Relevant Magazine’s website launched a firestorm last week by reporting on a Sarah Bessey Twitter conversation about misogyny in the church using the hashtag #ThingsOnlyChristianWomenHear. Bessey is the author of Jesus Feminist: An Invitation to Revisit the Bible’s View of Women, an examination of biblical teaching and church practices regarding women and leadership. Women across […]
The people of the Minneapolis Area Synod’s 147 congregations are going to don their coveralls and plant a bunch of trees this spring. Five hundred of them, to be exact, as trees will be distributed at the May 5-6, 2017, synod assembly as a featured way to celebrate the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation. Why […]
February 2, 2017 – Minneapolis A 16-member Minneapolis Area Synod delegation has been invited to participate in Germany’s largest celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation. As a companion synod of the Leipzig District of the Lutheran Church of Saxony, the Minneapolis Area Synod will be represented by Bishop Ann Svennungsen and this […]
In response to the Executive Order signed by President Donald Trump on Friday, January 27, communities of faith across the country responded with concern for the effects of the change in policy. In Minnesota, an interfaith group of leaders gathered on Monday, January 30, at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church in Minneapolis to express solidarity. […]
Josué Gonzalez didn’t grow up Lutheran. In fact, he was not raised with any type of religion. “I got involved with the Lutheran faith through Todos los Santos/El Milagro in the late 1990s. That’s when I got a taste of the generosity of the Lutheran brotherhood,” he explains. So, when Josué heard two years ago that Pastor […]
When Minneapolitans hear the term “North Loop,” they know it has something to do with downtown, but aren’t necessarily sure where it is. And yet, the North Loop is gaining a unique identity. For those that don’t know, think Warehouse District. More than 30,000 people now live in Downtown Minneapolis. And city plans assume that […]
One synod new start puts curiosity at the center of the worship experience Mike Rusert comes by church planting naturally. When his dad, Bob Rusert, started a new congregation in Monticello, Minnesota, Mike learned that “we built community out of our house, and the church became my family and friends.” He figures that when it […]
“Why on earth are we using styrofoam plates?!” exclaimed the total stranger standing next to me in the line for lunch just one year ago at the Minneapolis Area Synod Assembly. That gut-level moment of tension when you pick up a styrofoam cup or throw away that plastic packaging is something to listen to. Just […]
This year, Advent follows closely on Pope Francis’ visit to the US and converges with the crucial United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris (Nov 30 – Dec 11). The last two months of 2015 offer an extraordinary opportunity for churches to await the incarnation with attention to the earth, “our common home.” Through its EcoFaith […]
Bishop Ann Svennungsen recently announced that Dr. Ibrahim Bitrus has been named Companion Synod Theologian in Residence for the Minneapolis Area Synod. As such, Bitrus will work with congregations in both short-term and long-term settings on a variety of topics.