MINUTES MONTANA SYNOD COUNCIL FEBRUARY 17-18, 2017 NEW HOPE LUTHERAN CHURCH, GREAT FALLS, MT

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1 MINUTES MONTANA SYNOD COUNCIL FEBRUARY 17-18, 2017 NEW HOPE LUTHERAN CHURCH, GREAT FALLS, MT Worship with Holy Communion New Hope Sanctuary with Chaplain: Pastor Elisabeth Daniels from St. John s Lutheran Ministry, Billings Plenary I: Friday, February 17, :30 a.m. WELCOME Vice President Tom Gossack welcomed the Synod Council, Synod staff and guests to the meeting. CALL TO ORDER Vice President Tom Gossack called the meeting to order at 9:36 a.m. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion Second: Approve the agenda SC VOTE: APPROVE THE AGENDA BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF OFFICERS, COUNCIL MEMBERS, VISITORS Vice President Tom Gossack, Bishop Jessica Crist, Secretary Peggy Paugh Leuzinger, Treasurer Sue Ost, Mary Hutchinson, Kristi Lobdell, Tonja Erickson, Doug Allie, Pastor Brenda Satrum, Pastor Mark Taylor, Pastor Jason Asselstine, Associate to the Bishop, Pastor George Karres, Director for Evangelical Mission, Lisa Carlson, Neal Wedum, Alex Tooley, Pastor Linda Webster, Eric Nord, Dick Deschamps, Chaplain: Pastor Elizabeth Daniels, Susan Hedahl, Colter McCarty, Present Saturday: Robin Matthews CONSENT AGENDA The Consent Agenda was presented and changes made, including removing Pastor Peggy Paugh Leuzinger from on leave from call, adding Synod House Sunday: Sun. March 19 th and Joint Parish Agreement of First Lutheran, Plains and Our Saviors, Thompson Falls SECRETARY S REPORT: PASTOR PEGGY PAUGH LEUZINGER Approval of Minutes of September, 2016 meeting Motion Second: Approve the Minutes of Sept SC VOTE: APPROVE THE MINUTES OF SEPT Correspondence Letters and cards have been received over the last months from the Mission Partners thanking the Synod for the support. 1

2 REPORT OF THE TREASURER: SUE OST The Consolidated Balance Sheet shows a Cash Balance of $202, This is our cash reserve, held in case income decreases significantly and we need to meet obligations (per the constitution). The amount is a bit higher than usual, but we decided not to renew a CD in the amount of $50,000 last summer and those funds are included in this amount. If the funds are not needed in the next year or so, another CD will be purchased. Mission Support for 2016 ended at $1,032,000, about $18,000 short of our budget. The income represented 98.29% of the budget, so our Ministry Partners and Churchwide received 98.29% of the amount we budgeted for them. The only expense that was significantly different from the budget was Postage. (An explanation for why it was over budget after conversation with Susan Hedahl was shared during the meeting.) I thank God for the generosity of our congregations, as they remain faithful to their commitments to the Synod and supportive of our work, even as some face financial difficulties themselves. I d also like to express appreciation to George Karres, who communicated with and encouraged congregations regarding their Mission Support throughout the year. Assembly Analysis Income exceeded expenses this year by $1, for the 2016 Synod Assembly. We had voted to increase the registration fee by $20 per person, and that, along with careful management of expenses, resulted in a positive balance. As the Assembly continues to be self-supporting, we will no longer have to support it from our budget, thus freeing up those funds for other uses. (This is reflected in the 2018 proposed budget.) Designated gifts for 2016 totaled $242,849.60, including $87, for World Hunger. Congregations continue to support our Synod House Campaign, and we will depend on those gifts into the future as we make mortgage payments on the building. We currently have $587, in the building funds, although we will be tithing from the funds raised in the campaign (now about $250,000). That means we have about $562,500 available now. The total on hand is less than at our last meeting because we have had architectural expenses for the final planning. The Executive Committee has worked hard to create a proposed 2018 budget, which will be presented to you today for consideration, discussion, and vote. Motion Second: Receive the Financial Report SC VOTE: RECEIVE THE FINANCIAL REPORT REPORT OF THE BISHOP: BISHOP JESSICA CRIST This meeting: Thank you for being part of the Montana Synod Council. You get to be part of setting the direction for our church, and you get to help tell the story of the wider church when you go back to your congregation and your community. When the ELCA was formed, clusters were an important way to insure that geographic areas of the synod were represented. As electronic communication makes it as easy to talk with Bolivia as with the house next door, the role of clusters may be changing. No longer 2

