News & Events: We Had an Installation

September 14, 2026

What a day of being church together as we celebrated the installation of Bishop Justin Grimm yesterday! Nearly 570 people were present at Shepherd of the Valley in Apple Valley, with many more watching online. It was an honor to have so many special guests with us...Presiding Bishop Yehiel Curry, ecumenical leaders from the Presbyterian, Episcopal and Catholic traditions, global partners, ELCA bishops from across the U.S. and of course, a large contingent of rostered ministers and many congregation members from right here in our synod.

THANK YOU....

to the liturgical planning team: The Rev. Dr. Patrick Shebeck, Deacon Jennifer Baker-Trinity, the Rev. Nathan Baker-Trinity, The Rev. Jason Bryan-Wegner, Nate Crary, the Rev. Sarah Friesen-Carper and the Rev. Hans Jorgensen
to the musicians: Sister Stacie Lightner, Nate Crary, Seth Bernard, Anni Coyle and Graham Taylor
to Deacon Mark Ertl, the pastors, custodial staff, the production/tech crew, ushers, hospitality team and others at Shepherd of the Valley who hosted us so well
to Lynne Moratska for spearheading the reception
to so many others who gave freely of their time, energy and gifts

If you missed the service and would like to watch the recording, click here. More coverage of this special day will be coming!

Photo credit: Dan Nyberg, Electric Picture Co.

The Pioneer Press ran a great profile of Bishop Justin on Saturday! Reporter Molly Guthrey's article can be viewed here without a pay wall.

Safer Together: Beyond
the Gun Control Debate

Tuesday, Oct. 27 - 6:30-8:45 p.m. | Transfiguration Lutheran Church, Bloomington & Online

Minnesota and the U.S. continue to face an epidemic of violence and harm involving guns. Too often, public debates around firearms devolve into a standoff between personal rights and government control. This pattern fails to address the many ways that each of us can act to reduce gun-related violence and trauma in our homes, workplaces, schools and communities. As Lutherans, how do we respond to this ongoing reality? What does our social teaching say? How might we foster the kind of moral deliberation and call to action that can lead to meaningful change?

The Region 3 ELCA synods of Minnesota and North Dakota are offering a time of shared learning, discernment, and collective action toward solutions to the harms of gun misuse. We hope to move beyond the gun rights-gun control debate and to promote safer communities with the conviction that we are safer together. This event is for lay leaders and rostered ministers.

The presentation and conversation will be led by Dr. Jillian Pederson, professor of criminology and criminal justice at Hamline University and the executive director of The Violence Prevention Project. Dr. Pederson will reflect on her research into mass shootings as a public health concern. Following her presentation, participants will discuss the ELCA’s Social Message on Gun-Related Violence and Trauma and the unique ways their own communities are impacted by gun violence.

Congregations may wish to organize local gatherings and individuals are welcome to attend in person or online. We hope that this event can be part of a movement across our region for moral deliberation and collective action that will reduce gun violence in our communities and contribute to communal healing and the common good. Register here.

Portico Benefits Webinar

Monday, Sept. 21 - 7 p.m. | Online

Join us for a 2027 Portico Updates Webinar with Rev. Tim Schroeder, Region 3 Portico representative. This webinar is intended for rostered ministers, lay staff, congregation council presidents, and anyone who uses EmployerLink from the ELCA Region 3. We’ll share important Portico updates for 2027, highlight what’s new, provide helpful information about benefits and EmployerLink, and offer an opportunity to ask questions and prepare for the year ahead. Note: This webinar will not be recorded. Register here.

Bega Kwa Bega Fall Festival

Saturday, Sept. 19 - 8 a.m.-noon | Augustana, West. St. Paul

Join us in celebrating our Tanzanian companionship, Bega Kwa Bega! This year's Fall Festival will feature Bishop Blastone Gavile and General Secretary Shadrack Nyaulingo from Tanzania, along with our own synod bishop, the Rev. Justin Grimm. The morning includes updates from BKB affiliate organizations as well as workshops on building opportunities for all through education, building companion relationships, preparing to build intercultural experiences, and best practices for sharing God's gifts through mutual projects. The morning concludes with Festival Worship. There's no charge to attend, but please let us know if you're coming so we know how many to plan for! Learn more and register.

