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River Crossings in Plain Text

February 2008 Issue

Below you will find all the stories from River Crossings in plain text format, so you can easily copy and paste them into your publications. If you require any graphics for these stories, please email or call 507-280-9457 with your request.

Page 1 - Cover

Resolution Writing Guide
Pages 4-5

Continuing to Respond to Floods in Southeastern Minnesota
 Page 6

Inside...
Bishop and Synod Ministers Conducting Ministry Visits
 - page 2

ELCA News: Carbon offsets, Ecumenical Advocacy Days, Lutheran Men in Mission Triennial Gathering
- page 3

Bishop Usgaard: "The Face of Hunger"
- page 5

Deborah Ann Norrie: “Wellness: Stretching Your Mind”
- page 6

Councils as Leaders in the Church
- page 11

The Bridge - “Hospitality Ministry”
- insert

Synod Assembly Registration
- insert

Selected Disaster Resources
Find more information on responses to disasters around the country and the world?

  • Lutheran Disaster Response - www.ldr.org (best for volunteering)

  • Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota Disaster Services - www.lssmn.org/disaster (best for local information)

  • ELCA Domestic and International Disaster Response - www.ELCA.org/disaster (best for news and financial giving)

Page 2 - Synod News

Bishop and Synod Ministers Conducting Ministry Visits
Ministry Visits are a time for synod staff to meet with rostered leaders throughout the synod to discuss ministry and overall well-being in an intentional way. Bishop Usgaard and Synod Ministers, Larry Iverson and Rev. Linda Gunderson have set aside days during February, April and May to meet with rostered leaders.

Bishop Usgaard said this about the reason for these visits, “Part of our responsibility as a synod staff is to offer pastoral care to those who are rostered in ministry. It seems logical to me that happens best when we meet face to face, sharing in an open and safe conversation. We have not done this for some time...it is too important to neglect.”

Rostered leaders will receive information by conference as dates and locations are confirmed. Additional information including dates, locations and contact information for setting up appointments in the other conferences will be sent in advance of the scheduled dates.

Synod Assembly
The 2008 Synod Assembly will be April 18-19 at Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, Minn. Registration is now underway and the packet is included in this issue of River Crossings. Deadline for early registration this year is March 27. This is almost two months earlier than last year (due to an earlier assembly), so get this taken care of now to save your congregation money!

The Pre-Assembly Report will be available online in March. Congregations are responsible for making voting members aware of the information in the report. If a congregation is not able to download the report, contact Katie Livingood at 507-280-9457, 800-426-6376 in Minnesota, or by .

Visit www.semnsynod.org/assembly.html for the latest assembly information including:

  • Online registration

  • Number of voting members your congregation is eligible to send

  • The Pre-Assembly Report (important material for all participants)

  • And much more!

Corrected Deadline for Youth and Young Adult Nominations
The January issue of River Crossings mistakenly stated the deadline for youth and young adult nominees for voters at the 2009 Churchwide Assembly as February 29. The correct deadline was January 21.

Remember in Prayer
Health Concerns
• Rev. Gary Hanson
• Rev. Glennys Knutson
• Cathy Rehfeldt, wife of Rev. Richard Rehfeldt
• Shannon Reuss, wife of Rev. Peter Reuss
• Rev. Don Roberts

Sympathies
• Rev. Ronald Jensen, whose father, Duane Jensen, died Dec. 19
• Mark Bradley (synod council), whose father-in-law, Ralph E. McAllister, died Jan. 10

2007 Mission Support Income
Dec. YTD
Current Year - $1,784,082
Last Year - $1,889,595
Budget - $1,930,564

* Fiscal Year February-January

“Will You Come and Follow Me” is one of the hymns in the Evangelical Lutheran Worship. The end of the last verse calls us to grow in our lives - “In your company I’ll go where your love and footsteps show. Thus I’ll move and live and grow in you and you in me.”

