St. John, Martinsburg, to Celebrate 250^th

Hymn Festival

St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Monessan, PA, will hold a hymn festival in celebration of the work accomplished on "The Great Organ of St. Paul's," the largest pipe organ in the Mon Valley. The event will be held 16 November 2025, 3:00 p.m., at St. Paul's 1317 Grand Blvd., Monessen, PA.

Changes to Supply Preacher/Presider Compensation Guidelines

This Land Is Still Home to Me

The 144^th Annual Assembly of the West Virginia Council of Churches will be held 27 October 2025 in Charleston on the theme "This Land Is Still Home to Me: Then, Now, and Yet To Be." The 1975 Roman Catholic pastoral on life and ministry in Appalachia will be explored by Roman Catholic presenters and ecumenical respondents. More information on our Education for Clergy & Laity page.

Wills, Trusts, & Long-Term Care

Church Property Resource Hub

A project of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Church Property Resource Hub is being built in response to requests from synod and local church leaders for support navigating the challenges and opportunities that buildings and land represent for both congregational vitality and the wider mission of the Church. You can check out what is already online at elca.org/CPRH. You can sign up for the Church Property Resource Hub Newsletter to get the latest news and resources (click here), and there will be a town hall webinar in October 27 (click here for registration information).

SCALD V: Call for Papers

The Fifth Symposium for Central Appalachian Lutheran Dogmatics will be held 16 March 2026 in Morgantown, WV. The call for papers has been issued, and those interested in submitting a paper proposal should visit the SCALD page for guidelines and more information. Registration is also open.

SCALD is designed as a day of theological discussion, employing the symposium model. Presenters give papers with discussion of those papers open to all participants. It is about providing an intellectually engaging and profitable opportunity for rank and file clergy and lay theologians (amateur and professional) to test their often private ruminations in a critical and yet convivial gathering of peers.

New Sermon Service

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Craig Satterlee has launched a new sermon service. Learn more at our Readers Library.

Help! I Have To Plan Worship (without a Pastor)

With new congregations entering pastoral vacancy, it is a good time to remind everyone that the synod provides several resources for worship planning. Visit our Worship page to get started.

Congregation Constitution Amendments Posted

The amendments to the Model Constitution for Congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America effected by Churchwide Assembly 2025 have been posted. Visit our Governing Documents for Congregations page to review.

Clergy Compensation Guideline for 2026

Guidelines for clergy compensation in 2026 are now available on the Clergy Compensation page.

Mission Support Formula for 2026

The Mission Support Formula for 2026 has been set by Synod Council and is now available on the Mission Support page.

If you haven't checked out the members portal...

Don't forget to take a peek of the members portal (click the button at right near the top of this page). It's not password protected. We only call it the "members portal" because it's mostly stuff that deals with the internal workings of the synod. Visitors looking for more general information about the synod, will probably find the "guest portal" more interesting.

Synod Website Updates

The synod website updates frequently (as in often) and irregularly (as in not on a particular schedule). Click here (or on the picture at right) to find out what has been recently updated.