Synod Assembly is June 9-10 at Luther College - Northeastern Iowa Synod, ELCA

The Northeastern Iowa Synod Assembly will take place June 9-10 at Luther College, Decorah, with the theme “Growing Together in Faith, Hope and Love,” based on 1 Corinthians 13:13.

Friday is optional with worship at 7 p.m., followed by orientation and social time. Saturday’s schedule begins at 9 a.m. with morning prayer and includes three plenary sessions, lunch, ministry exhibits and closing worship.

The plenary sessions will focus on voting for elections and resolutions, along with reports from the synod networks, partner ministries, Bishop Kevin Jones, and Jill Beverlin, this year’s churchwide representative who serves as program manager for ELCA Coaching Ministry.

KEYNOTES

Three keynote presentations will focus on faith, hope and love — the three emphases of the assembly theme.

FAITH
Pastor Kim Wills of Zion St. John, Sheffield and his wife, Diane, food pantry coordinator, will share about the role faith played in opening the West Fork Food Pantry. With community support, the food pantry grew from a mobile food pantry to a permanent pantry set up at Zion St. John, and finally to a former bowling alley in downtown Sheffield, serving hundreds of individuals each month.

HOPE
Beverlin will share about the hope and encouragement that comes with the gifts God gives to each person to use in the sacred work of loving and healing the world. In the context of coaching, each situation is seen as an opportunity for people to live more fully into God’s dream for them and their God-given potential.

LOVE
Pastor Beth Olson of St. John (Bennington), Waterloo, will share about the love, caring and support she and her family received from her congregation in response to her husband’s injury, hospitalization and death. Olson says she was on the receiving end of the church at its very best.

NORTHEASTERN IOWA
SYNOD ASSEMBLY
June 9-10, 2023

LIVESTREAM

A livestream of the assembly will be available on the synod’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/neiasynod. No registration is necessary to view the assembly online. Download the assembly schedule.

ASSEMBLY OFFERING

This year’s synod assembly offering will be designated for the H. George Anderson Fund for Leaders to provide scholarships for seminary students from the Northeastern Iowa Synod and the Bishop’s Crisis Fund, which is used at the discretion of the Bishop to directly aid persons within the synod territory in times of need.

Offerings can be made at the synod assembly, online through the donate button below or by sending a check to: Northeastern Iowa Synod, 201 20th St. SW, P.O. Box 804, Waverly, IA 50677-0804.

Give Online

BRING LSI FAMILY KITS TO ASSEMBLY

Congregations are invited to bring personal care kits to the synod assembly to support families served through Lutheran Services in Iowa’s Early Childhood Services program.

LSI Early Childhood Services supports parents of young children to limit the risk of abuse and neglect in the home. Families enrolled in Early Childhood programing often struggle to pay basic needs such as diapers and wipes. Donated family kits with necessities for daily living — diapers, towels, onesies, toothbrushes, shampoo and other items — help relieve financial stress and encourage parent and child engagement.

LSI will have a trailer at Luther College to collect donated kits during the synod assembly. A list of items and instructions to assemble infant kits, toddler kits and adult bathroom kits can be downloaded below.

Questions about this project can be directed to [email protected].

LSI Family Kits Instructions

VIRTUAL SERMON FOR SUNDAY, JUNE 11

A video sermon by Bishop Kevin Jones is available for congregations to use on Sunday, June 11, if they wish. The sermon, based on 1 Corinthians13:4-13 and the assembly theme “Growing Together in Faith, Love and Hope,” is being offered to give rostered ministers and worship leaders a week of respite following the synod assembly. The video is available on the Northeastern Iowa Synod YouTube Channel and in the synod’s Sermon Video Library.