Synod Assembly

June 7-8, 2013
with Pre-Assembly activities on Thursday

Our Savior’s Lutheran Church
909 W 33rd St
Sioux Falls, SD 57105

Registration:  Register Online

Quick Links:

• Guest Musicians and Speakers
• Registration Information
• Information for Voting Members
• Assembly Offering
• Preliminary Report and Assembly Materials
• Pre-Assembly Activities
• Friday Evening
• Youth at Assembly
• Mission Prayer Breakfast
• Lodging Options
• Bishop Election

Guest Musicians and Speakers

Larry Olson & Hans Peterson will provide music and worship leadership during the Assembly.  They are partners in Dakota Road Music, a songwriting, publishing, leadership and performance company that specializes in original faith filled music. Hans & Larry have the creative talents of music leadership, a passion for justice and a vision for the church and neighborhood as welcoming places. They live in the confidence that “to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (I Cor 12:7). It is this trust and their stirring original music that has put them at the center of a movement to include a diversity of musical gifts in congregational life. Individually and with their band Dakota Road they have released over a dozen recordings with many of their songs being sung all across the U.S. and beyond.

The Rev. Rafael Malpica Padilla is the Executive Director of ELCA Global Mission.  He will be our churchwide representative delivering the State of the ELCA address, chairing the bishop election process, and delivering a keynote address at the banquet.

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Registration Information

Register online now!

Registration will close for voting members on Friday May 24, 2013 at 5:00 PM.

Registration Fees:

• Voting Members (Clergy or Lay) – $130
• Visitors – $65
• Advisory – $65
• Displayer – $100
• Displayer/Voting Member – $170
• Advisory Retired – $0

A $10 late fee will go into effect on May 18, 2013.

Voting member changes or substitutions should be reported to Lois Borchardt at 605/274-4025 as soon as they are known. Changes requested at the assembly should be of an emergency nature only.

Downloads:

• Voting Member Determination - determining the number of voting members for your congregation
• Voting Member Information - location, seating, child care, and other logistics

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2013 Synod Assembly Offering

The 2013 Synod Assembly Offerings will be given to Pueblo de Dios in Sioux Falls, building church roofs in Cameroon, and Feeding South Dakota.  The first $8,000 will be given to Pueblo de Dios, with the rest divided equally between church roofs and Feeding South Dakota.

Pueblo de Dios

Pueblo de Dios (People, or Community, of God) is a new ministry under development in the South Dakota synod of the ELCA. A ministry whose primary focus is reaching out to the Latino community of Sioux Falls (and the surrounding area) with the Good News of New Life in Jesus Christ.  Pueblo de Dios was being “birthed” with love & support from Augustana Lutheran Church.  Augustana and Pueblo de Dios are two distinct communities of faith who seek to come together in joint ministry ventures in the Historic District of central Sioux Falls.

Cameroon Roofs

Cameroon is one of our Companion Synods.  In Cameroon, churches are used for worship, daily Bible study, school, clinics, and community gathering places.  Congregations buy cement one bag at a time and build their church walls from local stone. This can take five years or more.

More than thirty churches have been built, but many more have raised their walls and are awaiting the gift of a roof.  The cost of one church roof is $8,000.  With the help of the Synod Assembly and the South Dakota Synod, we can help speed up the process of building churches in Cameroon!

Feeding South Dakota

Feeding South Dakota is a hunger relief organization fighting to eliminate hunger in this state.  In 2011, Feeding South Dakota as a whole distributed 12.2 million pounds of food in this fight against hunger.

Every day, Feeding South Dakota provides food resources for an estimated 3,800 people in this state. They help feed over 38,000 families each month and their BackPack Program gives food every weekend to nearly 5,000 kids who otherwise might go hungry.  Our gifts from the Synod Assembly will help Feeding South Dakota positively impact thousands of lives in South Dakota.

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Preliminary Report and Assembly Materials

The 2013 South Dakota Synod Assembly Preliminary Report and Assembly Materials are now available online.

Downloads:
(You may download the full PDF document below, or download and print sections individually.)