3 do you as council members need to go to each congregation to tell the Synod Council story. So what s a better way? An ? Skype? Think about it. Talk with Colter. At the last council meeting we had a robust conversation about Standing Rock. Since then I have been to Standing Rock, and the Presiding Bishop has, too. And she has issued a statement about it. To refresh us on why we are doing what we are doing, we include in the pre-council materials the Apology adopted by the Synod Assembly in 2010, and the Repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery, adopted in Also, at the last meeting we asked what would be helpful to the Council to have in the way of more information. Please note that in this meeting s agenda you will find 2 tutorials : one, in the morning, on the church s engagement in social issues, and the other, in the afternoon, on the finances in the Region. I hope you will find them helpful. And I hope you will let us know what else would be helpful to you in the future. Measure by Measure Benchmarks +Meet the future boldly. +Serve the world, especially the poor and those in need. +Deepen faith and witness. +Promote unity. +Strengthen congregations. These are the Montana Synod benchmarks, by which we measure what we are doing. They come out of hard work by the Synod Council at a time when we needed to reframe what we were doing as a synod and why. Each year we have oriented our Synod Assembly around one of the benchmarks. Last year, as we focused on the Reformation, we featured Deepen Faith and Witness. This year, our emphasis will be Promote Unity, and the keynote and presenters will help us with that. Throughout our meeting, Vice President Tom Gossack will call on members of the Council to offer their thoughts on one of the benchmarks. You can tell a story about how you have seen a benchmark lived out in your congregation. Or you can reflect in some other way. Statement of Purpose: Chapter 6 of the Synod Constitution As I began my thinking about this Synod Council meeting, I realized that our benchmarks are not the only measuring sticks that we have as a Synod. Another set of measuring sticks in Chapter 6 of our Synod Constitution, the Statement of Purpose. Each year our Synod Council is required by Constitution to review the Statement of Purpose. The Statement of Purpose divides the responsibilities of the Synod into 5 main areas: +Provide for pastoral care of congregations and ministers. +Plan, facilitate and nurture the mission of the church through congregations. +Strengthen relationships with and among congregations and ministries. +Interpret the work of the whole church. +Be inclusive of race, gender, age, national origin. We have found different ways to review the Statement of Purpose as a Council over the years. It remains a crucial measure of our work. For this meeting I am going to ask each participant 3

4 (Council members, staff, guests) to read through Chapter 6 and to pick a portion (large or small) upon which you would like to comment. Thus we will claim some ownership of the Statement of Purpose. Expectations from the Churchwide Assembly And then there are the new expectations for Synods that have come out of the Churchwide Assembly this past August. At our September meeting we heard a narrative report of the CWA. Since then the actions and expectations from the Assembly have been compiled and published, and they, too, give us more to think about, more to do. They fall roughly into these categories: +Ministry among people in poverty +Energy and environment +Global mission +Anti-racism +Military support +Well-Being +Foreign policy Ministries among people experiencing poverty: This is very similar to our benchmark: Serve the world, especially the poor and those in need. But it reminds us specifically to focus on the poor. There were 2 actions at the CWA one encouraging ELCA members to support those engaged in initiating and leading ministries among people in poverty. Our support of Freedom in Christ, Our Saviour s Rocky Boy and Spirit of Life does that. And our World Hunger Emphasis, some of our Mission Venture Capital Grants and some of our companion synod work does that. The second action was to encourage all of us to advocate Congress for child nutrition programs. We have the opportunity to do that though individual advocacy and through our ELCA Advocacy Office. Energy and the Environment: The CWA took 3 actions here. Two of the actions encouraged investment in and use of renewable and responsible energy. Our Synod House design does exactly that. The other action was encouraging synods to plan watershed events. On behalf of the Synod, I am a signer of a Declaration on Ethics and Modernizing the Columbia River Treaty. And our Synod s attention to Standing Rock (including my visit and writing) also responds to the CWA request. Global Mission: The two actions in global mission were 1) Encouraging accompaniment as a model for relationships with companion synods. We do that. And 2) Encouraging folks to engage Lutheran Outdoor Ministries and the ELCA Youth Ministry Network for available mission trip resources. We have not achieved this, and I would like to see us work on it. We have a number of congregations who do youth (and adult) mission trips that are not affiliated with the ELCA and do not necessarily work from accompaniment. We have work to do. Anti-Racism The CWA took 2 actions. One was to encourage every Synod to develop or maintain resources for anti-racism training for rostered leaders and congregations every two years. We are in the beginning stages of this. We are contacting the members of the WELCA anti-racism team, and 4

5 remaining members of the Synod s inactive anti-racism team, and tentatively planning to offer antiracism training on alternate years with boundaries training. I have recently been invited to participate in a webinar on anti-racism training that will be a resource for the Synod. The Chico Pastoral Conference this year will deal with some issues of White Privilege and also the Doctrine of Discovery. The other action taken by the CWA was to encourage closer relationships with historic black churches. This will be difficult in Montana and Wyoming because historic black churches are few and far between. I have written to the local AME Congregation on the occasion of the sentencing of Dylan Roof, knowing it was a painful day for that whole denomination. Military Personnel: A resolution on support of military personnel ranged from support for returning veterans to recruitment of military chaplains. While we have not done anything recently about support to returning veterans, we have in the past. And we are doing OK with military chaplains. Two of our candidates for ordained ministry, Marlow Carrels and Ashley Allinger, are chaplain candidates, as is one of our former interns, Jayson Nicholson. (During the meeting, Pastor Mark Taylor wondered about having an idea of people willing to help mentor returning veterans into local communities.) Well-Being: A resolution encouraged ELCA members to advocate for increased funding for suicide prevention research. Montana and Wyoming are always high on the list of suicide states, and this is very appropriate for us. Another action encouraged observation of National Donor Sabbath in support of organ donation. Foreign Policy: A CWA action asked congregations to pray for peace and discern foreign policy issues. Several resolutions on the Holy Land advocate for a 2 state solution with shared Jerusalem, end of occupation of West Bank and East Jerusalem, end of settlement building and enforcement of human rights, membership of Palestine in the UN. Additionally, a resolution encouraged responsible investment that takes into account human rights abuses. These Holy Land-related resolutions caused some stir in the Jewish community. I mentioned this at our September meeting. I think that we have straightened matters out with the Jewish leaders who mistakenly thought that the ELCA CWA engaged in BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanctions). As I analyze at the rocky patch in our relations with the Jewish community, I look back at our 1995 Agreement (reaffirmed in 2015) and give thanks for this document with sets out our commitments to one another. It was helpful in dealing with CWA fallout, and it was helpful in December/January dealing with the white supremacists in Whitefish and the acts of anti-semitism that were encouraged and the community s response. Synod House Update The Building: Since our last meeting, Tom Gossack and I have spent many hours with the architects, making decisions on lighting and heat and other design issues, going to the city planning board and defending our design and our landscaping plan. In addition, the staff and I have spent considerable time meeting with our neighbors, getting them to support our request for a conditional use permit for Mission Builders RVs on site. All of our neighbors were enthusiastic and supportive, and we 5

