The Northeastern Iowa Synod is committed to ensuring that we provide safe places of worship and fellowship to everyone we serve. As part of that commitment, we offer safe ministry training opportunities for rostered ministers and for congregational staff and volunteers.
Boundaries Education Day for Clergy is set for Nov. 6
Actively serving rostered ministers from the Northeastern Iowa Synod can now register for the ELCA Region 5 Boundaries Education Day, set for Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. This year’s day of boundaries education will focus on gender justice training.
This required training will be offered from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at satellite locations in each Region 5 synod for in-person discussion, Q & A, and online training. In this synod, the training will take place at these locations:
Waverly — St. Paul’s Lutheran, 301 1st St. NW
Dubuque — St. Peter Lutheran, 3200 Asbury Rd.
Iowa Falls — Bethany Lutheran, 2712 Washington Ave.
Mason City — St. James Lutheran, 1148 4th St.
Postville — St. Paul Lutheran, 116 E. Military Rd.
The cost to attend is $100, which includes lunch. Seminarians are encouraged to attend with free registration. The registration is deadline is Thursday, Oct. 16.
PLEASE NOTE: Rostered ministers from the Northeastern Iowa Synod will be required to complete a routine background check (paid for by the Synod) prior to this year’s boundaries training event. An email of explanation with a link to register for the background check will be emailed in early October.
The 12 synods of ELCA Region 5 collaborated to offer coordinated boundaries education days annually for rostered ministers. These topics will be repeated every three years:
- Nov. 6, 2025 ― Gender Justice Training
- Nov. 5, 2026 ― Racial Justice Training
- 2027 ― Boundaries/Ethics Training (Date TBD)
SAFE GATHERINGS TRAINING FOR STAFF & VOLUNTEERS
Safe Gatherings is an online abuse prevention program that screens and trains congregational staff and volunteers to help prevent abuse of children, youth, and vulnerable adults in group settings. When employees and volunteers are trained to identify potential abusers, recognize the signs of abuse and know how to handle reporting, they are better equipped to prevent abuse.
How It Works
Upon successful completion of the Safe Gatherings application, background and reference checks, and online training program, each applicant will receive documentation of approval valid for three years and will have continued access to the online training program for one year.
The price per applicant for the program customized for the Northeastern Iowa Synod is $47 for staff and $37 for volunteers, due to different levels of background checks. The price includes processing of two electronic references, a national background check, county background checks (for all US counties of residence on record for the past 7 years for staff and current county of residence for volunteers), sex offender registry check, and the 2-hour online abuse prevention and boundary awareness training.
Get Started
Congregations in the Northeastern Iowa Synod are already set up within the Safe Gatherings system; however, each congregation must complete a one-time setup process with Safe Gatherings before the first person from your congregation registers for the training. Contact the Safe Gatherings team at 888-241-8258 to complete this process. After that, your applicants will be able to follow the links below to begin their Safe Gatherings approval process.
Contact the Safe Gatherings team at [email protected] or call 888-241-8258 with questions or for additional information.
When applicants begin the application process, they will need to select:
- Language Preference (English or Spanish)
- Type of Organization (Church or Faith Based Organization)
- Denomination (Lutheran)
- State where their church is located
In the next field, they will begin typing any part of your organization name, (ex: Good Shepherd), and a list will appear in a dropdown menu from which they will select the organization name where they are seeking approval to serve.
Individuals can login to their account at any time to check the status of their application.
Each church will have access to an administrative dashboard within Safe Gatherings that allows you to monitor who from the church is currently approved for service.
After you complete your registration, LOG IN HERE.
CongregationU provides more than 40 online courses on practical topics relevant to your church or faith-based organization. Topics include human resources, security and safety, risk management, health and wellness, and more. Several courses are also available in Spanish.
Rooftop pricing enables your church or organization to cost-effectively train everyone in your congregation, including leaders, volunteers and members. Pricing is based on average weekly attendance. This option provides unlimited uses of each of the courses included in the rooftop package. Because the Northeastern Iowa Synod is a Safe Gatherings enterprise account, you will also receive a 20 percent discount on the purchase of the rooftop package.
Set Up Account and Purchase Courses
Click here to set up an account and purchase training courses.
Contact the CongregationU team at [email protected] or (866)862-5855 for additional information or with questions.
Resources
Annual Boundaries Education for Rostered Ministers 0.00 KB 85798 downloads
ELCA Region 5 offers an annual day of Boundaries Education for all rostered ministers …
Safe Gatherings Log-in 0.00 KB 96392 downloads
Log in here after registering for Safe Gatherings. …
Safe Gatherings Website 0.00 KB 87251 downloads
An online abuse prevention program that screens and trains clergy, staff and volunteers…
CongregationU Website 0.00 KB 83979 downloads
Find more than 40 online courses related to human resources, security and safety,…
Rooftop Pricing for CongregationU Courses 0.10 KB 115595 downloads
Northeastern Iowa Synod congregations receive a 20 percent discount on training through…
Statement of Policy Regarding Sexual Misconduct by a Rostered Minister 260 KB 133660 downloads
Synod policy regarding sexual misconduct (approved 2019) …
