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Fall Theological Conference
More than 100 rostered ministers gathered last week at the synod's Fall Theological Conference for a time of connecting as church together. Conversations around Jesus, spiritual practices, inspiring worship, boat rides, night hikes, and even some silly games allowed folks to grow together over these few days. Keynote speaker The Rev. Dr. Brian Konkol, president of Valparaiso University, challenged the group to think about moving from "moments" to "momentum" as they lead in their settings. Through story and personal witness, Dr. Konkol offered inspiration for becoming agents of hope by turning the thermostats of our own hearts just a degree or two toward hope. Check out the conference photo album to see if you can spot your leader(s). Thank you to Pastor Katie Hendrikson for taking the wonderful photos!
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We're Hiring: CYF Connector
The Saint Paul Area Synod is hiring a part-time Children, Youth and Family (CYF) Connector (22 hours per month/5 hours per week). This position focuses on and supports those who work in CYF ministry in congregations, a role that is both relational and administrative. This person will work with the joint CYF leadership team on events and programs, nurture relationships with new and continuing CYF leaders, encourage participation in ELCA youth events, help maintain records and communicate with CYF leaders and encourage collaboration. Read the full job description here.
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Equipping Storytellers
Saturday, Nov. 14 - 9 a.m.-2 p.m. | Gustavus Adolphus, St. Paul
For rostered ministers, worship leaders, and lay storytellers who want to use story more intentionally in congregational life—especially in worship!
Stories shape faith, build connection, and help the gospel come alive. Join pastor, speaker, comedian, and award-winning storyteller Nathan Mugaas for a playful and practical day designed to help leaders discover, shape, and share meaningful stories in worship. Through live examples, simple frameworks, and hands-on practice, participants will learn how to craft compelling stories, tell them with confidence, and explore how storytelling can be woven into congregational life—especially in the Lenten season.
This encouraging, low-pressure workshop invites first drafts (perfection not required!) and offers practical tools for equipping lay leaders and preachers alike. Participants will leave with a clear storytelling framework, a story outline to continue developing, and ideas for cultivating a joyful, supportive storytelling culture in their congregations. This session is brought to you by the synod's Vitality Team. The cost is $25 per person, which includes lunch.
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World Hunger Daily Bread Grants
All ELCA congregations with feeding ministries are invited to apply for a $500 Daily Bread Grant! ELCA World Hunger’s Daily Bread Grants support congregations and their partners as they work toward a just world where all are fed. These grants supplement existing food-based ministries, providing daily bread for neighbors who experience hunger. Applications will be accepted until Wednesday, Oct. 21, at midnight. Learn more.
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BKB Benefactors' Brunch
Saturday, Oct. 24 - 10 a.m. | Our Savior's, Stillwater
You are invited to an exclusive update on our collaborative global ministry and the Bega Kwa Bega Endowment Fund. Your leadership and vision will anchor the next generation of our companionship, securing sustainable futures for schools, clinics, and parishes across our companion diocese. Free charitable gift planning is available to ELCA members through a partnership between the ELCA Foundation and the Saint Paul Area Synod. Learn more and register.
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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.
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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.
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Exploring Your Next Faithful Step
Saturday, Nov. 7 - 10-11:30 a.m. | Online
Wondering what's next? Wondering if God is calling you to something different? Wondering if there's something more? Explore these and other questions in the context of faith through storytelling, introspection and studying of Scripture. This online event will provide guidance and an intentional space for those who want to explore how God is calling them to serve in roles such as pastor, deacon, lay leader and more. Register by Oct. 30.
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Boundary Training
Thursday, Nov. 5 - 9 a.m.-3 p.m. | Grace, St. Paul
Every five years, rostered ministers in the Saint Paul Area Synod are required to participate in a boundaries training. This six-hour training includes conversation about boundaries and behavior expectations for rostered ministers and resources for maintaining healthy leadership in ministry, along with insight into the work of implicit bias in our life and ministry. The cost is $25 and includes lunch. Learn more and register.
