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River Crossings in Plain Text

October 2007 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

Synod Office Staff Changes
Page 4

Youth Leadership Program Going Strong
Page 6

Inside...
Supporting Flood Relief
- page 2

"Many, Many Thanks" from Bishop Usgaard
- page 2

ELCA News: Lutheran Disaster Response Responds to Upper Midwest Flooding
- page 3

Bishop Usgaard: "August Flooding - Continued Support"
- page 8

Shirley Gangstad: “God is Working in New Ways”
- page 9

Children, Youth, & Family Ministry
- page 11

The Bridge - “Interesting Facts About Lutheran Campus Ministry”
- insert

Selected Youth/young Adult Ministry Sites

Page 2 - Synod News

Fall Theological Conference Registration Deadline
Register NOW for the Synod Fall Theological Conference (November 4-6). Mail-in registration forms must be postmarked by October 15. Online registration is due by October 18. Go to www.semnsynod.org  to register online or download additional hard-copy registration forms. 

Click here to go straight to the info. 

Supporting Flood Relief
Our brothers and sisters affected by the late August flooding are still in the midst of recovery. Please remember them in your prayers and consider helping out in the following ways:

Financially:
Funds sent to Lutheran Disaster Response (marked as designated for Southeastern Minnesota flood relief) will be used throughout the community:

Lutheran Disaster Response
2485 Como Ave
St. Paul, MN 55108
Or give online at www.elca.org/disaster 

The Southeastern Minnesota Synod Flood Relief Fund (gifts should be marked as designated for this fund) will go to congregations, primarily Rushford Lutheran Church:
Southeastern Minnesota Synod, ELCA
1001 14th St. NW, Suite 300
Rochester, MN 55901

Volunteering:
Those interested in volunteering for flood clean-up through Lutheran Disaster Response should contact Joyce Pederson, Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota Disaster Services, at 612-922-0776 with your availability. Volunteers must be 18 years or older; no previous experience necessary.

Get it Online

Many, Many Thanks
It has been a rather sobering experience, but one in which I have discovered how much I have to be thankful for. Pacemakers are a gift from God. Doctors and nurses and chaplains bear God’s gifts of healing and hope too. And family…I have been reminded that God’s greatest gift comes to us in love.

And then, so many of you sending cards, lifting up prayers, making phone calls, offering support - everyone of you has been a vehicle of God’s presence. Many, many thanks for your thoughtfulness and concern. It truly has meant so much.

So my heart is strong. I am back at it and I feel good. As one person commented, “the beat goes on.” Thank God!

Shalom,
Bishop Usgaard

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

Sympathies
• Rev. Ron Barnett, whose father Bill died in September

2007 Mission Support Income
August  YTD
 Current Year - $1,117,787
Last Year - $1,148,672
Budget - $1,126,679

* Fiscal Year February-January

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due God's name. Bring an offering and come before God; worship the Lord in the splendor of God's holiness. 1 Chronicles 16:29

While we are under last year's giving through the summer, we celebrate your generosity and trust in your regard and support of the work we do together through the gifts you share to God's glory.

Page 3 - ELCA News

Lutheran Disaster Response Responds to Upper Midwest Flooding
August 24, 2007

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) staff, in partnership with Lutheran leaders and social ministry organizations in southeastern Minnesota and in the area near La Crosse, Wis., has begun its work to assist people affected by severe flooding there. A series of severe storms that dumped more than a foot of rain in the region caused rivers to overflow. The storms, remnants of Tropical Storm Erin, are responsible for at least 26 deaths across several states.

Severe flooding also occurred this week in northwest Ohio, particularly in Findlay. LDR assessments there have not yet been completed, said the Rev. Kevin A. Massey, assistant director, ELCA Domestic Disaster Response.

LDR is a collaborative ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

In response to the storms, LDR has fielded a number of inquiries from people wanting to volunteer to assist in helping people with cleanup efforts, Massey said. Only now are some communities beginning to emerge from the emergency phase of the disaster, he said, and some communities remain closed to the general public.

"Mechanisms for coordinating the volunteers will be soon coming," Massey said. "Our disaster response coordinators in Minnesota and Wisconsin are now making preparations to coordinate volunteers to help with the removal of debris (and) to help clean out flooded homes. However, at this moment we're not able to manage influx of volunteers until we make these preparations."

