2022 Tool Kit Workshops

Presidents'/Vice-Presidents' Forum - Part 1

In congregational leadership, the roles of council president and vice-president have unique opportunities and challenges. Council presidents and VPs, from the newly elected to the most seasoned, are encouraged to attend this forum! Participants will receive template materials and discuss in both small and large groups critical topics of common interest and concern, from the basics of running an effective meeting and delegating to more complex themes such as pastoral support, conflict resolution, and setting up a process for ministry evaluation. As part of the registration process, you will be asked for your input on relevant discussion topics. Each part of the forum will focus on different topics to best utilize this workshop time, so please plan to attend both Part 1 and Part 2. 

Susan Rensted is a third grade teacher in the North St. Paul/Maplewood/Oakdale school district. She is currently the president of the Church Council at Christ the Servant in Vadnais Heights. She previously served as the vice president of the council. She enjoys crafting and going for long walks outside enjoying God's wonderful creations. She lives in Vadnais Heights with her husband and daughter. 

Dave Webb is the Superintendent for South St. Paul Public Schools and the Council President for Shepherd of the Hills in Shoreview. Dave's leadership is focused on collaborative team decision-making. His dissertation identified key leadership strategies that simplify the team decision-making process, which he uses daily in his work with committees as well as teams at both school and church. Dave and his wife, Julie, live in Shoreview with their four kids.

Becoming an Effective Treasurer

The materials covered will provide a basic lesson on budgets, expenditures, cash flow, and balancing the books while keeping good stewardship of your congregation's financial resources in mind. Treasurers and financial administrators encouraged to attend.

David Laden is the comptroller at Como Park Lutheran, St. Paul, serves as synod council treasurer, and is a member of the synod's Finance Committee.

Expanding Awareness & Care for LGBTQIA+ People

As we seek to deepen and expand the holy work of welcome, inclusion, celebration, and advocacy of LGBTQIA+ people in the church and society, we can find ourselves asking, "What does LGBTQIA+ mean?" So we will co-create a safe space to learn useful skills and tools to support you and your ministry. Together through hospitable curiosity, we will work to co-create a safe and inviting learning environment for all to gain an understanding of why LGBTQIA+ work matters in church and society, learn the difference between a person's sex, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation, understand how specific forms of hospitality can have a big impact, and start mapping out a plan for your ministry.

Ashlei Cramer (she/her), after finishing her bachelor's at the University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire in religious studies, packed her bags and headed off to St. Paul! She studied at Luther Seminary, where she acted as a leader in the LGBTQIA+ organization Emmaus and in Proclaim's Seminary Outreach Team. In May of 2018, Ashlei graduated with her Master of Arts in Christian Ministry. As part of God's call in her life, she enters into her work at ReconcilingWorks as the Reconciling in Christ Program Coordinator to serve her fellow LGBTQIA+ community where faith and sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression intersect.

Aubrey Thonvold (she/her) is the executive director at ReconcilingWorks. She is a lifelong Lutheran committed to justice and equity for LGBTQIA+ people and their families within religious and faith communities. With a master's degree in Transforming Spirituality from The School of Theology and Ministry at Seattle University, she strives to bring people in and invite all to the table. She leads this work at ReconcilingWorks with a sense of call to this holy ministry.

Telling Compelling Stories of Ministry: How to Harness the Power of Storytelling in Your Congregation

There is so much noise out in the world. People are inundated with information. Breaking through and being heard is harder than ever. But the ones that do often have one thing in common: they tell a story better than their competition. That’s where Emmy award-winning journalist and storyteller Jay Olstad can help. In his most requested workshop, he’ll teach insider secrets he learned over a nearly 20-year career as a television reporter and anchor. He’ll provide practical tips on how to grab someone’s attention and never let it go. And he’ll do it by showing you how to find and tell your best story.