Thank you for support of our ministry partners and the work of the synod and churchwide mission. As you can see, we are substantially behind compared to the budget and last year’s giving, and we will await the January gifts and look forward to your generosity at our year-end. Then we turn our sights to God and pray for a 2008 filled with God’s continuing call for us to live a generous and abundant life in grace.

Page 3 - ELCA News

ELCA Advocacy Offices Purchase Carbon Offset Credits  
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Washington Office, ELCA Corporate Social Responsibility, Pittsburgh, and Lutheran Office for World Community, New York, have purchased carbon offset credits to mitigate their carbon emissions accumulated through air travel.

"Our offices have been working to reduce our carbon footprints by turning off lights and power strips when we're not in our offices, for example. But short of turning off all electricity and ceasing to travel, it's very difficult to eliminate your carbon emissions entirely," said Mary Minette, ELCA director for environmental education and advocacy.

"Since the advocacy staff travels extensively, we've purchased offset credits to balance those carbon emissions. The credits will go toward renewable energy projects, thus reducing the overall amount of power generated by burning fossil fuels," said Minette.

The specific projects funded by the carbon offsets purchased by the advocacy offices will support the use of anaerobic digesters, machines that dramatically reduce the amount of methane that escapes into the atmosphere while simultaneously generating renewable energy for the dairy farms that run them. Methane, like carbon dioxide, is a major contributor to global warming.

To determine the amount of the offices' carbon emissions that needed to be offset, Minette surveyed the staff about their air travel. She used that information with a carbon emissions calculator on the Internet and then purchased the appropriate amount of credits needed to compensate for the travel.

Minette hopes this move by the advocacy office will start a trend in the ELCA. "Imagine the amount of carbon emissions we'd save if the entire churchwide organization, every synod office, and every congregation were to reduce their energy use and budget for the purchase of offset credits for the remaining energy consumption," she said.

"Our social statement, 'Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope and Justice,' commits us as individuals, as a worship community, and as a public church, to address the threat of global warming. I encourage all Lutherans to calculate their carbon footprints, reduce their energy consumption, and purchase carbon offset credits where appropriate," Minette said.

ELCA News in Brief
Get the full stories at www.ELCA.org/news/blog

Registration opens for Ecumenical Advocacy Days 2008
Registration is open for Ecumenical Advocacy Days 2008 to be held March 7-10 at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center Hotel in Alexandria, Va. Under the theme "2008: Claiming a Vision of True Security," the event -- consisting of workshops, worship and a lobby day on Capitol Hill -- is expected to draw more than 1,000 religious advocates from an array of Christian communities. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Lutheran World Relief are among the event's sponsors.

Workshops will focus on the event's theme, which is based on a quote from the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.: "True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice." Topics include Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, Domestic, Jubilee & Economic Justice, Eco-Justice, and Peace and Global Security.

Registration opens for the 2008 'Coming of Age' Lutheran Men's Gathering  
Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM), the men's ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), opened online registration for its triennial gathering at www.ELCA.org/lmm/ on the ELCA Web site, with early registration through March 15. The 2008 "Coming of Age" Lutheran Men's Gathering will be Aug. 1-3 at the Hilton Hotel and Qwest Center, Omaha, Neb. Featured speakers include Tom Osborne, athletic director, University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Osborne was head football coach of the Cornhuskers for 25 years, helping the school claim three national titles before he was inducted in 1999 to the College Football Hall of Fame. Nebraska's 3rd Congressional District elected him to three terms during 2001-2007 in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Get it Online

Pages 4-5 - Resolution Writing Guide

Write Your Resolution Right: A Quick & Easy Guide

1. Resolutions should be submitted by:

  • Majority vote of a congregation of the synod at a regular or special meeting of the congregation;

  • Approval by a two-thirds vote of a congregation council

  • Majority vote of a committee of the Southeastern Minnesota Synod

  • Majority vote of a conference assembly

  • A group of at least ten members of congregations of the Southeastern Minnesota Synod elected to serve as voting members of the forthcoming synod assembly.