He asked volunteers to monitor information on the LDR Web site at www.ldr.org and the ELCA Domestic Disaster Response at www.ELCA.org/disaster/ on the ELCA Web site, about how and when to volunteer.

Massey traveled Aug. 22 and Aug. 23 to the ELCA Southeastern Minnesota Synod and the ELCA LaCrosse Area Synod to begin discussions with bishops, area clergy and disaster relief partners, including local social ministry organizations.

In the Southeastern Minnesota Synod, Massey said LDR is concentrating its response efforts in the synod in Houston, Rushford and Winona. Especially hard hit was Rushford Lutheran Church, where the basement was flooded with sewage. There was also flooding in the parsonage. In a message to the synod, the Rev. Harold L. Usgaard, bishop of the Southeastern Minnesota Synod, said a decision was made to cleanup Rushford Lutheran Church immediately, and a professional cleaning firm will be called in.

"The town is still very much closed off, and the town was significantly affected," Massey said of Rushford. "The main street of the town was completely flooded as was a majority of the homes present."

Rushford and Houston-area pastors will continue to offer pastoral counseling and assistance to people affected by the floods, Usgaard said. An interfaith organization is being formed to assist in response, he added.

Usgaard reported that several other congregations suffered some water damage. Some members reportedly lost homes, and other congregations in the synod were cut off because roads and bridges were washed out, his message said.

Massey also met with the Rev. April Ulring Larson, ELCA La Crosse Area Synod bishop, area clergy and local disaster relief partners in the synod. LDR is concentrating its efforts in Gays Mills and Soldiers Grove, Massey said.

Among the most seriously damaged churches was Luther Memorial Lutheran Church, Gays Mills, which was flooded. A wall collapsed in the parsonage basement, the synod reported. Several other congregations in the area suffered some kind of flood damage or were cut off because bridges and roads were washed out. Some members' homes were damaged, the synod reported.

LDR will coordinate its response through Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota and Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan Inc., Massey said. LDR provides hardship grants, volunteer coordination services, spiritual and emotional care, and case management services.

Get it Online
Resources to use after disasters are available at www.elca.org/disaster 

For the flooding in the Midwest, you can find a Disaster Alert bulletin insert. The following are also available:

  • “Responsive Reading” following floods and hurricanes

  • “International Disaster Litany”

  • And other resources relating to other specific disasters such as the Gulf Coast hurricanes and the crisis in the Middle East

Page 4 - Synod Office Staff Changes
New synod minister called, change in support staff
By Katie Livingood
Synod Communications Director

After nearly a year with only one synod minister, the synod is proud to welcome Rev. Linda Gunderson as the new synod minister. Also, with Beth Gabriel leaving her position as Call Process/Candidacy Assistant, §148A Administrator, Cheryse Brenno-Sloan is transitioning into that role.

Rev. Linda Gunderson
Rev. Linda Gunderson, most recently the pastor at Central Freeborn Lutheran Church, Albert Lea, Minn., has spent all of her ordained career in southeastern Minnesota. After graduating from Luther Seminary, she took a call at Cross of Christ in Houston for four years and then served as the Executive Director for Good Earth Village for five years. She has been at Central Freeborn, originally a two-point with the now closed North Freeborn Lutheran Church, for twelve years.

Taking into account the gifts of both Linda and Larry Iverson, the other synod minister, the positions will be changing. One thing that Linda is especially looking forward to working with is rural redevelopment and working with rural congregations. Her work with the synod is kicking off right away with a trip to the Eastern Washington Idaho Synod to participate in their Bishop’s Convocation (similar to our Theological Conference), which includes mission developer training.

Outside of the office, Linda is faithful to her own wellness by setting aside time for recreation and family. For the last ten years, Linda has been spending her recreational time on the ice rink. When her daughter started figure skating, Linda heard they also had a class for adults and she’s been going ever since. This last year she has begun competing. When asked when we’d see her in the Olympics she laughed and said, “I’m not very good,” but she has proved that it’s never too late to start something new.

Linda also enjoys spending time with her family, which includes her husband Keith Onstad, her daughter Paige, 17, her two grown step-sons Matthew and Michael, her grandson William, 1, and the family’s two dogs “that rule [their] lives.” They currently live in Clarks Grove, Minn.

When asked about her feelings as she enters this new part of her life, Linda says she is both excited and nervous. “Excited to work with congregations and pastors...nervous about the learning curve. It will take some months to begin to learn what’s involved.”