Jay Olstad loves telling stories and helping others tell theirs. With a lot of help and a little luck he became an Emmy, Edward R. Murrow and Telly award-winning television reporter, brand storyteller and communications consultant. Jay has worked at radio and television stations across the country; his last stop was at KARE 11 in Minneapolis where he became the lead reporter for the 10 o’clock news. But after 18 great years in broadcasting, Jay discovered he was focused on telling other people’s stories yet missing out on his own. That's why he left TV in 2017 to become a brand storyteller in the corporate and non-profit worlds. He is a sought-after speaker, teaching organizations how storytelling can move mountains. He also co-owns a video production company called AMPonStage, which specializes in creating content that moves people into action. Jay is a member at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Burnsville where he serves as the vice-president of the board of directors and sings in the choir.

Young Adult Ministry in 2022

Join Pastor Kate Reuer Welton for a conversation about young adult ministry, gleaned from her experience working with young adults over the last 10 years as Lutheran campus pastor at the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities. The workshop will explore themes of curiosity, authenticity and community as grounding practices for engaging young adults in faith formation and community praxis. Though her expertise is in 18-24 year olds on a large, secular campus, the workshop will make space for questions and conversations about young adult ministry within and outside of congregational life as well.

Pastor Kate Reuer Welton (she/her) serves as the Lutheran Campus Pastor at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. She is married to Jim, mother to Benjamin and Eleanor, and is grateful that they're finally old enough to enjoy watching the Great British Bake Off and go for bike rides together! Kate graduated from Harvard Divinity School (MDiv) in 2006 and Luther Seminary (MTh) in 2010, after which she was called to serve among the good people at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Her approach to the Christian life? “Awe, humility, and curiosity.” Feel free to reach out to her at pastorkate@umnlutheran.org!

Presidents'/Vice-Presidents' Forum - Part 2

In congregational leadership, the roles of council president and vice-president have unique opportunities and challenges. Council presidents and VPs, from the newly elected to the most seasoned, are encouraged to attend this forum! Participants will receive template materials and discuss in both small and large groups critical topics of common interest and concern, from the basics of running an effective meeting and delegating to more complex themes such as pastoral support, conflict resolution, and setting up a process for ministry evaluation. As part of the registration process, you will be asked for your input on relevant discussion topics. Each part of the forum will focus on different topics to best utilize this workshop time, so please plan to attend both Part 1 and Part 2. 

Susan Rensted is a third grade teacher in the North St. Paul/Maplewood/Oakdale school district. She is currently the president of the Church Council at Christ the Servant in Vadnais Heights. She previously served as the vice president of the council. She enjoys crafting and going for long walks outside enjoying God's wonderful creations. She lives in Vadnais Heights with her husband and daughter. 

Dave Webb is the Superintendent for South St. Paul Public Schools and the Council President for Shepherd of the Hills in Shoreview. Dave's leadership is focused on collaborative team decision-making. His dissertation identified key leadership strategies that simplify the team decision-making process, which he uses daily in his work with committees as well as teams at both school and church. Dave and his wife, Julie, live in Shoreview with their four kids.

Creating Caring Communities in Minnesota: Five Things You Can Do

Learn about mental illnesses, the impact of negative attitudes and five things each of us can do to make Minnesota a better place for people who experience a mental illness. We will briefly discuss some additional resources to continue the dialogue after today. This class is for faith communities interested in learning about mental illnesses and helping to change attitudes towards mental illnesses.

Kay King is the Older Adults Program Coordinator and an adult community educator for NAMI Minnesota (the National Alliance on Mental Illness of MN). Each year Kay teaches about 4,000 families, professionals, community members and people living with mental illness about good mental health, suicide prevention and mental illness. She is a former executive director of a retirement and independent assisted living and a general manager of large hotels and resorts nationally and internationally. Kay has worked for NAMI Minnesota for 13 years.

Gift-Oriented Ministry

There’s an oft heard saying in the church: 80% of the work is done by 20% of the people. Perhaps you’ve experienced this to be true. Why is this? There are many reasons why folks do not engage in the work of the congregation – busy lives, not fully bought in, etc. One main reason that often gets left out of the excuses, however, is that people are not invited to fully utilize the spiritual gifts God has given them. In order to help turn the 80/20 divide on its head and to live into the calling of helping people live out a life of faith, we need a plan! Gift-oriented ministry – utilizing spiritual gifts as a strategy for mission – is one way to do this. This workshop will explore how to create and live out gift-oriented ministry in your setting. Are you ready to move from passive participation to active engagement in your ministry setting? Then this is the workshop for you!

