2021 Synod Assembly Resource Packet TABLE of CONTENTS
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2021 Synod Assembly Resource Packet TABLE OF CONTENTS Welcome and Introduction . 3 – 4 Zoom & Streaming Tips . 5 Voting Member Instructions . 6 Agenda . 7 Guest Speakers . 8 – 9 Synod Council . 10 Synod Staff . 11 Resolutions and Memorials . 12 – 25 RC2021-01 . 12 RC2021-02 . 13 – 14 RC2021-03 . 15 RC2021-04 . 16 – 17 RC2021-05 . 18 – 19 RC2021-06 . 20 – 21 RC2021-07 . 22 – 23 RC2021-08-09 . 24 – 25 Nominees . 26 – 41 Annual Reports . 42 – 45 ELCA Churchwide . 42 Augsburg . 43 Portico . 44 MN Council of Churches . 45 2 WELCOME & INTRODUCTION Dear Friends in Christ, Welcome to our first synod assembly in two years. Certainly, 2020 unfolded in a way no one could have anticipated: • The COVID-19 pandemic challenged us to reconsider our relationship to God’s creation. • The murder of George Floyd and the global cries for justice challenged us to reconsider our relationships with each other. • The recession and the disparities in healthcare caused us to reconsider our relationship in the global economy. The Biblical Year of Jubilee unfolded in ways the Israelites would not have imagined. • The Israelites were called to observe Jubilee every 50 years – a time of dramatic change reminding the faithful that God is the giver of the land and that God’s community is responsible for the well-being of all its members. • Every seven years the land was left fallow and debts were forgiven. After seven sevens, or the 50th/Jubilee Year, a radical homecoming was called for, whereby land lost to indebtedness would be returned. • At the core, Jubilee reminds us that God’s community is to be guided by God’s ways – rooted in creation and in exodus. Social power and social wealth are gifts for the sake of community. And, community cannot be sustained when high levels of inequity exist. Given all that’s unimaginable in our lives, while also catching glimmers of how life may be rising anew, we have chosen the theme “Jubilee Reclaimed: Opening the Way.” The Easter Season is really a jubilee season. Through the cross and resurrections, God ushers in a renewed Jubilee that extends to all – as far as the ends of the earth. It is the Jubilee of new life and forgiveness – justification and liberation because of faith in Jesus Christ. Oh, that doesn’t mean the jubilee in Isaiah is replaced by the jubilee of justification. On the contrary! You and I are partners with the God of Jubilee. We’ve been justified by grace. Secure in that identity, we live and proclaim Jubilee to the ends of the earth – forgiveness of sin, good news to the poor, release to the captives, and liberty for the oppressed. Over the next 12 hours we will be testimony to the Jubilee opportunities in our lives from profound speakers: • ELCA Vice President Bill Horne will share the hopes of ELCA Churchwide. • Theologian Drew Hart will draw us into a conversation about who we are and whose we are. • Pastors Marlene Helgemo and Kate Reuer Welton will share Biblical insights that will challenge and inspire. • Epidemiologist Michael Osterholm will offer current information about the virus that 3 dominates life in the church these days. • Youth Gathering Director Molly Beck Dean will share her excitement over Minneapolis hosting the 2022 event. As we lean into the fear and hope ascribed to our theme, let’s remember that God’s abundance offers us strength to think outside of boxes, outside of narthexes, outside of ourselves that we might be agents of welcome and healing in our world -- that we might know Jubilee for ourselves and our neighbors. In Christ, Bishop Ann Svennungsen 4 ZOOM & STREAMING TIPS Voting Members Using Zoom Mute Participants Reactions/Raise Hand When this icon has Click this icon and a Click this icon and a bubble will appear, a red line through list of participants on allowing you to react or raise your hand. it, you are muted. the call will open in During Synod Assembly, Please remain muted a separate window, if you wish to speak to a during the Synod usually along the resolution, you must raise Assembly unless you right side of your your hand. We will ask you are asked to unmute. Zoom screen. to unmute and speak when it is your turn. Stop Video Chat End When this icon has Click this icon and a chat box Click this button to a red line through it, will open in a separate window, leave the Zoom call. your video is off. usually along the right side of your Zoom screen. During Synod Assembly, you will only be able to chat with call administrators. Multiple Windows You may need more than one window open at a time in order to vote and participate on Zoom. At the top of your Zoom window, minimize/resize the screen. Then, open your interenet browser and pull up the portal. If you run