6 submitted an application to the city of Great Falls. But when we learned that city requirements would cost us an additional $50,000 to have the RVs on site, we withdrew our application and went to Plan B. The Builders: Mission Builders prefer to stay on site in their RVs, and in most of their jobs they have been able to. Because our building project is in the city, it has been a challenge. Fortunately, a local church member is connected with the owner of the local KOA, who has agreed to give us 6 spaces for Mission Builder RVs for the entire time. We are extremely grateful. (Plan B) We are also grateful to Pr. Arne Bergland and the team of volunteers at Our Redeemer s in Helena who are working to recruit volunteers to assist the mission builders. The Fundraising: Our fundraising continues more slowly than we had hoped. We hope that a Synod House Sunday will provide opportunity for awareness and for giving. Leadership Rostered Leaders: As of January 1, the ELCA has 2 rosters Pastors and Deacons. Associates in Ministry, Diaconal Ministers and Deaconesses have all been folded into the Deacon Roster. LPAs and SAMs are authorized synodically not across the whole church and remain the same. The 2016 constitutional changes do not affect them. In my last report to the Synod Council I noted the shortage of available candidates in the fall assignment. Region 1 officially got 0 candidates in the fall assignment. We will be going to the February Assignment asking for 5 for Montana alone. What we get depends on the number available. I encourage you as Synod Council members to look around and find potential rostered leaders. How about that junior high student who really likes Confirmation class? Or that third grader who absorbs the Bible stories so quickly? How about that early retiree who loves to serve as assisting minister? Maybe he or she is being called to be a Pastor or a Deacon, or an LPA. If you see gifts for ministry, say something. During this Synod Council meeting we get to be part of a special event an ordination. Former Synod Council member Sylvia Bull has completed candidacy, seminary and internship, has received a call, and is going to be ordained on Friday night of the Synod Council at her home congregation, First English Lutheran in Great Falls. She has received a call to serve in Bismarck, North Dakota. It is a privilege for us to have this ordination in the midst of our meeting. Looking at the Big Picture During this meeting we will have an opportunity to share in some of the learnings that took place at a Region 1 Gathering on the finances of the church. George Karres, Tom Gossack, Sue Ost and I attended. Each synod produced a brief ministry context statement and a brief mission strategy statement to share with the other synods. The Montana Synod ones that George and I wrote are among your documents for this meeting. We all learned a lot about each other, how even in a Region with as many similarities as ours, we have significant differences in how we fund, and how we operate. We think that it would be helpful to share some of this with you, the Synod Council, and so we ll devote some time Friday afternoon to a conversation and some presentations. 6

7 Back to the Benchmarks Meet the future boldly: All along we have said that this benchmark is in everything we do. As I look back at the fall, my visit to Standing Rock (and the accompanying writing and advocating) stands out as a way I have responded to this benchmark. But it has not been without cost. Just as we had a lively conversation at our September Synod Council meeting, I have had lively conversations with folks who were unhappy that the Bishop (and the Presiding Bishop) took the stands we did. Meeting the future boldly does not mean that we cannot work civilly with those who disagree. One of the things I am pondering is how to meet the future boldly while practicing accompaniment. I think it involves shared leadership, deep listening and prayer. I d love to hear your reflections. Serve the world, especially the poor and those in need: Part of my response, both personal and pastoral, to the disharmony of the election season and its outcome, it to engage more in advocacy for causes our church supports. My trip to Israel/Palestine was an opportunity to see some of the Middle East struggle in context. Deepen faith and witness: In the last year or so I have been taking more seriously the teaching role of the Bishop. It is most apparent in the weekly Words from the Bishop that I write. Last year in Lent and following I wrote about different faith practices each week. Starting in the summer and ending in December, I wrote about each of the 13 Social Statements that the ELCA has adopted. And I have started on the 13 Social Messages this month. I am not ignoring other issues as they come up, but am aiming for 2-3 Social Messages each month. I carry the teaching role of the Bishop in other things I do, such as preaching, teaching, and planning educational events such as the Convocation, the Assembly, and in consultation with NRIT and the Pastoral Conference and the LPA program. Promote unity: Suddenly, this benchmark is incredibly timely. When we adopted this benchmark, many of our churches were torn apart over human sexuality. Now, following the election, many of our churches are potentially divided again. The day after the election we had our first call pastors in Great Falls, and took extra time to listen to them and work with them as they processed how to be pastors to the whole congregation, not just those who agreed with them. As a follow-up to that, we have collected sermons preached around the election, and made them available on the website. We continue to pursue the religious dimensions of promote unity, by regular meetings with our full-communion partners and other ecumenical partners. We are working with the Catholics to commemorate the Reformation. (October 30, 2017, Helena Cathedral). And we continue to work with the Jewish community to clarify the ELCA s positions at the Churchwide Assembly. And, at the same time, we stand in solidarity with the Jewish community, as per our agreement, as the anti- Semitism erupted in Whitefish. And we continue our slow work with the American Indian communities. This summer, the national organization will be meeting at Rocky Boy. And next fall our cross-border Canadian-American event will be on the Fort Peck Reservation. Strengthen Congregations: One of the main jobs of the Synod staff is to support and strengthen congregations. Colter s tech work, Jason s systems work, George s ministry reviews, my meeting with call committees, Susan s consulting with congregational treasurers these are just the tip of the iceberg of what we do in our office. We help pastors and congregations in transition; we train and 7