Cheryse Brenno-Sloan
Cheryse Brenno-Sloan has been in the synod office since January 2002. Her job began as the Synod Statistician, which included collecting congregational reports and compiling the numbers from those reports. Over the years her job grew to include First Call Theological Education (FCTE) Co-Coordinator and to assist with the accounting, especially recently as Deborah Ann Norrie is on sabbatical.

Cheryse is now moving to take over work with the call process and candidacy. No, she’s not entirely crazy, she will be relinquishing some of her old responsibilities including collecting congregational reports and working with FCTE.

Cheryse has three children - Matthew, living and running his own business in Lomira, WI; Carlena, a senior at the University of Minnesota; and Chelsey, a senior at Mabel-Canton High School. She also has a granddaughter, Matthew's daughter Lila Clarissa. In her “spare” time, she travels the dairy show circuits, serving as the official "Camera Mom" and “manure handler.”

It was once suggested that instead of a nameplate on her desk, Cheryse should just have a plate that says “Jack,” as in jack-of-all-trades because of the variety of work she does in the synod office. Now that list has been made longer. As she says, though, “I like a good challenge and I think I’ve got one...There’ll be some mistakes, but by the grace of God I hope people understand.” As someone who did not previously work for the church, she says that having worked here for the last five years she has “learned more about churchwide and the larger church,” and she is “honored and blessed to be called here.”

Page 5 - Youth Leadership Program Going Strong
By Dayna Clemment
YSLI Program Coordinator

Our first YSLI (Youth Servant Leader Institute) Youth traveled to Holden Village July 5-14. After many hours on the train, this group was a part of Holden’s teaching staff, led sessions on youth leadership, participated in service projects and led a Vespers service. The group kept a “group journal” and one of the entries sums up the week at Holden and the YSLI experience:

Holden Village is a very unique place. It is unlike anything I have ever done before. I came to Holden unaware of what it would be like. I was a little unsure because I had never been in a place before that was so separated from the world. But because it was so far away from everything I am used to, it made the experience even better. The YSLI group is some of the very few people I feel completely comfortable with and I don’t hold anything back. When I’m at school I am a fairly quiet person, no one really has ever noticed me, I just sort of blended in with the walls. I felt invisible. And I held the best parts of me back from the world around me. But with YSLI and at Holden I didn’t. And guess what? I was accepted more than I could have imagined. I have learned that just by being me people will notice me. I can stand out in a crowd. As long as I do it for Christ. Through Christ, our experience was amazing. I praise and thank God so much for it all.

The second group of the Youth Servant Leader Institute (YSLI) completed their week of servant leadership camp on August 5-10. Eleven high school students from southeastern Minnesota participated in community building, worship and game leading, leadership development and servant leadership. The group worked three to four hours a day to build walls which were trucked to Austin for a Habitat for Humanity home.
The objective of YSLI is to train young people in principles of servant leadership and for them to return to their congregations and communities as youth leaders. They will develop a support team of youth and adults, discern what the needs are in their congregation and community, and develop a service ministry to meet those needs. We gather for four retreats throughout the year to connect again to the YSLI community and to check-in on the projects for support and encouragement.

The following students are a part of our second YSLI group:

Jack Burns, Faith Lutheran, Wabasha
Emily Dahle, Pontoppidan Lutheran, Ellendale
Emily Hagan, St. Olaf Lutheran, Austin
Natalie Klevan, Our Savior’s, Spring Valley
Zach Malecha, Spring Garden, Cannon Falls
Jeff Nelson, St. John’s, Owatonna
Riley Niebuhr, Good Shepherd, Wells
Alyssa Purvis, Dell Lutheran, Frost
Eric Rogelstad, Our Savior’s, Rochester
Lauren Windhorst, Spring Garden, Cannon Falls
Peter Zaffke, Trinity, Spring Grove, MN

Thank you to the following people for their leadership through the YSLI Advisory Team:

Gretchen Bachman, Good Earth Village
Nick Fisher-Broin, Spring Garden, Cannon Falls
Dayna Clemment, YSLI Program Coordinator, Northfield
Dave Herder, Good Earth Village
Brad Kmoch, Holden Village Partnership Builder
Meg Sander, Good Shepherd, Wells
Dan Doering, Grace Lutheran, Waseca

And a big thanks to Julie Hanson and Scott Roser our Good Earth Village counselors for the week! Special thanks to Steve Atwood at Good Earth Village for leading us in the wall building project. Thanks, too, to Gary Irmiter, Thrivent Builds Regional Specialist for helping us out and giving us free t-shirts!

