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River Crossings in Plain Text

September 2006 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 butler@semnsynod.org or call 507-280-9457 with your request.

Page 1 - Cover

2006 Salary Survey
Page 4

Polarities - Living with Tensions in Our Congregations
Pages 5

ELCA Global Mission Event Encourages All to Engage in Mission
Page 6

Inside...
Training for New Worship Materials Offered Throughout Synod
- page 2

Synod Offers Continuing Education for Congregational Communicators
- page 2

Bishop Usgaard: "This System Works Well"
- page 6

Larry Iverson: "Grants Help Congregations Evangelize"
- page 8

Shirley Gangstad: “Chance-Meeting Joys”
- page 9

The Bridge - “Singing in the Church"
- insert

Theological Conference Brochure
- insert

Links You Will Find in This Issue:
It doesn’t stop here - follow up on what you read in this month’s River Crossings.

Page 2 - Synod News

Training for New Worship Materials Offered Throughout Synod
Evangelical Lutheran Worship will be introduced to the entire ELCA beginning in late October. This new core resource reflects the best in Lutheran worship today, with both familiar and new liturgies, hymns, and more—it has more content, more flexibility, more emphasis on mission. Join us for one of three training sessions offered in October and November in the Southeastern Minnesota Synod so you can discover the potential of this book in your congregation. Pastors, musicians, worship committees, lay people—basically anyone from your congregation—should consider attending. Bishop Usgaard has assembled the following people as our synod training team: Dave Rossow, Pastor, Christ Lutheran, Byron; Tammy Dahlvang, Pastor, Round Prairie, Glenville, and Lunder, Albert Lea; Patricia Lundeen, Music Director, Central Lutheran, Winona; Pat Hinz, Lay Person, Little Cedar, Adams; and Neal Erickson, Music Director, St. Olaf Lutheran, Austin.

A registration form is available on page 11 of this issue. Full schedules and a downloadable registration form are available at www.semnsynod.org/events/educational.html.

Companion Synod Bishops Visit Synod
Bishop Eliuphoo Sima, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania - Central Diocese, visited the synod for a short time in July before being called back to Tanzania because of his father's health. While he was here he met with Bishop Usgaard, the synod staff and Pastor Nick Fisher-Broin.

Bishop Sijifredo Buitrago, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Colombia, and three others from Colombia also spent two weekends in the synod. They were attending a conference in Sioux Falls, SD and took the opportunity to visit Good Shepherd, Wells, and Trinity in Wanamingo on the weekends.

Congregational Communicators Get Continuing Education
One part of a pastor’s expected responsibilities is participating in continuing education. For the third year in a row, the synod offered a workshop opportunity for the continuing education of congregational staff and volunteers (and a few pastors!) involved with newsletters and websites.

Classes were offered for newsletter design, working with digital photographs, and beginning and advanced web design.

Fifty three people registered for the afternoon and evening workshop at the Owatonna College and University Center. Presenters included Mark Johns, a professor of communication at Luther College and an ELCA pastor; Pat Kelley, a professor of digital art at St. Olaf College; Nate Ende, a professional web developer from Rochester; and Katie Butler, the communications director for the Southeastern Minnesota Synod.

All communicators in the Southeastern Minnesota Synod are invited to the bi-monthly communicators meetings. Watch the Meeting Events page at www.semnsynod.org or contact Katie Butler at the synod office for more information (butler@semnsynod.org, 507-280-9457, or 800-426-6376 (MN only)).

Tell Students About ELCA Campus Ministries
Know a student heading off for college? Go to www.elca.org/campusministry to find an ELCA Campus Ministry location near them!

Remember in Prayer
Health Concerns
• The Rev. Don Roberts
• The Rev. Charles Solberg
• Fern Steffen, wife of the Rev. Richard Steffen
• Shannon Reuss, wife of the Rev. Peter Reuss
• The Rev. Ralph and Amy Strand
• The Rev. Ernest Ryden

Joys
• Noah William, son of the Rev. Reginald and Kate Klindworth, born 8/4/06

Protection
• The Rev. Steven Timm, deployed to Iraq
• The Rev. Erik Feig, deployed to Iraq

Page 3 - ELCA News

ELCA News in Brief
For full stories, visit the "News and Events" page at www.elca.org.

