The Word & Sacraments in an Inviting Church

This event has been cancelled. Our hope is to find a future time to bring these amazing workshops to life for you. Payments for already-made registrations are being refunded.

Congregations are encouraged to send a worship renewal team to this day of reflection, learning and worship. Bishop Regina Hassanally of the Southeastern Minnesota Synod will offer the keynote presentation on the Transforming Power of God’s Word. A powerful biblical preacher and teacher, Bishop Hassanally will encourage us to consider our own interactions with Scripture and the role of Scripture in daily living for our sake and the sake of the world. Bishop Hassanally is a graduate of Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa and Palmer Theological Seminary in Wayne, Pennsylvania. She has served as a synod bishop since September 2019. She is married to Terrence, an avid Manchester United fan, and together they parent four active boys.

Break-Out Session 1

In These or Similar Words

This little phrase often appears in red instructions in Evangelical Lutheran Worship. They suggest that other language may be more appropriate than the printed text. This open door invites our creativity and imagination to craft language that matches our context in relevant ways. While writing prayers or re-writing texts may seem intimidating or difficult, it can also be a worthwhile and life-giving challenge. We’ll explore the places in the service where we are invited to speak new words, explore some of the deeper patterns, look at some examples, and try our hand at writing fresh words for the assembly’s prayer.

Bradley E. Schmeling is the senior pastor at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, St. Paul. He is a servant of the Sunday assembly, a 35-year beginner, practicing at the beautiful and complicated intersection of liturgical tradition, congregational life and prophetic hope. He struggles to find work-life balance, get to the gym, and keep his wardrobe updated, but feels profoundly privileged to serve the church, have a settled and happy life with his husband and live in a state with such dramatic changes of seasons. Note: Deacon Jennifer Baker-Trinity was originally scheduled to co-present this session, but is now unable to participate. 

Let Us Play to the Lord!

This interactive training will equip volunteers, church professionals, and pastors to plan and lead elements that engage all God’s children with the Word in worship. We’ll focus on identifying small things you can do that make a big difference. You can expect to leave the training feeling hopeful and with actionable items. (“I can try that!”)

Pastor Jen Rome is celebrating her 25th year of ministry bringing people of all generations together to deeply experience and creatively connect with God, the world, and each other. Creating and leading cross-generational, multi-sensory, interactive worship elements brings her joy. She is pastor with the dear people of Pilgrim Lutheran Church in St. Paul.

Engaging People With the Word of God in Today’s Context

The workshop will center on the power of God’s written and proclaimed Word and move participants toward implementing ideas for strengthening engagement with God’s Word in their congregation.

Rev. Regina Hassanally is the bishop of the Southeastern Minnesota Synod, where she delights in conversations with pastors and deacons, walking alongside congregational leaders, Sunday morning coffee hours, and imagining future possibilities. Prior to being called as bishop, Regina served a vibrant and lively congregation in rural southeastern Minnesota. While serving as a parish pastor, she loved preaching, teaching confirmation, and, along with her congregation, exploring Scripture as they discerned together the ways the Spirit was at work for the sake of God’s glory in the world.

Break-Out Session 2

Thanks Be To God?

“The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.” Many of us hear this call and response week after week in worship. Yet sometimes these words get stuck in our throats as the passages we read don’t seem to call for joyous gratitude, but for solemn introspection or even horror. Sometimes these words feel more appropriately mumbled. Scripture does not shy away from the difficult parts of being human. It also reveals to us a God who will not be boxed in by our tidy ideas of who God is meant to be. Because of this, we are regularly met with challenging texts in worship and beyond. How might we interact with such “terrible texts”? How might we reclaim from them our “Thanks be to God”? We will dive into some difficult passages together and explore how we might approach these stories anew.

Pastor Tim Maybee serves with the people of Amazing Grace Lutheran Church in Inver Grove Heights and is active with the Advocates for Racial Equity Synod workgroup. He is passionate about helping people see the ways that God’s story intersects with and can shape our everyday life, leading us to more thoughtful, merciful, and compassionate living. Tim lives in the Como Park neighborhood of St. Paul with his wife, Lindsey, his toddler, Charlotte, and their two dogs, Hank and Ruth.

The Use of the Means of Grace and Parish Liturgical Practice

Using the ELCA’s formal document, The Use of the Means of Grace (1997), we will examine ecclesiological, sacramental, and theological assumptions that are intended to provide a balance between creativity and structure. How much can one push the liturgical envelope? What liturgical knowledge is expected of pastors and deacons? What needs to be recovered from our Lutheran liturgical tradition, especially as a counter-narrative to Christian nationalism?

Pastor Patrick Shebeck serves as the senior pastor at St. Paul-Reformation Lutheran Church, St. Paul. He holds a doctorate in Liturgical Theology from the Catholic Theological Union (Chicago) where he studied under Ed Foley. He serves on the Board of Directors of the ELCA Deaconess Community, as well as the Board of the Seminar on Lutheran Liturgy, and is teaching his beagles to sing in Gregorian chant.

Worship Beyond Walls: Reimagining the Structures of Sunday

This workshop invites you into a hands-on exploration of the four movements of Christian worship (Gathering, Word, Meal, and Sending) and asks what happens when we pull them apart, hold them up to the light, and put them back together in unexpected ways. We’ll begin with the story of Trail Church, an example of what it looks like to take these ancient patterns seriously enough to break them open. Trail Church’s approach raises generative questions: What is worship actually for? What does each movement accomplish in us and among us? And what assumptions are we carrying that we’ve never quite examined? Then we’ll take a hike together with the open sky, the movement of bodies, and the rhythms of the world outside as our context. We’ll discuss what surfaced on the walk and imagine what any of this might mean for our own communities’ patterns of worship. Come ready to think, move, and be surprised. Bring comfortable walking shoes and an open mind!

Pastor Rory Philstrom is the associate pastor of engagement at Prince of Peace in Burnsville. There, he leads Trail Church for all ages who seek fresh air and/or fresh perspectives and the sacred in the small things.

Schedule

9:00 a.m. – Opening
9:15 a.m. – Break-Out Session 1
10:30 a.m. – Break
10:45 a.m. – Plenary with Bishop Regina Hassanally
11:45 a.m. – Lunch
12:45 p.m. – Break-Out Session 2
2:00 p.m. – Closing Worship
3:00 p.m. – Conclusion