The Synod Council met Saturday, December 11 with a full agenda. For the education session, the Council
welcomed Joe Nolte, ELCA Church Council member, to learn about the ministry being done by our
churchwide partners. In regular business, the Council received financial reports, learned of roster
updates in the synod, made committee appointments, and extended Synod Council calls for those
serving in specialized ministry such as interim and chaplaincy. The Synod Council continues to work on
the resolutions passed at the 2021 Synod Assembly. This meeting focused on the Child Protection
Resolution. After a discussion with ideas on how the Synod may be called to respond, a small task force was
created to work on action steps.
During the Bishop’s report, the Council heard from Bishop Current and other members of the staff with
updates. Bishop Current brought a proposal to the Synod Council to adopt a policy for the 2022 Synod
Assembly requiring all those in attendance to provide proof of being fully vaccinated or recent negative
COVID test per CDC guidelines at the time of registration and further, the assembly will follow current
CDC recommendations for masking and distancing. Pastor Kuckuck shared data on the congregations in
transition with about one-fourth of the synod’s congregations in some stage of transition from a pastor
thinking of making a change to those in the early months of a new call with a congregation. Pastor Uthe
reported that it will soon be time to submit 2022 Mission Support Intents. This information is needed
and used as soon as possible to prepare the 2023 budget. She also highlighted that Lent devotional and
worship materials around this year’s Synod Assembly theme, Go Tell the World, will soon be available.
Val Harlynn encouraged the Council and the whole synod to consider attending Lutheran Day on the Hill
in 2022 and to consider applying for an ELCA Domestic Hunger Grant soon to be available. Deacon
Schuman brought reports from two assembly committees: Nominations and Reference and Counsel, and
two actions to the Council from other committees. The first was adopting a statement from the
Compensation Guidelines Task Force and the second from the Candidacy Committee to allow
investment of candidacy funds to the Synod’s Fund for Leaders Endowment.
The next meeting of the Synod Council is on February 12.