Lutheran World Leader Joins in Call to End Middle East Violence
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The leaders of three global church organizations -- including the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, president of the Lutheran World Federation, Geneva -- have called for an end to the fighting in Lebanon and Israel and conflict in Gaza. The church leaders issued a joint public statement Aug. 8, saying they were "shocked" by the violence, death and destruction occurring in Gaza, Israel and Lebanon.

Hanson, who also serves as presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), based here, joined in the statement with the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, president of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, Geneva, and stated clerk of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Louisville, Ky.; and the Rev. Samuel Kobia, general secretary, World Council of Churches, Geneva.

"As followers of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, and as leaders of the World Council of Churches and the worldwide fellowships of Lutheran and Reformed churches, we are shocked by the relentless violence, death and devastation occurring in Lebanon, Israel and Palestine," the church leaders wrote.

"We mourn the loss of life. We abhor the untold human costs of this conflict, especially its impact on innocent people. We deplore the destruction of infrastructure and property. In the face of tragedy of such magnitude, we affirm that God calls us to do justice, reconcile with our enemies and live together in peace," they wrote.

The church leaders called on Hezbollah and Israel to end the fighting in Israel and Lebanon, and called for the United States, European Union and Arab States "to exercise their influence toward this end." They also called on Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas to end the conflict in Gaza.

When a cease-fire is achieved, the church leaders said political leaders and other parties should "begin the work for a compassionate order that will lead to a lasting peace. Our organizations and our churches are eager to share in that endeavor."

-----

The full text of the joint statement is at http://www.elca.org/bishop/m_endviolence.html.

ELCA Rural Ministry Gathering Emphasizes Networking
SELINSGROVE, Pa. (ELCA) -- About 100 people met here at the annual gathering of the Small Town and Rural (STaR) Ministry Alliance, emphasizing networking to address rural concerns through special interest groups known as "affinity groups." The alliance represents more than 5,800 of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) 10,461 congregations.

The meeting was held July 20-22 here at Susquehanna University, one of 28 ELCA colleges and universities. Participants engaged in worship, workshops and affinity group meetings, and heard speakers focus on the theme "Celebrating Rural Life."

"The mission of this gathering is to celebrate rural life and the gifts that it brings," said Sandra L. LaBlanc, ELCA director for rural ministry and networking, Des Moines, Iowa, adding that the gathering purposely emphasizes the positives of rural life while acknowledging that small towns, farms and rural congregations have serious economic and social problems to confront.

ELCA Offers Resources for Possible Flu Pandemic
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Domestic Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has prepared resources for congregations in event of a flu pandemic. Although avian flu is currently limited to fowl and is only occasionally transmitted to people in close contact with infected birds, infectious disease experts indicate that the virus could adapt and spread among people, said Heather L. Feltman, director of ELCA Domestic Disaster Response (DDR), in a July message posted on the ELCA Web site. If this occurs, the world may be faced with a flu pandemic, she said.

A document, "Responding Faithfully to Pandemic Flu," was created to prepare congregations in the event of a pandemic, according to the message. It refers directly to ELCA social statements on what it means to be a public church and the roles of congregations.

"Congregational Planning for Flu Pandemic" is a resource guide for congregations preparing for a possible pandemic. The document includes information on communication, worship and community outreach in the event of a pandemic.

DDR has also compiled a "top 10" list of ways to prepare for a possible pandemic, urging congregations to "reach out to community groups and public health officials" and "consider the special needs of the most vulnerable people in your congregation and community."

---

These resources are all located at www.elca.org/disaster/pandemic.

Page 4 - 2006 Salary Survey
By Cheryse Brenno-Sloan
Synod Statistician

This is the 13th annual salary survey published in a River Crossings issue. The survey is prepared as a resource for pastors and lay people to set appropriate compensation for pastoral leadership. Pastors and lay people are also encouraged to use the 2006 Minimum Compensation and Benefits Guidelines, available for download from the synod web site (if you do not have access to the web site, call the synod office and the staff will mail you a copy).

The many different ways to list compensation make it difficult to compile data that gives fair comparison. Therefore, it is important to know the system of calculation used to determine “salary” as it is used in the summary chart that follows: For those living in parsonages, “salary” was determined by adding amounts listed as salary, furnishings allowance, housing equity, annuity, additional pension, and social security allowance.

For those receiving housing allowance, all items listed above plus housing allowance were added. Using the ratio 1/1.3 = salary/salary and housing, the total was divided by 1.3 to find “salary.”

This salary survey does not include book allowance, business and professional allowance, mileage, or medical reimbursement amounts.

