Synod Assembly Announcements | Southwestern Minnesota Synod ELCA

6/12/2021 – Announcement:

6/11/2021 – Announcement:

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6/11/2021 – Announcement:

Report of the Third Ballot for Synod Bishop:

6/10/2021 – Announcements:

The 2021 Southwestern Minnesota Synod Assembly will reconvene Friday, June 11^th at 12:30 p.m. Click here for Friday and Saturday’s agenda.

Thanks to everyone who has now registered in Zoom. This will make things work more smoothly this weekend. Your same Zoom link will be emailed to you Friday Morning.

Here are a few Zoom tips:
If you already registered for the Zoom Link, and you successfully attended the synod assembly last Sunday, you do not have to register again. You will use your SAME Zoom link as before.

You will NOT be let into the plenary if your First and Last Name are not showing on your Zoom screen. If you need help with this please call our Tech Help Line at 507-200-0708 (Press 2).

If you get logged out of the meeting and you were credentialed in at the appropriate time, you will be let back into the Zoom Meeting. We know this took longer than expected on Sunday for those who had trouble with Internet connections, but we have a new path moving forward.

IMPORTANT: Check in sooner rather than later! We will be firm on closing the waiting room to start the plenary. We need to respect the time allowed for our credentials work and report.

-It is VERY helpful if you stay logged into the Zoom meeting between plenary sessions. This ensures that you will not have to spend time in the waiting room between sessions.

Zoom Chat is open only to the moderator and not open to other assembly voting members. The Zoom chat is only for speaking during a business discussion. If you have a tech questions please call our Tech Help Line at 507-200-0708 (Press 2).

“If a voting member wishes to speak to a pending matter, he/she/they will request permission by sending a message in the “chat” feature of Zoom – indicating his/her/their name, congregation, city and whether he/she/they favor or oppose the pending mater or are asking a clarifying question. All speeches shall be limited to no more than two minutes; and a voting member may address the same topic no more than two times. Speeches will also alternate between those speaking for and against the pending matter. To address the Assembly you must first ask to be recognized by the chair in chat and then once recognized address the Assembly by speaking.”

Here are assembly materials for you to review for this weekend:

6/7/2021 – Announcement:

-Report of the Synod Elections

6/6/2021 – Announcement:

-Bishop Nominee Biographical Forms

Report of the Second Ballot for Bishop:

Report of First Ballot for Bishop:
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6/4/2021 – Announcement:

-Click here for Sunday’s UPDATED Abbreviated Agenda

Materials for Sunday include:
-Nominating Report
-Resolution 21.01: Regarding Changes to the Southwestern Minnesota Synod Constitution and Bylaws
Click here to view all the pre-assembly materials.

Can I nominate someone from the floor in a virtual Assembly?
Nominations will be accepted until 10 am Sunday, June 6^th for these positions:
Synod Council – At Large – Lay Male
Synod Council – At Large – Clergy Male
Synod Council – At Large – Youth

The person nominated must agree to the position and the biographical form must be completed by the deadline to be included on the ballot. Nominations will be closed 10 am. Sunday, June 6.[clear-line]

6/1/2021 – Announcement:

Prior to the Assembly:
Register for your Synod Assembly Zoom Link in advance. All voting members must register for their very own unique Zoom link to access the assembly. Click here for a step-by-step guide to register for the plenary Zoom link. IMPORTANT: If you did not receive Your Invitation to Vote in the Election: Assembly Voter Key and Practice Ballot from Election Runner, [email protected], you are missing your Voter ID and Voter Key. Please check all email folders including your spam/junk folder before contacting the synod office. The Practice Ballot Voting window has closed. The voting was open from 5/23/21 2:00 p.m. to 5/28/21 1:00 pm. If you did not complete the practice ballot, you will be receiving another later today or tomorrow.

Please contact Kristin Bakeberg at [email protected] or Tammy Schacher at [email protected] if you need help finding your Voter ID and Voter Key.

If you missed the Practice Tech Session / Orientation, click here to watch the recording.

IMPORTANT: Think about how you will be able to use both Zoom and email at the same time on Sunday afternoon. Each voting member MUST check into the Zoom meeting. We understand some of you may want to share a Zoom screen or join together, but you will not get to vote if you do not check-in individually with Zoom.

During the Assembly:
All Synod Assembly announcements will be posted here: www.swmnelca.org/synod-assembly/announcements

There will be assembly and bishop election news during the assembly. All announcements will be posted on this webpage as well as emailed out using Constant Contact.

On Sunday, the first ballot for bishop will come from Election Runner to the email you provided in your assembly registration. Voting members will have ten minutes to prayerfully nominate one Minister of Word and Sacrament, in good standing, on the roster of the ELCA for bishop of the Southwestern Minnesota Synod. Abstaining from this ballot or nominating someone who does not meet these requirements will render your ballot as illegal, and therefore, your ballot will not be counted among the number of legal votes cast in determining the vote total necessary for election.

All other voting will be done using Zoom Polling throughout the assembly.

Tech Support: If you need any help during the hours of the assembly please call 1-507-200-0708. For voting help please call the same number and press 3.