Clergy on Portico: Health Plan Selection Time

Portico has begun its phased health plan selection by sponsored members (e.g., clergy). For more information, visit our Clergy Wellness page.

Youth Gathering: Priority Registration Open

Youth Gathering 2027 may be nine months away, but priority registration is now open. Visit our Youth page for more information.

Luther's Political Theology: Registration Deadline 10/25

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.

Registration deadline: October 25^th.

New RMP Form: Clergy, Save Your Data

The current Rostered Minister Profile form will be replaced with a new RMP form on 11 January 2027. Clergy are encouraged to download their current information before that happens, as the current data will no longer be accessible 10 January 2027. For more information, visit our Clergy page.

Elect Your Voting Member to Synod Assembly 2027

Synod Assembly 2027 will be engaged in some heavy lifting that could affect the synod, its congregations, and its pastors for the next several years. Synod Assembly 2026 ordered Synod Council to include in the programming of the 2027 Assembly:

• discussion of the possibility of the synod's dissolution and possible measures for remediation;
• election of a bishop.

Currently, the Synod Council plans to begin balloting for bishop several weeks prior to Synod Assembly convening. Voting members should be registered prior to such balloting. For details on electing voting members, visit our Synod Assembly page.

Bishop Black Lobby Dedicated

The Rt. Rev. L. Alexander Black now has a lobby dedicated to his memory. For full story visit our Clergy page.

Religious Freedom (Before, During, and After the Revolutionary War)

First Lutheran, Parkersburg, will be hosting an afternoon with Bishop Riegel on 14 November 2026 with an America 250 focus. The day will feature a lecture titled "Religious Freedom (Before, During, and After the Revolutionary War)," a worship service using a period liturgy (Muhlenberg's) Agenda of 1748, and "Beer with the Bishop." Learn more on our Education for Clergy & Laity page.

WVCC Annual Assembly

Advance information on the West Virginia Council of Churches' 145^th 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.

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. The deadline to RSVP for the lunch has passed, but a worship service will take place after lunch. For more information, visit our Education for Clergy & Laity page.

Ethics

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

Church Property Resource Hub

The Church Property Resource Hub has been cranking out resources to help congregational leaders deal with a variety of property issues. We've been posting some of them on our Congregations page, including resources related to

• renting church property,
• sharing facilities,
• navigating taxable income, and
• facilities self-assessment.
  

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Quick Links

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