Social Security allowance was specifically listed for 75% of the entries. This allowance may have also been included in other entries which did not show the breakdown.

Part-time calls were figured by ratio in full-time amounts for survey comparison. The summary is listed in groupings of 5 years of experience, with the number of calls and the number in parsonage housing noted for each group. The chart on the right shows the range of salaries for each 5-year group with a bar. The average salary in each 5-year group is denoted with a line in the middle of each bar.

Pastor Salary Stats 2005 (TIFF - image file)
Range of Salaries (TIFF - image file)

Pages 5 - Polarities - Living with Tensions in Our Congregations
By Rev. Peter Soli

When I began to study peace-making, I soon learned that not all disputes and disagreements can be resolved. Not all disputes lend themselves to mediation and not all conflicts are “problems to be solved.”

These “not to be solved problems” are what Dr. Barry Johnson, author of Polarity Management: Identifying and Managing Unsolvable Problems, calls polarities. When there is a polarity, both solutions are desirable. If one side were to be chosen over another, both sides would lose. So when there is a conflict in a congregation, it is important to be able to distinguish a polarity from a problem to be solved.

For example, in my congregation there were tensions over the use of pastoral time and resources. Some said that we need to focus on the youth as they are the future church, and others said that we need to take care of our older “veterans” who have long helped build and support the church. This is a polarity. To choose one side over the other would have been foolish. The solution was to manage the tension in the polarity because both sides are important and vital to the church.

Johnson provides us with a simple diagram. Note that each pole (in this example the poles are “Self-esteem” and “Humility”) have both a positive (top) and a negative (bottom) side. Follow the arrows in the picture below to see the dynamic nature of a polarity.

Polarity Image (TIFF - image file)

It is the nature of a polarity that the positive aspects of each pole form opposites. It is the dynamic nature of a polarity that these positive aspects can easily move into excess or extreme and become negative. When this happens, there is movement towards the other pole and the same thing will happen on that side.

Polarities exist in our congregations and they challenge us to live with them in ways that keep us on the positive side of both poles. We have problems when there is a demand to have one pole without recognizing the value of the other.

God seems to have made these polarities a part of our DNA. They are present in all congregations. Roy Oswald, from the Alban Institute, has teamed up with Barry Johnson to identify eight critical polarities found in all congregations. Their work with polarities has brought them to conclude that when these eight polarities are well managed, the congregation will be healthy and thriving.

Those eight congregational polarities are: nurture/transformation; in-reach/outreach; strong clergy/strong lay; traditional/contemporary; easy/challenging; movement/enterprise; leader/manager; call/duty.

These polarities challenge us to rethink strategic planning and congregational leadership. Effective management of these ongoing dilemmas and paradoxes are key to the vitality of our congregations.

Online Resources

  • www.polaritymanagement.com - A secular site which deals with Dr. Barry Johnson’s work

  • www.alban.org/Weekly/InProgress/InProgress2004-March.asp - An article by Roy Oswald published on the Alban Institute web site

Rev. Peter Soli is a pastor at Redeemer Lutheran in Alden. He has worked in the Southeastern Minnesota Synod with conflict management issues. He has training from work with the Mennonite church, Speed Leas, and the Alban Instititute.

Page 6 - Global Mission Event Encourages All to Engage in Mission
By Katie Butler
SE MN Synod, Communications Director

On July 27-30 over 1,300 participants gathered at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst for the ELCA’s 2006 Global Mission Event (GME). This year’s event was co-sponsored by the Episcopal church and endorsed by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. Participants gathered under the theme “Sent! By God’s grace for the sake of the world” to learn, share, and worship.

Thursday
The event began Thursday evening with the Opening Celebration. The celebration set the tone for the rest of the event with international dancing, music, and liturgy in languages from around the world. Rev. Mark Hanson, presiding bishop of the ELCA, and Rev. Frank Griswold, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, addressed the participants of the GME.

During his address, Hanson reminded participants that all people are God’s guests in this world. As God’s guests, we all have things to offer and things we need from others. He urged listeners to “be engaged in God’s mission of reconciliation together as fellow guests, walking in the light of Christ, walking in the way of Christ.”

Griswold also spoke to those gathered about the nature of mission and our worth to the world. He asked that people “approach everyone as someone potentially revelatory of Christ.”

Friday
Friday, the first full day of the GME, began with a morning plenary featuring modern Chinese Christian artist Dr. He Qi. Qi seeks to spread a message of peace with his artwork and to help give Christianity in China a less foreign image.

