For people in ministry in the Northwest Intermountain Synod of the ELCA AND ecumenical colleagues:

• You desire to be grounded in your life, but are pulled in many directions.

• You yearn for deep connection – to God, to others, to yourself – but are not sure where to start.

• You are curious about spiritual practices – silence, deep listening, prayer – but are not very good at practicing them on your own.

Together, we will learn again to pay attention to our lives and our communities and rediscover God’s sustaining presence in our midst.

The theme for the 2023 NWIM Synod Assembly is BEGA KWA BEGA. This phrase, which translated into English from Swahili, means “Shoulder to Shoulder,” comes to us from our companion synod, the Ulanga-Kilombero Diocese (UKD) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania. It is a fitting theme for our 2023 Synod Assembly for at least two reasons: 1) this phrase was introduced to the NWIM Synod during our last in-person Assembly in 2019 by our guests from the UKD, Pastor Moses Nwaka and Pastor Eliud Payowela; and 2) It is a good descriptor of and addition to what it means to be synod. We are bega kwa bega—shoulder to shoulder— “on the way together.”

Is your congregation ready to take some steps (even small steps) toward renewal or revitalization? Are you ready to try some new things, share ideas, gain understanding , bring clarity, acquire knowledge, gain confidence, and find new allies?

Electing a bishop is one of the most important responsibilities in the life of a synod in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and a key responsibility of the Synod Assembly. As an election, it is a process governed by the constitution, bylaws, and continuing resolutions of the synod; however, it is also a call process. As such, it involves discernment, from the perspective both of individual potential nominees and of the synod as a whole.

DEVELOPING THE SKILLS OF ELCA PREACHERS AND FRIENDS

The 2023 main speaker is Rev. Traci Blackmon. Rev. Blackmon is the Associate General Minister of Justice & Local Church Ministries for The United Church of Christ and Senior Pastor of Christ The King United Church of Christ in Florissant, MO. She is a powerful preacher who was recently featured at the Festival of Homiletics. Rev. Blackmon also has extensive pastoral experience on the national stage helping communities of color, and our nation as a whole, work through the strong social and institutional challenges and weaknesses that have brought us to this time of intense partisan turmoil.

For the final six months of 2022, the standard mileage rate for business travel will be .625 cents per mile, up 4 cents from the rate effective at the start of the year.