June 12, 2007

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

Grace and peace!  I am pleased to extend to you a warm welcome to our Twentieth Annual Northern Illinois Synod Assembly – Living in God’s Amazing Grace…Thanks be to God!  With the Assembly quickly approaching, I find myself feeling the same sense of excitement as I do every year.  I continue to count it a privilege to be among you and serve as your Bishop.  What new ways will we find for sharing our faith with all of God’s people?  I am eager to explore together how we can deepen our faith to Live in God’s Amazing Grace and to be thankful for all that we share together as brothers and sisters in Christ. 

 

By the time you receive this letter I hope you will have found time to review the Bulletin of Reports.  PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING THIS MATERIAL TO THE ASSEMBLY.  It contains all of the information you will need as we conduct the business of the Assembly.    

 

As we continue to explore new ways to be good stewards of our time and resources, the Bulletin of Reports is available on the Synod Website (www.nisynod.org/assembly) for download.  Please take the opportunity to visit the Website (or read your Bulletin of Reports which was sent to those who paid extra in their registration fees) to learn about the faithful and dedicated people of God which our Synod has been a part of in the past year in order to “Make Christ Known.”  The Website also contains resolutions that will be presented and additional Synod Assembly information.

 

Please be aware that the Assembly will be in session beginning at 9:55 a.m. on Friday, June 15 and will conclude at 3:45 p.m. on Saturday, June 16.  While I know that many of our rostered leaders and laity have obligations of preaching and teaching on Saturday evenings, it is my hope that you will consider making arrangements for someone else to fill in for you.  This will enable you to be present for the entire Assembly and the official closing of the Assembly. 

 

We are blessed to be ordaining one new pastor and commissioning two new associates in ministry on Friday evening, June 15 beginning at 8:05 p.m. with Rite of Holy Communion with Ordination and Commissionings.   In order to welcome our new rostered leaders, a reception will follow in the College Center (Dining Room).  Please plan on attending and greeting these new members of the Northern Illinois Synod roster. 

 

Synod Assemblies are participatory in nature.  Therefore, I encourage you to be involved as much as possible during this time.  Because of the many events that take place at the Assembly, I would like to highlight a few points for you to be thinking about prior to your arrival: 

 

1. To those who are attending their first Assembly, plan to attend the Orientation Forum which is scheduled for Friday, June 15 beginning at 9:30 a.m. in Bergendoff Hall (Potter Hall).  This is a good introduction for voting members to familiarize themselves with the functions and proper procedures of the Assembly.

 

Also available at this same time is a Resolutions Committee Forum which will be held in Bergendoff Hall (Larson Hall).  Pastor Scott Schmidt, Chairperson of the Resolutions Committee, will lead discussion on the resolutions that were received by the deadline and were included in the Bulletin of Reports.

 

2.      Because of the importance in the budgetary process, you will want to attend the Budget Hearing/Synod Council Forum, which is scheduled for Friday, June 15 from 3:40-4:30 in Bergendoff Hall (Larson Hall).    

 

3. Our Bible Study Leader this year is The Reverend Dr. Mark Allen Powell, Professor of New Testament, Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio.  We are honored to have Dr. Powell with us and we look forward to his Bible Studies.

 

4. We are also pleased to have Mr. Carlos Pena, Vice President of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) as our ELCA Representative at this year’s Assembly.  Mr. Pena will also hold a breakfast forum on Saturday morning from 7:15-8:15 a.m. in the College Center (Wilson Center).  Please make him feel welcome.

 

5.   This year's Synod Assembly Offering is designated for Lutheran Campus Ministry at Northern Illinois University in honor of their 50 years of ministry and the 100^th anniversary of Lutheran Campus Ministry state-wide.  

 

6.   The Synod Assembly displays will be located in the College Center.  You will find them in the Snack Bar Area which is directly across from Augustana's bookstore.  In order to lift up the very important work of these fine ministries, we have intentionally scheduled a time on our agenda (Friday, June 15, beginning at 3:40 p.m.) to visit these displays.  Please take the time to do this as there is always valuable information available and these groups go to a lot of work in order to inform you of the work of the Church.

 

7.   The Augsburg Fortress Publishing display will be in Centennial Hall - Lower Level.    They will have a selection of core books and resources available this year as well as gifts available for purchase. Purchases can be made on any Augsburg Fortress Account or a credit card.  Please note that no cash payments will be accepted.

 

8.   The College Center Bookstore will be open on Friday, June 15, until 5:00 p.m. and on Saturday June 16, from 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

 

9.      The Social Ministry Committee is asking all of our congregations to participate in the In-kind Offering this year which is gift cards to Home Depot, Lowe’s, Walgreens, and VCS.  You will also find this information in the back of your Bulletin of Reports.        

  

10.   Physically Challenged Parking will be available in the Centennial Hall parking lot on the East Side of Centennial Hall, on the left-hand side.  Golf Carts will also be available during the Assembly to help transport physically challenged individuals.

