MEMORANDUM
TO: All Ordained Ministers, Rostered Leaders, and Officers of Congregations and Authorized Worshipping Communities of the Metropolitan New York Synod (MNYS)
FROM: The Rev. Robert Schoepflin, Secretary
DATE: February 8, 2022
RE: Special Meeting of the Synod Assembly on Friday, May 6, 2022
On behalf of Bishop Egensteiner and the Synod Council of the Metropolitan New York Synod, I formally announce that we will hold a special meeting of the Synod Assembly on Friday, May 6, 2022 instead of gathering for a regular meeting of the Synod Assembly.
According to our constitution, a regular meeting of the Synod Assembly shall be held at least triennially (S.7.11). Due to financial concerns regarding the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, synodical leadership has made the decision to hold a regular meeting of the Synod Assembly every other year (this was also reflected in our budget approved by the assembly in 2021).
As stated in our constitution, a special meeting of the Synod Assembly may be called by the Bishop with the consent of the Synod Council and shall be called by the Bishop at the request of two-thirds of the members of the Synod Council (S.7.12). On January 18, 2022 , the Synod Council (by more than two-thirds) voted to call a special meeting of the Synod Assembly to be held virtually on May 6, 2022. The agenda for a special meeting of the Synod Assembly is specific in purpose, and reflects approved items for consideration and action by the assembly.
The approved, and only, items for this special meeting are the following:
The current Synod Assembly consists of all registered voting members of our 2021 regular Synod Assembly (they will remain our assembly until our next regular meeting in 2023). This means that the voting members of the 2022 special meeting of the Synod Assembly ARE the voting members that participated in the 2021 Synod Assembly. Voting members will be contacted by the Office of the Bishop staff to confirm their attendance for this year's special meeting of the synod assembly. If a voting member of the current assembly is unable to attend, congregations will have the opportunity to register an alternate. Detailed information will be shared with current voting members of our synod assembly in the coming days.
This special meeting of the Synod Assembly will be live-streamed via the Facebook and YouTube channels of the Metropolitan New York Synod. Instructions to access the live stream will be shared with our entire synod prior to our special meeting.
We care about the well-being of all our members. For this reason we will hold this special meeting online—with an efficient agenda and enough breaks to avoid digital-conference fatigue.
The registration-confirmation fees are $75 per voting member. Payment must be received by April 11, 2022. Visitors will have the option to watch the livestream of the special meeting at no cost .
These registration fees will help support assembly expenses related to the different voting and elections platforms needed to support a legislative event of this nature. In addition, these fees will help provide worship resources, and necessary videos and materials for our time together. For more information regarding registration fees, please read this letter from Karen Falco, Chief Operating Officer of the Metropolitan New York Synod.
If you have any questions regarding this special meeting, please contact Roberto Lara, Assistant to the Bishop for Communications and Development at [email protected].
If you have any questions regarding the registration form, please contact Pastor Paul Johnsen at [email protected].
ELCA-ordained ministers (ELCA Deacons and Pastors) rostered in our synod, who are unable to attend the assembly, must submit an excusal form HERE.
Thank you for your continuing partnership, and I'm looking forward to our time together!
In Christ,
The Rev. Robert Schoepflin, Secretary