Staff Blogs

By Pastor John Hulden

I witnessed two baptisms last Sunday. Thanks to Edina Community and Oak Grove Lutheran churches for the privilege of joining you in welcoming two adorable babies, Isaac and Gordon, to “the body of Christ and the mission we share.”

Water and the Word: Promises are made by parents and by sponsors and by the church family; and a bigger promise from God. Baptism is simple and deep. Water is life: It sustains and washes us. Water is death: Our sinful self is drowned. Water and the Word is death into life: We rise up out of the water to a new life in Christ.

“We got simple, … and simple made us go deep.”

Throughout the millennia human beings have walked on this little blue ball spinning around the minor star we call the sun, humans have only settled down and stayed where there was water. After humans found community with one another near the water, most every tribe and nation made some sort of bread for sustenance and some sort of wine for celebration. No wonder Jesus started us with two simple sacraments, … with stuff that is readily available whenever we get together. Keep it simple.

The Minneapolis Star newspaper in 1938 was one of the first, if not the first, to publish a story on K.I.S.S.: “Keep it short and simple.” (Thanks, Wikipedia.) Although I don’t know about you, I always heard it as “Keep it Simple Stupid” — probably from my dad. The KISS principle has been an effective design tool for quite some time.

Does the KISS principle apply to what we do as church? As followers of Jesus?

WE CAN EXPERIENCE the joy of a baptism, the deep meaning of going up with empty hands to receive the bread and wine, … and, at the same time, worry about lower attendance numbers and church budgets fraught with unknowns. When I was a kid, my parents — and my friends’ parents — didn’t have many societal options on Sunday mornings, … or Wednesday evenings, either. Today when folks show up at worship, they might be turning down a myriad of other events tugging at their calendars and to-do lists. Yet folks still show up to church for splashing water, breaking bread, and wine poured … for you and me.

“The KISS principle has been an effective design tool for quite some time.”

Perhaps keeping it simple is a way forward.

These last two years Nick Tangen, Maya Bryant, and I have been walking with leaders of a dozen congregations as we learn together what it means to work on Faith Practices and Neighboring Practices (FPNP). As leaders, we started out a little too complicated. … Then we got simple, … and simple made us go deep. KISS.

AS SOME OF YOU might know, I love reading church newsletters. Here are some excerpts from three church newsletters. Pastors in Faith Practices and Neighboring Practices (FPNP) wrote about what they were learning, … keeping it simple.

Pastor Jason Wahlstrom, Holy Nativity Lutheran, New Hope (July 2022)

“Our team has been hard at work learning new faith practices and ways that we can better connect with our neighbors. This summer we are engaging in a summer listening campaign, a way that we can listen to our neighbors and get to know them better. We have chosen the families in our Holy Nativity Christian Child Care Center as a group we would like to know better. One of the things we have had to wrap our minds around, however, is that we are doing this simply for the sake of knowing our neighbors better. There is no ulterior motive. We are not asking anything of those we are listening to. We have no expectations. We simply desire to know them better. At first, this seemed kind of confusing, as simple as it sounds. This is because we have been trained to believe that any “program” of the church should have a purpose. It should have goals. We should be able to measure success. That is not the case for this effort, and it has been hard for us to let go of those old ideas.

“For so long, the church has believed that success or failure could be measured. This has usually been done by measuring average weekly worship attendance. For whatever reason, that number was the be all and end all of success or failure. I believe that can no longer be the sole measurement tool when it comes to success of the church. The relationships we build with each other and with our neighbors is perhaps a much more important measurement. But perhaps we shouldn’t be measuring at all. When we focus too much of our energy on worrying about whether something was a success or whether it was worth it or not, we lose track of what is important. If we strengthened our relationship with one person, with one neighbor, then that is enough.”

Pastor Rhonda Hlavinka, Salem English Lutheran, Minneapolis (May-June 2023)

“At first, we just practiced breathing and silence — because our world is not all that conducive to either. Then we practiced lectio divina — listening to scripture and prayer of all kinds. We practiced listening, storytelling, and listening to stories. We practiced asking good questions and answering good questions. We practiced cultural competency, disrupting racism, and organizing. We practiced spiritual direction and being community. We practiced recognizing toxic charity, abundance, asset mapping, and dreaming. We practiced a lot of things. …

“I will not say that ‘practice makes perfect,’ … that’s just not true. But perfect isn’t what we are reaching for. Last Sunday the reach was to make a visitor feel welcomed and valued, … and because of all the practicing this community has done, you did it masterfully.