• 2013 Preliminary Report (Full PDF)
  • Proposed Agenda
  • Synod Committees Directory
  • Bishop and Staff Reports
  • 2014 Mission Plan
  • Regional and Synodical Board Reports
  • Sustained and Supported Ministry Reports
  • Other Reports
  • 2013 Ballot
  • Bishop Election Information
  • Nomination Information (Vice President and Secretary)
  • Rules of Parliamentary Procedure
  • Synod Constitution Chapter 7 Synod Assembly
  • Conference Map
• 2012 Audit Report
• 2013 Resolutions Packet
• Information About Resolutions and Memorials
• 2014 Proposed Compensation and Guidelines

Registered voting members as of June 1st will receive an e-mail reminder that the above materials are  available.

REMINDER: Voting members are responsible for printing these materials and bringing them to the Assembly. Wifi will be available in the Celebrate Center during the Synod Assembly if you would prefer to read your reports on a laptop or tablet. Only a limited number of copies will be made available.

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Thursday Pre-Assembly Activities

Assembly registration will be open at Our Savior’s Lutheran 4 – 6 PM with light appetizers and fellowship 5:30 – 6:30 PM.

Come and invite your friends to “Stories and Song with Dakota Road” at 6:30 PM.  Hear stories of God’s work through the South Dakota Synod and ELCA, and enjoy the music of South Dakota’s own Dakota Road.

All are welcome and it’s FREE!  Download the poster to promote in your congregation.

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Friday Evening: Celebrating 25 Years of the ELCA

The meal and program on Friday evening will be held at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church.

Our ELCA churchwide representative, Rev. Rafael Malpica Padilla will deliver a keynote address celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the ELCA and musicians from Dakota Road will provide music.

Honorees will include recently retired rostered leaders; ordination/commissioning anniversaries; and new pastors to the South Dakota Synod.

Additional banquet tickets are available to purchase for $15 each.  Please contact Lois Borchardt at 605-274-4025 or lborchardt@sdsynod.org.

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Youth at Assembly

Did you know that registering a youth (age 16-21) to vote at the South Dakota Synod Assembly allows your congregation to bring one additional voting member? We have learned from experience that having young people at our Synod Assembly brings new life, energy, and voice to our work and ministry together.

Any confirmed voting member youth in your congregation can have voice and vote at the Synod Assembly.  Participating in the Synod Assembly is significant in the continued development of young church leaders. They experience first-hand all that God is up to in the South Dakota Synod and ELCA, help make important church decisions, and meet other young church leaders from across the state.

Please strongly consider bringing a youth or young adult as one of your congregation’s voting members to the 2013 South Dakota Synod Assembly.

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Mission Prayer Breakfast

Members of the South Dakota Synod Companion Synod Committee will host the 2013 Mission Prayer Breakfast at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church on Saturday morning at 6:45 AM. The cost of the breakfast is included in your registration.

Come hear stories about our continued work with our brothers and sisters in Nicaragua and Cameroon. Breakfast will be hot. Fellowship will be abundant!

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Lodging Options

Campus Housing – Granskou Hall, Augustana College

A limited number of rooms will be available Thursday through Saturday evenings. Sheets, blankets, pillow, pillowcase, towel, washcloth and soap are provided.

Room charges are payable to Augustana College at the rate of:

• $20.00 per night per person/double occupancy
• $25.00 per night per person/single occupancy

Please complete this housing form and mail it to Augustana College. (Please note that payment must be received at least one week in advance.) Call 605-274-4546 or e-mail Jackie.Schmidtman@augie.edu with questions.

Hotel Reservations

You are responsible to make and pay for your own reservations.

Rooms are being held June 6-9 at these motels under the name “SD Synod Assembly”:

Days Inn
605-361-9240
$69.99-79.99 plus tax
May 23 release date

Holiday Inn City Centre
605.339.2000
$109 plus tax
May 7 release date

Sheraton
605-331-0100
$129 plus tax
May 17 release date

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Bishop Election

The 2013 South Dakota Synod Assembly will include a bishop election.  All information and updates are being posted on the synod website.

The Bishop Elections Committee encourages congregations, councils, and rostered leaders to continue to have conversations about the nomination and election process and to keep the process in your prayers.

Downloads:

• Process for Electing a Bishop from South Dakota Synod Constitution (August 2012)
• Sample Rules of Organization and Procedure for Synod Assemblies

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