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West Virginia - Western Maryland Synod
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
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Headline News
   30 September 2026

SCCEE Fall 2026 BannerLuther's Political Theology

The Fall 2026 Synod Clergy Continuing Education Event will be held at Priest Field, 9-11 November 2026. The Rev. Dr. Anthony Bateza will present on Luther's political theology.

This event is open to clergy and laity from all judicatories. Registration is required. For more information and registration link, visit our Education for Clergy page.

WVCC Annual Assembly

Advance information on the West Virginia Council of Churches' 145th Annual Assembly is now available on our Education for Clergy & Laity page. To be held 16 November 2026 under the theme "American Christian or Christian in America.: Faithfully Following Jesus in a Time of Idolatry and Division," the assembly will feature The Rev. Beau Underwood, co-author of Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestantism Helped Build Christian Nationalism. Registration is now open; link posted on our Education for Clergy & Laity page.

RentingDoes Your Congregation Rent Our its Facilities?

Churches are increasingly taking advantage of rental income as they try to develop a sustainable economic model. This tool will help you learn how to build a rental model for long-term lease arrangements that works for both your mission and your money. Download How to Rent Well: A Guide to Help Churches with Renting Property.

Community Purchasing Alliance

Our friends at the Church Property Resource Hub have shared information about the Community Purchasing Alliance. You can it on our Congregations page. Services that may be appropriate for your congregation include copied, insurance, accounting services, and discounts on other services and products.

Tax GuideIs Your Congregation Generating Revenue?

The Church Property Resource Hub has a new online book, What About Taxes?!!! A Guide for Churches Starting to Generate Revenue. When a congregation begins to explore income generating activities through social enterprise or renting property there often is anxiety around tax status. We have created this tool to help you ask the right questions related to the tax issues as it concerns income generating activities and churches. Visit our Congregations page for download link.

Lecture: Martin Luther and the Called Life

The Rev. Dr. Mark Tranvik will lecture in Wheeling as part of the Upper Ohio Valley Conference's Reformation Weekend festivities. Tranvik is Professor of Reformation History and Theology, Luther Seminary, and a respected scholar whose most recent work has focused on vocation in daily life. Open to all, the lecture we be held 10:00 a.m., Saturday, 24 October 2026, at Grace Lutheran Church (Bethlehem), Wheeling, WV. There is no charge. An optional $10 luncheon will follow (RSVP is required). A worship service will take place after lunch. For more information, visit our Education for Clergy & Laity page.

Portico Health Plan Selection Approaches

Congregations and Clergy should be preparing to make their health plan selections for CY2027. Information is posted on our Clergy Wellness page.

Mission Support for 2027

The mission support formula for 2027 has been posted on the synod's Mission Support page. You will also find there the mission support request letter, the commitment forms, and remittance forms.

Clergy Compensation for 2027

The Synod Council has published the Clergy Compensation Guidelines for 2027 on the Clergy Compensation page. You will find there the complete Clergy Compensation Kit for 2027 and the Clergy Compensation Calculator for 2027.

Ethics

A dedicated Ethics page has been uploaded, a move occasioned by approaching deadlines for public comment on both

  • reconsideration of Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust (2009) and
  • reconsideration of Homelessness: A Renewal of Commitment (1990).

Also included on the page is information about the Journal of Lutheran Ethics, its podcast, and the upcoming Lutheran Ethicists Gathering on AI.

Flooding

Information related to flood response and how you can help is posted on our Social Ministry page.

GTIITMGo Tell It IN the Mountains

WV-WMD has received official word from Go Tell It IN the Mountains, a Lilly funded initiative to promote excellent preaching, that all its resources are available for use by our clergy, lay preachers/readers, and those training to be preachers. Seminars, workshops, and print material is found on the Go Tell It IN the Mountain's website. To learn more, visit our Education for Clergy & Laity page.

Luther's Table Prayers

Luther's Table Prayers

Psalm 145 (appointed in our lectionary for 2 August 2026) includes the verses Luther employed in his table prayer for blessing the meal. To learn more, click here.

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.

ELW Mass for Ordinary Time (Following Pentecost)

A new template and planners' edition for the ELW's Service of Holy Communion in Ordinary Time following Pentecost has been added to our Liturgy for Ordinary Time (Season of Pentecost) page. It is in MS-Word and can be cut and pasted into your congregational worship bulletin. Simply insert your hymn numbers or verbally announce them.

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The Exchange

Occasionally, a congregation, agency, or individual will have something they either want to sell, give away, or acquire. To that end, we've set up The Exchange, a place to post items and requests. There are two items (a total of forty choir robes) now posted on The Exchange. Check them out, and feel free to contact the Synod Office if you have something to request or post.

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.

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West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod
℅St. Paul Lutheran Church, 309 Baldwin Street, Morgantown, WV 26505
304-363-4030  +  Porter@WV-WMD.org