Shirley Gangstad, the synod’s Mission Interpreter Coordinator, introduced 2011 Synod Assembly participants to a couple of resources for stories of the church. These include Being Lutheran, a prototype for a potential quarterly magazine, and Stories of Faith in Action.
Lutherans sometimes have a reputation for being humble. We’ll give anyone a cup of coffee, but don’t ask us to brag about ourselves! Shirley Gangstad, Mission Interpreter Coordinator for the Southeastern Minnesota Synod, is trying to “cure” members of the ELCA of this and encourage them to share the stories of their church.
Mission Interpreters are one way that the stories of the ELCA are told. Their roll is to:
- Bring the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ to light and share it with those who make it all possible: the people of the ELCA.
- Tell the story of ELCA ministries to members of the church in an effective and compelling manner.
- Provide a vehicle for two-way communication.
- Provide an opportunity to thank the people of the ELCA
Mission Interpreters work within their congregations to tell the stories of the ELCA in both verbal presentations and written information like newsletter articles or bulletin boards. They also network with Shirley, as the Mission Interpreter Coordinator, and other Mission Interpreters to learn more about their role and share their experiences.
Members of congregations with Mission Interpreters grow in their understanding of, commitment to, connection with, pride in (and no, that’s not a bad thing!), and giving to their church.
Shirley’s roll as Mission Interpreter Coordinator is to train, support, educate, and encourage the Mission Interpreters. As the program grows, more information will become available on the synod’s website for Mission Interpreters to use in their contexts. This will include written articles, story ideas, and links to a variety of stories and information from the wider church.
The 2011 Southeastern Minnesota Synod Assembly passed a resolution to commit to the “Journey to Macedonia,” a challenge and program to increase giving and financial education among members of the synod. In the proposal for the grant that will support this endeavor, the synod’s Mission Support Table committed to having Mission Interpreters in 100 of the synod’s congregations by 2013. We are about halfway there.
At the 2011 Synod Assembly, Shirley pointed out that she is deliberate about using the term “our ELCA” instead of “the ELCA.” She explains, “It makes a difference to me as a speaker and to you as a listener if I am talking about our church in which we have a partnership.” Tell the story of this partnership by supporting your congregation’s Mission Interpreter, consider becoming a Mission Interpreter, or check out the resources below.
Featured Resources
There are lots of other ways to share your story or hear others’ stories, including:
- Share your story! If you have an exciting ministry in your congregation, contact Katie Livingood at 507-280-9457, 800-426-6376 in Minnesota, or livingood@semnsynod.org
- Get resources for your congregation, videos to inspire and amuse, and a place to share what’s on your mind at LivingLutheran.com.
- Stories and more information for Mission Interpreters are on the synod website at www.semnsynod.org/stories
- Find stories of how God is changing lives through the mission and ministry of the ELCA, resources on mission support (the financial contributions given to the churchwide organization from synods and congregations) budget information and more in “Stories of Faith in Action at www.ELCA.org/stories
Download:
- Portrait PDF
- Portrait TIFF
- Landscape PDF
- Landscape TIFF
- Bridge Logo JPG
- Bridge Logo TIFF
- (click on the image above for a high resolution of the photo)
