Flooding

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

Youth Gathering 2027

Information is rolling out about Youth Gathering 2027. Visit our Youth page for links to official ELCA communications.

Esther Comes to Garrett County and Hagerstown

Mountainside Baroque is producing Georg Frideric Handel's first Oratorio, Esther. Most know his Messiah, but Esther is rarely performed. This masterful musical work retells one of the most dramatic stories in the Bible. Performances will be held in Garrett County (Sept. 26) and Hagerstown (Sept. 27), providing easy access for those in Western Maryland, North-Central West Virginia, and the Eastern Panhandle. Consider making this a congregational outing. Click here for more information.

Go 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

Clergy Changes

IRS Increases Mileage Rate

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

New: ELW Service of the Word Template

Workshop Description & Worksheet

Essence, Works, and Ends

Rostered Ministers Gathering 2026 concluded July 9. Several hundred attended the event held in Indianapolis. Bishop Riegel led a well-attended and well-received workshop titled "Essence, Works, and Ends: A Philosophical Model for Discussing Ecclesiastical Purpose." If you would like your own workshop (in your congregation, conference, or ministerium), let him know.

Camping Season Is Not Quite Over

Synod Assembly 2026

Directories

Synod Assembly 2027

Mercury Retrogradant

Little known among modern Lutherans is the degree to which astrology was part of the life of the sixteenth century. Even Melanchthon mentions the horoscope that his father had commissioned for his birth. So, we make a little joke when saying that Mercury is retrograde, i.e., moving in the opposite direction in the night sky than it usually does. Astrologers caution that communications can become confused when Mercury is retrograde; remember: Mercury was the messenger of the gods. Well, we are having communications problems...

Web Links to ELCA.org

ELCA.org has been updates, and links on our site to several pages and documents on that site no longer work. You can help us fix things on our end by reporting dead links.

Migrating The Bishop's Roadshow

Mailchimp^® lowered the quotas for both subscribers and sends for our account level. We are working on migration to another platform, hoping that we can keep costs low and maybe even improve the service. Be on the lookout for The Roadshow coming via Zoho Campaigns^®. If you don't see one in a few weeks, let us know.

On the brighter side, we have a way for you to access the most recent past issues of The Roadshow. Visit our Contact Info & Communications page and scroll down; you'll see the past issues posted on the right.

The Exchange

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.