8 support LPAs; we provide listening teams to congregations in conflict; we provide resources. And we urge congregations to remember that they are part of a larger whole. REPORT OF THE ADMINISTRATOR FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: COLTER MCCARTY Colter has visited 29 congregations since he started in the position. It is hard to tell how many people he has talked to regarding tech support on the phone. He is always doing some website tweaks. The archive of the newsletters has been completed. He has been in contact with the Mission Builders and the Synod House team to gather more information for the website. Mission Builders would like to have more visual information regarding the Synod House. It is going to be a busy summer but Colter hopes to get out to the eastern part of the Synod and would also like to get to Hamilton yet. REPORT OF THE ASSOCIATE TO THE BISHOP: PASTOR JASON ASSELSTINE I want to begin like I always do THANK YOU. Thanks for the opportunity to serve on Synod Staff. This is a gift and joy. Mobility/ Call Process: I won t repeat Bishop Crist s report on transitions in our synod but let me just say that we have had to be very creative in finding ways to provide for pastoral care and worship leadership. I appreciate how patient and open congregations have been with transition and how lifegiving the opportunities to find new ways of doing old things have been. LPA: The Second Retreat of the LPA class (Worship) will take place the first part of April. That is going well. Youth: We just finished the Montana Synod Winter Youth Gathering in Billings. We had (60) youth and (15) adults attend. They spent time in service around the Billings community and time group building. The next youth event is planned for June and is advertised as a leadership Training for youth and adults and was born out of a need to offer leadership to small congregations without constant or trained leaders working with youth. It will be organized around training youth and their leaders to go back to their congregation with tools to have an effective ministry in their context. I have Dr. Dick Hardel, Paul Goodman, Keith Weatherford, Margie Fiedler and myself on a planning team. The event will be held at Bethel Lutheran in Great Falls during the Synod Assembly (June 2-4) I applied for and received a $2,000 Hetzel grant to subsidize the cost of attending. We will be asking one adult and one or two youth from each congregation to attend. I just returned from an ELCA Youth Gathering training. I am the central contact for the Montana Synod for information concerning the Youth Gathering in Houston in Preaching/Congregational Visits: Synod Solidarity and education (kissing babies) First Call Theological Education: The retreat was held in November and focused on leadership skills. There were presentations on health and leadership, money and leadership, conflict and decision making in leadership etc ODAS (Other duties as assigned) Systems Academy Training: I begin in October with this training so that I can be a trainer. 8

9 Bowen family systems theory is a theory of human behavior that views the family as an emotional unit and uses systems thinking to describe the complex interactions in the unit. It is the nature of a family that its members are intensely connected emotionally. Systems theory is a way to get at the genesis of conflict. I will be training our Consultation team with the help of Pastor Jim Darchuk. A2B Gathering highlights--- The real value of this gathering is the perspective gained by talking with the other Synod leaders. I have learned that the work we are doing in the Montana Synod is, in many cases, well ahead of many other synods. I also value the time spent chatting with others about our mutual work. REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR FOR EVANGELICAL MISSION: PASTOR GEORGE KARRES SYNODICAL MISSIONAL STRATEGY Native American Ministries and Accompaniment: Our Saviour s Lutheran Church, Rocky Boy s Reservation: Doug Allie, Neal Wedum, Pastor Natalie Faltin, and I met with Pastor Linda Webster and lay members of Our Saviour s council on November 19, 2016 to review progress on recommendations from the Comprehensive Ministry Review done on March 21-22, We will continue to accompany this ministry. Spirit of Life Ministry, Fort Peck Reservation: Pastor Chris Holler-Dinsmore continues her ministry with Native Americans there. A highlight has been her work at the Tribal Adult Correctional Facility. 11 baptisms in We are still in the process of discerning the path forward for this ministry regarding its affiliation, funding, future leadership, etc. American Indian / Alaska Native Lutheran Association: The 2017 National Gathering will be held at Our Saviour s Lutheran, Rocky Boy s Reservation during July 19-22, Montana / Alberta Event: This event is being planned for October 16-17, 2017 at the Fort Peck Reservation. Freedom in Christ Prison Ministry: This is now the 5 th year for this ministry. It is supported by the Montana Synod, the ELCA, and contributions from congregations and individuals. Its Council now has ecumenical representation. Pastor Rob Nedbalek and I will be attending a national gathering/training event sponsored by Prison Congregations of American in Chicago, IL. Mission Venture Capital Fund: During 2016, we gave MVCF grants for three ministries: 1) Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp for outreach youth ministry with small congregations; Faith Lutheran Church, Ronan, MT for a community bookstore; 3) New Hope Lutheran Church, Great Falls, MT for their Head Start children Bus Stop Blessing program. In 2015, the MVCF provided start-up support for a Friendship Café youth coffee house ministry in south Billings, MT. Other innovative ideas for new ministries are welcome! 9