“We are going to be doing some practicing together in the months ahead. … [A]nd if some of it feels counter-cultural, I assure you it is. But it is also good. These practices are all based in exactly what I saw happen on Sunday in church, … being present, paying attention, listening, holding space, and welcoming.

“Practice has made you great at community and welcome. I look forward to practicing more of this with you.”

Pastor Ryan Fletcher, Christ Memorial Lutheran, Plymouth (May 2023)

“Over the past two years, a team of leaders at Christ Memorial has been learning about listening to the Spirit through the synods Faith Practices and Neighboring Practices program. My hope and expectation is that we will continue to use these practices in the years ahead. Finding ways to listen more deeply to one another and to our neighbors allows the Spirit to build up and renew our community. …. Nick Tangen offers three simple questions that church communities can begin to use not only in planning meetings but also in simple conversations with community members new and old. These are the questions:

1. What are a few things you do well enough that you could teach someone else?
2. What are some things you want to learn that you don’t know about now?
3. Is there anyone else in the community whose gifts you really appreciate?

“Notice the intention behind each of these questions. The first question identifies a person’s gifts. The second question invites curiosity and the possibility of connecting people to the gifts of the community in the future. The third question helps name people to connect with for follow-up conversations and further listening. …

“Our time in the FPNP program is coming to an end, but these life-giving practices of listening to the Spirit speak through the community have only just begun.”

By Pastor Norma Malfatti

“Take a break …
Run away with us for the summer.
Let’s go upstate …
There’s a lake I know
In a nearby park.”
                   –Eliza to Alexander Hamilton in Hamilton: An American Musical

This snippet from Hamilton has been running through my head “non-stop” (pun intended) for the last week. I’m scheduled to take a sabbatical this summer and I cannot tell if this song is on mental repeat because the time is drawing near or if I’m just being reminded that breaks are good things. If I’m honest, it’s probably a little of both.

Growing up, I was always fascinated with God’s decision to rest after creating things for six days. What did God do when resting? Wasn’t God needed in caring for creation? If God was supposed to love us all the time and always hear and answer our prayers, what happened when God was resting?

“For God in the creation story, it seems that rest was not a pause for the sake of doing nothing but a time of reflection, gratitude, and blessing.”

My young mind could already see the contradictions in Scripture wanting to poke at them. I took seriously what my Sunday School teachers, pastors, and parents taught me – that the Bible is the source and norm of our faith. But if this were true, why did different parts of Scripture say opposite things, how was I to know which was right and which was wrong?

We know that Scripture was written by specific humans, inspired by God’s Spirit, at specific times in their lives as they sought to understand who God is. For the writer(s) of the creation story, they understood that part of who God, and what it means to create, is to rest. Genesis 2:2-4 tells us that God finished the work God had done, not completed all of the creating there was to do, but had finished the work thus far. When God rested, God blessed that day and made it holy.

IN A DISCUSSION with a friend about this, we wondered if resting was a creative act in itself or if resting was necessary for re-engaging creative work. In true Lutheran fashion we decided the answer was “yes.” For God in the creation story, it seems that rest was not a pause for the sake of doing nothing but a time of reflection, gratitude, and blessing. The rest was fertile ground for what was to come next – the ongoing and ever evolving relationship with humanity and all of creation.

“When God rested, God blessed that day and made it holy.”

So, what would it look like if we looked at rest like this? Not a moment of dropping onto the couch from exhaustion at the end of the night and flipping on mindless TV, but an opportunity to reflect and give thanks for all that was; a time to dream about what could be.

I’m not saying that your work, or mine, does not cause you to be bone-tired and that summoning up energy to reflect or dream seems out of reach. But, what if you did have that energy and space? What kind of creativity and possibilities might the Spirit stir up in you?

