The Synod E-News is designed to keep you informed in a condensed, weekly email for rostered ministers, congregational leaders, and members of the South Dakota Synod.
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"We are called to honor women not only on this day, but also in our daily vocation as church . . . Therefore, on this International Women's Day, we celebrate and support the God-given gifts of women and recommit ourselves to seek justice for women who are suffering in our midst and in communities around the world."
- Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton on International Women's Day. Read full letter here.
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Register for Spring Theological
How might we become as intentional about equipping and scattering our members into the mission field as we are gathering them together for church organized events? What might be the impact on our members, churches, and communities if this became a higher priority? Come and see!
Speakers: Rev. Dwight DuBois and Dr. Martha Helland
April 18-20, 2017
Academic and Worship Sessions held at
First Lutheran Church
Downtown Sioux Falls
Register Here
Open to all Active and Retired Rostered Ministers, SAMs, and Lay Professionals
Hosted by the Crossroads Conference
Conference Assemblies
Conference Assemblies start this Sunday. A representative from the Synod staff will be present at your conference assembly for a chance for you to hear the work that's been done through your partnership in ministry and other highlights looking forward into 2017.
If your conference has vacancies that need to be filled, we would appreciate it if the conference secretary would complete and send your nomination form with a synod staff person present at your conference assembly or e-mail the completed form to: cmccormick@sdsynod.org.
- Bear Butte: March 12, 3 PM at Piedmont Valley Lutheran Church
- Medary: March 12, 3 PM at Trinity, Arlington
- Northern Plains: March 19, 4 PM at St Paul Lutheran in Bowdle
- Prairie Rivers: March 19, 2 PM at First Lutheran, Mitchell
- Crossroads: March 26, 2 PM at Our Savior's, Sioux Falls
Resolutions Deadline
The deadline to submit resolutions is March 31st. Please submit resolutions in an email with the resolution attached to Crystal McCormick in the Synod Office at cmccormick@sdsynod.org.
ELCA and United States Catholic Bishops Gather for Prayer, and Sign Joint Statement
 On March 2, ELCA Conference of Bishops and the United States Conference of Bishops gathered for a Lutheran-Catholic service of common prayer,
“For 500 years Lutherans and Catholics have been divided into two camps, each believing that the other was not only wrong but alien,” said the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the ELCA. “Yet we know that people are yearning for reconciliation.”
Click here to watch the full service.
Looking Ahead
 Save the date for the fourth annual Aging Faithfully Conference on July 27, 2017 at the Augustana University Elmen Center. This year's keynote speaker is Dr. Scott Morris, CEO of Church Health. Church Health is the organization that provides educational and training opportunities to parish nurses making this conference an excellent opportunity for parish nurses to attend. Click here to learn more and register.
Bulletin Inserts
Synod Assembly
Save the date for Synod Assembly, June 2-3, at Gloria Dei Lutheran in Sioux Falls with pre-assembly workshops on June 1.
Registration will open on April 10.
It's graduation weekend for high schools in Sioux Falls that weekend. Consider booking your lodging sooner, rather than later. Information on hotels can be found with the Sioux Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau by clicking here. The Synod is not responsible for lodging arrangements.
Retired Pastors Gatherings with Bishop Zellmer
All retired pastors in the South Dakota Synod are invited to have either lunch or coffee with Bishop Zellmer on the following days and locations:
- May 8, 2017 - Lunch at Joy Ranch during the First Call Retreat
- May 10, 2017 - 10:30 a.m. Coffee at Our Savior's, Sioux Falls
- May 15, 2017 - 10:30 a.m. Coffee at Calvary, Rapid City
ELCA Rostered Ministers Gathering
The ELCA Rostered Ministers Gathering is open now through May 31st. Scholarships are also available through the churchwide office for Rostered Ministers looking to attend the event. Applications for scholarships must be submitted by today, March 8th. More information and details can be found here.
