2021 Annual Assembly Fees

A WORD ABOUT THE REGISTRATION FEES

Dear Friends in Christ,

In many places throughout our synod, church and family budgets are strained, especially during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. The MNYS Assembly Planning Committee (APC) and the Synod Council are aware of these financial realities. We take seriously the responsibility of planning Synod Assemblies that are within an appropriate financial level. The APC carefully gathers multiple quotes from vendors and weighs the options available for contracted services. We also take seriously the evaluations and feedback we receive from voting members, visitors and guests at previous assemblies, striving to make continual improvements. This year, the registration fees (which are lower when compared with other synods' digital assembly registration fees) from voting members will cover less than 40 percent of the total cost, reducing the remaining costs that will be absorbed by the synod.

These fees are a symbol of our partnership in the Gospel TOGETHER, and will allow us to:

• Contract with an audio-visual company that provides:
  • Advanced digital conference services
  • Voting and voice capabilities for parliamentary procedures
  • Voice capabilities for our participating members
  • Advanced interactive capabilities for visitors
  • Breakout room sessions for all participants
  • Computers
  • Devices
  • Sound Systems
  • Digital Advertising Opportunities
  • Digital Scheduling 
• Provide transparency to our legislative processes by contracting professional and reliable external companies.
• Contract with an expert parliamentarian to ensure our business is conducted in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order.
• The Worship Committee — with their unique task of transforming our traditions into meaningful digital worship experiences — works diligently with partners to provide an enriching journey while lowering costs. 
• Provide video content is an integral part of an online assembly and comprise the majority of this digital assembly.
• And address several administration costs associated with the Assembly.

All of this work could not be done without the passion and devotion of our volunteers. In 2019, over 75 volunteers were involved in planning, staging and assisting onsite with assembly. Partner organizations contributed to the sense of community by providing coffee and refreshments during breaks. While our digital assembly will look a bit different this year, we appreciate the work of all those who made past assemblies possible and recognize all those behind the scenes making this year's assembly equally successful.

We are grateful for the support in making our assembly encompass more than an annual business meeting. We value our time together as Church at Synod Assembly, and we are expecting to create the same sense of community in our newly digital world. 

We want to ensure that our congregations and leaders are not restricted from participating due to financial limitations. If a voting member from your congregation is in need of financial assistance to cover registration fees, please contact Kaitlin Kowalec ([email protected]) about available funding.