By Maya Bryant

Spring is often associated with rebirth, the bringing of new life after the quiet of winter. Although, I can’t help but find myself continuing to think about the ending, or death, of things. Just less than two weeks have passed since Synod Assembly ended – an event which synod staff work tirelessly for months on – and in just a blink of an eye, we’re moving on to the next one, no doubt a daunting task with the bishop’s election also at hand.  

My brother just finished his junior year at the University of Minnesota Duluth. He’s got one year left before he graduates with a degree in History. He’ll be the first man on my father’s side of the family to graduate from college. He arrived home on May 1.  

“Like spring, though, I find myself somewhere in between.”

His arrival sparked a grief in me that I did not immediately understand. It was only after I sat with it for a while that I noticed why I had these feelings; the pandemic took a lot of things from many people. One of the things it took from me was a college graduation. I never got a cap and gown, I never got to walk across the stage. I never even got to say goodbye to some of my best friends, as I went to an out-of-state college. The end of some of the best moments of my life were gone in less than 48 hours.  

But, I had to move on. I had to pick myself up and figure out how to finish my degree from home. I had to find a job that did not put me in potential harm’s way as COVID was spreading across this country. And I had to grow, to change.  

THIS WEEKEND IS ALSO the final retreat with our learning community of Faith Practices & Neighboring Practices (FPNP). The FPNP team has been grieving in their own ways: Director Nick Tangen is grumbling about (and avoiding) the sadness he obviously feels. (Nick, if you’re reading this, we all know you’re sad, it’s okay.) Pastor John Hulden, projecting excitement, always is looking forward to the next thing.  

Like spring, though, I find myself somewhere in between. I’m sad to no longer see these cohorts on a regular basis, sad that our time gliding closely alongside them is coming to an end. However, I find myself quite excited for what comes next. A new group of congregations, a different energy, and a renewed curriculum for new personalities will challenge us in new ways.  

And just like that, it will be on to the next. Our Groundswell Learning Summit is on June 3, so preparations are underway. It’s a sort of spring awakening. As one thing ends, another thing begins. (If you’re someone who has not yet participated in the cohort, and are interested in attending the Summit, please click here for information.)  

“I’m sad to no longer see these cohorts on a regular basis, sad that our time gliding closely alongside them is coming to an end. However, I find myself quite excited for what comes next.”

This learning community that we’ve been a part of for the past two years has been an utter privilege and joy, and I’m so happy that I got to meet all of the people involved. I thank every member of this community, watching them learn and grow, talking with them about their successes and failures. And to our applicants for the next cohort, a new adventure awaits you. It will be long; but I assure you, it will fly by. I hope that you will have as much fun and find as much inspiration as our previous learning community did.  

Spring has sprung, and that means we must start looking ahead. Thank God for that.  

By Bob Hulteen

In Minnesota Prince may be royalty, but in the Lutheran church the bishop is … Hmm, what is the bishop? (I’ll start an answer below.)

The 2023 Minneapolis Area Synod Assembly just concluded a day or so ago. The Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III lit up the room with his inspiring oratory, using scripture to challenge us to be healers of the breach for those who are in (literal) bondage. We debated, sometimes contentiously, real-world issues that confront us civil and ecclesial beings. We expressed concern over a budget that appears to be in a slow-burning decline. And, we ate some great food from Afro Deli, whose owner, Abdirahman Kahin, was just yesterday named national Small Business Owner of the Year.

“The election of a bishop is a call process.”

In her report to the assembly, Bishop Ann Svennungsen mentioned two important things to remember about the upcoming year:

1. Her term comes to an end next year, so we will be working on the election of a new bishop at next year’s assembly, which will be held May 2-4. (The MAS Constitution limits a bishop to two full terms.)
2. She still has goals to accomplish and responsibilities to carry out; she isn’t done yet. (Or, as she said in her best Monty Python voice, “I’m not dead yet.”)

I’ll let her say more about her goals for the next year in her upcoming blogs. But, it is good for us all to get on the same page when it comes to the duties of the bishop and the process for the election.

WHAT DOES A bishop do? What is a bishop called to do? What are her responsibilities?

Well, the Synod Constitution in S8.10 (page 21) delineates some important details about the election and role of a bishop, including the many and varied gifts and skills desired/required. A pre-requisite to being bishop, of course, is being a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the ELCA. And, the bishop of a synod is elected by the voting members at the synod assembly.