Minutes showing adoption of such proposed resolutions from a meeting of a congregation, congregation council, synod committee, or conference assembly must accompany the submitted resolution. The signatures, typed names, and telephone numbers must be provided by voting members (of the forthcoming synod assembly) submitting a resolution.

2. A resolution should be stated clearly and concisely.

3. Resolutions should be tested before they are submitted. Ask yourself…

  • Is the information in the resolution complete and accurate?

  • Is this a matter which pertains to the life and ministry of the synod?

  • Is this a matter of significance requiring consideration by the synod assembly?

  • Is the action requested one which the synod can appropriately and effectively implement?

  • Is this concern directed to the appropriate unit? Would be it be best directed toward the synod council, the executive committee, a synod committee, the synod staff, etc.?

  • Do other people validate this idea? Have I tested it with other voting members, pastors, etc.?

  • Does my resolution answer the following questions: WHAT should be done? WHO should act? WHAT ENTITY should bear the cost, if any, and what cost is anticipated? WHEN should the action be done? TO WHOM should the results be reported?

  • If the resolution demands changes to the constitution or bylaws, are the proposed changes included in the resolution?

  • Does the resolution use specific, non-inflammatory language, including straightforward nouns and verbs?

Remember - Direct Your Concern to the Appropriate Body!
The Churchwide Assembly receives many memorials. Many of these concerns could be better addressed by sending resolutions to the ELCA Church Council. Please keep in mind that memorials may not be the only route for a synod to express concern.

Resolutions may be passed that are addressed to a specific churchwide unit or to units that relate to a given concern. In the final “resolved” of such an assembly action, should be this provision: For example:

RESOLVED, that the Southeastern Minnesota Synod Assembly direct the Southeastern Minnesota Synod Council to forward this resolution to the Church Council for consideration and possible action.

Resolutions follow a more direct route than memorials, which must go to the churchwide assembly, and await the assembly’s response. Memorials should be reserved, insofar as possible, for broader policy issues that belong in the Churchwide Assembly. By contrast, resolutions may receive more immediate attention.

We are encouraged to route our resolutions through our synod council either to the church council or to the church council’s executive committee. The churchwide policy affirms that:

  • Synod assemblies address the churchwide assembly

  • Synod councils address the ELCA church council

  • Synod councils address churchwide units through the ELCA church council’s executive committee, including forwarding actions of the synod assembly.

Resolution Format Guide

A resolution must be written in the following format:

WHEREAS: The WHEREAS sections clearly state the REASONS for the resolution. Each reason should be a separate WHEREAS.

RESOLVED: The RESOLVED sections clearly state the action(s) desired – what should be done, who should do it, how it should be done, and when it should be done. Each action should be a separate RESOLVED so the assembly may deal with them individually.

If a resolution requires one action, use the following format:
RESOLVED, _________________________________.

If a resolution requires more than one action, the following format is used:
RESOLVED, _____________________________; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, _________________.

If a resolution is preceded by a reason for submitting it, the following format is used:
WHEREAS, _________________________________;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, _______________.

If a resolution is preceded by two or more reasons, the following format is used:
WHEREAS, ______________________________; and
WHEREAS, ______________________________;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, _______________.

You must always include with your resolution:

  • a title for your resolution

  • name of congregation and city (or committee, or conference) from which the resolution was originated

  • date the resolution was submitted

If your resolution is being submitted by a conference or committee, you must also include:

  • typed name and signature of conference dean or committee chair,

  • minutes from meeting at which the resolution was drafted/approved

If your resolution is being submitted by a group of 10 voting members, you must also include:

  • signature(s) of all those submitting the resolution (and their names and phone numbers, typed)

  • name of the congregation and city from which the resolution was originated

  • signature of the pastor or congregational president of that congregation

For examples of past resolutions, see www.semnsynod.org/assembly/2007/resolutions.html.

