of the
West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod
| Register
for Synod Assembly Click Here for Info |
| Pre-Assembly Bulletin of Reports Click Here for Info |
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Contents
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By order of the Synod Council, the 2026 Synod Assembly of the West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod will be held 5-6 June 2026 at the Mon County 4H Center, Mylan Park, Morgantown, WV, the first business meeting convening at 1:00 p.m.
While the business meeting will convene at 1:00 p.m., the
opening worship will begin at 12:30 p.m. at the Assembly
venue.
Although the first save-the-date was published in
September 2025, this notice constitutes the official "Call
of the Assembly" that must be issued at least 60 days
prior to the convening of the Assembly.
The Synod Assembly is expected to run into the afternoon
of Saturday.
Agenda
As this is a regular meeting of the Synod Assembly, all
business required by the governing documents will be on
the agenda. That includes an explicitly enumerated set of
reports and elections. New business is also allowed, but
there are rules that set a deadline for submission of
nongermane resolutions and memorials (see here).
The proposed agenda will be published in The
Pre-Assembly Bulletin of Reports. It is subject to
amendment by the assembly. A draft agenda is posted in the
preview edition of the Pre-Assembly Bulletin of
Reports; click here to
review.
Elections
Synod Assembly will be holding elections for
- synod secretary
- two seats on the Synod Council, and
- one clergy member on the Committee on Discipline.
Visit the Nominations page for
details.
Amendments to the Constitution
Amendments to the Constitution of the West
Virginia-Western Maryland Synod, as proposed by the Synod
Council, have been posted since December 2025. They will
be considered by the Synod Assembly. Click
here to review.
Budget
It is routine for the Synod Assembly to establish a
budget for the upcoming fiscal year. In some years, the
Synod Assembly has amended the budget for the current
fiscal year. Budget-related materials will be published in
the Pre-Assembly Bulletin of Reports a minimum of
ten days before the assembly.
Nominations
The public input phase of our nominating process closed 7
March 2026. For more information about the nominating
process, positions to be elected, and floor nominations, click here.
Churchwide Reports
Churchwide Representative: Nick Kiger
Nick Kiger is the Director for Mission Support with the ELCA
churchwide expression will be our Churchwide Representative
for Synod Assembly 2026. Nick lives and works from Columbus,
OH where he is a member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. He
is married to Misty and they have a seven year old daughter,
Kara and a three year old son, Cameron. Nick received his
Bachelor of Arts in religious studies from Otterbein
University and his Master of Theological Studies degree from
Methodist Theological School in Ohio. Nick feels blessed to
get to experience many different settings of the church. His
work has taken him to oil fields, prisons, Native American
reservations, store front churches, Latine congregations in
the deep south and rural congregations in the Midwest. In
all these places he has heard the stories of this church,
the stories of how the generosity of all three expressions
for the ELCA (congregations, synods and the churchwide
organization), through Mission Support, have made an impact
on the ministries we engage in together.
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Who's Your Congregational Lay Voting Member? It Might Be You! Per our rules, those elected by their
respective congregations to serve as lay
voting members of the Synod Assembly remain
lay voting members until replaced by their
congregations or otherwise disqualified. If
you have been a congregational lay voting
member in the past, you may still be (if your
congregation has not formally replaced you).
Review our roster
of congregational lay voting members
to find out. Please note: returning congregational lay voting members should register for this assembly. Having an idea as to who is going to show up helps us plan. |
Online registration for Synod Assembly opened 60 days
before the assembly convenes (actually, it opened early).
Be sure to also read the posted information on registration fees
and payment. Scroll down for the online registration
portal (or click here).
Registration Deadlines
- 23 May 2026: In order to receive notice of publication of the Pre-Assembly Bulletin of Reports, registration must be submitted online by close of business 23 May 2026. Those registering after this date are responsible for accessing the Synod Assembly page themselves (or through their agent) in order to obtain Synod Assembly reports and materials.
- 24 May 2026: Last day to request a
refund of registration fees.
