February 19, 2025

ANNUAL TO-DO's

Attention Rostered Leaders: Annual Minister Reports are due!

Rostered Leaders -

Please make time to submit your Annual Minister Reports to the Bishop. This report allows us to learn about your year and enables us to offer you the best support possible.

Here are the links to the reports:

Minister of Word and Sacrament

• Under Call from a Congregation
• On Leave or Disability
• Retired
• Under Call from Synod Council or ELCA Church Council

Minister of Word and Service

• Under Call from a Congregation
• On Leave or Disability
• Retired
• Under Call from Synod Council or ELCA Church Council

Your reports can be emailed to swwsynod@plu.edu.

Attention Church Admins and Church Treasurers:

The ELCA Churchwide portal (elca.org/congregationreport)is now open for you to file the Annual Congregation Report/Form A. You should have received mail from Sue Rothmeyer's office with instructions (elca.org/reportinstructions) and your congregation's password.

Please make sure you take the time to file this report!

If you have any questions or need your password, please don't hesitate to contact Stefanie at the Synod Office at (253) 535-8300 or swwsynod@plu.edu. Thank you.

2025 SYNOD ASSEMBLY AND BISHOP'S ELECTION

2025 Synod Assembly -- June 13 & 14 -- PLU Olson Auditorium

Registration for the 2025 Synod Assembly is now OPEN!! Registration deadline is April 15th (no exceptions).

If you have questions or need help with your registration, please reach out to Stefanie at the Synod Office.

Things to know before you register:

• Overnight stays are not included in the registration process. You will make your own arrangements. A few hotel recommendations might be available to our travelers.
• The registration process includes lunch for both days (Friday and Saturday). All other meals (breakfast/dinner) will be independent. A selection of restaurant recommendations will be available.

Register Here

If you need to find out how many delegates your congregation can send to the 2025 Synod Assembly, view/download this document for guidance: How Many Lay Voting Members Does My Congregation Get?

If you are a rostered minister of the SWWA Synod under the Retired, On Leave from Call, Retired under Contract, or Disability Status and would like to issue a Pre-Notification of Intent to Vote, please fill out the Pre-Notification of Intent to Vote Form and email it back to Stefanie at swwsynod@plu.edu. Deadline is March 12th, 2025.

If your congregation would like to submit a Resolution/Memorial, please refer to How To Write A Resolution and submit your Resolution Submission Form to the Synod Office no later than March 12, 2025.

Synod Friends,

The Northwest Washington and Southwestern Washington Synods of the ELCA invite all congregations to join us for a special joint event sponsored by our anti-racism teams.

Saturday, March 1, 10am-2pm | Cost is $40 | Lunch is included.

NOW OFFERING AN ONLINE OPTION!

When registering, simply select the Online Registration option.

Please register by February 22.

We will spend a day studying "Call to Allyship," a book written by ELCA rostered leaders of color from across the country. One of the authors, Rev. Priscilla Paris-Austin (pastor at Immanuel Lutheran in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood), will be helping to lead our discussion. Other discussion leaders are pastors and lay leaders from congregations who have read this book together.

The book can be purchased from major booksellers, preferably directly from Augsburg Fortress: https://www.augsburgfortress.org/store/product/9781506497761/Call-to-Allyship

Says one local congregation member: "This is an important anti-racism book for any congregation to read. Any congregation will benefit from it!"

We look forward to sharing conversation and time - with you!

Register here: https://tithe.ly/event-registration/#/9412360

FROM CHURCHWIDE

This week, LDR has the following opportunities for engagement and peer-to-peer learning:

On Thursday, February 20, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Central, we are hosting our Western Region Community of Practice call. Our special guest for this discussion will be Christine Moffett, Program Director for Environment and Energy Policy with Witness and Society. She will share an update on her work preparing for the new administration and invite participants to share their thoughts and concerns around federal disaster policy initiatives and how the ELCA can best advocate for your work. If you couldn’t attend the recurring meeting for your region this quarter and would like to hear from and share your thoughts with Christine, you are invited to join the Western Region for this discussion.

Here is the Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89946038025?pwd=2cUedksa6JN4dTbRW8C13buoN5tHBg.1

Meeting ID: 899 4603 8025

Passcode: 580363

Registration for the 2025 LDR Community of Practice Gathering is live! The event will take place in Washington, D.C. October 21-23, 2025. Members from the Eastern, Midwestern, Southern, and Western Regions will be gathering in the DC Metro area for learning, connecting, and opportunities to meet with your elected representatives on Capitol Hill. LDR will cover the costs (travel, room, and meals) for up to two individuals engaged in disaster services from your organization. Register for the gathering using this link. The deadline to register is Thursday, July 31 at 5 p.m.

Lutheran Disaster Response is excited to share that we will be hosting a free three-day disaster training focusing on the Sphere Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response, June 24-26, 2025. The course is free to attend, and LDR will cover hotel, breakfast, and lunch during the event. Attendees will also receive a physical copy of the Sphere Handbook. Participants will be responsible for their own travel to/from Chicago, and dinner. Seating is limited to 20 people. Individuals interested in attending should register online before Friday, April 25. 

All events are free and open to the public. Register on our learning management system, CollaborNation.

A Synod of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

The Rev. Richard E. Jaech, Bishop

Synod Office Hours

9am - 4pm

Tuesday - Friday

Stay Connected

email swwsynod@plu.edu

phone (253) 535-8300

website www.swwasynod.org