Registration Ends on Friday!

Ladies–

The 31st Annual Synodical Convention is this month! We are well on the way to finalizing the materials, food and accommodations for what will be a transforming weekend. If you haven’t yet, please click here to download the publicity packet for our convention. In it you’ll find the registration form that is due this Friday! It is very important to register as soon as possible, so we can have enough food and materials available to all attendees. Thank you and we look forward to hosting you in just a few short weeks!

31st Synodical Convention Registration is Now Open!

The 2018 Convention is Friday June 29 through Saturday June 30 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in St. Cloud, MN. We have a fantastic couple of days planned for you this year and cannot wait to share this theme with you!

To download the publicity packet for the convention, please click here. This will have information about the convention including our speaker, churchwide guest, workshops, schedule and MORE. It also contains your registration, scholarship and resolution forms.

Thank you all, and we will see you on June 29th!!

The Generosity Project to Host It’s First Event!

This day will make your WELCA meetings–and your home or other gatherings– a more joyful place as you take home learnings from ‘The Generosity Project.’ Generosity is much more than talking about money. It is talking about all the ways God’s Gifts are shared by God through us so we might live more fully, and yes, happier lives. Register here. NO cost for SW Mn Synod WELCA members and their guests. We’ll even provide lunch at SMSU!  (Because of the nature of the interactive events we highly recommend doing this event ‘in person.’  The Livestream option is available but we believe you’ll get MUCH MORE by coming for the day and learning together.” Here is a link to the full flyer: Live Generously. Live Happier flyer

Synod Board Meeting Focused on Convention Planning

The SW MN Women of the ELCA Synod Board met on October 28. Together we hashed out the details for our annual convention. Speakers and Workshops are tentatively scheduled as well as inspiring bible study and worship leaders. You are not going to want to miss what we have planned for June 29 & 30 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in St. Cloud, MN!

Other Board News:

We also began planning for the 2019 Synod Convention as well as 2020! Be sure to keep checking this site for official dates and locations as we get them!

Lac Qui Parle retreat to the Nest

The Lac Qui Parle conference retreat took place at the EAGLE’S HEALING NEST in Sauk Center MN. THE NEST provides a safe haven for veterans who struggle with mental health, drug and addiction. The facility survives solely on private donations with no government subsidies. The group toured the facility, ate lunch and brought a variety of in kind gifts.

Find out more about Eagle’s Healing Nest here!

Southwest Minnesota Women leaders encouraged to “Reach Out and Welcome”

“So reach out and welcome one another to God’s glory. Jesus did it; now you do it!” Romans 15:7 (the Message)

Last Saturday, 75 WELCA leaders from all over the Southwest Minnesota Synod gathered at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Redwood Falls, MN for our annual Leadership Training Event. This event is held every September for our leaders to get information on the different officer roles as well as set agendas for the upcoming year.

This year, our agenda is centered on the theme “Reach Out and Welcome.” We are called, as Christians, to always strive to welcome all from our neighbor to the stranger. We are called to welcome them in our church, our towns and our hearts.

What does that look like? Well, our guest speaker, Pastor Jon Nelson of Ebenezer and Tripolis Lutheran Churches, said it might look something like this: It means desiring relationships with the other.  It means being open to being changed by the other.  It means listening, really listening.  It means stepping outside of our comfort zones.  It means learning new languages (perhaps farmer, teacher, doctor, nurses, etc.).  It means admitting we are uncomfortable when we are not comfortable.  It means sacrificing of ourselves.  It means keeping the 8th Commandment (to always assume the best of people’s’ intentions).  It means letting go of competing. Being welcoming is our calling!

Women of the ELCA has a New Executive Board!

Congratulations to our own Sara Larson from Southwest Minnesota on your election to the Executive Board of the Women of the ELCA!

Congratulations also to our new president, Lisa Plorin, from Western North Dakota Synod. Lisa was our churchwide representative at the 2017 Synodical Convention last May. We are very excited for her!

And, of course, congratulations the all the remarkable women elected to the executive board during the Triennial Convention. They are: Lisa Plorin, Becky Shurson, Freddie Jordan, Anna Sarver, Angela Bell, Tina Bigelow, Elizabeth Burgess, Lois Bylund, Anissa Canova, Lydia Davila, Dinah Dutta, Sandra Grier, Laura Krueger, Sara Larson, Joy Michalicek, Kandy Pflaster, Keala Simeos, Viviane Thomas-Breitfeld, Lynette Todd, Barbara Tormondsen, and Karen Voris.

Please visit https://www.womenoftheelca.org/about/executive-board for more information.