Peace in Golden Valley. She grieved leaving Valley of Peace when she accepted a call to serve a congregation in the Saint Paul Area Synod. Pastor Bellefeuille did what is expected after a pastor leaves, she didn’t say yes when her previous parishioners reached out about baptisms and weddings and funerals. She let the new pastor, Pastor Ashley Osborn, be the pastor at Valley of Peace and form all those important relationships.

Pastor Chris retired a few months ago, so Pastor Ashley invited Pastor Chris to worship at Valley of Peace. At the end of worship, Pastor Chris was invited up front for a blessing and to share a few words so her former congregation could celebrate her ministry at Valley of Peace. Lovely.

Same Team. Church Together.

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 approved the proposal and, in the fall of 2021, the first Faith Practices & Neighboring Practices learning community was launched.

Over the past five years, Faith Practices & Neighboring Practices has created a context for churches in the Minneapolis Area Synod to explore their call to be faithful neighbors. We reflect on the knowledge that God is already present and active in our neighborhoods and engage spiritual practices that help us to pay attention to what God is up to. We experiment with community engagement practices that center gifts and strengths more than problems, trusting that our communities are contexts for abundance.

We learn about and practice neighborhood walks, one-to-ones, asset-mapping, the Ignatian Examen, lectio divina, and more. And each congregation in our learning community spends three summer months planning and implementing a Neighborhood Listening Project, connecting with neighbors and discovering what God is already up to in the community where their church is located. You can learn more by watching the short video at the top of our webpage.

This project has changed a lot over the years as we continue to adjust and adapt to the questions being raised by churches and realities of life in our neighborhoods. We discover new practices, new experiences, and new questions and follow where they may be guiding us.

This year, we also made some small changes to our logo and project title. We’ve dropped one of the “Practices” from the project name and will now be simply “Faith & Neighboring Practices” – a little less of a mouthful to say. And our new logo creates some distinctiveness from the Minneapolis Area Synod logo, while maintaining a similar shape and color palette, and visually represents the marriage of faith and neighboring as two sides of one whole.

Additionally, we have just submitted a scaling grant proposal to the Lilly Endowment, which would allow us to expand the offerings and impact of Faith & Neighboring Practices for years to come. This would include further learning opportunities for congregations who have previously participated in the learning community, focused on community organizing, asset-based community development, and spiritual care, as well as coaching for churches and individuals as they deepen their connection with their neighborhood. We will be sure to announce when we’ve heard back from the Lilly Endowment about this proposal.

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Faith & Neighboring Practices 2025-2027

To date, we have worked with 30 congregations in the Minneapolis Area Synod, nearly a quarter of our synod’s 137 churches. And, beginning in September 2025, we are launching our third round of the Faith & Neighboring Practices learning community. If your congregation is curious about how God is calling you to be the neighbor in your community, please consider participating in this learning community. Some things to know:

• This is a two-year commitment (September 2025 – May 2027) with monthly cohort meetings and Fall and Spring Retreats.
• Each participating congregation organizes a team of five, including a rostered leader (Deacon or Pastor) and lay leaders representing a good cross-section of your community’s demographics. You can learn more about Participant Roles and Responsibilities here.
• You can fill out this Faith & Neighboring Practices Application to introduce us to your context and your sense of why this learning community is the right step for your church. If you would like to be part of the 2025 – 2027 learning community, please complete the application by August 15.

We hope that Faith & Neighboring Practices can help you and your congregation discern your own unique call as the neighbor in the places you live and worship. We hope that the opportunity to learn with and alongside other congregations can build community and reveal the abundance already at work across the Synod. And we hope that Faith & Neighboring Practices can help us all to engage deeply in our communities in just and healthy ways, trusting that God has gone ahead of us to make all things new.

We are grateful for the ways so many of you have engaged and embraced this call to be the neighbor and pray that we can continue to discern this call together for years to come. If you have any questions about this opportunity, please reach out to Nicholas Tangen, the Assistant to the Bishop for Faith and Neighboring.

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 see posts in Facebook groups of people sharing ideas, tips, and resources. It’s such a tangible way to be Church Together. My home church has our VBS next week and we were offered free rein of another church’s entire setup and extra craft supplies before they cleaned up, and it will make such a huge impact for our program and volunteers!