10 NEW STARTS AND RENEWING CONGREGATIONS Possible New Start in Bozeman, MT: During the past two weeks, I have met with the Congregation Councils of Christ the King Lutheran Church, Bozeman (on February 9); and of Hope Lutheran Church, Bozeman (on February 15) for further consultation about doing a possible New Start ministry in the area between Four Corners and Belgrade, MT. Comprehensive Ministry Reviews: This is a comprehensive look at a congregation s health and ministry from a number of perspectives such as: the context of its neighborhood/community; pastor; staff; facilities; history; trends; etc. For this process a Synod Review Team consisting of the Director for Evangelical Mission and four LPAs spends a weekend with the congregation meeting with the pastor, staff, outside community leaders, and a Congregation Leadership Team. About 4-6 weeks later, the Synod Review Team will return to present its Final Report to the Congregation Leadership Team and to the Congregation Council/ Congregation. Affirmations and Recommendations are made but it is then up to the congregation to decide any further steps. Trinity Lutheran, Choteau Synod Review Team met with the congregation on November 20, 2016 to present its final Report well received! Zion Lutheran, Lewistown, MT March 2-4, 2017 St. Luke s Lutheran, Shelby, MT March 31-April 2, Redevelopment: This is a process that may be appropriate for congregations that need to begin a very different direction for doing ministry in their contexts. For this, a Redeveloper Pastor would be called for a three-year term supported by the synod/elca through the Director for Evangelical Mission. No Montana Synod congregations are currently in formal Redevelopment at present. STEWARDSHIP AND MISSION SUPPORT Consecration Sunday: This is a program for congregations in which members are encouraged to look at their stewardship first fruits percentage giving and consider moving toward or beyond the Biblical benchmark of TITHING by 1% of income. As the DEM, I led Consecration Sundays for two congregations in the fall of Money Leadership Online Course: This is a six-week course by SELECT Learning which I as the DEM teach/facilitate. Participants view DVD presentations, respond and participate through Journal entries and Discussion Forum online postings. Through this they examine their own attitudes and practices about money, grow in their understanding of money management as a faith practice, and hopefully also grow in confidence for being Money Leaders in their congregations. All pastoral leaders especially First Call pastors are encouraged to take this course! The next Course will be from April 24 June 3, 2017 with a maximum of 12 participants. 10

11 Stewardship and Mission Support Strategy: The ELCA is asking each Synod to develop a comprehensive Stewardship and Mission Support Strategy. I as the DEM, along with the Stewardship and Mission Support Leg of our Mission Table, have developed a draft Strategy which we will go over as part of this report. Your thoughts and comments are welcomed. This draft Report is also being reviewed by the churchwide Directors for Stewardship, Mission, and DEM Relations along with several other Directors for Evangelical Mission from other synods. It is hoped that this will be a plan that will help our Montana Synod, and its congregations and their members to grow in stewardship as a way of life, and also in partnership for ministries that we do together as the Montana Synod and ELCA through Mission Support contributions. Finally, as a Montana Synod staff member, as needed I also participate in any other ministries and tasks that are necessary or helpful. The Council recessed for lunch. Pastor Daniels led the Council in a Table Prayer. Plenary II Fri. Feb. 17, :30 p.m. Review of Statement of Purpose (Constitution Chapter 6) There was a conversation around the table about several subsections of Chapter 6. Report of the Vice President: Tom Gossack Looking back of the past few months, I m compelled to recall Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you. Plans you might ask plans for the new synod office building, plans for region one, plans for the synod, plans for mission support, plans for just fill in the blank! Since the last meeting, we have met with the City to secure a building permit along with approval for mission builders to park their RV s onsite. The end result being that we have a final agreement on the building landscaping albeit we still have to have turf grass (we argued that the code doesn t specifically state turf grass but lost) and once we knew what the City would require for the onsite RV parking (even though it is allowed by our zoning) we threw in the towel and went another direction. We should be close, however, on getting our permit to proceed. Bishop Crist, Sue Ost, Alex Bostic, Mission Builders and I have been meeting with our architects on a regular basis reviewing plans, revising plans, approving materials and much, much more. As I write this, we have a meeting scheduled to review the 85% completion plans with the hope that come February 24 we will have 100% completion and be ready to go to bid, then secure contractors to begin the building process. It is an exciting time but also that transition where we go from a plan to making it a reality. Even though this has been many years in the making I find it still a bit unsettling, as I d like us to be further along with our fundraising than we are. But, the final words in the verse from Jeremiah states that the plan he has for us is to give us a future and a hope. In December Bishop Crist, George Karres, Sue Ost and I along with our counterparts from the other synods in Region One attended a day-long meeting in Seattle. We met with Victoria Flood, Chris Boerger, David Swartling and others from churchwide to brainstorm ideas on mission and support. It was the first time I can recall that we ve had the Bishops, V.P. s, D.E.M. s and treasurer s together in 11

