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Synod Assembly 2023 of the West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod |
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By order of the Synod Council of the West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a regular meeting of the Synod Assembly shall convene on Saturday, 20 May 2023, at 10:00 AM, at the Mon County 4H Center, Mylan Park, Morgantown, WV. Although the first save-a-date was published in November,
Synod Assembly is officially announced by the "Call of the
Assembly," that must be issued 60 days prior to the
convening of the assembly. AgendaAs this is a regular meeting of the Synod Assembly, all
business required by the governing documents will be on
the agenda. That includes an explicitly enumerated set of
reports and elections. New business is also allowed, but
there are rules that set a deadline for submission of
nongermane resolutions and memorials (see here). The proposed agenda will be published in The Pre-Assembly Bulletin of Reports. It is subject to amendment by the assembly. COVID MitigationSynod Council, in its 9 April 2022 Synod Council meeting,
determined that Synod Assembly 2022's COVID mitigation
policy would be whatever the standard was according to the
CDC, WV State, and Mon County Health Department, and,
where there was conflict among them, the higher standard
would prevail. Synod Council has not yet set a standard
for Synod Assembly 2023. To be sure to receive information
on last minute changes, sign up for our text messaging
service. Churchwide ReportsThe Rev. Christopher OttenOur Churchwide Representative for Synod Assembly 2023 is
The Rev. Christopher Otten, Assistant to the Presiding
Bishop and Director, Federal Chaplaincies. You can learn more about ELCA Federal Chaplaincy at https://www.elca.org/Our-Work/Leadership/Federal-Chaplaincy-Ministries/Contacting-Chaplaincy-Office. RegistrationRegistration Deadlines
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Register Online Here! Click for form |
On-line registration for Synod Assembly 2023 opened 21 February 2023 (significantly earlier than expected or planned). Click here to review all registration deadlines.
Normally, a congregation is to send one male and one
female voting member. Dispensation, however, may be
requested of the Synod Council. For smaller congregations,
in particular, it may be difficult to find both a male and
a female willing/able to attend. To request dispensation,
please complete this form: Dispensation from
M-F VM Requirement. Requests for dispensation will
be processed, at minimum, weekly. In the meantime, proceed
with registration of your voting members until informed to
the contrary.
20 May 2023 was announced (by website, Roadshow,
and facebook) on (or about) 21 November 2022 as the
confirmed date for Synod Assembly 2023. At the same time,
it was announced that the assembly would convene at the
Mon County 4H Center, Mylan Park, near Morgantown, WV.
Synod Council has not yet reserved a date for an
adjounred meeting of the Synod Assembly. It is hoped that
all work can be completed in one day. A second day will be
necessary under two conditions (otherwise we are done at
the end of the first day and go home without having to
come back):
An adjourned meeting is not a special meeting; it is a
continuation of session. Folks often get the terms
inverted. A "meeting" is a discreet sitting for business
without more than a momentary recess of short duration,
the assembly members remaining in the immediate area and
prepared to return to work. A dinner break, break for
mass, or the overnight break constitutes a break that ends
a meeting. The "session" is the work of the assembly that
is governed by one agenda. So, our assemblies are already
made up of at least three meetings in one session. An
adjourned meeting is the next meeting in a series of
meetings that make up the session. With an adjourned
meeting,
Everything mentioned here is already the case with our
Synod Assembly, but we may not have recognized it as such.
Again, the major difference is the longer period of time
between meetings.
The Mon County 4H Center is located in Mylan Park, two
miles west of I-79 Exit-155, providing easy access for
travelers (click here for
google map). You can visit the facility online at
its Mylan Park
website. We are renting both the indoor and outdoor
pavilion, with the assembly business planned for the
outdoor space, the inside space being used by committees,
the assembly office, and, if need be, assembly hall should
the weather turn foul. As with the last Synod Assembly,
the outdoor space has ample room for exhibitors and
socialization.
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There are ample dining options, ranging from fast food
drive-thru to high class sit-down, within a short drive,
the Gateway complex and University Town Centers being two
and three miles away respectively. Drive a little further,
and even more options become available. Lunch will be an
extended period of time not only to allow attendees to eat
with some leisure but also to allow the tellers to count
ballots. It will also be possible for attendees to pack
their own picnic lunches and eat at the pavilions (or
anywhere else in the park). In 2022 we had a food truck
on-site much to the delight of many attendees. We hope to
do so again, but there are no guarantees. Lunch is not
included in the registration package.