I see Church Together when churches partner together for ecumenical day camp for a week every summer. South Minneapolis Day Camp is happening this week, and it is “a progressive ecumenical day camp experience offering faith formation in a fun, safe, Christ-centered and relational setting.” This camp is sponsored by Our Saviour’s Lutheran, Bethel Lutheran, Bread of Life Deaf Lutheran, Calvary Lutheran, First Christian (Disciples of Christ), First Congregational UCC, Diamond Lake Lutheran, Judson Memorial Baptist, University Lutheran Church of Hope, Salem Lutheran Uptown, St. John’s Lutheran, Lyndale UCC, Lake of the Isles Lutheran, Nokomis Heights Lutheran, Living Table UCC, Lynnhurst UCC, Christ Church Lutheran, Spirit of St. Stephen’s Catholic Community, Lake Nokomis Lutheran, and Messiah Lutheran. They have 109 Kindergarten – 8th graders, 20 high school mentors, 39 adult volunteers, and more than 15 church staff/pastors serving each day. Wow! What a cool way of partnering across denominations with a focus on Jesus and creating beloved community.

I see Church Together in the Synod’s Summer Youth Program. Mission Support dollars from Minneapolis Area Synod congregations help fund Summer Youth Program grants for summer programs in under-resourced neighborhoods and churches. Sometimes, the only way these churches can provide these transformational programs is through partnerships and by being Church Together.

I see Church Together when I see volunteers of all ages at these summer programs. At my church’s VBS, we have people serving who are as young as sixth grade all the way to our 82-year-old kitchen extraordinaire. Last year, Mavis* volunteered with snack prep and she told me that she volunteered because she doesn’t have kids or grandkids that are VBS age anymore and she wants to stay connected with what this generation is going through, learning, and needing prayer for. What a beautiful reason to volunteer.

We are officially into summer now, and summer stretch, day camp, and VBS programs are happening (and after that, many will start to think about fall programming). I encourage you and your congregation to think of ways you can be Church Together. Can you share resources with another congregation? Can you do some programs with another church nearby (like RALY in Richfield)? Can you share space with ecumenical partners (like SpringHouse and New Branches)? Or, more internally, can you encourage volunteers across the generations and find ways for everyone to get involved?

We’re better when we’re together.

By Pastor Ryan Fletcher 

Beginning my new role as the Synod’s Director for Evangelical Mission (DEM), I have been surprised by the number of building conversations that I have had. Leaders have asked questions about creative building use, imaginative community partnerships, and more. Stewardship is part of what I do, so I am grateful for the engagement. I am especially grateful that leaders encountering the decline of inherited institutions are choosing curiosity and mission over the temptation to despair.

Standing in the temple beside tables freshly overturned, Jesus says, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). It is easy to imagine Jesus, still flush with anger, chest heaving from the strenuous labor of rebuking the faithless. For church leaders living in this age of crumbling temples and fear of decline, the threat of falling stones is all too real. Jesus’ zeal for mission and ministry is wonderful, but what are leaders to do with the temples they have inherited? What does Jesus say to church councils and committees looking to steward gifts of property and wealth for the sake of his mission in this world?

Pastor Ryan at the mentioned training with the other ELCA DEMs

At a recent ELCA gathering focused on newly revitalized and thriving churches, the presenter was asked to name the essential gift that these vibrant communities shared. Without hesitating, he smiled like a Cheshire cat and said, “They have the gift of desperation. They have all discovered the freedom Christ leads us into when our inherited institutions begin to fall.”

Listening to communities that have reimagined and reinvented themselves, the fullness of Jesus’ words is revealed. He comes not simply to rebuke and tear down. He comes to raise up and rebuild. He comes to people with the gift of desperation and frees them to dream new dreams and pursue new visions. Stewardship is the practice of holy imagination. It is the faith to believe that in Christ, our desperation is a gift.

Leaders often approach the stewardship of property and wealth as a conversation that takes place within their community. This inward focus tends to overburden leaders and limits creativity. My goal in promoting stewardship, as the DEM, is to connect leaders and help communities grow their capacity for holy imagination. There are great resources like Rooted Good’s Futures Accelerator that can help churches approach building use playfully. And I recommend Stewardship for All Seasons, a comprehensive two-year stewardship program for congregations that begins in May.

Beyond decline, Christ calls us to steward our gifts with creativity and imagination. This is work that we do best together. If you are looking for resources or simply have the “gift of desperation,” I would love to talk with you more.