12 one group. We discovered in the process that not all synods are alike in the way they fund mission support. In fact, were surprised to find that some fund theirs out of endowments rather than out of benevolence. We also heard that churchwide is open to synods using other methods of defining their mission intent other than as a percentage of undesignated giving. As a synod, we will explore this further at our fall meeting when we ll be joined by Nick Kiger, the Associate Director of Mission Support. On Martin Luther King day, the executive committee gathered in Great Falls to start the process of creating a budget for You will hear the details on this from Sue. I also chaired the call committee for my church and Redeemer was extremely excited when Rev. Scott Hedegaard answered the call. Scott came to us just after the first of the year and was installed this past Sunday evening. Exciting times are ahead of all of us and for the church. Exciting, yes but also challenging. Challenging - You will have a very conservative budget presented to you for 2018 with the challenge that you, as representatives of your respective clusters, carry the message home on the importance of supporting the work of the synod and the greater church. We will also hear from Jeanne McCoskery on the capital campaign and with this comes another opportunity to encourage the churches and individuals within your clusters to come together to secure a proper work place for the Bishop and staff. Exciting - When we meet again in June, construction will have begun on the new building, Mission Builders will be on site and you will have a first-hand opportunity to see the results of all our careful planning and possibly do a little volunteer work! It is also my hope that when we meet this fall that the building will be complete and we can have our first synod council meeting in that building! On a personal note, I have been caring for the needs of my father and find it one of the finest ministries imaginable. In addition to being extremely hard of hearing and suffering from more conditions than I can name, his eyesight started to fail last fall and he voluntarily hung up his car keys. This has given us a unique opportunity to spend time together. In fact, this past Saturday I took him to the barber so we could both get our hair cut and was given pause to reflect on how our roles have reversed in the past few years. I remember him taking me to the barber when I was younger. I m also learning that as he ages, he s becoming more open and argumentative. I think age is removing those necessary filters that he used to use to keep him centered. As a result, sometimes I m confused, sometimes I m angry, sometimes I m amused to the point of laughter but in the end, I m learning to keep a smile on my face and provide the emotional lift he needs to keep life in perspective but most of all I share the love of father and son with a dear old man. To you, please accept my most gracious and humble thanks for all that you are and all that you do for your family, your friends, your church, our synod and those less fortunate in the world. Presentation from Pastors Betty Lou Deuchler and Lue Moua Pastors Betty Lou Deuchler and Lue Moua attended the Regional Consultation on World Hunger and Global Mission. Betty Lou shared that the focus of the ELCA for 2017 is the Global Church. How does the global church impact in the Synod and in congregations? Presentations centered on accompaniment and what that looks like in the church. How do our companion synods inform our 12

13 synods and our congregations? Lue shared about his perspective learning about World Hunger. There are many projects that happen in the U.S. There is room to be involved in advocacy, not just providing food. He reminded the Council that there are many resources available for congregations about World Hunger. Tutorial on Church and Social Issues: Bishop Jessica Crist Bishop Crist has summarized what the Social Statements and Social Messages have meant for the ELCA for the past years. The Social statements are an attempt to address the issues that people deal with today. It is a best effort to deal with tough issues. Bishop Crist states, If we cannot have civil and passionate conversations in the church, then no one can ever expect to talk about theses issues. The statements also look for common ground, putting the best minds into the most laborious topics. The process takes at least six years. Social messages are not such a long process as they take about one year. The role of the Bishop is a teaching role and she has been working hard to present the Social Statements and Social Messages in a way that can be easily understood. Tutorial on Synod, Region and Churchwide Finance and Context (The document below was prepared by Bishop Crist to be presented to those attending the Region 1 Consultation). Region 1 Consultation Discussion on trends and the future of the church The Montana Synod, comprises the entire state of Montana (147,000 square miles with a population of just over a million) and 5 congregations in northern Wyoming. The Synod abuts Region 2 (Rocky Mountain Synod, Region 3 (Western North Dakota Synod and South Dakota Synod), and 3 of the 5 Synods in the ELCIC (British Columbia, Alberta and the Territories, and Saskatchewan.) In the debates 30 years ago about which ELCA Region suited us best, it was noted that Montana and Wyoming do not naturally fit into any region. Indeed, in the Religion by Region series, the Mountain West volume is the most disjointed. The Montana Synod is where the Midwest hits the Rockies and spills over into the Pacific Northwest. The Montana Synod is made up of 126 congregations (down from 150 in 1988), and a dozen other ministries from camping to campus to social ministry organizations to prison. While ELCA Lutherans are the largest mainline Protestant denomination in the state of Montana, we are still statistically small. Montana is pretty unchurched and proud of it. Wyoming is, too. We are ecumenically involved in both Montana and Wyoming, in the state associations of churches, and in full communion arrangements with UCC, United Methodist, Presbyterian and Episcopal. These include joint congregations, and exchange of clergy. In terms of Lutheran history, the Montana Synod is overwhelmingly ALC, with only 16 former LCA congregations. All of the congregations who left the ELCA came from the ALC. Many of our congregations are extremely small, and either have a part-time pastor, or share a pastor with another congregation or congregations. (45 congregations share a pastor with one or more others; 15 employ pastors part time; 13 do ministry with lay leaders.) We are also overwhelmingly white. In 2008, the AP sent a reporter to the whitest town in the whitest county in the whitest state to hear reactions to the election. They were fine with it. (A recent front page story in the Great Falls Tribune about diversity turned out to be about the diversity in the bear 13

