I recently attended the New England Synod Assembly in Worcester, MA. I brought along a few directives from my home church and the New England WELCA synodical board. I served as a voting member for Faith Lutheran Church, Quincy, MA and as president of New England Women of the ELCA. New England WELCA had an exhibit table managed by long time WELCA advisor, Liz Burgess and me.
Synod Assembly is a once-a-year meeting of our various congregations, emerging ministries, clergy and leadership to conduct the business of our Synod and hear about our work for the Gospel. Most importantly it is the 2/3 majority of LAY people who create the rhythm that moves our church forward in ministry to our region. Voting on budgets, debating memorials and sharing stories of success and struggles are only part of the days together.
The times in between the 16 workshops, around business sessions, meals and of course coffee were HOLY times where the Spirit was busy. The reunion of friends and colleagues always started with BIG hugs and smiles! The question of How are you? and You look wonderful! along with quiet prayers for strength and joyous praises with common statements like–God is good.
For the New England WELCA at the display table there were also the questions of What is WELCA? What do we do? I started by explaining that WELCA does all the things that the other exhibitors were sharing. The women in our congregations are the food pantry, Lutheran World Relief, the Antiracism Collaborative, Calumet and so many more. We do the work of the ministries which form and move our Synod. WELCA is here for you.
We have churchwide and local resources to support the women in your congregation. We join together to provide the many hands doing the work of ministry in our own communities and reaching out globally as well.
We advertised our upcoming Biennial Convention, Oct. 22-24 at Calumet. Synod Council Vice President, Cassandra Wilson, also gave us a shout out in her report to the assembly. She will be our keynote speaker this fall. We offered free Gather magazines, information about Bold Women’s Day and literature about the upcoming July Triennial in Des Moines, Iowa. Lastly-we invited everyone to share their email address for future newsletters and informational use.
I was thrilled to meet and greet so many women from our synod. In my lifetime it often wasn’t a woman’s place to be in the pulpit or leadership positions. We are blessed to be able to speak BOLDLY about our faith in Jesus. We are called to lead and nurture the next generation of BOLD women leaders. Thank you for joining us on this mission – to mobilize women to act boldly on their faith in Jesus Christ.
Jeanne Minasian, Pres. New England WELCA ’24-26
Synod Assembly is a once-a-year meeting of our various congregations, emerging ministries, clergy and leadership to conduct the business of our Synod and hear about our work for the Gospel. Most importantly it is the 2/3 majority of LAY people who create the rhythm that moves our church forward in ministry to our region. Voting on budgets, debating memorials and sharing stories of success and struggles are only part of the days together.
The times in between the 16 workshops, around business sessions, meals and of course coffee were HOLY times where the Spirit was busy. The reunion of friends and colleagues always started with BIG hugs and smiles! The question of How are you? and You look wonderful! along with quiet prayers for strength and joyous praises with common statements like–God is good.
For the New England WELCA at the display table there were also the questions of What is WELCA? What do we do? I started by explaining that WELCA does all the things that the other exhibitors were sharing. The women in our congregations are the food pantry, Lutheran World Relief, the Antiracism Collaborative, Calumet and so many more. We do the work of the ministries which form and move our Synod. WELCA is here for you.
We have churchwide and local resources to support the women in your congregation. We join together to provide the many hands doing the work of ministry in our own communities and reaching out globally as well.
We advertised our upcoming Biennial Convention, Oct. 22-24 at Calumet. Synod Council Vice President, Cassandra Wilson, also gave us a shout out in her report to the assembly. She will be our keynote speaker this fall. We offered free Gather magazines, information about Bold Women’s Day and literature about the upcoming July Triennial in Des Moines, Iowa. Lastly-we invited everyone to share their email address for future newsletters and informational use.
I was thrilled to meet and greet so many women from our synod. In my lifetime it often wasn’t a woman’s place to be in the pulpit or leadership positions. We are blessed to be able to speak BOLDLY about our faith in Jesus. We are called to lead and nurture the next generation of BOLD women leaders. Thank you for joining us on this mission – to mobilize women to act boldly on their faith in Jesus Christ.
Jeanne Minasian, Pres. New England WELCA ’24-26
ClOSING
The next New England SYNOD ASSEMBLY is June 11-12, 2027