- 2 June 2026: Online registration closes
at the end of the day. Those registering after this date
are responsible for accessing the Synod Assembly page
themselves (or through their agent) in order to obtain
Synod Assembly reports and materials. To register after
this date, one will have to register at the Synod
Assembly (see below).
- 5-6 June 2026: You may register the day of the Synod Assembly. A downloadable registration form will be posted on this page after online registration closes. If registering the day of the Synod Assembly, please download the form, print it, fill it out, and bring it with you to the Synod Assembly, reporting to the registration desk for submission and processing.
Voting Member Minimum Requirements
Voting members fall into two classes: clergy and laity.
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Lay voting members are elected by their respective congregations. Lay voting members, in addition to election by their respective congregations, must be voting members of their congregations (i.e., a confirmed member who has made a contribution of record and communed in the congregation during the current or preceding calendar year). A congregational lay voting member remains so until the election of a replacement or disqualification. Click here to review a list currently registered lay voting members. If there is an error, please report it to the Synod Office.ⓘ
Click here for guidance on electing congregational lay voting members.
- Some few lay voting members are enfranchised by virtue of being a member of Synod Council of a synod officer. If you are in this category, click here for registration guidance.
- The lay chair of a conference is also enfranchised.
Contact the Synod Office to register.
- Clergy voting members are those under letter of call or those enfranchised under our governing documents or by the Synod Council under one of several special classes. If you are clergy and uncertain how to register, click here for guidance.
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On-Site Late Registration Form Download Here |
Online registration closed 2 June 2026. You can
register late on-site. Please complete the On-Site Late
Registration Form, downloadable here (PDF
or MS-Word),
bringing your completed form with you to the assembly
venue—the form will also be available at the registration
desk, but your completing it in advance will speed the
registration process and help our volunteers. On-site
registration opens at 11:30 a.m.
Caveat:
Registration fees are to be paid prior to the voting
member being seated (or visitor granted access).
Alternate Voting Member
Registration
If you are an alternate for someone who has already
registered but now is not attending, one of the following
applies to you.
- If it is known that you are going to be replacing someone who had already registered, and it is prior to the closure of on-line registration (2 June 2026), fill out the On-Line Registration From and email the Synod Assembly Registrar (Registrar@WV-WMD.org) that you are the alternate.
- If on-line registration has closed, complete the On-Site Late Registration Form that will become available when online regristration closes, filling in the information for alternates.
Dispensation from Requirement for Male and Female Laity Voting Members from a Congregation
Normally, a congregation is to send one male and one
female voting member. If your congregation is having
trouble finding both a male and a female to register as
voting members, contact the Synod Assembly Registrar
(304-363-4030 or Registrar@WV-WMD.org) as soon as
possible.
Synod Assembly 2026 Nuts & Bolts
Date(s)
5-6 June 2026
5-6 June 2026 at the Mon County 4H Center, Mylan Park,
near Morgantown, WV, was announced (by website, Roadshow,
and Facebook) in September 2025 shortly after the Synod
Council meeting. This is our first two-day assembly since
2019.
Adjourned Meeting
Synod Council has not yet reserved a date for an
adjourned meeting of the Synod Assembly. It is expected
that all work will be completed in two days. A third day
will be necessary under two conditions (otherwise we are
done at the end of the first day and go home without
having to come back):
- The Synod Assembly has uncompleted required business under the CBCR/WV-WMD or RONR.
- The Synod Assembly has business, though not required, it wishes to take up on a third day.
An adjourned meeting is not a special meeting; it is a
continuation of session. Folks often get the terms
inverted. A "meeting" is a discreet sitting for business
without more than a momentary recess of short duration,
the assembly members remaining in the immediate area and
prepared to return to work. A dinner break, break for
mass, or the overnight break constitutes a break that ends
a meeting. The "session" is the work of the assembly that
is governed by one agenda. So, our assemblies are already
made up of at least three meetings in one session. An
adjourned meeting is the next meeting in a series of
meetings that make up the session. With an adjourned
meeting,
- we continue business where we left off;
- there is no new registration process, all the voting members at the first meeting continuing as voting members in the next; and
- alternate voting members can be seated through the Committee on Registration should those originally serving be unable to continue.