your cursor along the sides of each window, an arrow will appear. Click and drag the window sides until each window is the best size for viewing both at once. You may also choose to use multiple devices; accessing the Portal and voting can easily be done on a smartphone or tablet while you are using Zoom on a different device. If you need more Zoom help, we put together a short video on the basics we think you’ll need to know for Synod Assembly 2021. Click here to view! Guest Viewers Streaming Links YouTube Live: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaP79I0xFiBUTiTHdOmuq6w Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/mplssynod Commenting Social Media We will have staff monitoring the chats on Remember to post about Synod Facebook and YouTube, so please let us know Assembly on social media! Tag what you think of our first ever virtual Synod us and/or use our hashtag: Assembly! #masassembly 5 VOTING MEMBERS INSTRUCTIONS Voting Member Orientation • Friday at 4 p.m. • If at any time you need to refresh your • First-time Asembly voters should attend memory on the Rules of Procedure, Click • The budget hearing at 5 p.m. is optional here! Voting Member Portal The Voting Member Portal will contain all resources and links you will need during the Assembly. The Portal is password protected. If you are a Voting Member, you received the password in email communications leading up to Synod Assembly. If you are not a Voting Member, you may not access the portal or vote. You may invite visitors to watch the Synod Assembly on Facebook live or YouTube live (links on page 5). Important links for participating in Syond Assembly will be located here on the Portal! Credentialing Please sign on to Zoom 30 minutes before Assembly begins to ensure time for the credentialing process. When you sign on to Zoom, you will be asked to fill out the credentials form (the link to which will be on the Voting Member Portal). Please fill this form out before the first plenary begins so all voting members are counted. Other helpful links and resources can be found in this section of the Portal. Need Help? A virtual Assembly is new for all of us; and some of us are more familiar with the technology than others. Please be patient and charitable in your interactions. If you have technology questions on Friday or Saturday, please call Madeline Troyer, 330-600-0664. 6 AGENDA Friday, April 23rd 4:00 p.m. Voter Orientation Synod Vice President, Felecia Boone and Parlimentarian, The Honorable Judge David Lillehaug 5:00 p.m. Budget Hearing, Synod Treasurer, Ty Inglis 5:45 p.m. Assembly Registration Check-In For credentialing purposes, assembly registrants will need to “check-in” each day. Please join Zoom 30-minutes prior to the assembly Call to Order. 6:00 p.m. Gathering and Music 6:15 p.m. Plenary 1: Welcome and Opening Liturgy Dwelling in the Word, Rev. Kate Reuer Welton, Lutheran Campus Ministry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis Adoption of Rules, Order of Business, Credentials Report Report of the Reference and Counsel Committee Report of the Bishop Consent Agenda 7:20 p.m. Break 7:30 p.m. Keynote Address, Dr. Drew Hart, professor in theology at Messiah University, author of Trouble I’ve Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism Report of the Synod Treasurer, Ty Inglis Budget Resolutions Announcements 9:00 p.m. Adjourn Saturday, April 24th 8:00 a.m. Deadline for Submitting Nominations and Resolutions 8:30 a.m. Assembly Registration Check-In For credentialing purposes, assembly registrants will need to “check-in” each day. Please join Zoom 30-minutes prior to the assembly call to order. 9:00 a.m. Plenary 2: Welcome and Call to Order Dwelling in the Word, Rev. Marlene Helgemo, All Nations Indian Church, Minneapolis Credentials Report Report of the ELCA Vice President, Bill Horne ELCA video Nominating Committee Report Elections 9:50 a.m. Break 10:00 a.m. Plenary 3: State of the Pandemic, Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota Resolution and Memorial 11:30 a.m. Break 11:40 a.m. Plenary 4: Report of the Synod Vice President, Felecia Boone Resolution Report of the ELCA Youth Gathering, Molly Beck Dean, Gathering Director 12:30 p.m. Plenary 5: Remaining Resolutions Unfinished Business Closing of the Synod Assembly 7 GUEST SPEAKERS Rev. Kate Reuer Welton Bible Study Leader The Rev. Kate Reuer Welton (she/her) serves as the Lutheran Campus Pastor at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. She is married to Jim, mother to Benjamin and Eleanor, and is grateful that they’re finally old enough to enjoy watching the Great British Bake Off and go for bike rides together! Kate graduated from HarvardDivinity School (MDiv) in 2006 and Luther Seminary (MTh) in 2010, after which she was called to the U of M.