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2005 Synod Assembly

2005 Synod Assembly Recap (short)

Highlights from the 2005 Southeastern Minnesota Synod Assembly: May 6-7, 2005
"Called into God's Marvelous Light…Today!"

The Southeastern Minnesota Synod met in assembly May 6-7 at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, Minn. Bishop Harold Usgaard led the gathering as it approached the work of the church in Southeastern Minnesota. The theme was "Called into God's Marvelous Light…Today!" Those gathered worked and worshipped, prayed and praised, studied and celebrated together as the body of Christ.

Bishop Usgaard set the tone for the Assembly at opening worship, relating the gospel text to the synod's vision statement. "We profess to be a synod called into God's marvelous light. Love your enemies; bless those who curse you, today. Let us do it today."

Prayer permeated every aspect of the synod assembly this year. This emphasis, part of "2005: A Synod Joined in Prayer," is part of the synod's strategic plan for 2005-2007, "Called into God's Marvelous Light." The Assembly featured many prayer activities and resources, including a prayer tent in the plenary hall, people knitting prayer shawls in the plenary hall during the Assembly, and gifts of prayer shawls to special guests and Churchwide Assembly Voting Members from this synod.

As keynote speaker, the Rev. Margaret Payne, bishop of the New England Synod and chair of the Task Force for the ELCA Studies on Sexuality, said the task force has made recommendations that it hopes will unite the ELCA. Congregations must now discuss those recommendations, hearing both similar and opposing views. Payne said she hopes the ELCA's many members can find common ground as it considers the task force's recommendations this year. Following her keynote address, ELCA Council member Joseph Crippen joined her on the stage to talk further about the sexuality studies. Questions and comments from participants about the task force's recommendations were fielded in the sessions that followed.

The Rev. Dr. Richard Carlson, in his Bible studies, led the voting members through a sweeping overview of historical biblical interpretation, focusing on a model developed by Martin Luther based on the Scripture interpretation methods of Jesus and his disciples. With Jesus as the center and under the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus, scripture, and the community mutually interpret each other, for the sake of mission. That mission, according to Carlson, is proclaiming Jesus' message of forgiveness.

Former U.S. Congressman Tim Penny, Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson, and Minnesota Speaker of the House Steve Sviggum, all ELCA members of varying political affiliations, each spoke of how their faith informs their political involvement in a panel called "Unity in the Midst of Differences."

There were three resolutions concerning the ELCA Studies on Sexuality this year. All resolutions regarding the Studies on Sexuality failed, including a resolution to take a straw poll of whether people approved or disapproved of each of the recommendations from the ELCA Church Council and then submit the results of that poll to the Churchwide Assembly.

The assembly voted to:

  • support fair trade standards by voluntarily purchasing and using Equal Exchange products, especially coffee, for congregational events

  • accept the recommended "2005 Minimum Compensation and Benefits Guidelines for Pastors, Associates in Ministry, Lay Professionals, and Church Staff"

  • encourage congregations to participate in a New Ministry Emphasis Sunday starting in 2006, where a special offering would be taken to benefit new ministry starts in the synod

  • encourage congregations to discuss issues of public policy and their impacts on the poor; to publicly advocate for the poor; for the synod to take a public stand on current state and federal public policy issues that affect the poor; and to encourage people to consider generous contributions to services in areas hardest hit by recent and looming budget cuts (for example, community-based and preventive services for vulnerable youth, working poor families and individuals, and fragile seniors).

The assembly also voted to memorialize the ELCA Churchwide Assembly to:

  • call upon each synod of the ELCA, and upon synodical subdivisions (for example, conferences) where they exist, to work with the ELCA Division for Outreach to (1) develop and redevelop congregations; (2) start a congregation or to redevelop an existing congregation every year; and (3) to identify and raise up missional leaders whom God calls to mission development and redevelopment.

MUCH more information, as well as photos, is available at www.semnsynod.org.