Welcome to the synod e-news! Reminder: The last section of the synod newsletter is always the buttons to resources on the synod website. If your email ends before that, it may have been "clipped." If you see that message, just click on the "View entire message" link next to it to view the newsletter in its entirety.

The 2025 Synod Assembly is May 16 and 17 at the Marriott Madison West (1313 John Q Hammons Drive, Middleton, WI). We gather under the theme of "Partnership for the Sake of the Gospel."

Registration for this year's synod assembly opened Friday, March 7. Click here to view an email that was sent to rostered leaders and congregations with information about assembly registration and more.

This year you will be registering by congregation. We have created a worksheet you can use to collect the information from your congregation's voting members, so that information is ready at your fingertips when you go online to register.

Click the button below to visit the 2025 Synod Assembly page on the synod website, where you can learn more, register, and find the link for the SCSW hotel room block at the Marriott Madison West.

Register by noon on March 21 for the discounted early bird rate!

The next Zoom Gathering with Colleagues will be on Tuesday, March 18, at 2:00pm. Click here for the Zoom link to access the gathering.

We will start with a brief devotion, and then open up the (virtual) space for sharing of resources, prayer, fellowship, and listening.

The Rev. Dr. Anna Madsen will also be joining us to listen and offer her support as a fellow ELCA rostered leader and theologian. The Rev. Dr. Madsen is a "freelance theologian" who founded the OMG Center for Theological Conversation and the Spent Dandelion Theological Retreat Center.

The Retired Rostered Leader and Spouse Gathering will be on Thursday, March 20, from 10:00am to 2:00pm at St. John's Lutheran Church in Oregon (625 E. Netherwood St., Oregon, WI).

The presenter for the day is Marie Leafblad, Associate to the Bishop for Leadership Support.

The gathering will also include the annual remembrance of colleagues, teachers, and spouses that was cancelled last fall due to inclement weather.

We will also select Voting Members for the 2025 SCSW Synod Assembly. We can select up to ten voting members from among our retired rostered leader group. As a reminder, retired rostered leaders may not attend the synod assembly as a LAY voting member of their congregation.

Click the button below to email your RSVP for the March 20 gathering.

New identification cards, also known as Leader Key Cards, are now available for all Rostered Ministers in the synod. These cards may be used to provide proof of your status as a Rostered Minister in the ELCA in various situations as called for.

If you would like a new card updated for 2025 please click the button below and complete the form. Your new card will be emailed to you as soon as we are able. You can then print the card and use as requested.

If you have any questions, please contact the SCSW webmaster, Pastor Jason Poole-Xiong.

Registration for the June 22 - June 27, 2025 SCSW Pilgrimage to The Dwelling is now open! On March 3 an email was sent to rostered leaders and congregations with information about The Dwelling, costs, and more. Click here to view the email.

Click the button below to visit the registration page for The 2025 Synod Pilgrimage to The Dwelling. 

This page includes a wealth of information about the week and what to expect. Please read through this carefully as you prepare to register yourself or your group.

General questions about the SCSW Pilgrimage may be referred to Marie Leafblad, Associate to the Bishop for Leadership Support.

On March 12 the Wisconsin Council of Churches along with the ELCA Bishops from Wisconsin and Upper Michigan and other ecumenical partners released a joint statement supporting religious liberty and denouncing Christian Nationalism.

Click the button below to view the statement.

Other signers are invited to add their names, using the link ( button) below.

Statement

On March 6, Bishop Joy Mortensen-Wiebe and the SCSW RIC Team released a statement in support of our 2SLGBTQIA+ siblings.

This is an important witness and is consistent with our commitment as a Reconciling in Christ synod.

Click here to view the email that was sent on March 6. Click the button below to read the statement.

Invitation

The creation of the above statement revealed that the SCSW RIC Team is in need of additional allies to help carry the weight of advocacy and support for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community as a whole, and our transgender and nonbinary siblings in particular.

If you would like to learn more about how to support your 2SLGBTQIA+ neighbors, coworkers, friends, and family members, the SCSW RIC Team is hosting a meeting on:

Saturday, March 22, from 1:00pm to 3:00pm

Advent Lutheran Church

(7118 Old Sauk Rd., Madison, WI 53717)

AND via Zoom (click "via Zoom" for the link)

At this gathering we will discuss how we can best support the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, what it means to be an RIC synod, and simply be together for fellowship and support.

Please use the buttons below to let us know if you are interested in learning more about the SCSW RIC Team and if you are able to attend the March 22 meeting. Questions and wonderings may be directed to Marie Leafblad, Associate to the Bishop for Leadership Support and synod staff liaison to the SCSW RIC Team.

Do you have an outdoor prayer space? A labyrinth? A community garden? Something else entirely? The SCSW Care for God's Creation team would like to hear from you!

The SCSW Care for God's Creation Team is gathering information about the many outdoor worship spaces and other creative ways congregations are using the land and space around them for ministry and service.

If you haven't done so already, please click the button below to answer a few questions about your outdoor worship and/or ministry space. We are compiling the responses with the intent of sharing a list of spaces around the synod where people can go to worship, pray, rest, and serve.

The Voices of Color book group continues in April! Voices of Color is a joint event supported by the Synodical Women of the WELCA and the Synod Racial Equity Ministry Team.

You are invited to join the synod-wide zoom discussion on Thursday, April 3 from 7pm to 8pm. The group will discuss The House on Mango Street by Mexican-American author Sandra Cisneros.

Click the button below for a full description of each book and to register!

Lutherans United Assisting After Disaster (LUAD), a ministry team of the SCSW, has released their March newsletter. Highlights include a message from outgoing LUAD president, Todd Long, an introduction to LUAD's new officers, and updates on upcoming gatherings.

Click the button below to view and download the newsletter. Click here to visit LUAD's website for more information and to see how you and your congregation or ministry can get involved.

The 2025 South-Central Wisconsin Synodical Women's Organization conference meetings are coming up in March and April. Click the button below for a flyer listing the different conferences and their meeting dates.

You may also visit the WELCA page on the synod website to read the latest edition of the Trumpeter and find out more information.

Do you ever get a sense that God is tapping you on the shoulder? Are you wanting to learn more about church leadership and wondering whether it might be for you? Have you ever thought about enrolling in seminary, or even just wondered what seminary study is like today?

You are not alone! The ELCA, in partnership with all our seminaries, is once again offering online groups where you can share your curiosity with others across the church. Over three sessions, explore how God might be calling you to lead in the ELCA. Click here to visit the ELCA Seminaries website, where you can fill out a contact form, or email recruitment@elca.org.

Are you a rostered minister interested in leading such a group? Email Rick.Summy@elca.org to learn more.

The Rev. Harley Windle

Saturday, March 1, 2025

First English Lutheran Church, Whitewater

Harley has been called to serve in the Southwestern Texas Synod.

Pastor Laura Jasiczek

Sunday, March 30, 2025

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Burton (8:30am)

Christ Lutheran Church, Lancaster (10:00am)

On March 25, 6:00pm to 8:00pm, the Lutheran Faith Community Nurse Association is offering a webinar:



"This Isn't Kansas Toto"

Living in the New Digital World: Lessons for Adults and Children"

From the course description: The digital world is here to stay, and while it is capable of offering information and opportunities previously unavailable to most of us, that capability is a double-edged sword. Information that is false can be passed off as truth; comments that are mere opinions can appear to be facts; websites that are inappropriate for anyone can be accessed by the youngest or most vulnerable; persons who appear to be peers on social media can be predators; humiliating social media posts can lead the most susceptible to harming themselves. 

Click the button below to learn more and to register.