If you have any questions about YSLI please call Dayna Clemment, Program Coordinator, 608-780-6891, dclemment@juno.com

Page 6 - 148A Information for Congregation Presidents

Since January 1, 1991 the Southeastern Minnesota Synod has been complying with the provisions of Minnesota Statute § 148A. The compliance procedure has included doing background checks on all pastors receiving calls in the synod since January 1, 1991. It also included a provision to do background checks on pastors who had received calls in the synod after August 1, 1986 and before January 1, 1991 at the congregation’s request.

What is § 148A?
The synod’s compliance procedure is designed to assist congregations in conducting the background checks required by §148A before calling a pastor, and does not in any way replace the traditional responsibilities of the congregational call committee. Call committees must bear in mind that §148A is, in some respects, quite narrow: It requires only that some (not all) of the candidates’ current and former employers (not acquaintances or bishops or even the candidates themselves) for the past five years be contacted and that they be asked only about sexual misconduct (not other types of misconduct), and then only about sexual misconduct with counselees (not sexual misconduct generally). Call committees should continue to inquire into the wide range of professional and personal qualities that bear upon whether a particular candidate can provide the pastoral leadership sought by a particular congregation.

Does § 148A apply to rostered Associates in Ministry (AIMs) or other employees of the congregation?
The applicability of Minnesota Statutes § 148A depends on whether the non-clergy employee of the congregation is or will be performing “psychotherapy” as defined in the statute, namely “the professional treatment, assessment or counseling of a mental or emotional symptom or condition.”

It is unlikely that a secretary, a custodian or an organist would ever be within the scope of the statutory definition. If the duties of a teacher, youth director, social worker or parish nurse include counseling, then a court may find that the statute applies.

The statute is applicable to persons hired after August 1, 1986. A congregation who added laypersons with counseling responsibilities to its staff may wish to comply with this statute retroactively.

Your congregation should determine for itself whether any lay church employees, whether rostered or non-rostered, need to have the background check completed.

What information does § 148A cover?
This background check asks only for information relating to possible sexual misconduct in a counseling situation. Completing this background check does not give you information that could be obtained in other types of background investigations.

More information is available online at www.semnsynod.org/148a.html. Other materials are available from the synod office to assist the congregation in completing these background checks. Please contact Cheryse Brenno-Sloan at the synod office to request a copy or if you have additional questions.

Ms. Cheryse Brenno-Sloan
Southeastern Minnesota Synod, ELCA
507-280-9457 or 800-426-6376 (MN only)
sloan@semnsynod.org

Page 7 - Bishop's Column

August Flooding - Continued Support
“Please don’t forget us…”

Those were not the literal words, but it was the message I was hearing. He is a church leader in the Rushford area. We were discussing the situation he has been living with day and night for more than a month, the aftermath of a devastating flood. The hard work continues and he and others have become so tired, physically and emotionally.

At first, the adrenaline carries the day. The news reports are focused on the calamity, the senators and governor are in attendance. In a perverse sort of way, it is exciting. The relief organizations set up shop, the volunteers are plentiful, the community echoes the words of Corinthians, “if one member suffers, all suffer together with it.” There is hard work, but progress is visible. The debris from the initial onslaught of the flood begin to disappear.

But the adrenaline only goes so far. The reality awakens that no matter how much effort is expended, it will never be the same again. Now comes the realization that more has been lost than was first imagined. The relief check will not cover all the needs. The furnace will have to be replaced; the appliances also have to go. And the most devastating is not so much financial, but emotional - photos and heirlooms. And now the television cameras are not as visible. It seems like the volunteers are not as available. And some victims seem to have better connections than others, more assistance, more resources. So the fear emerges. What will the future hold for us? And the plea, “Please don’t forget us.”

I have promised this person that we as the church will be there with him and his people all the way. We continue to solicit contributions for the Southeastern Minnesota Synod Flood Relief Fund. These funds will be made available for our affected churches, beginning with Rushford Lutheran. Financial gifts can also be given through a number of relief organizations including Lutheran Disaster Response. These funds are made available throughout the general community. I ask that congregations continue to gather volunteers for relief efforts well into the months ahead. Pastors seek how to offer relief to your partners in ministry. Lutheran Disaster Response has the well-deserved reputation of being one of the last agencies to leave the site. We will continue to partner with them as long as it takes. And we will continue to gird all of our efforts in prayer. You will not be forgotten!

