Changed by Love, Sent in Love to Serve:

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Synod Assembly 2010
Central States Synod, ELCA

June 3-6, 2010
Hilton Wichita Airport Executive Conference Center
Wichita, Kansas

Assembly reports, documents and various information is posted below. Please check back for addtional information and be sure to check out the Assembly Photo Album.

Assembly Voting Members are also asked to complete an online evaluation. Please CLICK HERE and then click your name. Thanks!

Assembly thanks ...
By Rev. Cynthia Schnaath, Assembly Manager

Central States Synod Assembly in Wichita, Kansas was grand! I have many people to thank:

• Jonathan Rundman and Pastor Lowell Michelson (pastor at Reformation, Wichita) who provided music for our entire time together;
• All those who assisted with worship: especially Marlene and Pr. Tom Hallstrom working with the worship assistants and preparing for the Eucharist; Pr. Peter Jacobson who lead the Saturday Morning Prayer; and Becky Llewellyn who prepared all the PowerPoint slides for worship;
• Presentations from Dr. Diane Jacobson and Nathan Dungan that inspired us all;
• The Hospitality Room, thanks to Sheryl Johnson and her crew of volunteers;
• The Floor volunteers led by Pastor Maureen Howard (thanks to the seminarians!);
• Rev. Trudy Cretsinger for work on the Assembly newspaper (downloads available below);
• Pastor Natacha Kemp for her work on the Saturday night Multi-Cultural Jubilee -- WOW!;
• Pastor Peter Rehwaldt, Assembly Chaplain, and the wonderful images he provided for the prayers;
• Parish Nurses who served during each plenary session;
• Bob Schroder who worked with the resolutions committee and Pat Schroder, parliamentarian (they truly will be missed as they retire their positions!)
• Scott Simmons, Dave Mareske, Shawn Norris and Pr. Keith Hohly who helped with the camera and A/V needs, plus Southwest Audio Visual and DAN GLAMANN!;
• And of course the support staff and volunteers who run the Assembly Office – Sandy Van Tuyl, Erin Morrison, Becky Llewellyn, Mary Bridges, and Rhonda Templing;
• Plus all the other people that assisted in many and various ways!

These people are such a blessing to the work that happens at Synod Assembly and I truly appreciate their gifts. Again, we work together as a team to make the Assembly happen, but the Holy Spirit is keep us on track.

'Changed By Love'
By Peter Mayer

As you may recall, Peter Mayer, who was our singer/songleader at the 2009 Synod Assembly wrote a song based on the synod purpose statement, Changed by Love, Sent in Love to Serve. Jonathan Rundman did a great job bringing the music back to us at this Assembly. Thanks also go to Peter Mayer (www.petermayer.com) for providing the musical score.

Download music & lyrics: Changed By Love [PDF]
Download lyrics: Changed By Love [MS Word]
Download lyrics: Changed By Love [PDF]

GENERAL INFORMATION

We invite you to Wichita, Kansas for the TWENTY-THIRD ANNUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE CENTRAL STATES SYNOD, ELCA. The Assembly will be held at the Hilton Wichita Airport Executive Conference Center. Check back often to this page for new and updated information.

ASSEMBLY BINDER

Please note that the first file in each section includes all of the reports from that specific section. Individual reports may be downloaded one at a time if you choose. Most binder documents were posted 05/20/10.

ADDITIONS POSTED 05/26/10 -- there were revisions made in the Nominations Section and Additional Documents are listed at the end of this table. Also available: 2010 Bishop's Letter/Sermon for congregational use.

PRE-ASSEMBLY DOCUMENTS

THE LEADERS

NATHAN DUNGAN is an author, speaker and national expert on family finances and the effects of mass marketing on young people. A top-performing financial advisor and vice president of marketing for a Fortune 300 financial services company, he founded Share-Save-Spend LLC, an organization which helps people of all ages develop and maintain healthy financial habits. In May 2003, Nathan's first book, Prodigal Sons & Material Girls: How Not to Be Your Child's ATM, was released nationwide by John Wiley and Sons.

DIANE JACOBSON joined the Luther Seminary faculty as an assistant professor in 1982, and was promoted to associate professor in 1990. In 1999, she became professor of Old Testament. She was chair of the biblical division from 1993 to 1996. She served as associate dean of MA/MSM programs from 1997 to 2006. She currently serves as Director of the Book of Faith Initiative for the ELCA.