Venue
The Mon County 4H Center is located in Mylan Park, two
miles west of I-79 Exit-155, providing easy access for
travelers (click here for
Google map). You can visit the facility online at
its Mylan Park
website. We are renting both the indoor and outdoor
pavilion, with the assembly business planned for the
outdoor space, the inside space being used by committees,
the assembly office, and, if need be, assembly hall should
the weather turn foul. As with the last Synod Assembly,
the outdoor space has ample room for exhibitors and
socialization.
Dining
One meal will be served as part of Synod Assembly: lunch
on Saturday. Mama K's Kitchen will be catering the lunch.
The Menu is as follows:
- Spaghetti and Rigatoni / Meatballs / Sauce
- Bucatini Pomodoro (crushed tomatoes, onion)
- Bucatini Pomodoro (crushed tomatoes, onion) - Gluten Free
- House Salad (mixed greens, tomatoes, blue cheese,
house oil & vinegar)
 Dining Guide |
Beverage Service
Cimplimentary Coffee, bottled water, drink mixes will be
available on-site at the Community Lutheran Partners,
Inc., table. Feel free to bring your favorite travel mug
to help reduce waste (and cost).
 Lodging Guide |
The assembly is planned as a two-day event. There is
ample lodging in the area for anyone wishing to secure
accommodations. A lodging guide is available for your
perusal, but there are many other options that are not
listed. The lodging guide does not imply endorsement.
Lodging can be found in the Morgantown area at a wide
variety of price points and accommodation levels. Lodging
is not included in the registration package.
Cost & Payment
The registration fee for Synod Assembly 2026 is $80 per person. This includes general costs associated with the Assembly and
- beverage service both days,
- social after mass on Friday night, and
- lunch at the assembly site on Saturday.
Lodging and Friday evening dinner are not included
in the registration fee. It was once custom to cover all
room & board under the registration fee. As these
expenses will not be included, congregations should
consider total cost of attendance and reimburse or provide
allowances for associated expenses accordingly to their
clergy and laity voting members.
Attendees will be invoiced by the registrar after the
attendee has registered—there is no payment interface
connected with the registration. Invoicing will usually be
done on a weekly basis, but there may be times that it
could be up to two weeks before an invoice is issued. Look
for an email from PayPal.
Caveat: Registration fees are to be paid prior to the voting member being seated (or visitor granted access).
Paying Online
We use PayPal for online payments. You do not need to
have or create a PayPal account.
The online registration form does not include a payment
interface. You will receive an invoice by email. Keep your
eyes peeled for an email with a subject line that includes
"West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod of the ELCA
www.paypal.com" and a sender email of
"service@paypal.com." If you do not see this, check your
spam folder. If there is still not one after a week,
contact our registrar at registrar@wv-wmd.org or call
304-363-4030.
PayPal accepts several major credit cards. Follow the
instructions in the invoice. You should receive an email
with confirmation of your payment immediately after you
have completed it. Again, check your spam folder.
Paying by Check/Cash
You do not need to pay online (though it is easier for
us). Payment may be made by check (or cash). You will
still get an emailed invoice as described above. You may
use this for your records (especially if you must submit
for payment or reimbursement by your congregation or
agency). Payments must be made in advance unless other
arrangements are made with our registrar. Checks shall be
made out to the "WV-WMD Synod" with "SA 2026" on the memo
line.
Refunds
No refunds will be issued past 24 May 2026. Refunds will
include a service charge to cover refund-associated fees.
Synod Assembly Mass: Muhlenberg Liturgy for America's 250th
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The Order of Service of 1748 is beyond comparison the noblest and purest Lutheran Service which the church in America prepared or possessed until the publication of the Church Book. — Dr. Beale Melanchthon Schmucker, c.1882 |
As 2026 is the 250th anniversary year of the
United States of America, the Synod Assembly will employ
the liturgy in common use by Lutheran congregations of the
Ministerium of Pennsylvania at the time of the American
Revolution. Developed by Henry Melchior Muhlenberg in 1748
in an attempt to bring a semblance of order to the chaotic
colonial church, the liturgy employed hymns well-known to
the Pennsylvania Dutch or other German Lutherans who had
settled in the Delaware and Schuylkill River basins and
surrounding areas. The Ministerium of Pennsylvania was
founded in 1748; the next synod to form was the New York
Synod in 1786.