14 population.) Native Americans are the largest non-white population in the state, which is home to 7 reservations and 10 federally recognized tribes, and another state-recognized tribe. There is a small African American population, with the largest concentration in Great Falls where there is an Air Force base. And there are small but growing Latino/a populations. Because Montana and Wyoming are Indian Country, we focus efforts in that direction. Politically, Montana is divided. Of the top 4 elected officials, 2 are Democratic (Governor and Senator), and 2 are Republican (Senator and Representative.) Wyoming is more solidly Republican. Population growth is of 2 distinct types. One area of growth is on reservations, where birth rate is generally high and income generally low. The other area of growth is in larger cities, and in resort areas, where birth rate is generally low and income generally higher. Overall, Montana is low in per capita wages in comparison with the rest of the country, and high in people holding more than one job. We also consistently rank in the top 3 states for suicide. The economy has historically been one of resource extraction mining, logging, farming and ranching. Increasingly tourism, medical and high tech have been growing in impact. Summary of the Region One Consultation: Bishop Crist and Pastor Karres discussed the Region One Consultation and learning gleaned from the conversations with others from the Synods of Region One. Note the appendix to these Minutes which include a PowerPoint slide show that Pastor Karres presented to the Region. Presentation of the Budget Revisions to 2017: There was a consensus to not revise the 2017 budget until the June Synod Council meeting, if necessary. Proposed 2018 Budget Motion Second: Increase income side to $1,030,000 on line 3, on line 7: reduce to $10,000, restore all of the ministry partners to the 2017 levels, (lines 20-27), change PLTS and Luther Seminary support to $21,000 each, add $6,000 to Churchwide to make $381,000 and approve the budget as amended SC VOTE: INCREASE INCOME SIDE TO $1,030,000 ON LINE 3, ON LINE 7: REDUCE TO $10,000, RESTORE ALL OF THE MINISTRY PARTNERS TO THE 2017 LEVELS, (LINES 20-27), CHANGE PLTS AND LUTHER SEMINARY SUPPORT TO $21,000 EACH, ADD $6,000 TO CHURCHWIDE TO MAKE $381,000 AND APPROVE THE BUDGET AS AMENDED Report of the Executive Committee Eric Nord commented on the Fair Labor Standards Act and the fact that there is no current change to the law. Spirit of Hope Nominations: Motion 14

15 Second: Nominate Pastor Peter Erickson as the 2017 Recipient SC VOTE: NOMINATE PASTOR PETER ERICKSON AS THE 2017 RECIPIENT Assembly Offering: Suggestion from the Bishop designate Intermountain Children s Home to receive the Synod Assembly offering Motion Second: Designate Intermountain Children s Home to receive the 2017 Synod Assembly offering SC VOTE: DESIGNATE INTERMOUNTAIN CHILDREN S HOME TO RECEIVE THE 2017 SYNOD ASSEMBLY OFFERING Synod House Update: Jeanne McCoskery presented an update on the Synod House. For the Synod House Sunday there will be a liturgy, a one page interpretive piece, and a letter from Bishop Crist and yellow plastic hard hats to be used as a visual! Pledge forms will also be available and talking points will also be available. It would be helpful to have the financial figures available, too. $587,492 is in the account now! Motion Second: Appoint Sue Ost, Synod Treasurer to be the authorized administrator with the Mission Investment Fund for the MIF investment and loan account for the Synod House project SC VOTE: APPOINT SUE OST, SYNOD TREASURER TO BE THE AUTHORIZED ADMINISTRATOR WITH THE MISSION INVESTMENT FUND FOR THE MIF INVESTMENT AND LOAN ACCOUNT FOR THE SYNOD HOUSE PROJECT Revised Guidelines for Safe Congregations: The following revised Guidelines were presented to the Synod Council: Guidelines for Safe Congregations: A Montana Synod Sample Policy for Congregations Role of the Congregation: The Church Council is responsible for the safety and wellbeing of all the congregation, and the supervision of all staff and volunteers. In order to insure safety for all, the Council establishes policies and guidelines. The Council, along with the Pastor, is responsible to see that they are carried out. Role of the Synod: The Synod establishes guidelines for rostered leaders (pastors and deacons). Any infraction by a rostered leader must be reported to the Bishop of the Montana Synod, who is responsible for the discipline of rostered leaders. The Pastor: (This includes all rostered leaders pastors, deacons (formerly Associates in Ministry and Diaconal Ministers and Deaconesses) and Synodically Authorized Ministers. The Montana Synod of the ELCA has a policy regarding sexual misconduct by ministers. As stated in the introduction to the policy: The Synod is committed to preventing sexual misconduct within the church and to responding with justice and compassion when such misconduct occurs. If at any time there is concern about the conduct of the minister, any individual is encouraged to speak with the pastor, notify the president of the church council and inform the bishop s office ( x201). The Synod s guidelines are available online at In the event of a report of misconduct, this congregation will utilize the Synod policy, summarized below. 15