Below is just a smattering of the responsibilities (enough to make anyone reconsider wanting to accept the call to be bishop):

• Preach, teach, and administer the sacraments
• Have primary responsibility for the ministry of Word and Sacrament in synod congregations
• Providing pastoral care to pastors and deacons
• Power to ordain approved candidates
• Attest letters of call for persons called to serve congregations
• Install or designate someone else to install rostered ministers
• Interpret and advocate the mission and theology of the whole church
• Submit a report to the synod assembly about the synod’s life and work
• Advise and counsel synod-related organizations and institutions
• Administer processes for the resolution of controversies and the disciple of rostered leaders or congregations of the synod
• Serve as chief ecumenical officer of the synod
• Consult with other synodical bishops
• Foster awareness of the global Lutheran church
• Serve as president of the synod corporation
• Ensure adherence to the constitution and bylaws of the synod
• Supervise the work of the synod’s officers and staff
• Be a member of each synod committee
• Maintain synodical rosters, including informing the synod council of rostered leaders on leave from call
• Maintain records for Churchwide by informing the secretary of the ELCA about roster changes
• Provide a register of the congregations of the synod and maintain a list of lay leaders

Whew!

What do voting members (rostered and lay) need to keep in mind when thinking about a new bishop? Well, it is a call process, so the types of questions that come up when calling a pastor would also be legitimate in thinking about a bishop. What balance of skills, gifts, and interests are needed for the synod now? How do pastoral care, public engagement, theological agility, ecclesial familiarity, and administrative sensitivity fit together to meet the needs of the moment?

WHAT’S THE PROCESS for electing a bishop? Again, the Synod Constitution lays out a number of details, broadly in Section S9 (page 29), and with great specificity in Section S9.04.02 (page 31). The Synod Council will elect a Bishop Election Committee (BEC) consisting of seven members (though there is precedence for including two alternates) at its first meeting after the synod assembly previous to the election. The BEC oversees the entire nomination and election process, working in conjunction with the vice president and assembly planning committees.

The BEC prepares informational materials about the synod and the election process to be distributed to voting members of the synod at least 90 days prior to the synod assembly.

“In addition to pre-nominations by conference, there will also be a nominating ballot at synod assembly wherein other names may be added at that point.”

Each of the 12 conferences of the Minneapolis Area Synod can pre-nominate three persons at their conference assembles (that are held at least 60 days before the assembly). The vice president of the synod contacts each person nominated to determine willingness to be considered. Each candidate will provide background material that will be sent to assembly voting members 30 days before the assembly.

And, with a nod toward the last-minute machinations of the Holy Spirit, there will also be a nominating ballot at synod assembly wherein other names may be added at that point. The BEC will provide a nominations form and a process for nomination; it must include prior contact between the nominator and the nominee to ensure interest. The BEC will also follow the process provided in the Constitution concerning the election weekend itself, including informing voting members about the number of nominees on each ballot and the threshold required for an election.

IN ADDITION TO THE process of the election, the current bishop and leadership of the synod must ensure that there are sufficient funds for the transition; a plan for overlap with the current bishop; a process for hiring new staff; and opportunities for the bishop-elect to meet colleagues, ecumenical and interfaith leaders, institutional partners, and current synod council members.

The ELCA Conference of Bishops has recently written “Transition Guidelines for the Election of a Synod Bishop” to aid in planning prior to the election and in preparing the transfer of leadership duties and responsibilities. It suggests forming a transition team, much like a congregation might do between pastors. It addresses administrative concerns and staffing suggestions. It also encourages the previous bishop to clear up existing conflicts and misconduct issues before leaving the Office of the Bishop.

Well, that’s a lot of detail. So, let’s close with a joke: A bishop walks into a bar and she walks straight up to the bartender who shouts, “Hey! You can’t do that. Bishops can only move diagonally!” Maybe the most important thing is that we do move.

By Nicholas Tangen

When I was a kid, I often struggled in school. My grades rarely rose above a C average, and the end of every semester was a mad dash to complete dozens of assignments that had been lost to history or the bottom of my backpack. I survived because I was a decent test-taker and a competent writer. But my school experience, and a lot of my experience in workplace settings over the years, left me feeling like a failure – hopelessly disorganized and incompetent.  

Then, about a year ago, I was diagnosed with ADHD and an entirely new internal and external conversation became possible. I never had the external hyperactivity that so often leads to an ADHD diagnosis, so it’s no surprise that it took so long for me to get clear on what was happening with my brain and my experience trying to keep things straight.  

“Anxiety and I are old friends.”

My hyperactivity shows up as inattentiveness and an internal panoply of conversations that make it difficult to attend to the things I need or want to. Time is a mystery to me, a nebulous something that I either never have enough of or lose myself in for hours at a time. About twice a month someone calls me from the location we agreed to meet to ask if we are still meeting, the consequence of me not writing something down and convincing myself that I’ll remember it. What a cute idea. Anxiety and I are old friends, and I feel like I’m constantly reminding myself to breathe, take it easy, and to remember it’s not that bad.  

THIS PAST YEAR, I’ve been trying to get a better understanding of what it means to live with a brain that works a little bit differently in a world built for “neurotypical” brains. I wish I could say that the diagnosis solved everything, that I got the medication and counseling I need and now can function like I often feel I am expected to. But that isn’t the case.  

Instead, after years of fighting my brain, I’m allowing myself to get curious about what would happen if I worked with it and embraced the creative chaos of an ADHD mind. And, in this learning and alongside the work I am lucky to do with Faith Practices & Neighboring Practices I have found a set of ponderings, questions, and curiosities that I think the church could benefit from reflecting on.  

1. Working with an ADHD brain often means following, within reason, the sudden bursts of curiosity and yes, even distraction, with some hope that what is found along the way will contribute something beautiful to my life and work. In my experience, churches can often get stuck in a need for certainty and predictability. We want to make our commitments at the beginning of the church year and then work our plan to produce predictable results. But the Holy Spirit is not what I’d call predictable, nor are our neighborhoods and communities.

   What would it look like for congregations to allow ourselves to get creatively distracted by the ways that God is suddenly showing up in our communities? Can we hold our strategic plans loosely enough to respond to the unpredictability of the Holy Spirit? Are we able to pivot quick and chase the Holy Spirit’s activity like a dopamine hit?
    

2. I am slowly realizing that my ADHD brain can do incredibly creative and intentional work if I simply do less with more intention. Want to see someone with ADHD crumble? Come hang with me at the end of a week where I overcommitted myself, believing that my worth and success is somehow tied to how much I do and produce. That’s when my brain slams on the brakes and says, “That’s it, we’re not doing anything! Let’s try again next week.”

   Coming out of the experience of the past three years and returning to a “neurotypical” world that values production, the endless pursuit of more, and lionizes people who work themselves into exhaustion is a trip. And I think our churches are sensing how unsustainable this practice is.

What if our churches had the hard conversations about what we are going to stop doing? What if we were honest about our capacities and what actually contributes to a sense of aliveness in our communities? We’re not helping ourselves by pretending that congregational vitality always means more. In this moment in our history, I’m convinced our call is actually to do less with great love and compassion. I want to see our strategic plans begin with this question: “What are we not going to do this year?”

3. Sin boldly so grace may abound! Leaning into the reality of an ADHD brain means letting go of any fantasy of perfection.

The most consistent practice I have is starting over. For years I felt myself fighting this reality, demanding perfection and production and then punishing myself for not achieving it. Does that sound familiar? How many of our churches get stuck in the perfectionism loop?

What if leaders of our congregations asked themselves regularly how to respond graciously and compassionately when, not if, our plans fail or turn out differently than we intended? We are communities of flawed and unique human beings trying to live out the Gospel of grace in a world that demands perfection. Let’s lean in, make a mess of things in love, and laugh at ourselves knowing that God’s got us.  

“As engaged church leaders, we’re not helping ourselves by pretending that congregational vitality always means doing more.”

I’m eager to see what might happen by trying to work with my ADHD brain, rather than expecting myself to be something and someone that I’m not. I’m eager also to see our churches embrace the same. What kind of freedom and creativity might we find if we embrace who we are – not who we were, or who we think we ought to be? I mean, it will be messy and a bit chaotic, to be sure. But I have faith that we might also experience a renewed sense of vocation, creativity, and presence. I think we might also find … oh, shoot, I’m late for a meeting! 