After the morning plenary, participants dispersed to take part in Global University Sessions or day-long tracts of their choice.

This was the first year for the tracts, which focused on one issue for most of the day. There were four different tracts for participants to choose from for Friday only. “Assent Mapping” addressed different ways in which we can support international relationships beyond our monetary gifts. “Sustainable Development” looked at ways to asses a communities’ programs to ensure that they are self-sustaining rather than creating dependency on others. “Cross-Cultural Relations” addressed the barriers that can occur between people of different cultures. Finally, “Hunger Connections” was a role-play simulation engaging participants in the interconnected issues surrounding the withdrawal of a fictional manufacturing company from a small New England town to a Western African country.

During six timeslots Friday and Saturday, a total of 86 Global University options were available to participants not participating in Friday’s tracts and to all participants on Saturday. The sessions dealt with ways to build a global community; ways to welcome the stranger; current mission work; global justice, economy, peace, and environment; global service opportunities; information on work around the world; defining one’s own mission skills; and ways to strengthen congregational witness and outreach.

Friday evening featured a moving plenary featuring a walking prayer. The emphasis for the evening was the ELCA’s “Peace Not Walls – Stand for Justice in the Holy Land” campaign. There was a presentation of music, images, and both video and live testimony from Palestinian youth.

A few young people from the Al Raja Palestinian Folkloric Dance Troupe provided the live testimonies. One young woman said, “Peace, justice, freedom – you take them for granted because you’ve always had them. They’re supposed to be rights, but for us they’re dreams.” A male member stated that the troupe’s purpose is to “dance for hope, for peace.”

Baraket Rahme, development officer, Contact and Resource Center (CRC), Beirut, Lebanon, also addressed the GME participants. Rahme shared his fears and thoughts on the conflict in the Middle East and encouraged people to not get angry, but to go forward and learn what is happening. Knowledge, not anger, he believes, will bring peace.

For the final portion of the evening, participants were ushered outside to interactive prayer stations while GME Continued meditating on the image of the message, “Is anyone out there?” scrawled on the wall between Palestine and Israel

Saturday
Saturday’s plenary session featured Rev. Lisandro Orlov, United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina and Latin American regional coordinator, Lutheran World Federation HIV/AIDS campaign. He spoke of the ecumenical work that he does with HIV/AIDS ministries. In the context of introducing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), his words emphasized the need of Christians to walk with those who typically walk alone. Orlov was also very humble about the work he does. “I don’t do it because I’m a good person,” he stated. “It’s a mission, God’s mission.”

Bono, of the musical group U2, also addressed the GME participants via a video in support of the MDGs and the ONE Campaign, a movement to encourage the United States government to increase federal spending for international aid. Bono told Christians to “put on their marching boots” and work for justice, which he distinguished clearly from charity. He also asked people to “stop asking God to bless what you’re doing and get involved with what God is doing because he’s already there.”

The session concluded with a panel discussion with representatives from the ELCA and Episcopal church.

After the day’s Global University Sessions, participants experienced the Global Fest. The fest included an outdoor exhibition of displays and an evening program of global music, dance, video interviews with international mission personnel, and more.

Sunday
The GME concluded with a worship service Sunday morning. The service featured Nobel Peace Prize nominee Wahu Kaara, MDG campaign program coordinator, All Africa Conference of Churches, Nairobi, Kenya. Kaara reminded worshippers that we are all global citizens and share the same equal rights as all other global citizens simply because we’re alive. She urged them to “stop taking half-measures” in their mission work to benefit themselves, but to act on their consciences to engage in “global mission with a difference.”

Go to www.elca.org/gme for news, photos, video, and information on upcoming GMEs.

Page 7 - Bishop's Column

This System Works Well

When I find a book that I think looks interesting, I tear out the review and put it in a file folder. I add to it all during the year. Then, in September, I give the folder to my mother. She is always wondering what to give me at Christmas; we have decided on books. She looks through the file and orders from the books noted there. By the time Christmas comes, I can’t remember what books I have included and am surprised by her gifts. At the same time, she knows that the books she gives me are those I am interested in.

Reading is enjoyable and, I believe, so very important for a pastor’s continued growth in excellence. So what have you read lately? Summer is a great opportunity for “Sabbath time.” I understand such time to be not only for rest, but also for renewal and refreshment. That is where books enter in.