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While the assembly is planned as a one-day event, some
may still opt for overnight accommodations. There is ample
lodging in the area for anyone wishing to secure
accommodations. Of course, many will prefer to simply
travel in the morning and return home when we wrap up. A
lodging guide is available for your perusal, but there are
many other options that are not listed. The lodging guide
does not imply endorsement. Lodging can be had in the
Morgantown area at a wide variety of pricepoint and
accommodation level. Lodging is not included in the
registration package.
Synod Council has set the registration fee at
$0.00---that's right: free registration for the third
year in a row! This is possible because of
aggressive cost-cutting measures by SAPComm, redesign of
the Synod Assembly, an amazingly good deal on the meeting
venue, and a surplus in the Synod Assembly fund.
Keeping abreast of all the information connected with
Synod Assembly isn't easy. To assist, we automatically
enroll registered attendees onto a dedicated email list.
Other means of communication (the synod website, Facebook,
and The Bishop's Road Show) are also employed.
Visit our Synod
Assembly Communications page for more information.
We've added a simple text messaging service to let you
know when announcements related to Synod Assembly are
published. Click here for more info.
Concerns about the pandemic have not abated. Synod
Council continues to monitor the situation and reserves
the right to postpone or cancel the Synod Assembly in
response to the pandemical situation. At the same time,
the state, the local health department, or the venue may
respond to a change in the pandemical situation that
precludes our gathering.
Synod Assembly 2021 posed the greatest challenge ever
faced by this synod in planning and holding an assembly.
As we are not yet out of the pandemic and pandemical
conditions change quickly, we are approaching this year
with similar caution. A formal decision on COVID protocols
for the assembly will be made at the 15 April 2023 Synod
Council meeting, but the synod Council reserves the right
to modify them in response to the situation on the ground.
Additionally, while not a perfect assembly---what assembly
is ever perfect?---feedback has been generally positive,
with several expressing particular approval of the
open-air venue. Synod Council deemed it reasonable to
attempt replication (though not without debate).
Initial plans for the Synod Assembly 2021 were laid out
and accepted in principal by Synod Council at its October
2020 meeting. At the time, both risk mitigation and
pandemic psychology were forefront in the Synod Council's
thinking. The following assumptions drove planning:
With these assumptions, the following planning goals were
accepted:
SAPComm, monitoring the pandemical situation, concluded
that an open-air assembly, social distancing, and
mandatory masking were no longer necessary but, being of
the opinion that flexibility for response to possible
variants and new waves of the coronavirus, chose to retain
some of the planning parameters.
Synod Council reviewed SAPComm's work, settling on some
details and leaving others to the committee for further
work. As mentioned, details will be posted as they develop
and can be formatted for presentation.
The Pre-Assembly Bulletin of Reports is published 10 days prior to the convening of a Synod Assembly. On-line registration by 1 May 2023 is vital to guarantee notice of the publication of the bulletin. That said, it will be posted on this webpage and announced on our synod Facebook page and The Bishop's Roadshow. Be sure to check out our Synod Assembly Communications page for ways to keep abrest of developments.
Deadline for Nominations 19 February 2023 |
The public input phase for nominations associated with
Synod Assembly 2023 opened 20 January 2023 and closed 19
February 2023 be the synod bylaws. Floor nominations will
be allowed (as well as write-ins during the election) at
the assembly. To learn more about what positions will be
up for election at Synod Assembly 2023 and how to
recommend people for nomination to those positions, visit
our Nominations & Elections Page.
Deadline for Reports 1 April 2023 |
Deadline for Exhibit Application 1 April 2023 |
There are some significant changes this year when it comes exhibiting. Please visit our Exhibiting at Synod Assembly page for more information.
Deadline for Resolutions & Memorials 30 April 2023 |
As this is a regular meeting of the Synod Assembly, the
introduction of non-germane new business is not only
permitted by expected. Those interested in introducing new
business should note the deadline, 30 April 2023.
Understand, early submission is advantageous. Visit our
Resolutions & Memorials page for details on
submission, format, etc.. If you missed the deadline,
review the parliamentary aids section located in the Pre-Assembly
Bulletin of Report.