By Pastor Hans Lee

In October of last year, I decided to reach out to Pastor John Hulden to let him know of my openness to and interest in serving as an interim pastor, after having taken some time off (testing out retirement).

About a month later I received a call from Bishop Ann, who surprisingly asked me if I would consider coming to the Synod Office to serve as her Executive Assistant on an interim basis. Really? Despite my hesitation and after giving fair warning that I really wasn’t qualified, I agreed to help out for a couple months, beginning in January of this year.

“I was grateful to hear the gospel proclaimed in a way that didn’t dismiss the reality of suffering.”

Then the unimaginable happened. My life, and the life of my family, was turned upside down on December 14, 2022, when our precious 3½ month old granddaughter, Lucy Jo, died in her sleep. She was perfect and healthy, and there is nothing in the world that could have prepared her parents, and all of us, for this tragedy.

I’m writing this blog on the fifth day of Easter. Easter Sunday was hard, but I got myself to worship. Some of my family members just couldn’t do Easter worship this year, but I was grateful to hear the gospel proclaimed in a way that didn’t dismiss the reality of suffering.

GRIEF IS A LONG AND arduous journey. We don’t fill the void, but maybe learn to live with it. I’ve appreciated what Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote not long before he was executed in 1944; here’s an excerpt: “There is nothing , that can replace the absence of someone dear to us, and one should not even attempt to do so… but gratitude transforms the torment of memory into silent joy. One bears what was lovely in the past not as a thorn but as a precious gift deep within, a hidden treasure of which one can always be certain.” In a strange way, feelings of gratitude — for family and friends who have been powerfully present — have washed over me these past few months, and I hope that one day gratitude really does “transform the torment of memory [of Lucy Jo] into silent joy.”

I considered backing out of the commitment I made to Bishop Ann in November. I was scheduled to start this interim position less than three weeks after Lucy died. I decided to give it a try, not so I could push the grief aside, but to see what it was like outside my circle of mourners. I had no idea what would happen. Would I start one day and quit the next? Maybe.

“I decided to give the interim position a try, not so I could push the grief aside, but to see what it was like outside my circle of mourners.”

The plan was for me to be in the office for two months, which became two-and-a-half months, which became thee months, and now came to an end at the end of last week. I’m glad I did it, and I’m glad to add the Minneapolis Area Synod staff to those people for whom I am grateful!

By Pastor John Hulden

This blog is written for you church leaders. How are you doing after Holy Week and Easter? How are you really? Thanks for all you did to make Lent and Easter worship happen at your setting. Now that we are in the season of Easter, it is a good time to check in on your wellbeing.

At our ministerium last month, our guest speaker was Matt Bloom. Wait, what’s a ministerium? It’s when our synod’s pastors and deacons gather for a Sunday morning experience on a Thursday. We worship. We have coffee hour (that’s not really an hour). We have an education hour — the spring one was with Matt Bloom.

“When we are connected, we can process the good, bad, and the ugly with people working the same jobs.”

Who is Matt Bloom? He’s a professor who has been studying and teaching about wellbeing for more than 20 years.

At our ministerium, Matt Bloom first shared a simple way to check in on your daily wellbeing. At the end of the day, on a paper calendar, quickly reflect on your day. Was it a good day? Put a smiley face on today’s calendar square. Was it a bad day? Put a frowny face. For our well-being, we need more good days than bad days. Scientific studies demonstrate, and Matt has seen and participated in this research, the wellbeing ratio is 3:1. If I have three good days to one bad day, then I’m doing ok. Bad days take more time for recovery.

If your week or month has as many bad days as good days, something needs to change. What kind of change? Small changes are best. Big changes are risky and small changes tend to last.

ANOTHER DIMENSION OF well-being is resilience. There will be ups and downs, so we need to refuel. Three things that bring our resilience capacity back up are building into our lives: 1) a way to detach, 2) a way to relax, and 3) a way to grow. Take a moment to think about this: Outside of work, what’s your favorite way to detach? to relax? to grow?

Matt also shared about how meaning (your core values and beliefs) and self-integrity (your sense of worth) influence your wellbeing.