Resolutions must be in the synod office by February 15, 2008. Late resolutions can be submitted at Synod Assembly until 3:00 p.m. Friday, April 18. The Synod Assembly must approve a motion by majority vote to place late resolutions on the assembly agenda.

 Send Your Resolutions To:

Rev. Linda Gunderson
1001 14th St NW, Suite 300
Rochester, MN 55901-2551
Fax: 507-280-8824
or by

Page 6 - Continuing to Respond to Floods in Southeastern Minnesota
 By Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota

Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota/Lutheran Disaster Response (LSSMN/LDR) has maintained a presence in Fillmore County, particularly in the city of Rushford since August 21. They have worked in partnership with the Mayo Clinic, Rushford City Council, and Americorps, coordinating volunteers for residential and commercial flood clean-up. As of October 1, approximately 3,000 volunteers came through the Volunteer Center in Rushford, with at least 30 Lutheran congregations pulling together work teams.

Following the initial clean up, LSSMN/LDR began the management of the Volunteer Center in Winona County as well.

In addition to the management of volunteers who are crucial in this recovery effort, LSSMN/LDR has employed two full-time case managers designated to work in Fillmore and Winona Counties. They are presently working with over 200 families and individuals. These case managers are an active part of the Long Term Recovery committees in both communities, and their primary purpose is to assist individuals in obtaining finding and resources for their unmet needs.

How You Can Help
We are now into the stage of rebuilding. This effort would not be possible without the thousands of volunteers who have put in over 38,000 hours cleaning out and rebuilding homes. We are still in need of volunteer skilled contractors, sheet rockers, tappers and mudders. Additionally, we need donated or reduced-cost building materials such as drywall, insulation, flooring, and tools as well as new household appliances such as washers/dryers, refrigerators, and ovens. If you are able to assist, please contact Cindy Johnson via email at cindy.johnson@lssmn.org. Thank you for considering supporting this vital disaster response in our state!

Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota offers a wide variety of human support services relating to the basics of life—food, shelter, safety, physical and emotional well-being.

Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) is a collaborative ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (www.ELCA.org) and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (www.LCMS.org). Following a major domestic disaster, LDR seeks to minister holistically to the unmet needs of those affected, regardless of faith or creed. Lutheran social ministry organizations serve as LDR affiliates providing hardship grants, spiritual and emotional care, volunteer coordination, and long-term recovery.

Get it Online

Page 7 - Bishop's Column, Rev. Linda Gunderson's Column

The Face of Hunger

It was at the laundromat. She noticed him the moment he walked in the door. His clothing was torn, he was carrying an old backpack, he looked gaunt and sick. He was in a tough way. She asked him and he said he was hitching to his home on the East Coast, but that was many miles away. He didn’t ask her for anything, but she gave him money. Money for a meal, for more than one meal. She felt so sorry for him. And he said “thank you” and left.

I was impressed by her generosity. My suspicion is that under different circumstances, she would not have offered any money. I know what she thinks about welfare and taxes, concern for the poor. It isn’t often on her radar. But that night in the laundromat her heart was opened. It was because he was right there; she saw him face to face. That makes all the difference.

It does, I’m sure of it. When we come face to face with those less fortunate - a family losing their home in a fire, a single mother struggling with unimaginable medical bills, a community destroyed by a flood, when we know those who are suffering, we respond in a most generous way.

I also sense the difference when we do not know those in need. How many thousands of children died today because of starvation around the world? How many children in our own country struggle below the poverty line? What of those without insurance, without a place to sleep at night, the faceless that we don’t see but whose needs are just as real? All too often it is easy for us not to see, not to look.

The writer of John’s Gospel tells of Jesus going out of his way, entering a city of Samaria, and visiting there with a woman at the well, a woman with a reputation. We never do learn her name. He told her about the water that would cure her thirst. And her life was changed forever.

