Oregon Synod Vice President & Bishop Reports

April 24, 2015

Health & Wellness Grants

• 20 grants, $500 to $2000!

• 3 grant categories– Community Wellness– Leader Wellness– Congregational Wellness

• $23,000+ total distribution

• Portico Wellness dollars

Recipients included:• Zion Lutheran, La Grande• Luther House, Corvallis• Mission of the Atonement, Beaverton• St. Peter Lutheran, Tillamook• Holy Cross Lutheran, Salem• Gloria Dei Lutheran, Coos Bay• St. Andrew Lutheran, Beaverton• Faith Lutheran, Roseburg• Bethel Lutheran, Portland• Redeemer/Asbury, Hood River• Grace First Lutheran, Bend• First Lutheran, Astoria• Milwaukie Lutheran, Milwaukie• Portland Eastside Ministries, Portland• West Linn Lutheran, West Linn• St. Timothy Lutheran, Portland• Mt. Carmel, Portland

Retiring Pastors

• Linda Smith, Chaplain – 2/1/15• Pr. Katherine Heiller, Interim – 4/15• Pr. Paul Tyler, Clatskanie – 5/3/15• Pr. Steve Carlson, Eugene – 5/31/15• Pr. Larry Jorgenson, Gresham – 7/12/15• Pr. Tom Hiller, Portland – 7/26/15• Pr. Rom McCallum, Astoria – 10/31/15• Pr. Rob Sachs, Seaside – 12/16

Looking ahead:The Oregon Synod currently has 25 active pastors 62-64, and 20 pastors 65 and older – serving over 1/3 of our congregations. We can anticipate a growing number or retirements in the next five years!

• This will push leadership transition;

• It will accelerate ministry partnership and linkages;

• Ask, “How will we be a synod five years from now?”

• Are you thinking about this?

See page 10 of your yellow Bulletin of Reports!

Mission: “The Church is a people created by God in Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, called and sent to bear witness to God’s Creative, redeeming, and sanctifying activity in the world.”

(Synod Constitution +S6.01)

Vision: “We in the Oregon Synod, firmly rooted in the gospel of God’s grace in Christ, embrace our partnership with the whole church and freely give ourselves to worship, witness and service.”

(Synod Constitution +S6.01)

Values: • Proclamation • Witness • Service• Worship • Spiritual

Engagement • Prayer

• Action

(Synod Constitution +S6.02)

Strategic Goals are the desired outcomes of our work as the Oregon Synod. We seek to be a church with Vital, Vibrant Congregations, doing God’s Mission in the Local Context, supported and inspired by well Equipped Leaders.

• Healthy Behaviors.

• Strong Partnerships.

• Innovation and Positive Risk.

• Working to establish a Context of Trust.

• Lay and Rostered Leaders.

• Congregation Presidents and Councils.

• Local Community, Synod and Beyond.

• Community Listening and Engagement.

• Attention to local needs and opportunities.

• New Partners and Partnerships.

Strategic Initiatives are the arenas in which we choose to act.

Our current context calls for action in four arenas: Financial Sustainability, Connections & Collaboration, Hospitality & Inclusion and Lifting up New Leaders.

Financial

StabilityConnections and Collaboration

Hospitality and Inclusion

Lifting up New Leaders

• Multiply Transitional Ministry Options

• Tailor Transition Processes to Local Contexts

• Train Congregations in Exploring Partnerships

• Authentic Assessment• Diversify Financial Funding

for Mission• Evolve Communication Strategy

• Train Lay Leaders through a Lay School for Ministry

• Engage Diverse Communities• Deepen Work with Ecumenical

Partners• Align Synod Policies to New Realities

around Income and Revenue Sources• Strategic Engagement to Increase

Mission Support

Tactics are the day to day work of synod leaders.

Developmental Cycle of a Congregation

Renewal

New Start

Formation

Maturity

Redefinition

Decline

Struggle

Holy Closure

Maturity

Decline

FormationRenewal

Sustainability

(Rothauge 1996) and others describe similar stages in congregational cycle.

This is the work of Linda Bobbit, ELCA

Synod Staff Engagement

• Engaged in contextual consultation and onsite creativity.• This is the way the work of ministry gets done - person to

person, congregation to congregation and community to community.

• More than 100 on-site visits with over 50 congregations.

• Addition, face to face, visits with pastors, congregational lay leaders & ministry allies.

• Phone & email support.

• Approximately $21 million in offerings in 2013.• 96% or $20 million used for local ministry. • 4%, or $908,000, was given as Mission Support. • This past year, 2014, Mission Support was $960,029!See your green Financial Reports, pg. 21

• 40% of your Mission Support funds Churchwide Ministry. (In addition, all synod staff contribute expertise and

consultation to churchwide and our synod counterparts.) • 10% of your Mission Support is shared with Regional

mission partners.

• $275,000 goes to congregations through.

• Casa de Sion in Woodburn;• Church of Living Waters in Burns;• Good Spirit native ministry in East Portland;• Heavenly Peace in Portland;• Mision Nuevo Dia in Canby;• Wilderness Way in Portland;• Bethel Lutheran in North Portland;• The “Cully Outreach” to people in a very diverse section

of Northeast Portland;• Grace and Mercy Lutheran in Hermiston;• Outreach with the LGBTQ Community;• Mission of the Atonement in Beaverton;• Leaven Community/Salt & Light Lutheran Church;• The PDX Eastside Ministries area ministry strategy;• Synodical Millennial Engagement.

• Our work is exciting, cutting edge, and well worth our investment. Some efforts will flourish. Some will teach us about the new world to which we are called.

Efforts receiving grants include: