SALISBURY ó Campus ministry will be highlighted as Lutherans gather May 31-June 2 from across North Carolina for their annual assembly.
More than 800 members and guests of the N.C. Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will meet on the campus of Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory. They represent 242 ELCA congregations with more than 86,000 members in North Carolina.
The theme of the 2007 N.C. Synod Assembly is “Thanks Be for Ministries that Deepen Faith,” one of which is campus ministries. The N.C. Synod provides campus ministry programs through 20 ELCA congregations located near college campuses and four campus ministry pastors at larger universities: UNC-Chapel Hill, NC State, Appalachian State and Duke. This year the ELCA celebrates 100 years of campus ministry.
In these challenging academic settings, students find a place for faith and for acceptance. Worship, Bible study, discussion groups and spiritual retreats build faith in young adults involved in the programs. All campus ministry programs strive to pro-vide a safe and comfortable small group setting centered on faith, food, fun, fellowship and ser-vice. Learn more about the NC Synod Campus Ministry at www.nclutheran. org/Campus_Ministries.250.html.
Special assembly guests include the keynote speaker, the Rev. Patricia J. Lull of Minnesota, who was director of campus ministries for the ELCA from 1999-2001. She presently serves as dean of students for Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minn.
The Rev. Craig Settlage of Chicago will represent the presiding bishop of the ELCA at the assembly. Settlage is the director of mission support in the area of synodical relations for the ELCA.
The agenda, list of Friday afternoon educational forums, maps and other information are posted at www.nclutheran .org/index.php?pageid=144 on the synod Web site.
On Friday afternoon, the assembly attendees will take part in three educational forum sessions and choose from 37 topics, such as Faith Formation on College Campuses; Pan Flu: Prepare, Prevent, Plan Now; What does Color Have To Do With It?; Children & Violence; and Weaving an Effective Congregation Web Site.
Visitors are welcome and should register in the lobby of P.E. Monroe Auditorium to receive agendas and maps.
The assembly begins and ends with worship, providing the spiritual foundation for discussions and decision-making. Worship opportunities are at 1 p.m. on Thursday with the Rev. Dr. Leonard H. Bolick, bishop of the N.C. Synod, preaching; a service of ordination and commissioning on Friday evening at 7:30, where the Rev. Patricia Lull will preach; and Saturday morning Closing Eucharist after any remaining synod business, beginning at approximately 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.. Vicar Kristen Hunsinger, of Duke Lutheran Campus Ministry and St. Paul Lutheran Church in Durham, will be preaching.
The purpose of the annual N.C. Synod Assembly is to conduct the business of the synod, including electing boards, passing resolutions, adopting the synod budget and bylaw changes. The North Carolina Synod of the ELCA serves more than 86,000 members in 242 congregations across the state. It is one of 65 synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which has almost 5 million members in 10,549 congregations. To learn more see www.nclutheran.org.