2026 Synod Assembly

Click here for the 2026 Pre-Assembly Report

This document includes the proposed agenda, proposed rules of procedure, proposed 2027 budget, and proposed resolution. It also offers general information, highlights the featured speakers, lists the nominees for elections and other assembly details.

If you requested a printed booklet to use during assembly, a copy will be provided in the packet you receive upon check-in at St. Andrew’s. For those who want a preview, click here for a PDF of the 2026 Synod Assembly Booklet. The entire content of the booklet is also available as a digital app. Registrants are provided with a download link a few days prior to assembly.

In these uncertain times, we all need reminders that we are not the first to feel anxiety about the future. Through a series of text studies, Dr. Anna Marsh will keep us rooted in sacred scripture, where we will wrestle with uncertainty and ambiguity, but also with a clear-eyed sense that the future is in God’s hands. Dr. Marsh is the assistant professor of religion at High Point University in North Carolina, where she teaches Hebrew Bible and Jewish Studies. A Minnesota native, she is a graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College (BA ’04) and Luther Seminary (MA ’08). In 2022, she earned her PhD from the Jewish Theological Seminary (New York, NY) and joined the faculty of Luther Seminary for three years before accepting her current position. From 2014-2022, she served on the staff of the Saint Paul Area Synod and is thrilled to be coming back home for this year’s assembly!

Imran Siddiqui was elected to a six-year term as vice president of the ELCA during the 2022 Churchwide Assembly. He will provide the churchwide report and oversee our bishop election. Raised in the Muslim faith, Siddiqui turned atheist in college, but became a Christian in 2009. He fell in love with the Lutheran liturgy and focus on God’s grace and became a Lutheran. Siddiqui was first elected to the Southeastern Synod Council in 2015, and in 2018 was elected as Southeastern Synod Vice President. He was reelected in 2022 but was unable to serve his second term due to his election as ELCA Vice President. He has focused on the empowerment of lay leadership in the ELCA and the importance of listening to each other. Siddiqui is a senior investigator for the U.S. Department of Labor. He has degrees in political science and economics from Rutgers University in New Jersey and a law degree from Emory Law School in Atlanta, Ga.

The 2026 Synod Assembly includes an election for the next bishop of the Saint Paul Area Synod, a process that has begun long before we gather at St. Andrew’s in mid-May. Details about the bishop election may be found on separate bishop election pages of this website. 

In addition to the bishop, several other elections will take place during the assembly. These include:

Synod Council – Young Adult (three-year term)
Consultation Committee – Lay (six-year term)
Consultation Committee – Rostered (six-year term)
Consultation Committee – Rostered (six-year term)

A list of the nominees will be included in the Pre-Assembly Report, which will be posted in mid-April.

Voting members include both rostered ministers serving under call (in congregations or in specialized ministry) and lay voters elected by their congregations, typically during the congregation’s annual meeting. At Synod Assembly, voting members may make decisions about governance, mission and finances; elect members of Synod Council or other committees; this year, they will also elect a new bishop. These voters are not designated “representatives” of a congregation (like elected officials), but they are asked to take seriously the responsibility of voting with their conscience for the well-being of the synod.

Click here for the 2026 Voter Allocation Chart, which shows how many voting members each congregation in the synod may bring to Synod Assembly.

Voting members will be invited to participate in apre-assembly discussion on the proposed budget and any proposed resolutions. Watch for more information about this gathering, which will be held over Zoom during the week preceding assembly.

Other Attendees:

Besides voting members, assembly registrations may also include:

Retired Rostered Ministers – These participants are allowed to address the assembly during proceedings, but may not cast a vote. [Unless they are one of the retirees elected at the 2026 Retired Minister Caucus in March, retired rostered ministers have “voice” but no “vote.”]

Advisors – These participants are allowed to address the assembly during proceedings, but may not cast a vote. They include rostered ministers not under call (ie. on leave, retired or in study) except for those selected as voting members, lay synod staff, lay members of synod assembly committees, representatives of synod partners in ministry, representatives from the ELCA synod and churchwide offices. [Advisors have “voice” but no “vote”]

Visitors – These participants are attending assembly as observers due to a personal interest in a topic or as participants in the mission fair. [Visitors have neither “voice” nor “vote.”]

The following organizations are part of the Mission Fair during this year’s assembly. They include synod work groups, global mission committees, ELCA affiliate organizations and more. These partners in ministry are eager to share information and stories about their work! They’ll be around through lunch on Saturday.

Advocates for Racial Equity Work Group
Augsburg University Campus Ministry and The Riverside Innovation Hub
Bega Kwa Bega – Iringa Committee
Camp Onomia
Care of Creation Work Group
Center of Addiction & Faith
Cherish All Children – LSSMN
Church Anew
Deaconess Community of the ELCA
Dignity for Daughters
ELCA Foundation
ENGAGE: Lutherans for Gun Violence Prevention
Friends of Huruma, Affiliate of BKB
Gather Twin Cities
Global Refuge / LIRS
Guatemala Committee
Holden Village
Lake Wapogasset Lutheran Bible Camp
Luther Seminary
Lutheran Advocacy – MN
Lutheran Campus Ministry-Twin Cities
Lutheran Faith Community Nurse Association
Lutheran Mideast Development
Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota
Mental Health Connect
The Ministry Lab
Mission Investment Fund of the ELCA
Portico Benefit Services
ReconcilingWorks
Shobi’s Table
SPAS Vitality Team
Twin Cities CYF Leadership Team
Water’s Edge Ministries

We are pleased to return to St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church for this year’s Synod Assembly. The congregation is located at 900 Stillwater Road in Mahtomedia, MN 55115. Click here for directions. As you enter the church campus from Stillwater Road, stay right to continue up the hill to the Sanctuary parking lot. Enter through Door #1 under the “Welcome” sign.

All buildings at St. Andrew’s are wheelchair accessible and there are accessible parking spaces near the entrance. If you have questions about special needs, please call the synod office at 651-224-4313.

The Bulletin of Reports contains reports from the synod’s public witness work groups, ministry partners, and agencies and institutions affiliated with the Saint Paul Area Synod and the ELCA. These reports reflect the array of work we undertake together and as part of the whole church as we carry out global ministries, seek to become more inclusive and loving to all, develop resources and equip leaders, advocate for justice and the common good, serve the needs of the poor and marginalized, and find new collaborative and effective ways to work together as the body of Christ in the world. Reports from the following entities were received for 2026:

Synod Work Groups:

• Advocates for Racial Equity
• Care of Creation
• Cherish All Children
• Engage – Lutherans for Gun Violence Prevention

Other Organizations:

• Augsburg University
• Augustana College
• Church Property Resource Hub
• ELCA Federal Credit Union
• ELCA Foundation
• ELCA Mission Investment Fund
• ELCA Region 3 Archives
• ELEA – ELCA Schools and Learning Centers
• Luther College
• Luther Seminary
• Lutheran Advocacy-MN
• Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota
• Portico Benefit Services
• St. Olaf College