Pastor Justin Grimm serves on the Saint Paul Area Synod staff as the Director for Evangelical Mission and Assistant to the Bishop for Next Generation Ministries. Prior to this call, he served as pastor of Advent Lutheran Church in Lake Ann, Mich., at a congregation that he started and was able to grow and thrive in large part due to utilizing the spiritual gifts of all members. He loves talking about Jesus, evangelism and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Deacon Nina Joygaard is the Adult Ministry Deacon at Faith Lutheran Church in Forest Lake. She is passionate about helping people live out their unique vocation in sharing God's love with the world. The best part of her ministry is when someone says, "Thank you for asking me to do this" as she sees matchmaking spiritual gifts and serving others as an integral part of her own calling.

Practicing Presence: Strengthening Companion Partnerships During a Pandemic

One of the hallmarks of our global relationships in Guatemala and Tanzania has been the ability to travel and physically be present with one another. What happens when the ability to travel is compromised by a global event, like a pandemic, or everyday events like advanced age or limited funds?

In this session, you will learn about some of the different modes of communication that congregations have explored to share faith, life stories, and information about projects with their global companions. From social media and Zoom to things like project planning protocol and ambassador visits, there are a variety of formal and informal channels to explore. We'll walk through them together, using a mixture of presentations and group sharing, in order that you will walk away with tools and tips to improve communication with our siblings in Christ during these uncertain times.

Pastor Peter Harrits is a member of the Saint Paul Area Synod Staff and serves as Director of Bega Kwa Bega and an Assistant to the Bishop. In those roles he works closely with the Synod's Iringa & Guatemala Committees and accompanies individuals and congregations from across Saint Paul as they learn to accompany their global. He has been traveling to Iringa since 2002 and has served globally in Malaysian Borneo and the city of Kuala Lumpur.

Jennifer Reinhardt is a member of Augustana Lutheran Church, West St. Paul; San Agustín congregation and Colegio Luterano Agustino de Guatemala (elementary school) are global mission partners. As a part of the Synod Guatemala Committee, she works with communications to support our walk together with the Iglesia Luterana Agustina de Guatemala (ILAG). In addition, she has also been on the Guatemala Gala Committee coordinating communications for the last two virtual events.

Congregational Land Acknowledgements

Congregational land acknowledgement is one way for a congregation to engage in anti-racism work, as it is a response to our Church’s call to acknowledge the original Indigenous peoples of Minnesota. This workshop will examine what it means to recognize the land and why land acknowledgement is so important. To encourage our Lutheran witness of the Gospel acknowledging Indigenous epistemology, we will furthermore learn about the American Indian and Alaska Native Lutheran Association, and review the ELCA documents to/of the American Indian Alaska Native People. Practical ideas, tips, and guidance will be given for your congregation to create a Land Acknowledgement, and use it meaningful ways.

Pastor Joann Conroy is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. She is a graduate of Luther Seminary; ordained ELCA pastor; president of the American Indian and Alaska Native Lutheran Association; chaplain at the Good Samaritan Society Center in Maplewood; board member of the National Lutheran Campus Ministry Association; and a member of the Saint Paul Area Synod's Advocates for Racial Equity (ARE) work group. Pastor Joann is a mother of two very successful children and an unabashedly proud grandmother!

Online Worship Production

The past two years have dramatically changed how we gather together for worship, and while the focus of our worship—God’s love and presence--has not changed, the formats of how worship is experienced have greatly expanded. How might the worship experience be enhanced in your context? How might you reach those who have not been able to worship in community because of various limitations? How might you expand the reach of worship beyond geographic boundaries? If your congregation would like to have an online worship presence, but needs guidance on knowing and finding the right equipment and proper set up, and would like to know best practices for creating a quality production, this workshop is for you!

Omar Reyes is the Production Manager at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church in Apple Valley. In this role, he’s produced hundreds of pre-recorded videos from interviews to testimonials, summer camp reports to capital campaigns. He has played an important role in SOTV’s expansion of online worship options during the pandemic. He works with local and nationwide companies in the pursuit of affordable, yet, high quality tech equipment and has advised many of our congregations on video production over the years.