16 Summary of Synod Policy (full text is at The Montana Synod will not tolerate clergy sexual misconduct. It expects all ministers to attend a boundaries workshop, and to take advantage of additional educational opportunities. It further expects ministers to share appropriate learnings with the congregation. Anyone knowing or suspecting clergy sexual misconduct is asked to contact the Bishop s office directly ( x201), or jcrist@montanasynod.org. The Bishop s office will initiate an initial investigation. The information will be assessed and appropriate actions taken. Great effort will be taken to verify the accuracy of allegations, and response will be determined by level of misconduct. Pastoral care and counseling will be provided for individuals involved. If a minor is involved, Child Protective Services must be informed. This is the law. Montana: Wyoming The Montana Synod encourages the congregation to adopt additional policies governing staff and volunteers in the congregation. Education and awareness: The congregation will provide time and funding for the minister and other leaders to participate regularly in boundaries training. The congregation will also encourage the pastor and staff to maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle, taking into account all the facets of the Wellness Wheel. Counseling: The pastor is encouraged to provide no more than three counseling sessions with anyone, and to refer the person to a professional counselor. The pastor should avoid being alone in an isolated setting with anyone, including a minor. Installing windows into an office door, leaving the door ajar, or meeting in a more open space is recommended. Background check: All who work with youth (clergy, lay staff, volunteers) will undergo a background check for safety. Appropriate screening will be followed in the calling of pastors and other staff. Lay Staff and Volunteers: The congregation is responsible for the vetting and behavior of all lay staff and volunteers. Screening: It is recommended that lay staff and volunteers who work with children be screened appropriately. Education: It is recommended that lay staff and volunteers participate in boundaries training. Ongoing education in the congregation is helpful in reducing the risk of child abuse and sexual misconduct. Never alone: Whenever possible, two adults, preferably both genders, if it is a mixed group, should be present with the nursery, Sunday School classes, youth gathering, or other social events. Youth under 18 should not be responsible for the nursery without an adult present. For overnight retreats, it is highly recommended that at least two adults, preferably un-related, accompany the group. A staff person should not meet alone with an unrelated minor in an isolated setting. When there is an accusation: If there is suspicion of sexual misconduct by a staff person or volunteer, the pastor shall visit with the person in question as soon as possible. Depending on the conversation, the pastor may inform the Executive Committee. Information is kept confidential, limited to those who need to know. If there is reasonable cause to believe that the individual in 16

17 question may continue to pose a risk to the safety of the congregation, these steps serve as a guideline: When a minor is involved: It must be reported to Child Protective services within 48 hours. This is the law. Adult members of the victims must be notified as soon as possible. See contact numbers for Montana and Wyoming above. When criminal activity is indicated: civil and criminal proceedings take precedence over church policies. In non-criminal cases not involving minors: The pastor will meet with the alleged offender as soon as possible to learn his/her story. If the offense is from the past, the pastor must learn what steps had been taken to address the behavior patterns. The pastor will ask permission in writing to make appropriate contacts with previous churches, counselors, law enforcement, etc. If permission is denied, the alleged offender s position would be suspended. Consultation: The Pastor will consult with legal and other counsel, including the Synod office, to determine the legal implications of the offense, the need for further professional consultation, and who within the congregation needs to be informed. Disclosure: The pastor should inform all or part of the Church Council promptly. The Church Council may insist that the individual enter into counselling. The individual must sign a release form so that the pastor may be kept informed of the process. Failure to sign such a release or to undertake the counseling will result in the suspension of membership and participation. Children: When a minor is involved, the pastor or council must contact Child Protective Services. This is the law. See the contact numbers for Montana and Wyoming above. The council will put special measures in place to protect children, including having 2 adults with children whenever possible, prohibition of anyone with a record of sexual assault or any crime against a minor working with children. The safety of children takes the highest priority. Members and visitors with criminal background: While the church welcomes everybody, safety is a primary concern and takes precedence over privacy. Anyone accused or convicted of a violent offense or an offense against a minor should consult with the pastor. The pastor, in consultation with at least one Council member, should establish guidelines and boundaries for participation. At no time should they be allowed to work with children, even under supervision. Cyber Safety: The availability of internet in the congregation opens up the possibility of misuse. This congregation will not allow the viewing of pornography or other inappropriate content on its computers. It is recommended that all publicly available computers be password protected. Policy Review: The Council and staff will review the policy at least biannually. Motion Second: Approve the Safe Congregation policy with minor revisions SC VOTE: APPROVE THE SAFE CONGREGATION POLICY WITH MINOR REVISIONS Disaster Response: Dick Deschamps It is coming up on 2 years (June 2015) since Bishop Jessica asked me to attend a meeting of the Montana VOAD (Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster). I eventually found out that the Synod had a seat at this table representing Lutheran Disaster Relief (LDR). This was previously held by 17