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Purposes of a Synod Assembly:
 We gather in assembly:
- to worship as a synod, gathered around God’s Word and Sacraments;
- to listen to one another, learning from and being inspired by God’s Word for the sake of God’s mission;
- to deepen our relationships in the synod—meeting, learning, worshiping, laughing and enjoying one another’s company;
- and to deliberate as a synod, carefully discussing and prayerfully deciding about issues before us.
The Theme:
This year’s theme is To Be. To Do. Joy in Serving... By participating in this year’s assembly, we will
- Hear Christ’s baptismal call to embrace ministry in daily life as the primary way we serve our neighbors and strive for justice and peace in God’s world;
- Tell stories of servanthood in our congregations, across our synod and ELCA, and around the world;
- Engage in hands-on service learning opportunities and reflect on what it means to be a serving people;
- Strengthen our partnership with Lutheran World Relief and launch the ELCA Malaria Campaign;
- Return to our communities with a clearer sense of Christ’s call to serve our neighbors through prayer, charity and advocacy; and
- Be filled with joy to serve and love our neighbors.
Our presenters will be Rev. John Nunes, President and CEO of Lutheran World Relief and Rev. Andrea DeGroot-Nesdahl, former Coordinator for the Lutheran Malaria Campaign on HIV/AIDS. Rev. Ruben Duran, Director for New Evangelizing Congregations in the ELCA will be our churchwide representative.
Synod Assembly General Info [PDF]
Registration
Synod Assembly Online Registration is Closed
Due to the many ongoing preparations for Synod Assembly, no additional online or phone registrations will be accepted. Anyone needing to register may do so at the Assembly.
Registration begins at 7:00 am on Friday, May 11 in the North Gym of Memorial Auditorium. Walk-in registrations and any voting member changes, etc. will be taken care of at that time. Thank you for your consideration.
Housing:
Because no dormitory rooms are available this year at Concordia College, the following hotels have agreed to offer a reduced rate for May 10 & 11, but must be booked before April 10 to receive the discount. They may have rooms available after April 10 but the reduced rate will not be guaranteed. Ask for the rooms booked for the Northwestern Minnesota Synod. Minnesota State University Moorhead is holding their graduation the same weekend as the Assembly so many hotels are already filled.
See the general information pdf in the Materials section for more information and a list of hotels.
Service Learning Opportunities
Afternoon of Friday, May 11
In order to truly live into our theme this year, to BE a people of God serving our neighbor, we need to DO service with and for our neighbor. So, we invite you to bring along a casual pair of clothes, some comfy work shoes, and come to the Assembly ready to leave the confines of the college and jump into the Fargo- Moorhead community with a joyful and serving heart.
Don't Miss Out On Great Service Learning Opportunities like these!
- Outdoor cleaning and grounds maintenance at Probstfield Farm
- Bingo and conversation with residents at Eventide senior living community
- Planting flowers and spring cleaning at MSUM's Lutheran Campus Ministry house
These are only a sneak peek of the fun and rewarding off-campus Service Learning Opportunities waiting for you at Synod Assembly.
Registration is open!
Please register by April 13 to guarantee your place in an off-campus Service Learning Opportunity! We need to give final numbers to our off-campus sites and organize transportation so the sooner we know you are on board the better!
When you register, we will ask you to sign up for an off-campus service site. People of all ages and abilities can participate! Choose a category that interests you and your level of physical work you can do, and we will then assign you a specific service site within that category. You will also have the opportunity to indicate the level of physical work you can do.
We will have some on-site service learning opportunities and workshops available on campus (including choir practice), though we really encourage all our participants to sign up to go off-site to serve! What an impact we can make on the F-M community when dozens (dare we say hundreds) of Lutherans descend to love and serve!
See the general information pdf in the Materials section for more information.
Mission Moments
 To help celebrate the theme of this year’s NW MN Synod Assembly, “To Be To Do...Joy in Serving,” we would like you to share the ways in which your congregation takes joy in service. We are inviting you to put together a brief (2 min. max) video or PowerPoint slide show that tells the story of your congregation’s service to others.
Submit your story by May 1, 2012 to Katie Nelson--klnelson@cord.edu or Attn: Katie Nelson, NW MN Synod, Concordia College, Moorhead, MN 56562—and it may be a part of this year’s Synod Assembly.
Assembly Materials
The following materials are provided to assist you in preparing for your participation in the NW MN Synod Assembly, May 11-12. You are welcome to download all documents to your laptop or other digital device. You are also welcome to make paper copies of any documents. Paper copies of these documents will not be available at the synod assembly. Note: Voting cards (green, red, and white) will be given to you at the registration table.
Required Materials:
In the interest of caring for God’s creation (and saving on paper-usage), you may want to print only one copy per congregation (for your “team” of voting members) of the following:
It will be most helpful if you print one copy per voting member of the following:
Other Materials:
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