Synod Gathering’s second day began with leaders from The Dwelling, Winston-Salem—a mission congregation of the synod doing ministry with people experiencing homelessness—leading Friday morning prayer similar to their Sunday morning worship. Prayer time began with the song, God Is Good, and included a message from Pastor Emily Norris, and a beautiful blessing of hands.

Following morning prayer, participants were quickly drawn into the keynote presentation brought by Iain Chester. He invited participants to think creatively, ask questions from God’s abundance, and move beyond assuming solutions so that the church might be a place and a resource for all of us in our loneliness, stress, and need. As Executive Director for Innovation for the ELCA, Iain works with leaders and teams across the ELCA as they try new things and create a culture of innovation and collaboration.

This busy day offered folks two workshop opportunities which bookended the lunch hour. Ten options before lunch included Storytelling in Ministry, Loving Your Unhoused Neighbors, and Deaf Ministry and ASL. Following lunch, participants chose from several different Spiritual Nourishment workshops including Walking the Labyrinth, Biblical Storytelling, and Hymn Sing in Grace Chapel—with over 60 in attendance.

The afternoon saw the arrival of special guests—pastors and deacons with significant ordination anniversaries—all to celebrate together! Included in those recognitions were significant congregation anniversaries, pastor and deacon retirements, and those new to the NC Synod.

Bishop Tim Smith offered his state of the synod address with his trademark combination of humor, challenges, and hope for the future of this church. During his address, he announced Lutheridge’s 75th Birthday Capital Campaign and was joined on stage by 60 counselors singing and leading the crowd in camp songs. Pastors Tim and Mary Canniff-Kuhn, co-chairs of the campaign, invited us to “light a candle, pass the faith” by supporting camp ministry. Pastor Mary shared a story of the camp counselor who left a lasting impact on her life and those gathered were invited to continue the impact by giving to the campaign. The camp crew ended the day by leading vespers; Pastor Tim Canniff-Kuhn preached.