But summer is soon gone. I hope you have taken the opportunity for reading. Just in case you are looking for something more, here are a few suggestions…from my mother.

Quick reads:
My God and I: A spiritual memoir - By Lewis Smedes (Eerdmans, 2003). This writer and preacher recounts his lifelong walk with God, “It was because He did not trust me to travel alone.”

Credo - By William Sloane Coffin (Westminister John Knox, 2004). This chaplain at Yale and preacher at Riverside Church in New York shares comments and quotes on issues from charity and justice to politics and the meaning of faith. Some great sermon quotes.

On Being Lutheran - By Tim Lull (Augsburg, 2006). A collection of writings by a leader who died too soon. Short chapters followed by questions would serve well teaching new Christians.

A little thicker:
What’s Theology Got To Do With It? - By Anthony Robinson (Alban Institute, 2006). “I believe that congregations matter…I believe that congregations are vital when they are clear about the core convictions of Christian faith.”

Help: The Original Human Dilemma - by Garret Keizer (Harper San Francisco, 2004). The author is a storyteller, humorist, and theologian who offers challenging questions for the Good Samaritan and beyond.

Heavy:
The Holy Reich - By Richard Steigmann-Gall (Cambridge, 2003). A disturbing look at the rise of Nazism in pre-war Germany, and the use of the Christian faith in supporting its early popularity. Even the Confessing Church does not escape indictment.

Shalom,
Harold Usgaard
Bishop

Page 8 - Larry Iverson's Column,

Grants Help Congregations Evangelize
By Larry Iverson
Synod Minister

Each year the Congregational Renewal Team offers the opportunity to apply for grants of up to $500 to be matched by the congregation for an effort in creative outreach and evangelism. The applications are accepted beginning in September of each year, and grant recipients are notified in March of the following year.

This year six grants were awarded in amounts from $200 to $300 to the following congregations: Solor, Webster; Glory to God, Rochester; Rejoice!, Northfield; Our Savior’s, Rochester; North Prairie, Lanesboro; and Grace, Peterson.

The projects varied from outreach community picnics in which all families in the surrounding community will be invited to share in food, fun and hear about the ministries of the church. One church in a rural setting is going to install some additional signs at some busier intersections to draw attention to the location of their church and use the space to announce special events that will increase publicity of their ministries. Another congregation is making an effort to increase the awareness of prayer and spirituality in their community. Another congregation invited the author of a book on evangelism to come and speak and invited the community to attend.

It is the intention of these grants to encourage and support unique and new ideas that will spread the good news of the transforming power of Jesus Christ in the lives of these communities of faith. Please consider some creative ideas for outreach and evangelism in your congregation in 2007. Then contact me (Larry Iverson) in the synod office to get an application for one of these grants.

In Christ’s love,
Larry Iverson
iverson@semnsynod.org
507-280-9457
800-426-6376 (MN only)

Page 9 -  Shirley Gangstad's Column, Strategic Plan Update

Chance-Meeting Joys
By Shirley Gangstad
Synod Vice President

Greetings!

Time and again in my travels I meet someone whom I knew long ago but wasn’t expecting to meet that day, or I meet someone and we quickly discover that we have an acquaintance in common. You experience this too. We call it the “small world” syndrome. A non-believer might call these chance meetings co-incidences; I prefer to call them God-incidences.

Early this summer I was in a new part of Wisconsin performing at a WELCA gathering and met a college friend with whom I had lost touch for forty years. In Tanzania I met a woman named Rehema and told her I knew another Rehema in Tanzania. She knew her too! I have run into former students at the baggage carousel in Union Station in Chicago and at a restaurant in Alexandria and in congregations all over our synod. These God-incidences happen with such regularity and they always create warm and happy feelings—but why do they happen?

You perhaps have some possible answers to that question. I wonder if meeting people we know in unexpected places is a reminder that we are never alone, no matter where we might be. We have tangible, physical evidence of our connection and relationship to other people, and people are instruments of God’s love. Therefore, this might be one way that we have tangible, physical evidence of God’s presence in our lives, of God’s loving us all the time in all places.

I don’t need to know why these chance meetings occur; I just know I look forward to them and enjoy them!

Blessings in Christ,
Shirley

Getting People 'Hooked on God's Book'
By Pastor Jim Ahlquist
Congregational Renewal Team

As a pastor, I’m thankful for the people that attend Worship each week. I know how busy people are and how precious time is. If we are to offer opportunities to enter into the Scriptures in daily life, the Bible Studies better be worthwhile! People are hungry for the “Bread of Life” that will allow them to live forever. Many continue to search, but until the Spirit opens hearts to search the Scriptures, the emptiness will continue. How can we get people “hooked by the Book?” (a phrase used by Dr. Harry Wendt of Crossways International).

