Annual Assembly Materials

Synod Assembly Resources

ELCA Mobile App

We care for creation TOGETHER; this is why we are going paperless again this year. Our Assembly guidebook, living under the ELCA mobile app (available in the Apple Store and in Google Play,) will be published prior to our time TOGETHER. If you desire a paper copy, you will be responsible for printing it on your own. Participants should plan to either print materials or bring a WiFi-enabled device with them. The Assembly app will give access to the bulletin of reports, agenda, and all details of the Assembly. All those resources will be also available on our website.

Agenda

The agenda will be posted in our Guidebook under the ELCA Mobile App and in our Synod Assembly Resources webpage. The agenda is formed through a sub-group working to propose the overall shape and details based on requests for time and proposed business. Next the Assembly Planning Committee reviews the agenda and recommends it to the Executive Committee and Synod Council. Before it reaches the Synod Assembly for approval, about 50 people have weighed in on the agenda.

Nominations and Elections

Voting members at the assembly serve on behalf of all the people of this synod. Voting members are called to make decisions for the well-being of our synod and the whole church. Voting members of the 2020 Synod Assembly will be entrusted to elect Synod Council members, Consultation Committee members, and Discipline Committee members. Read more here.

Download the Nominations Form, here.

Constitutionally, voting members are:

All ELCA Rostered Ministers in our synod (Ministers for Word and Sacrament {Pastors} & Ministers for Word and Service {Deacons})
Lay congregation members and Synod Deacons* who have been elected by their congregation (typically voting members will be equally male and female)
Synod council members and officers of the synod
Ecumenical partners serving as pastor to a congregation of our synod

A formula has been adopted for the election of voting members by congregations and authorized worshipping communities based on the current year’s congregational statistics:

Congregations up to 699 baptized members: 2 lay voting members
Congregations of 700-999 baptized members: 3 lay voting members
Congregations of 1,000 or more baptized members: 4 lay voting members
Authorized worshipping communities: 1 lay voting member

Reference and Counsel

The Reference and Counsel Committee collects, reviews, and presents resolutions and memorials to the Synod Assembly. Resolutions and memorials are proposals for the ministry of our church. Memorials address broad policy issues and are passed by Synod Assemblies for consideration by the Churchwide Assembly. Resolutions are requests for synodical consideration or action.

The report of the Reference and Counsel Committee will be available in our Guidebook under the ELCA Mobile App, and in our Synod Assembly Resources webpage.

Submitting a Resolution or Memorial

The deadline for resolutions and memorials is February 1st. These should be sent to Karina Terán at [email protected]. Resolutions and memorials may also be brought to the floor of the assembly and will be addressed by the assembly, as time allows. A Word Document—or otherwise editable version, and 200 paper copies must be delivered to the Hospitality Table.

*S. Dcn. are granted voice, but must be elected by their congregation in order to be a voting member. Congregations are strongly encouraged to register Alternate Voting Members at no cost. Having alternates registered will ensure that if a voting member is unable to attend the assembly, the alternate can take their place.