2026 Minneapolis Area Synod Assembly Report to the Congregation - Mark Bergherr

Good morning.

The Minneapolis Area Synod includes 134 member churches in and around
Minneapolis and extending just beyond Hennepin County.

On May 1st and 2nd more than 350 voting members and 80 ministry partner
representatives gathered at Lord of Life Church in Ramsey to worship and
conduct Synod business.

Brad Bostrom and I, both first time attendees, arrived with a sense of
curiosity and a feeling of gratitude for the opportunity to represent this
Congregation.

The Assembly theme, “Unwavering,” comes from Hebrews 10:23-25, “Let us
hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for the one who
has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to
love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of
some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day
approaching.” The Assembly reflected on the unwavering faith of God and
the call for Christians to gather and provoke one another to love and good
deeds.

In her report to the Assembly, Bishop Jen Nagel said, “One of the messages
I get often from people inside and outside of the church, often with tears in
their eyes, is this: we are heartened that the church is being the church.”

Bishop Jen reflected on the impact of Operation Metro Surge across the
state, but particularly in the Minneapolis Area Synod, and invited the
Assembly to consider ways to sustain the focus on neighboring and
community.

BTW, I was spell-bound by our bishop’s captivating and inspirational
oratorical style. Don’t miss the chance to hear her speak or preach.

The Synod’s Immigration Task Force provided an update on their work over
the last year, including stories of impact from congregations who received
support from the Welcome Fund – a fund established to support
congregations accompanying immigrants.

Business conducted included the election of leaders to the Synod Council
(just like this church body, the Synod is governed by a Council of elected
leaders) and the adoption of resolutions on Artificial Intelligence to guide the practices of both synod staff and synod council, and preparing a model
policy for MAS congregations desiring to adopt their own AI policies … and
a resolution to assist the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Decade of
Climate Justice Action by launching a fundraising campaign, seeking to raise
at least $1 million for specific programs dedicated to 30 greenhouse gas
reduction and other efforts to address Earth’s climate crisis.

That’s a mouthful, I know. You can read the resolutions in detail on the Synod
website.

We also approved the Synod’s 2026 budget and the 2027 forecast. You may
be interested in knowing that the Synod’s operating budget of $2.6M is
funded by “Mission Support” from MAS churches and that roughly 50% of
that amount, or $1.3M, goes to support our ministry partners locally and
nationally.

On another note, I was heartened to learn that the ELCA is working for
justice and peace in Palestine and Israel. The initiative is named Sumud,
which is Arabic for perseverance or steadfastness. As Lutherans, we believe
bearing witness to the plight of our Palestinian brothers and sisters does not
come at the expense of our love for our Jewish brothers and sisters as we
are all children of God. To learn more, see elca.org/samud.

Lastly, don’t hesitate to volunteer to attend a synod assembly in the future.
Brad and I both enjoyed meeting and mingling with other voting members
and ministers and left confident in our Synod’s leadership and uplifted by the
Assembly’s theme of “unwavering … and the call for Christians to gather and
provoke one another to love and good deeds.”

Thank you.