This year, we are “A Synod at Table with the Hungry.” Thank you for responding with gifts for the hungry next door, the folks close to home. But thank you especially for the gifts you dare to offer the stranger, those unnamed hungry around the world. You can make such a difference.

Shalom,

Harold Usgaard
Bishop

Do You Hear a Call?
By Rev. Linda Gunderson
Synod Minister

“You should be a pastor.” Has anyone said these words to you? Maybe you have said them to someone. Sometimes this is the first time someone has thought about the possibility. Other times this question affirms what that person has been feeling. People have been known to say, “When I was in confirmation class my teacher said I should think about being a pastor some day.” A word of affirmation from someone might well be the first moment in a process of discernment, a process of ‘figuring out’, if you will, if rostered ministry is where God wants them to serve.

Discernment means asking, “Is God calling me to a specific ministry in the church and how do I know that?” Discernment also asks the question, “What are my gifts and how can I best use them to serve the church.” It is a good question for everyone – church council members, youth leaders, Sunday School teachers, worship assistants and more. It is a necessary question for those considering leadership as pastors, Associates in Ministry, and Diaconal ministers. An honest assessment of one’s abilities is important as well as affirmation from others that such abilities are true. The call is to serve the church and the community is a necessary part of affirming that call.

So, maybe you have felt that God might be calling you to serve as a pastor or rostered lay person. Maybe you’ve wondered how to follow through on that feeling. Or, maybe you know someone you’d like to encourage to consider using their gifts in this way and would like to know how to start. A great resource is a pastor, lay associate or other church leader. Ask him/her about their call to ministry and visit with him/her about your sense of call. The synod office also has some written helps, including the book What Shall I Say? Discerning God’s Call to Ministry. The synod staff and Committee on Candidacy are the first place to go if you are ready to start the journey.

If this is something you have been thinking about, may God be with you in your process of discernment.

Peace,
Pr. Linda

Page 8 - Deborah Ann Norrie's Column and Shirley Gangstad's Column

Wellness: Stretching Your Mind
By Deborah Ann Norrie
Synod Executive Assistant

Intellectual well-being, one of the five spokes of the wholeness wheel, is described as "knowing when to stimulate our minds and when to rest them…" It is difficult to still a buzzing mind when there is always more work to do, both at work and at home. But as important as it is to rest our minds, it is also important to challenge our minds.

During my recent sabbatical I challenged myself to move out of my brain's comfort zone. I have dabbled at quilting for many years, just as I have done some knitting and Hardangersom embroidery. But I have been quite dependent on not only having someone show me how to do the art, but what to do, as well. The discovery I made is it the use of color in these arts that excites me. So I dared to cut in to pieces of perfectly good cloth and sew them together in a way that spoke to me. I have never thought of myself as an artist and found that this has opened a whole new world of color, texture, and expression through art.

You already have probably heard many ideas of how to quiet your busy mind. If you need some ideas be sure to visit the Wholeness Wheel information on the Board of Pensions web site. Don't forget to stimulate your mind, too. Read something outside your usual areas of interest; pick up a crossword puzzle or give sudoku a try; if you have a computer try some new software.

Stretch your mind as you stretch your muscles. Experience intellectual well-being along with your physical well-being.

Get it Online

Let Your Light Shine
Greetings!

I bought new outdoor Christmas lights, peeled them from the plastic form that gives them neatness in the box, tried them in the house. They worked. Spread them on the bushes, plugged them into the extension cord. They worked. Turned around, looked back—no lights! Pealed them off the bushes, took them in the house, plugged them in. No lights.

Jammed them in the box, took them back to the store. “Can’t accept them. They are a mess, jammed into the box. Besides the only thing wrong with them is a blown fuse. Only three strings per extension cord. Did you have more than three on the cord?”

