By Courtney Olsen Leadership in congregations is not for the squeamish. Many different skill sets are required. So, it is good news then that many of those skills are easily learned. That’s why the Minneapolis Area Synod offers an annual Tool Kit event, and this year’s Tool Kit will be held on 9 a.m.–noon on […]
By Courtney Olsen Felecia Boone, elected Synod Council vice president at the 2018 Minneapolis Area Synod Assembly, brings a wealth of experience to the synod from her varied portfolio of 26 years of work with Hennepin County. “It’s been a way to serve people and deliver on the core values and the mission of the […]
By Courtney Olsen How does a pastor preach in the digital age? This is the question that the Revs. Matthew Ian Fleming and Derek Tonsgard asked as they sat with the Revs. Meta Herrick Carlson and Miriam Samuelson-Roberts one fall afternoon. “We talked about what [preaching in the digital age] might look like,” remembers Fleming. […]
By Courtney Olsen When schools close their doors for the summer, churches open theirs: the warm weather and break from school provide the perfect space for congregations to focus their energy on youth programming. Financial barriers, however, can prevent churches from putting on a youth event. The synod’s summer youth program grants are working to […]
By Courtney Olsen Last month, 80 young adults from around the country gathered at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago for a week of relationship building, learning, and preparation. These developing leaders are participating in Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM), an international service program through the ELCA. YAGM invites young adults between the […]
By Pr. Craig Pederson The Minneapolis Area Synod Council’s Executive Committee and the Resurrection Fund Advisory Committee (RFAC) are pleased to announce the first round of Ministry Imagination Grant awards. Eighteen different projects have been awarded a total of $181,860.00! Ministry Imagination Grants are funded through the Resurrection Fund of the Minneapolis Area Synod (MAS), […]
August 6, 2018, Minneapolis — Bishop Ann Svennungsen is pleased to announce that Mr. Eric Howard joins the staff of the Minneapolis Area Synod today as Executive Assistant to the Bishop. Eric replaces Dee Cole Vodicka, who had served in this role until late May. “From our initial interview, I was excited by the possibility […]
By Emily Campbell On the first Sunday of Advent in 2008, congregants filed out of Messiah Lutheran Church in South Minneapolis and continued to walk a block and half to Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota’s (LSS) Center for Changing Lives. Carrying the church’s altar candles and paraments with them, members of the congregation processed to […]
Not too many years ago, congregational councils debated whether to let “recovery organizations” use church space. Often the argument against opening the doors included fear of coffee stains on the carpet and cigarette smoke in the curtains. And then, many congregations realized that a gracious policy toward people who were experiencing the reality of resurrection […]
By Bob Hulteen Under the theme, “I Will Pour out My Spirit,” more than 450 voting members of congregations participated in the 2018 Minneapolis Area Synod (MAS) Assembly May 4-5, 2018, at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Ramsey, Minnesota. The assembly keynote speakers were Archbishop Musa Panti Filibus, judicatory leader of the Lutheran Church […]