The Bridge in Plain Text
Issue To Be Used Any Time After
Feb. 1, 2009
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The Bridge
A monthly publication of the Southeastern Minnesota Synod, ELCA
Connecting the congregational, synodical, and churchwide expressions of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Rostered Leadership
Teaming Up to Accomplish Great Things in the ELCA
From www.ELCA.org/Growing-In-Faith/Vocation/Rostered-Leadership.aspx
Leaders who have been called to serve in the ELCA serve on one of four “rosters” (lists) to carry out the ministry and mission of the church, sharing God’s boundless love with the world. Ordained leaders are called “pastors,” and there are also three additional types of lay rostered leaders.
Ordained Ministry
Ordained ministers, or pastors, carry out their ministry as they proclaim the Gospel. They are called to a ministry of Word and Sacrament, to bring the witness of faith to the lives of God's people.
Providing care and nurture of others and reaching out to a hurting world are essential expressions of this form of ministry.
Ordained ministers normally serve in congregations. Some pastors, after an initial congregational call of three years, serve in non-parish settings as chaplains, faculty at colleges and seminaries, leaders in social service agencies, or in staff positions at synod or churchwide offices.
Associates in Ministry
Partners in ministry, these leaders are commissioned for ministry to equip and enable others in their Christian lives. Theologically trained lay ministers, they serve in congregations and other ministries of the ELCA.
Associates in ministry frequently share in a collegial staff ministry and focus in areas such as learning ministries, family ministries, youth, administration, volunteer ministry, music, ministry coordination or parish nursing.
Some associates in ministry serve in staff positions in congregations where the position includes more than one area of specialty. An associate in ministry may also be called by a synod to a non-congregational setting such as a social service agency, counseling center, college or seminary faculty, or synod staff.
Diaconal Ministers
Diaconal ministers are consecrated for service in ministries at the intersection of church and world. These rostered lay leaders work to seek wholeness in the world and to help the people of God to live out the Gospel. They are committed to alerting the church to the needs of the world.
Diaconal ministry is a ministry of Word and service, sharing the hope of Christ, helping where there is need, and equipping others for healing and justice in the world. Diaconal Ministers serve through agencies, institutions, and traditional church programs as they build bridges between the church and the world.
Deaconesses
The Deaconess Community consists of theologically trained, professionally prepared women, called to ministry and service by congregations and synods of the ELCA.
Monthly Bible Verse
This Bible verse was selected by Harold Usgaard, bishop of the
Southeastern Minnesota Synod, for everyone in the synod to study.
"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."
1 Peter 2:9
About Our Synod
The Southeastern Minnesota Synod is a faith community of 130,000 baptized
people in 184 congregations as well as related institutions of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Its geographic area includes
15 counties in the southeastern corner of Minnesota.
The Bridge is a monthly
publication of the Southeastern Minnesota Synod, ELCA. For more information,
contact the synod office:
Southeastern Minnesota Synod,
ELCA
1001 14th St. NW, Suite 300
Rochester, MN 55901-2551
(507) 280-9457
www.semnsynod.org
This issue is designed to be
used any time after Feb. 1, 2009.
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