I mentally counted: six, seven, eight? “Yup, I had more than three on the cord.” He replaced the fuses. I went home, spread them on the bushes with their own extension cord. I had lights! Lesson learned. Even with eight inches of cold snow on top of them, their light glowed through, and in no time, each little bulb had melted the snow covering it so that its light glowed clearly in the night.

That seems to be a metaphor for life. When we are plugged into too many things, we lose our focus, and we tend to “blow a fuse.” We seem to do nothing well, and we are stressed and probably quite unpleasant to those around us. However, when we limit what we plug into and stay focused on our mainline connection—God—then the light of Christ can shine through us and overpower any cold unpleasantness the world may dump on us.

As a child, one of my favorite songs was “This little light of mine. I’m gonna let it shine.” It was pretty easy to let my light shine as a child. Now it is more complicated and requires more of my attention. Actually it takes effort to work at it, but on the other hand, it is also far more rewarding and satisfying.

May the light of Christ shine through us and guide us throughout this year.

Blessings in Christ,
Shirley

Page 9 - Ministry Profile, Upcoming Events

Ministry Profile: Lutheran Youth Organization
An excerpt from www.elca.org/lyo/whatisLYO.html

The Lutheran Youth Organization (LYO) is an organization of all high-school aged young people who are members of congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. There are nearly 100,000 ELCA youth across the United States and the Caribbean. The LYO is one place where the voices of young people are lifted up in the church. This takes place through a variety of ways in which young people get together to discuss the issues that are important to them concerning youth ministry, the larger ELCA community, and the world.

The Lutheran Youth Organization was created in 1987 by youth delegates sent on behalf of the three Lutheran church bodies that merged to create the ELCA also in the same year. They were visionary with their ideas for how young people are to be engaged in the church as leaders today, not just as the leaders of tomorrow, taking 1 Timothy 4:12 seriously: “Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity…” (NRSV). In addition, the LYO has always held diversity as a very high value, intentionally including in its leadership young people of color or whose primary language is other than English and definitely-abled young people.

While the LYO in one part of the country may look very different than the LYO in another part of the country, the core elements that hold true across the board are spiritual formation and leadership development. Whether it’s young people gathering in a synod to embody the theology of servant leadership and learning, young people advocating for fuller inclusion in the larger church, or young people sharing in a Bible study and modeling discipleship to one another, the ministry of the LYO is taking place!

As part of a 2007 Synod Assembly resolution, the synod is currently in discussion about children, youth and family ministry in the synod. Currently, for more information about LYO in the synod, contact Rev. Lane Zaffke at pslane@acegroup.cc or 507-896-3102. Ask about the Minnesota LYO gathering March 28-30 or visit www.semnsynod.org/youthevents.html

Get it Online

Upcoming Events
Feb. 1, 2008 (Fri.): Augustana Lutheran College Choir Concert
7:00 p.m.
Emmons Lutheran Church, Emmons, MN
emluth@wctatel.net or 507-297-5471

Feb. 3-8, 2008 (Sun.-Fri.): Wellness and Wisdom in the Deserts of Life
Organized by Good Earth Village
Spirit in the Desert, Carefree, AZ
www.GoodEarthVillage.org, 507-346-2494, or info@GoodEarthVillage.org

Feb. 4, 2008 (Mon.): Discussion on Synod Minimum Compensation and Benefits Guidelines
Additional Date: Jan. 21
6:30 p.m.
St. John Lutheran Church, Mapleton, MN
johnp@tlcowatonna.org or 507-451-4520

Feb. 12-13, 2008 (Tues.-Wed.): Crafters Retreat
Additional Dates: April 22-23
Good Earth Village, Spring Valley, MN
www.GoodEarthVillage.org, 507-346-2494, or jenni@GoodEarthVillage.org

Feb. 15-17, 2008 (Fri.-Sun.): Quilting Retreat
Additional Dates: March 11-12, March 14-16, April 1-2 & April 4-6 Good Earth Village, Spring Valley, MN
www.GoodEarthVillage.org, 507-346-2494, or jenni@GoodEarthVillage.org

Feb. 24, 2008 (Sun.): Councils as Leaders of the Church
2:00 - 4:30 p.m.
Zumbro Lutheran Church, Rochester, MN www.semnsynod.org/events.html

For more information about these or other events, visit www.semnsynod.org/events.html. 