National Day of Remembrance

At our 2025 Synod Assembly, the Saint Paul Area Synod passed a memorial and the ELCA Churchwide Assembly subsequently resolved, for all churches to recognize the National Day of Remembrance for Indian Boarding Schools, on Sept. 30 of every year.

Following on its memorial in support of this movement, our synod is a Community Sponsor for this year’s Day of Remembrance, hosted by the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition. A candlelight vigil on Wednesday, Sept. 30 in Powderhorn Park, Minneapolis will honor Indian boarding school survivors and those who never returned home. It is a remembrance walk recognizing the strength, resilience, and enduring spirit of those who attended boarding school. There will be remarks from guest speakers, survivors, and community leaders. Together, we honor survivors, remember those whose lives were forever changed, and reaffirm our commitment to truth, justice, and healing. Learn more.

How else can you get involved? The Truth Seeking and Truth Telling Initiative within the ELCA is a grassroots movement to account for our parent denominations’ involvement in the Indian Boarding Schools era, and to educate our congregations on this legacy. Visit the resources page.

Guatemala Gala

Sunday, Oct. 4 - 4 p.m. | Town & Country Club, St. Paul

Join us as we celebrate how we are woven together with our siblings in the Iglesia Luterana Agustina de Guatemala (ILAG). This fundraiser includes a social hour with music, a marketplace and other activities. The plated dinner features recipes from the cookbook of local celebrity chef Amalia Moreno-Damgaard. Pastor Karen Castillo, Diego Gil Castillo and Valeria Gil Castillo from the ILAG will be present in person with us to share exciting updates from our companionship. A representative from the synod’s health ministry team will discuss its inaugural visit next year to help improve health for entire communities. Bishop Justin Grimm will also share a word. Your support helps continue and expand the ILAG's life-changing work in education, health, leadership development, music and SEED ministries! Learn more and register.

Our three Guatemalan guests will also be sharing informal updates on Thursday, Oct. 1 - 7 p.m. at Christ on Capitol Hill, St. Paul, and Saturday, Oct. 3 - 1 p.m. at Augustana, West St. Paul. All are welcome!

Spiritual Gifts Retreat

Saturday, Oct. 10 - 9 a.m.-4 p.m. | Lutheran Church of Peace, Maplewood

Who has God created me to be? This retreat will provide you with an opportunity to look deeply at who you are and how God has uniquely blessed you with certain gifts. Using spiritual gift inventories, conversation and other tools, you’ll go home with a better sense of who you are and how you might best serve your faith community and the world! Retreat leaders include Pastor Kirsten Fryer of the Saint Paul Area Synod, Deacon Nina Joygaard (Faith, Forest Lake) and Pastor Wendy Steger (All Saints, Eagan). The cost is $30 per person and includes lunch. Register here.

Fall Joint Ministerium

Thursday, Oct. 29 - 9 a.m. | Christ Lutheran, Blaine

Rostered leaders from the Minneapolis and Saint Paul Area Synods are invited to gather for community, learning, and worship at this year's Joint Ministerium, Heaven Opened: Dreams for the Church. The Rev. Kenneth Wheeler, the featured speaker, will reflect on scripture, challenge us to confront white Christian nationalism, and look toward the dream of a new heaven and a new earth where all God’s people are seen, known, and loved. Rev. Wheeler, a retired ELCA pastor, is a guest lecturer on pastoral leadership in the 21st century at Wartburg Theological Seminary, where he received a Doctor of Divinity Degree honoris causa. He is also the author of US: The Resurrection of American Terror (2022). Register here.