 

11.   Child Care will be offered off-campus this year and the cost is $3.00 per hour per child.  We are grateful to St. John’s Lutheran Church, 4501 7^th Avenue in Rock Island, for providing their nursery facilities and to members of Faith Lutheran Church in Moline for their kind offer to assist.        

 

12.   Because the temperature in Centennial Hall is very difficult to regulate, please bring a sweater or jacket.

 

13.   If you are staying in Campus Housing, which is in [Duane R.] Swanson Commons (1010 38^th Street) a new  dormitory this year, please remember:  YOU NEED TO BRING YOUR OWN PILLOW AND BLANKET.  Sheets are the ONLY ITEM provided.

 

14.   When the Assembly is in session, EMERGENCY TELEPHONE CALLS can be received by calling Centennial Hall (Art Gallery) at 309/794-7459.  When the Assembly is not in session please call Augustana’s switchboard at 309/794-7000.

 

            If an emergency message is received, we will locate the rostered leader and/or lay voting member immediately. All other messages WILL BE POSTED on the message board in Centennial Hall.

 

15. I would like to ask each voting member to report back to his/her congregation upon returning from the Assembly.  By sharing the information and activities of the Assembly with your congregation, it will help highlight the varied ministries that are happening in the Synod and throughout the church, which is a part of every congregation’s mission support.          

 

If there is any way that we can be of assistance to you, please contact our Rockford office at 815/964-9934 or Assembly Registrar Nancy Corey at 309/794-4004.  We are grateful for your leadership, dedication, and commitment to Christ and the Church. 

 

In Christ,

Bishop Gary M. Wollersheim

 

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January 3, 2007

Dear Pastor(s):

Subject: Northern Illinois Synod Assembly - June 15-16, 2007

Please REFER TO THE LIST PROVIDED at the bottom of this letter to confirm the number of LAY VOTING MEMBERS your congregation is allowed at the Twentieth Annual Northern Illinois Synod Assembly being held June 15-16, 2007, at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. We hope this notice allows sufficient time to select the appropriate number of voting members at your annual meeting.

These voting members should be equally divided between male and female according to Constitutional Provision +S7.21.c. ...normally one of whom shall be male and one of whom shall be female… Also, please keep in mind when selecting your voting members the Synod Constitutional Bylaw S7.21.A87. (Chapter 7, Synod Assembly): It is the intention of this Synod that normally there shall be no more than one voting member of the Synod Assembly from a single household.

We also would encourage your congregation to elect one or two alternates to attend as visitors this year with the possibility of their attending as voting members at next year's Assembly. Although this procedure would be more costly to your congregation, your congregation will benefit by future voting members observing the Assembly operation one year and, thus, being better prepared to represent your congregation the following year at Assembly. (Note: VISITORS are welcome to attend the Assembly and are requested to send in a registration form. Visitors may attend without payment of registration fee UNLESS they desire registration materials. If they wish registration materials, they must pay the registration fee. Visitors are responsible for their registration fee as well as their housing and meal costs.) (Visitor registration policy changed after Bishop's letter was mailed in January)

Clergy, Diaconal Ministers, and Associates in Ministry under call are expected to be in attendance at all Synod Assemblies according to Constitutional Provision S14.21. All Clergy, Diaconal Ministers, and Associates in Ministry under call shall be voting members of the Assembly [Their costs are the congregation's responsibility.]. All Interim Pastors (under call or contract) shall be voting members of the Assembly (Their costs are the congregation's responsibility.). Retired Clergy, Diaconal Ministers, and Associates in Ministry shall have voice and vote provided they register prior to the assembly date, otherwise they shall have voice, but not vote (Their registration fees are waived; they are responsible for all other costs.). Clergy, Diaconal Ministers, and Associates in Ministry on leave from call shall have voice, but not vote.

For the 2007 Synod Assembly we have arranged for a small block of hotel rooms at the Radisson on John Deere Commons, 1415 River Drive, Moline, 309-764-1000 (hotel closest to Augustana College campus). If your congregation wishes to make reservations at the Radisson, we encourage you to do so now because of the limited number of rooms available. All rooms will be released May 14^th, 2007. Double queen rate is $82 and a king rate is $92 (These rates will change May 14 when this block of rooms is released.). These rooms are on a first come/first serve basis. When making reservations please state that you are with the Northern Illinois Synod, but make it clear that you are responsible for the bill.

God's blessing to you and your congregation as you plan for the New Year.

Peace,

The Reverend Dr. Gary M. Wollersheim, Bishop

 

2007 Assembly of the Northern Illinois Synod, ELCA

The listed "baptized membership figures" of the 162 Northern Illinois Synod congregations, as reported to the ELCA through each congregation's year-end statistical report (parochial report) as of 12/31/2005, is the basis for determining the "number of lay voting members" selected to attend the Assembly. The "baptized membership" formula consists of the top 10% of our congregations receiving four (4) lay voting members, the next top 10% of our congregations receiving three (3) lay voting members, and the remainder of our congregations receiving two (2) lay voting members.

Congregations allowed FOUR (4) Voting Members:

Congregations allowed THREE (3) Voting Members:

ALL OTHER CONGREGATIONS allowed TWO (2) Voting Members.