Dr. Wendt’s “convictions that fuel our ministry” could prove helpful to our ministries.

  1. If we wish to light a spiritual fire in people’s hearts, we must inspire and empower them to study the Scriptures in depth.

  2. To spark and fuel that fire, we must teach people the Bible’s “big story,” the key themes that weave their way through it, and what Jesus did with that story and those themes.

  3. Teachers must have access to materials that empower them to lift learners from the simple to the sublime.

  4. God’s people must be inspired and equipped to get beyond believing in Jesus to following Jesus in servant-discipleship.

  5. If people feel no compulsion to share with others the truths they have studied, they have not understood or been captured by those truths.

  6. In a world where 70% of people are either illiterate or functionally illiterate, tools must be provided to enable people to take the message of the Living Word to those who cannot read written words.

  7. The most important teachers of children are their parents. Although children may not hear everything that their parents say, they watch everything that their parents do.

As our Synod continues to focus on Bible Study this year, our prayers are that more and more of God’s people will be “hooked on God’s Book!

Page 10 - Call Update, Calendar of Events

Call Update
 Self Study:
• Albert Lea, Ascension – solo (David Beckstrom, interim)
• Blue Earth, Trinity – co-pastor
• Elkton, St. John - part-time pastor
• Faribault, First English – associate (Lyndy West, interim)
• Grand Meadow, Bear Creek/Grand Meadow – solo (Gail Klavetter, interim)
 • Mabel, Mabel First – solo
• Owatonna, St. John – solo (Arne Jessen, interim)
• Red Wing, First – associate
• Waseca, St. John – associate
• Wells, Good Shepherd – senior

Interviewing:
 • Byron, East/West St. Olaf – solo
 • Granger, Saetersdal - part-time, solo
 • North Mankato, Messiah - associate
 • Owatonna, Trinity – associate
 • Rapidan, Calvary - Solo

Roster Updates
On Leave from Call:
• Mary Sue Dreier, co-pastor, People of Hope, Rochester, 6/5/06
• Stephen Fiksdal, solo pastor, Mabel First, Mabel, 8/1/06
• J. Dana Peterson, Vice President, Youth Encounter, 1/1/06
• Roy H. Rogers, St. Paul’s ELCA/UCC, Lewiston, 8/24/06

Removed from the roster by action of the Synod Council:
• Darin Easler, on leave from call, 8/2/06

Transfer Out:
• Brian Scott, associate, First, Red Wing to the Minneapolis Area Synod, 8/6/06

Mission Support Income
July YTD
 Actual - $987,777
Last Year - $937,279
Budget - $1,091,126

* Fiscal Year February-January

Upcoming Events
Sept. 9 (Sat.): Discovering Hope Event
Sponsored by the Southwestern Minnesota Synod
9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
First Lutheran Church, Dundee, MN www.semnsynod.org/events/educational.html, 507-637-3904, eng@ecunet.org, or linda.fixen@ecunet.org
Sept. 15-17 (Fri.-Sun.): Scrapbooking/Stamping Retreat
Good Earth Village, Spring Valley, MN www.semnsynod.org/events/educational.html or www.goodearthvillage.org 
Sept. 17 (Sun.): Stewardship Event
2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
St. John Lutheran Church, Kasson www.semnsynod.org/events/educational.html,  iverson@semnsynod.org, 507-280-9457, or 800-426-6376 (MN only) Sept. 22-23 (Fri.-Sat.): Lay School of Theology: A Study of Romans
Good Earth Village, Spring Valley, MN www.semnsynod.org/events/educational.html, bolin@semnsynod.org, 507-280-9457, 800-426-6376 (MN only), or see Aug. River Crossings Sept. 27-30 (Wed.-Sat.): Peer Ministry Training
8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Zumbro Lutheran Church, Rochester, MN www.semnsynod.org/events/educational.html or www.peerministry.org/adult_training/  

For more information about these or other events, visit www.semnsynod.org and go to any of the “Events” links. 

Page 11 - New Worship Training

To download the registration form 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 deadlines for River Crossings is September 6. Please send correspondence to Katie Butler, butler@semnsynod.org; 507-280-9457.

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