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Disaster Response and Preparation Webinar
Thursday, Nov. 5 - 6 p.m. | Online
Congregations and their buildings play an important role in disaster response and recovery. As environmental disasters become more frequent and severe, more congregations will be affected or called upon to support their communities. Join Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) for a conversation about how congregations can prepare for disasters and use their property to support response efforts. This free webinar is offered through the Church Property Resource Hub. Register here.
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Addiction & Faith Conference
Thursday, Oct. 22 - 9 a.m.-3 p.m. | Online
The Center of Addiction & Faith is hosting A New Story of Addiction: Faith, Drugs, & the Search for Healing for clergy, people in recovery, congregational teams and professionals. Rev. Timothy McMahan King, Jennifer Carlier, and Rev. Dr. Ed Treat will explore addiction through the themes of transcendence, belonging, and truth. The conference is designed for faith leaders, people in recovery, families, congregational teams, and addiction and mental-health professionals. The fee is $50 per person with team registration for up to five people at $149. Limited scholarships are available. Learn more and register.
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Minnesota Multifaith Network Conference
Thursday, Oct. 22 - 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. | House of Hope Presbyterian, St. Paul
Learn, reflect and imagine together what multifaith engagement brings to this moment in Minnesota! This conference theme is "Inspired by Hope and Joy: Multifaith Conversations for Our Time." Participants will engage in three facilitated conversations that invite reflection, dialogue, and ongoing engagement:
- The November Elections: How can people of faith help strengthen democratic participation, protect the integrity of our elections, and respond constructively to fear and polarization?
- Christian Nationalism and Religious Pluralism: How do movements of religious nationalism affect our communities, and what vision can multifaith cooperation offer as an alternative grounded in dignity, belonging, and religious freedom?
- Hope and Joy as Practices of Resistance: Where do we find courage in difficult times? How do our traditions nurture resilience, restore relationships, and inspire us to continue working for justice and peace?
These conversations will be enriched by embodied practices drawn from diverse religious traditions, creating space for reflection, renewal, and connection. Learn more and register.
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Securing Sacred Spaces
Saturday, Oct. 24 - 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. | Westwood Community Church, Bloomington
A house of worship security summit. Attorneys, mental health and security professionals, and church security leaders will lead practical sessions on:
- Preparing for lawsuits, and the legal aftermath for church security teams
- Mental health and the church: debunking myths and building preparedness
- Church vulnerability assessments and governance
- Working with your city to prepare for a mass casualty event
- Building a church safety and security program, with lessons from Hosanna Church in Lakeville
This free program is offered by Kingswood Security (lunch is on your own). Register here.
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Concert of Remembrance
Friday, Oct. 30 - 7:30 p.m. | St. Philip the Deacon, Plymouth
Sunday, Nov. 1 - 4 p.m. | St. Andrew's, Mahtomedi
During its fall concert, To Remember is to Begin, the National Lutheran Choir will pause to honor the saints in our lives—the people whose presence and memory continue to shape us. Honoring memory as a sacred practice and featuring Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, To Remember is to Begin will be performed with organ accompaniment by Celina Kobetitsch. You are invited to share the names of those who have recently entered this world and those whose lives we have recently mourned, so that they may be honored during the performance. Click here to submit a name. Visit the NLC website to learn more and get tickets.
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Lutheran Summer Music Nominations
You’re invited to nominate a student for LSM 2027! Lutheran Summer Music (LSM) is a faith-based residential music academy for high school students in grades 8-12. Students come together from across the country to pursue musical excellence and build an intentional, supportive, and fun community. LSM 2027 takes place at St. Olaf College in Northfield June 27-July 25. Priority enrollment is open through Dec. 1, offering a $100 tuition discount and first access to financial aid. Nominate a student here. You can watch and share the LSM Experience Video for more details!
| | SYNOD STAFF IN CONGREGATIONS | | |
Bishop Justin Grimm
Oct. 29 - Joint Fall Ministerium
The Rev. Kirsten Fryer
Oct. 25 - Our Savior's, Circle Pines (preaching)
The Rev. Dawn Alitz
Nov. 1 - Christus Victor, Apple Valley (installing Pastor Sarah Fike)
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The Saint Paul Area Synod, which includes 106 congregations and mission starts,
is one of 65 synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
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