Youth Lock-In

Bring your 8th-12th grade youth for an overnight (or late-night) event at Roseville Lutheran Church on Friday, Oct. 2. This event is especially for those interested in attending the ELCA Youth Gathering next summer. There will be games, worship, youth messages and tons of fun with youth from all over the Twin Cities. Interested adult leaders can sign up here or email Deacon Ashley Greenwood with any questions. Download the poster.

Advocacy in Action: Joining Our Voices for Neighbors and Nature

Congregations and faith groups of any size are invited to learn and practice faith-based civic engagement from a Lutheran perspective. Resources include:

Stretching Our Civic Engagement Muscles recorded webinar
The Biblical Basis for Civic Engagement webinar on Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 6:30 p.m. It will address what Christians are called to do (or not do) for right relationship in our communities, the biblical call to advocacy, along with the 2025 ELCA social statement, Civic Life and Faith, and the 2020 social message, Government and Civic Engagement in the U.S.: Discipleship in a Democracy. Register here.
A Civic Engagement Resource Toolkit
Bi-monthly check-ins for information, ideas and support. Upcoming dates: Sept. 24, Oct. 8, Oct. 24, Nov. 12 (all at 12:15-1 p.m.). Register here.

This offering is a joint effort of Lutheran Advocacy-MN, the NE MN Synod's EcoFaith Network and Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light. Learn more.

ELCA Church Property Resource Hub Webinar:

Land Back as Property Stewardship Ethic

Thursday, Sept. 24 - 6 p.m. | Online

Honoring our commitment as a church through the social policy resolution, Supporting ELCA Land Back Efforts and Indigenous Ministries, this webinar is focused on land return. Indigenous leaders from within and beyond the ELCA will share about the Land Back movement and repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery. Participants will also hear from congregations and synods taking part in land return and reconciliation efforts. Register here.

EVENTS OF INTEREST

From Scratch - Shobi's Table Benefit

Thursday, September 24 - 4:30 p.m. | Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church, St. Paul

Shobi's Table, the synod's food truck ministry, invites you to its Daring Table fundraiser, where all are changed for the better. Being part of this magical evening will help ensure that at this table, all are fed with a good meal, connection, and healing. Register here.

VA S.A.V.E. Training

Tuesday, Sept. 29 - 12:30-2 p.m. OR 6:30-8 p.m. | Online

The local VA Chaplain Service and Community-Based Suicide Prevention Team invites faith communities to attend one of two no-cost, virtual sessions to learn:

A general understanding of the scope of suicide in the U.S.
SIGNS of someone thinking about suicide
How to ASK questions
VALIDATE the person’s feelings
ENCOURAGE/EXPEDITE getting help
Public Health Model approach to suicide prevention

The webinar is for staff and volunteers, leaders and others. Learn more and register.

Why We're Always Working Upstream:

A New Story of Drugs for Faith Communities

Wednesday, Sept. 30 - 12-1 p.m. | Online

If you've spent years helping people in crisis, fighting apathy, and combating stigma, but feel like you are always fighting an uphill battle, you're not alone. Presenter Rev. Timothy McMahan King will make the case that faith communities have developed powerful resources for responding to addiction but have been missing the foundation that makes that work sustainable: a theology of what drugs are actually for. He is the author of What Are Drugs For? An Exploration of Stolen Fire, which is being released this month. This webinar is for clergy, counselors and people of faith who are already doing the work and want to know why it keeps feeling so hard and what a different starting point might make possible. Register here.

United Theological Seminary's Homecoming & Lecture

Monday, Oct. 26 - 10:45 a.m. & 2:15 p.m.

United Theological Seminary is hosting its annual United Days—rebranded this year as Homecoming—on October 26–27. As part of this event, they are welcoming Rev. Dr. Cláudio Carvalhaes as their Picard Lecturer on Environmental Theology and Ethics. He is an earth thinker, theologian, liturgist, performer, artist, and author. Learn more and register.