Proposed Agenda

Workshops

All registrants may choose two workshop options. All offered twice on Friday.

• What is This 'Missional' Church?
  Location: Elliott
  Rev. Linda Gunderson & Larry Iverson, Synod Ministers
  The church is at a time of great opportunity. The question is whether or not there is a willingness to take advantage of this opportunity. Can mission be re-imagined so that it isn't about surviving and instead is about claiming Jesus Christ as Lord and grounding individuals and faith communities in his mission? Can congregations confidently turn outward, going into the world in Jesus name? This is a time to witness and serve.
  
• Ethnic Ministries in the 21st Century
  Location: Legion
  Rev. Peter Reuss, Synod Mission Developer, & Sudanese ministry leaders
  Every week the Southeastern Minnesota Synod worships in English...and Anyuak...and Dinka...and Nuer! The Holy Spirit has blown Sudanese immigrants into partnerships with congregations in Austin, Faribault, Owatonna, and Rochester. No longer does African ministry only mean looking across the ocean...it is here in this synod. Come and hear our brothers and sisters in Christ tell their powerful stories!
  
• Challenges to Our Communities
  Location: McDonnell
  Bonnie Rietz, former mayor of Austin, Minn.
  A discussion on the many challenges facing our communities. Joining Ms. Rietz for this conversation are Kyle Nordine, CEO of the Northfield Retirement Community, Northfield and Myron Schober, publisher of the Tri-County Record, Rushford.
  
• One on One - a Workshop for Shy Lutherans
  Location: Ballroom
  Rev. David Wangaard, Bishop's Associate Minneapolis Area Synod
  Evangelism in our century is as much about listening as it is about telling. Before we can share with another the story of our faith we must first listen. We must deeply listen to anothers hopes, fears, joys, sorrows. For it is in this kind of listening that we will hear the movement of the Holy Spirit in each of our lives. In this workshop we will learn techniques, we will practice and we will have great fun making a new friends
  
• We Pray for Our Congregations Serving God in Their Communities
  Location: Mayo
  Rev. Kathie Nycklemoe, Mount Olive, Rochester, Minn.
  This is a quiet time for prayer and reflection on what God is doing through your hands in your community. Kathie Nycklemoe is Pastor of Pastoral Care and Spiritual Formation at Mount Olive, Rochester. Each year she leads small group prayer classes, including a six-week series on prayerful listening for God.

LIFT - Living into the Future Together
Assembly panel to discuss the future of the ELCA

What?
The ELCA Church Council has commissioned a task force - Living into the Future Together (LIFT) - to develop and recommend options for the future of the ELCA in light of its identity, changes in its environment and its call to God’s mission. It is important to note that this study covers all expressions of the church, not just the churchwide office.
The work of the task force is guided by two questions:

1. What is God calling this church to be and to do in the future?
   
2. What changes are in order to accomplish these tasks more faithfully?

Who?
The key component of the work of this task force is participation by members from throughout the ELCA. During the spring of 2010, the task force will seek input from groups such as ELCA college and university presidents, the ELCA Conference of Bishops, the ELCA Church Council, synod assemblies, and members and professional leaders throughout the church. A survey is available online for individual members. The survey is at www.liftelca.org/get-involved and can be completed online or submitted by e-mail, fax, or mail. On the same page is a survey for groups. Any group of ELCA members is encouraged to discuss the questions and submit their collective responses.

Why?
In the more than twenty years that the ELCA has been in existence, much has changed in our society. This study will evaluate the organization of and relationships in the church in light of those changes. The task force will produce a report and recommendations based on their findings to help position the ELCA to best participate in God’s mission in the years to come.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson told the task force, "You are here to deepen our process of being engaged in evangelical, missional imagination." He asked the task force to describe what "a vibrant, vital Evangelical Lutheran Church engaged in mission" should look like in today's global, digital world.

When?
Members and groups are invited to submit their responses any time during summer 2010, preferably by mid-June.
The 2010 Southeastern Minnesota Synod Assembly will provide an opportunity to engage in a larger conversation on Friday, May 8, 6:45 p.m. Join Bishop Usgaard, ELCA Vice president Carlos Peña, Luther College president Dr. Richard Torgerson, and Louise Hemstead, an ELCA Church Council member in conversation about what the future ministry of the ELCA.

More Information

• www.ELCA.org/lift
  
• www.liftelca.org
  
• www.facebook.com/liftelca
  
• www.twitter.com/liftelca