Then Matt shared about the “fifth dimension” of wellbeing — and I’m not talking about that cool musical group from the sixties that sang “Aquarius” and “Up-Up And Away.”

Matt Bloom presents on resiliency and connectedness at the 2023 MAS Spring Ministerium. More than 100 rostered leaders participated in the event.

Some of y’all who have seen me at synod events will know that I can’t help talking about the importance of Peer Groups with anyone that has a desk at a church: pastors, deacons, musicians, communicators, administrators, faith formation leaders, and more. It’s a wonderful thing for people with the same weird job to get together to pray, support, and learn together in a peer group.

Well, I got schooled on the importance of peer groups at last month’s ministerium. And I loved it!

“If your week or month has as many bad days as good days, something needs to change.”

The fifth dimension of wellbeing is connectedness. This is where I heard there is scientific evidence that peer groups are really, really, good for you. Besides relying on our “Significant Others” (friends, family, life partners), we need “Similar Others.” When we are with similar others, i.e. peer groups, we can be more fully ourselves.

When we are connected, we can process the good, bad, and the ugly with people working the same jobs. In a peer group of similar others, we can try out ideas in a safe place. When we are in good company, we can truly rest and relax.

So, start a peer group! There’s information about how to do so on a synod web page.

And Matt pointed us to a wellbeing survey — only nine questions. You can check out the survey yourself.

Blessings to you these weeks of Easter. And, here in Minnesota, we finally have some spring weather to match!

I pray for your wellbeing. Remember you are a good and capable person. The God-who-rose-Jesus-from-the-dead loves you no matter what.

By Pastor Craig Pederson

One of my best friends was born on April 1. We were classmates for our entire K – 12^th grade experience and I went to all of his birthday parties. We still stay in touch today.

His responses to his fateful date of birth evolved as we moved through those growing-up years. In elementary school, he was rather defensive – understandably so, because he took a lot of teasing for it. “I AM NOT A FOOL!” he would huff at those poking fun at him, sometimes storming out of the room when he got too angry.

But in our junior and senior high years, he moved from a posture of defensiveness to one of nonchalance, and even good-natured humor. “I’m so glad I picked this date to be born!,” and “if the calendar tells me I’m a fool, I must be a fool!” were some of his well-developed comeback lines. I’m sure he takes some ribbing even as a middle-aged adult, but I have no doubt he handles it with grace.

“I figured at some point in history, someone would have looked at the foolish story of Christ and thought it was worthy of a day apart from the Resurrection itself.”

I’ve never given much thought to the reason and timing of April Fool’s Day. My brief, unscientific research did not yield entirely convincing or conclusive findings.

Some historians trace it to the Roman festival of “Hilaria” (as in, that’s hilarious!), which is around March 25. This is the date when the vernal equinox signals that the day becomes longer than the night – meaning it must be time for celebration and trickery!

Others tie April Fool’s to the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar during the Council of Trent in France 1563. This moved New Year’s Day from April 1 (spring equinox) to January 1. Word was slow to travel in those days (since they somehow lived without social media!), so those who lived in a three-month haze not knowing when to celebrate the New Year were called “April fools.”

I GUESS I ALWAYS had some vague sense that April Fool’s Day must be linked to Easter. I figured at some point in history – either from within the church or as a critique of the church – someone would have looked at the foolish story of Christ and thought it was worthy of a day apart from the Resurrection itself.

Some churches celebrate “Holy Humor Sunday” the week after Easter, where the joke is on the devil for thinking he could keep Jesus in the grave. But that basks in the after-the-fact miracle that Jesus was raised from the dead.

“I’ve never given much thought to the reason and timing of April Fool’s Day.”

What about the foolishness that led up to that miracle?

• A man called “Son of God” and “Son of Man” drew large crowds by teaching about love and patience and forgiveness, yet he was always on the run from religious and political leaders who saw him as a threat.
• He called himself “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” who brought healing and hope and inclusion to outcasts on the margins, yet he is scolded by those closest to him as lacking empathy and presence in their time of need.
• He was labeled as a king, but in his final week he was convicted in a sham trial with no followers rising to defend him – in fact, they got defensive at the suggestion that they even knew him (Peter three times!).
• He hung on a cross in isolation and shame, in the midst of a community that did not know what to make of this foolish man who gave himself up.