Learning Opportunities
Center for Worship & Music
Playing off the Page: Basic Improvisational Keyboard Techniques
This course is designed for pianists and organists who have had traditional instruction and can read music, but would like to learn to play “by ear.”
- Saturday, March 11 at Gustavus Adolphus College
- Registration and more information can be found here
500 Years Later: Historical Perspectives on the Reformation
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and SF Ministerial Association is sponsoring a community lecture series on the Reformation on Tuesdays in March. Speakers include Bishop David Zellmer, Rev. Randy Gehring (Our Savior's, SF), and Dr. Chris Croghan (Luther House of Study).
Click here for more information. Classes start on Tuesday, March 14 and are free and open to the public.
Workshop for Rostered Ministers
Love Your Neighbor: No Exceptions
Save the date for an interactive and engaged workshop for all rostered ministers on April 25, 2017 from 9 AM - 3 PM in Sioux Falls. More information will follow.
Hosted by South Dakota Faith in Public Life.
This Week
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Events
March 12
Bear Butte Conference Assembly
Medary Conference Assembly
March 14
Lutheran Perspectives on the Reformation with Bishop Zellmer
First Lutheran, SF
March 16
Exec. Committee Meeting
March 17
Synod Council
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Congregations in Transition
Sites Accepting Names
Belle Fourche, St. James (solo)
Custer, Custer Lutheran Fellowship (solo)
Watertown, LCOOR (associate)
Ordinations
Jonathan Hallenbeck Ask (First Call/Seminarian) - West Prairie, Lennox (solo) - March 11
Installations Scheduled
Jonathan Steiner – Graceful Hills Parish – Atonement, Rapid City & Piedmont Valley, Piedmont (solo) – March 12 at 8 a.m. (Piedmont) & 10 a.m. (Atonement)
Jonathan Hallenbeck Ask (First Call/Seminarian) - West Prairie, Lennox (solo) - March 11, 2 PM
Ramona Hayes - Langford Parish - Evangelical, Langford (solo) - March 19, 11 a.m.
Click here for a full list of "Congregations in Transition".
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Congregational News
Lenten Lectures at First Lutheran, Sioux Falls
Sunday Evenings, March 19–April 9 6–7:15 p.m.
Please join South Dakota Symphony Orchestra Music Director, Delta David Gier, for lectures on Bach’s monumental “B minor Mass,” during Lent. This great masterpiece represents the only time Bach, a Lutheran, set the full text of the Latin mass. Why did he do so, and at the very end of his career, at the height of his powers, with no commission nor occasion for performance? Knowing that the vast majority of Bach’s works were intended for corporate worship, how should we experience this piece today?
For more details, click here.
Spirit of Joy, Sioux Falls to Open Preschool
Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls, SD will offer a faith- based preschool program beginning Fall 2017. The Preschool will serve children three to five years old and their families, meeting two – four times per week based upon age. All are welcome and scholarships are available. Member of the Evangelical Lutheran Education Association (ELEA). For more information, click here.
SE Conference Women's Spring Gathering
You are invited to the Spring Women's Gathering on April 29, 2017 at Immanuel Lutheran in Elk Point starting at 8:30 a.m.
- Guest Speaker is iris Doolittle who will share how God has used her to "bloom where she is planted".
- Registration is $10 (includes lunch and coffee). RSVP to Marge Martens at 605-351-7869.
- Bring a non-perishable food item for the Elk Point Food Pantry.
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Devotion
On this International Women's Day, we remember in our prayers all those who support and empower women leaders in the life and development of this church and our communities. We pray to be awakened to the power and capacity our sisters have in transforming the world in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. - ELCA Prayer Ventures
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Reformation 500
Travel Germany with Bishop Zellmer!
Consider making Germany a part of your Reformation celebration in 2017. You’ll overnight in Berlin, Wittenberg, Leipzig, Erfurt, Mainz, Nuremberg, and Munich, and you’ll visit Eisleben, Eisenach, Coburg, Worms, Rothenburg, Augsburg, and the Rhine Valley along the way.
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