Jacobson is a frequent speaker throughout the Church. Her writings include, A Beginner's Guide to the Bible, co-authored with Robert Kyser (1991) and numerous articles on such topics as wisdom, creation and psalms. In addition, she has written "You are Sanctified in Christ, Called to Be Saints" as a part of In Christ - Called to Witness Bible Studies for the Lutheran World Federation Ninth Assembly in Hong Kong (1997). Dr. Jacobson has also written the 1997 Lutheran Woman Today Bible Study, From Slavery to Service: A Study of Exodus.

WYVETTA BULLOCK is originally from Philadelphia, Tennessee. She has served on the churchwide staff of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America since 1988. From 1995 until 2005 she served as executive director of the Division for Congregational Ministries. Wyvetta served as Executive for Leadership Development from 2005-2007 and currently serves as Executive for Administration, in the Office of the Presiding Bishop.

Wyvetta is an ELCA pastor. She received her Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry in Preaching from Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC). Wyvetta served a parish in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. She serves as a pastoral associate at her current congregation, Bethel Lutheran Church, Chicago, Illinois. Wyvetta is founder and CEO of Equipping Leaders Ministries, Inc.

Wyvetta is a contributing author to two books: The Evangelizing Church: A Lutheran Contribution, Called Out of Our Comfort Zones, Augsburg Fortress Publishers, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Spring 2005; and The Missional Church & Denominations: Helping Congregations Develop a Missional Identity, The Challenge of Developing Missional Denominational Agencies and the Implications for Leadership, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2008.

JONATHAN RUNDMAN -- Growing up in the isolated Finnish communities of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Jonathan Rundman has drawn comparisons to singer/songwriters Paul Westerberg and Freedy Johnston for the decidedly homespun quality of his "heartland" rock. Using the geographical isolation of his youth to his advantage, Rundman formed a musical vocabulary grounded in the budding strains of Americana/roots rock, Lutheran hymns, traditional American folk music, and '70s rock to present a uniquely eclectic variant of Midwestern rock. After recording with various side projects, such as fronting indie rockers the Muckrakers and collaborating with cousin Bruce Rundman in the Chandlers, 2000 saw the release of the sprawling 52-song Sound Theology. Though admittedly released with some hesitation, Rundman's ambitious concept album tracing the weeks of the Lutheran liturgical year is a true anomaly in the rock canon, a Christian-themed rock album that stood in stark contrast to the contemporary Christian rock scene while presenting topics completely unique to modern rock. Ultimately, Sound Theology was enthusiastically received by both the Christian and mainstream press, showing Rundman's fears of being swallowed up by the "Christian rock" label to be unfounded. Web: www.jonathanrundman.com.

LOCATION & HOUSING

The Assembly will be held at the Hilton Wichita Airport Executive Conference Center. Please note that you need to make your own reservations at the hotel. For online hotel reservations and general information, click: Hilton CSSA. Phone reservations may be made by calling 316-945-1971. Use group code CSSA to receive our convention rates of $89 per night.

Hilton Wichita Airport Executive Conference Center
2098 Airport Road
Wichita, KS 67209-1941
316-945-1971

REGISTRATION

Registration forms are available to download, click Registration form. Please remember that "Early Bird" registration deadline is May 1, 2010. All registration information AND payment must be received in the synod office by that date to qualify for the reduced rate.

Online Registration is now available for those paying by credit card only. To register online and pay by credit card, please click: Online Registration.

THE SCHEDULE

A tentative schedule is available for download. Please note that this agenda is subject to change. Download: Agenda for Assembly [REV. 051910]

VIDEO CONTEST

Tell us how God is at work in your congregation or ministry setting by entering the first Central States Synod Video contest!

How do you see God at work through the hands of the people in your life? Maybe it’s a ministry your congregation does or something you’ve been doing on your own. Think small as well as big: God’s work happens in those little interactions between friends or strangers as well as in recovery efforts after a natural disaster. What are the hands of God’s people doing in service to the world? Look around and let us know! We welcome your funny stories too; after all, humor was God’s idea! The possibilities to show God’s work in the world through our hands are endless. Use your creativity to share a story that inspires you!

The contest will be begin March 15 and close May 1. The winner will be announced at the Synod Assembly banquet, June 4 in Wichita, Kan. The winner will receive a Flip Video Camcorder and a FlipShare TV.

The video should be no longer than 90 seconds and no shorter than 30 seconds. The contest theme is “God’s work. Our hands.” To read the rules/regs/instructions, please click: CSS Video Contest.

Questions? Contact the synod office 913.948.9701 or 866.915.3548 (toll-free) or email Rev. Cynthia Schnaath at cschnaath@css-elca.org

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