The apostle Paul said, “the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18).  As we approach Holy Week, the calendar tells me I’m a fool – so I must be.

By Pastor Norma Malfatti

Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? Isaiah 43:18-19a NRSV

I’ve been thinking a lot about death and resurrection lately. It’s probably no surprise, given that we’re just weeks away from Holy Week. However, I’ve been thinking less about human mortality and God’s baptismal promises and more about what might need to be released (die) to make way for the new things God is doing (resurrection).

This seems to be the story of the church right now. Faith communities across the country are wondering if pre-COVID ministries should, or even could, return. Other congregations are wondering if the ministries they started during COVID should continue or need to be adapted for this new reality we’re in. Still others are trying to catch a glimpse of where the Holy Spirit is calling them next, ready to throw caution to the wind and follow.

These decisions are hard and fraught with emotions: grief, nostalgia, hope. And that is all besides the deep exhaustion many of us still feel from having lived through the last three years and the constant need to innovate ways to connect with people.

“Your congregation’s core values are not its aspirational values, what you might call guiding principles.”

Where we find ourselves reminds me of the work in congregations that used to be called redevelopments. Redevelopments were congregations that both needed and actively pursued a structured process of rethinking everything about their ministry so they could embrace a vibrant and faithful future. They may have needed help reconnecting with their neighborhood in ways similar to the good work the Faith Practices and Neighboring Practices cohorts do.

However, it was more than that. Those congregations often needed to rediscover their core values and purpose in God’s mission, along with building the scaffolding and infrastructure that helped live into them. This rethinking often included letting go of long-beloved ministries, in part because they were no longer effective but even more so because it did not help them live into their values and purpose. In letting go, capacity was created to focus on things that brought life and were in alignment with who God created them to be as a community of faith.

While the Churchwide organization no longer offers redevelopment grants, congregations still find themselves in need of this rethinking and discovery. In light of challenges of the last three years, most of us find ourselves in this place, … at least in part.

DOES THIS SOUND LIKE your congregation? Might it be time for your congregation to rediscover their principles, values, and purpose? If you’re even slightly curious, here’s how you might start that conversation:

At your next council meeting, set aside some time, maybe 30 minutes. In the first 10 minutes, have people individually name four to six core values that they experience as at the center of the life of your congregation.

Patrick Lencioni’s words from his book The Advantage might be helpful here. He invites readers to “think of [their] core values as a few behavior traits that are inherent in the organization. They lie at the heart of the organization’s identity, do not change over time, and must already exist. In other words, they cannot be contrived.”

“The values you identify should be a short word or phrase, potentially have an explanation sentence (not a paragraph), be focused on who you are, and stand the test of time.”

Your congregation’s core values are not its aspirational values, what you might call guiding principles; it is about who you already are. Over time, guiding principles may become part of your core values, but they aren’t there yet.

Values should be a short word or phrase, potentially have an explanation sentence (not a paragraph), be focused on who you are, and stand the test of time.

Examples could include:

• Grace: We are part of this community because of God’s gift of grace to and for us.
• Entrepreneurial: We take risks for the sake of the gospel.
• Generosity: God is giving to us in great abundance, we respond with generous hearts.

Have people write each word/phrase on a separate index card. Once people have their values written, take five minutes to share with one another the values you wrote. Are there common values? Are there some that you did not think of? Are there some that might be missing?

“Congregations in redevelopment often needed to rediscover their core values and purpose in God’s mission, along with building the scaffolding and infrastructure that helped live into them.”

Spend the rest of your time working to whittle down the list to four to six values that clearly articulate who your congregation is. Invite the council to think about them over the next month and return to the conversation at the following meeting. Along the way, test these values out at committee/team meetings. Perhaps even do the same exercise with them and see what happens.

Once you are clear on your congregation’s values, then use them to guide decision making as you discern what to let go of and as new ministry opportunities arise. There is freedom in saying “no” when you’re clear on who you are. There is joy in new opportunities when you’re clear on who you are. Yes there is death, but there is also resurrection and that will always be part of the story of following Jesus.