2005 Synod Assembly

Guests

Keynote: Bishop Margaret Payne
Margaret G. Payne is the bishop of the New England Synod of the ELCA, our sister synod.

A graduate of Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Penn., Payne began her career as an English teacher in Punjab, India on a Fulbright grant. She was ordained as a minister in the Lutheran Church in America in 1984 following graduation from Princeton Seminary in New Jersey. After several years in parish ministry, in 1991 she was called to be assistant to the bishop in the New Jersey Synod. She was elected bishop of the New England Synod in 2000. As a member of the Conference of Bishops, she serves on the Theology and Ethics Committee, and represents the Conference on the steering committee of The Fund for Leaders in Mission. She is also serving as Chair of the Sexuality Task Force of the ELCA.

Bible Study: Professor Richard Carlson
The Rev. Dr. Carlson is the Glatfelter Professor of Biblical Studies at the Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

His field of study and teaching is particularly in the New Testament. His goal in the classroom and in his own research involves bringing the message of scripture to people's lives in ways which are both revelatory and relevant.

Dr. Carlson served rural and staff ministries in Minnesota before coming to Gettysburg in 1990 and has found those experiences have greatly enhanced his goals and focus as a seminary professor. He still enjoys teaching in congregations, conferences, and synods in the area. In addition to teaching responsibilities, he serves as chairperson of the Seminary's Field Education committee and oversees post-internship candidacy items. Outside the confines of the Seminary he serves as a girls' soccer coach with the Gettysburg Youth Soccer Club.

Churchwide Representative: Kathryn Sime
Kathryn Sime was appointed director of the World Hunger and Disaster Appeal of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) July 12, 2004.

Prior to this position, Sime was a consultant for nonprofit organizations in the Chicago area with The Alford Group, and previous to that, served as a research analyst at the ELCA churchwide organization in the Department for Research and Evaluation. She has written articles for The Lutheran and Lutheran Woman Today.

Sime grew up in Libertyville, Ill. and earned a bachelor's degree from Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, in 1994. In 2000, she earned a master's degree in management of public services from DePaul University.

She is a member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Chicago, and is currently serving on the capital campaign board there.

Musical Guests: A Bunch of Guys
David Piper, John Christianson and Knute Ogren, who will be leading us in song at Synod Assembly, have been singing and playing together for more than ten years after having met at Camp Calumet Lutheran in Freedom, New Hampshire. Together with many friends from throughout New England, they are "A Bunch of Guys."

David is a student at the Berkley School of Music in Boston and a musician at University Lutheran Church in Cambridge, Mass., John is a grad student at the University of New Hampshire and a musician at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Newington, New Hampshire, and Knute in the Coordinator of Congregational Life at Emanuel Lutheran in Hartford.

Their two CDs, Take a Breath and Enough, were produced to raise money for ELCA World Hunger. To date, they have raised over $136,000.

Unity in the Midst of Differences Panel
"Unity in the Midst of Differences" is the title of a panel discussion to be featured at the 2005 Synod Assembly. Former U.S. Congressman Tim Penny will moderate the panel, and panel participants will be Pastor and Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson; and Minnesota Speaker of the House Steve Sviggum. From their perspectives in state government toward a church struggling with differences, the panel will discuss principles that bring us together. Biographies of the panel members are below.

Panel Member: Senator Dean Johnson
Senator Dean Johnson, pastor and special assistant to the Chief of Chaplains, National Guard Bureau, Washington D.C., was first elected to the Minnesota House in 1978 and was re-elected in 1980. He was first elected to the Minnesota Senate in 1982 as a Republican and served as an assistant minority leader with that party before switching to the DFL Party in January 2000.

Senator Johnson represents District 13 in Southern Minnesota. His home congregation is First of Highland Lutheran Church in Whalan, Minn., and he is a pastor at Calvary Lutheran Church in Willmar. He holds degrees from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa; Luther Seminary, and the U.S. Army War College.

Panel Member: Speaker of the House Steve Sviggum
Steve Sviggum was elected Speaker of the House in 1998. Having first been elected to the House in 1978, he was elected House Republican Leader in 1993.

Speaker Sviggum is a graduate of St. Olaf College and represents District 28B in Southeastern Minnesota, a district that includes Altura, Elba, Goodview, Hammond, Kellogg, Kenyon, Lewiston, Mazeppa, Millville, Minneiska, Minnesota City, Pine Island, Rollingstone, St. Charles, Stockton, Utica, Wanamingo, Zumbro Falls and Zumbrota.

he Speaker and his family are beef and grain farmers. He is also a former high school math teacher and a part-time basketball referee. His home congregation is Vang Lutheran Church in Dennison, Minn.

Panel Member: Tim Penny
Tim Penny co-directs the Humphrey Institute Policy Forum. He represented Southeastern Minnesota's First Congressional District from 1982 through 1994. He served on the U.S. House agriculture and veterans affairs committees and the Select Committee on Hunger, heading the foreign agriculture and hunger subcommittee. While in Congress, Penny founded and co-chaired the Democratic Budget Group and drafted deficit-cutting initiatives.

He continues to work in the areas of federal budgeting, agricultural policy, trade issues, and rural development. He is a board member and policy chair of a budget watchdog group, the Concord Coalition, and is an advisory board member for a clean-campaign project, the Minnesota Compact. Co-author of two books, Common Cents and Payment Due, he is a regular public speaker, radio commentator, and editorial writer. He is a member of St. John Lutheran Church in Waseca.