Shalom,
Harold Usgaard
Bishop

Page 8 - Shirley Gangstad's Column, Request from Lutheran Campus Ministry

God is Working in New Ways
Greetings!

Recently I was in a conversation with a woman who leveled a severe condemning judgment against a particular group of people. She justified her opinion by stating, “It says so right in the Bible.” She was accurate. Her opinions were echoing certain verses from the Bible.

This put me in mind of Luke 13:10-17 where on the Sabbath Jesus heals a woman who for eighteen years has been bent over and unable to stand up straight. One of the elders of the synagogue rises in protest. Healing was doing work, the elder said, and the scriptures specifically set aside six days for work and the seventh was to be the Sabbath, the day of rest, the day no work should be done. The elder, too, was accurate in his reference to the scriptures and everyone, including Jesus, knew it.

In spite of the elder’s accurate reading and interpreting of the scriptures, Jesus chastises him severely for, in effect, making law more important than love, tradition more important than compassion, words more important than a person. When Jesus said this, “all his opponents were put to shame.”

In this story from Luke, Jesus was obviously making it clear that he was doing a new thing in new ways. His intention was to break the old rules or change the old rules, and from now on, things would be different.

“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?” (Matt. 7:1-3) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” (Matt. 7:21)

Let us be watchful for God doing new things in our lives and in our church!

Blessings in Christ,
Shirley

Request from Lutheran Campus Ministry
As we adjust to the changing seasons with their cooler temperatures and different colors, families and congregations are also adjusting to the changes of students returning to school.

Lutheran Campus Ministry of Minnesota needs your help to send referrals of names and permanent contact information of your college-bound high school graduates, along with the university or college they will be attending.

Ask a responsible person in your congregation to send a list electronically to campusmin34@qwest.net or complete the on-line form at www.lcm-mn.org.

What is Lutheran Campus Ministry?
The Christian community that gathers on campus is anchored in worship that is centered in the grace and reconciliation of Jesus Christ. Here the Word and Sacraments remind young adults on campus of their baptism and affirm them as persons. Lutheran staff and students take seriously the opportunity to share this good news more boldly with others

In academic settings that are intellectually rigorous, emotionally volatile and spiritually engaging, this community of believers provides a place for faith to be challenged by the study of scripture and enlightened by the Spirit. Students hear the call to faithful discipleship and learn to serve the needs of others in the larger world.

Through experiences in creative ministry and volunteer service, students who are active leaders in the church on campus today provide competent, enthusiastic, trained leadership for the church for years to come.

Get it Online

Page 9 - Strategic Plan Update

Strategic Plan and Beyond
 This is the last time you’ll hear from the Congregational Renewal Team specifically on the annual focus of the strategic plan. Over the last three years we, as a synod, have focused on prayer, Bible study, and sharing our faith stories. These are not things that we focus on only because they are a part of a strategic plan and then are abandoned as something we once did, but rather members of the synod identified these things as parts of our faith worth our time and attention.

Now that the formal time frame of the strategic plan has come to an end, each individual and congregation is expected to carry out the visions of the strategic plan:

  • To Be Joyful Witnesses

  • To Be Christ-Centered Disciples

  • To Be Strong Leaders

You are encouraged to find new ways to carry out the visions and goals of the strategic plan in your congregations. As a synod, we will continue many of the things started because of the strategic plan, including praying for specific congregations each week, publication of the Bridge (including the Bible verse that goes with it), and Natural Church Development to strengthen individual congregations.

The leadership of the synod is talking about the future and how we will be intentional about staying strong in faith and strong as a synod so that our work done in the last three years is not lost. In the meantime, continue in your congregations with the good practices that have been started in the last three years and continue to be Joyful Witnesses, Christ-Centered Disciples, and Strong Leaders.

Get it Online

The Power of God in Telling Our Faith Stories
 By Larry Iverson
Synod Minister and Congregational Renewal Team

During this past year we have shared ideas on how people can share their faith stories with others. It has been an integral part of the synod’s strategic plan to be joyful witnesses, to be Christ-Centered disciples and to be strong leaders.

The wonderful thing in addition to sharing your faith story about how God has been active in your life is that it also encourages others to tell their faith stories. Jesus told stories to engage people’s lives and faith, to speak about justice and show us consideration for God and others, and telling our faith stories can do the same.