Page 10 - Call Update

Call Update
Self Study:
• Albert Lea, Central Freeborn – solo (Dick Spande, Interim)
• Albert Lea, Grace
• Austin, Grace – solo (Bob Iverson, Interim)
• Cannon Falls, St Ansgar – associate
• Canton, Henrytown – ¾ solo (Roger Knutson, Interim)
• Dennison, Dennison/Vang – solo (Terje Hausken, Interim)
• Geneva, Community-solo
• Hayfield, Trinity – solo (Bob Kleinke, Interim)
• Harmony, Greenfield –solo (Bob Stoskopf, Interim)
• Kenyon, Gol – part-time, solo (Dan Dimick, Interim)
• Mankato, Bethlehem- solo (Arne Jessen, Interim)
• Rochester, Hosanna-associate
• Sargeant, Evanger – solo (Jim Peterson, Interim)
• St Charles, Faith – solo (David Beckstrom, interim)
• Whalan, First of Highland & Whalan - solo (Roger Knutson, Interim)

Interviewing:
• Cannon Falls, First English – associate
• Glenville, First – solo (Gail Klavetter, Interim)
• Mabel, Mabel First – solo (Curtis Fox, interim)
• Northfield, St. Peter – associate
• Rochester, Bethel – associate (Lissa Kahl, ½ interim)
• Waterville, St. Paul’s German Lake – part time-solo
• Wells, Good Shepherd – shared ministry pastor

Ready to Extend Call:
• Webster, Solor – solo, part-time (Dean Larson, interim)
• Zumbrota, Lands – solo (Luther Peterson, interim)

Call Accepted:
• Glen Holland, UCC, Wangen Prairie, Cannon Falls-1/2 solo
• Reyna Purcell, St. John American, Waseca –Associate Pastor

Roster Updates
Disability
• John Henriksen, senior, Grace, Albert Lea, 1-1-08

On Leave From Call
• Todd Hawkins, Evanger, Sargeant, 9-5-07
• Peter Soli, interim, Oakland & Moscow, Oakland, 10-27-07

Synod Council Call to Specialized Ministry
• Linda Gunderson, Central Freeborn, Clarks Grove to synod minister, 10-8-07
• Robert Iverson, Southwestern Minnesota to interim, Grace, Austin, 6-17-07
• Gail Klavetter, Interim, Grand Meadow & Bear Creek to First, Glenville, 5-27-07
• Pamela Aandahl Solberg, Saint Paul Area Synod, Chaplain, St. Mark's Home, Austin, 6-4-07
• Rolf Wangberg, Northwestern Minnesota Synod to LDR Flood Recovery Coordinator, 11-17-07

Transfer Out
• Anne Hokenstad, on leave to Minneapolis Area, 10-01-07
• Keith Homstad, Hegre, Kenyon to Saint Paul Area, 1-17-08
• Paul Roger Johnson, First of Highland & Whalan, Whalan to Northwestern Minnesota Synod, 10-10-07
• Reginald Klindworth, associate, First, Albert Lea to Minneapolis Area Synod, 11-1-07
• James Radatz, Greenfield, Harmony to Northeastern Iowa Synod, 12-31-07
• Joel Xavier, Community, Geneva to Southwestern Minnesota, 11-30-07

Page 11 - Councils as Leaders in the Church

Download the brochure PDF.

Page 12 - Back Cover

River Crossings is the monthly newsletter of the Southeastern Minnesota Synod for pastors, associates in ministry, and lay leaders. The next deadline for River Crossings is Feb. 6. Please send correspondence to Katie Livingood, livingood@semnsynod.org; 507-280-9457.

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