It takes courage to witness to one’s encounters with God, but sharing our hurts and joys makes us more human and more open to God and others. Hopefully, your worship community has embraced God’s power to transform lives for the better as you have told your faith stories this past year, and you will all continue to tell faith stories as a regular part of the witness to your faith.

Seek opportunities at fall stewardship to tell of the use of possessions as signs of Christ’s power over everything in your life. Tell of your experiences and trials of faith at difficult and happy times. Witness to the power of Christ to challenge your life at times when you have felt called to speak out about needs of others or injustice. The key is that telling your faith stories must include God. If we continue to model telling our faith stories in the context of worship, we will experience the hopefulness, grace and presence of God in new and different ways.

Page 10 - Call Update

Call Update
Self Study:
• Albert Lea, Central Freeborn – solo
• Austin, Grace – solo
• Cannon Falls, First English – associate
• Cannon Falls, St. Ansgar – associate
• Glenville, First – solo (Gail Klavetter, interim)
• Hayfield, Trinity – solo
• Kenyon, Gol – part-time, solo (Dan Dimick, interim)
• Myrtle/Glenville, Bethlehem/Deer Creek Valley – solo
• Northfield, St. Peter – associate
• Sargeant, Evanger – solo
• St. Charles, Faith – solo (David Beckstrom, interim)
• Waterville, St. Paul’s German Lake – part-time solo

Interviewing:
• Mabel, Mabel First – solo (Curtis Fox, interim)
• Oakland, Oakland/Moscow – solo (Peter Soli, interim)
• Rochester, Bethel – associate (Lissa Kahl, 1/2 interim)
• Waseca, St. John – associate
• Webster, Solor – solo, part-time (Dean Larson, interim)
• Wells, Good Shepherd – shared ministry pastor
• Zumbrota, Lands – solo (Luther Peterson, interim)

Ready to Extend Call:
• Cannon Falls, Wangen Prairie – 1/2 time solo (Charles Jacobson, interim)

Call Extended:
• Rochester, People of Hope – associate

Call Accepted:
• Greg Ofsdahl, NW WI Synod, to Redeemer, Alden, solo 10/15/07
• Arthur Sharot, St. Ansgar, to Urland, Cannon Falls, Associate, 9/5/07
• Shelly Olson, NW MN Synod, to Our Saviors, Cleveland, solo, 8/17/07
• Susan Wallager, to Faith, Dodge Center, part-time associate, 8/15/07
• Patrick Patterson, Luther Seminary, to Christ the King, Mankato, administrative pastor, 9/5/07
• Karna Hagen, Luther Seminary, to Gloria Dei, Rochester, associate, 10/2/07

Ordination:
• Karna Hagen, Luther Seminary graduate, to Gloria Dei, Rochester, 9/9/07
• Patrick Patterson, Luther Seminary graduate, to Christ the King, Mankato, 8/26/07

Roster Update
Call to Specialized Ministry:
• Mark Granquist, Professor, Gustavus Adolphus to ELCA Church Council call to Associate Professor of Church History, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, July 1, 2007
• Victor Jortack, on leave from call to Synod Council call to Zwingli UCC, West Concord, July 1, 2006

On Leave From Call:
• Karen Grandall, Hosanna, Rochester, July 16, 2007
• Barbara Jewell, interim, Trinity, Blue Earth, October 1, 2007
• Jeffrey Wallager, Deer Creek Valley & Bethlehem, Glenville, August 16, 2007

Retired:
• Clark Cary, interim, United, Red Wing, June 1, 2007
• Gerald Gengenbach, Dennison & Vang, Dennison, September 1, 2007.
• Linda Helberg, Bethel, Rochester, September 1, 2007
• Larry Tantow, Chaplain, Samaritan Bethany, Rochester, September 1, 2007

Transfer Out:
• Brian Hooper, First, LeSueur to the Greater Milwaukee Synod, September 1, 2007
• Alton Larsen, retired to Minneapolis Area Synod, September 1, 2007
• Roy H. Rogers, on leave from call to the East-Central Synod of Wisconsin, September 1, 2007
• Stephan Sandness, Trinity, Hayfield to the LaCrosse Area Synod, September 16, 2007
• Kari Williamson, 1st English, Cannon Falls to the Grand Canyon Synod, July 1, 2007.

Page 11 - Children, Youth and Family Ministry Summit

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 Oct. 3. Please send correspondence to Katie Livingood, livingood@semnsynod.org; 507-280-9457.

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