During the American Bicentennial, a liturgy was circulated
as "A
Colonial Liturgy" (or maybe it was "A Colonial Worship
Service"). Unfortunately, that form lacked the
Eucharistic rite. The full Holy Communion liturgy has
been restored and the preparatory service will serve as
the opening worship service. If you
would like a sneak peek, visit our synod's Worship page.
The Synod Assembly Mass offering has been designated by
the Synod Council for Community Lutheran Partners, Inc.,
and the Lutheran Campus Ministry at WVU, the offering to
be divided evenly between the two.
Synod Assembly Communications
Keeping abreast of all the information connected with
Synod Assembly isn't easy. To assist, we automatically
enroll registered attendees onto a dedicated email list.
Other means of communication (the synod website, Facebook,
and The Bishop's Road Show) are also employed.
Visit our Synod
Assembly Communications page for more information.
SMS/ Text Messaging
We've added a simple text messaging service to let you
know when announcements related to Synod Assembly are
published. Click here for more info.
Reserving the Right to Postpone or Cancel
While concerns about the pandemic have relaxed, Synod Council continues to monitor the situation and reserves the right to postpone or cancel the Synod Assembly in response to a COVID-19 outbreak. At the same time, federal, state, local health department, or venue response to an outbreak may preclude our gathering.
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Pre-Assembly Bulleting
of Reports
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The Pre-Assembly Bulletin of Reports for Synod Assembly 2026 is now available on Manula, our online platform. After official publication (26 May 2026), additional information is being posted and integrated into the Pre-Assembly Bulletin of Reports as we receive it; this added material is noted and quickly accessible from the addenda section. To be alerted of such updates, you may want to subscribe to our text message (SMS) service for Synod Assembly matters; click here to learn more.
Reading the Pre-Assembly Bulletin of Reports Online
Click here to
access and read the Pre-Assembly Bulletin of Reports.
You can navigate the Pre-Assembly Bulletin of Reports
by using the table of contents in the left of your Manula
interface (on a computer) or in the upper left corner (on
a mobile device).
Printing the Pre-Assembly Bulletin of Reports
You have the option printing select pages directly from
your computer interface by clicking the small printer icon
in the upper right of Manula page.
A complete downloadable PDF edition of the entire Pre-Assembly Bulletin of Reports was made available on 1 June 2026, technical difficulties delaying the hoped for publication.
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Pre-Assembly Bulletin of
Reports
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Caveat Lector!
Internet connectivity may be limited at the venue. We
recommend printing or downloading to a mobile device those
parts of The Pre-Assembly Bulletin of Reports that
you will want access to at the venue. The master PDF (see
below) has everything you might need on site, but, if you
want to be more selective, these sections are vital:
- Assembly Program & Agenda
- Rules of Order for the Assembly
For elections, we encourage possession of the following,
but one could do this work at home, prior to the assembly,
making your own voter guide:
- Report of the Nominating Committee (Report of the Nominating Committee, Part 1)
- Nomination Information (Report of the Nominating Committee, Part 2)
For legislative work, we encourage possession of the
following:
- Proposed Budget for FY2027-2028
- Report of Reference & Council
- Report of the Bylaws Committee
Note well: items may be added to the The Pre-Assembly
Bulletin of Reports even while the assembly is in
session. These will not be integrated into the PDF
version. Additions can be downloaded as individual pages
from the Manula platform. To be alerted of such updates,
you may want to subscribe to our text message (SMS)
service for Synod Assembly matters; click here
to learn more.
Synod Assembly 2026: Submissions
Nominations
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Deadline for Nominations 7 March 2026 |
The public input phase for nominations associated with
Synod Assembly opened 5 February 2026 and closed 7 March
2026 per the synod bylaws. Floor nominations will be
allowed (as well as write-ins during the election) at the
assembly. To learn more about which positions will be up
for election at Synod Assembly 2026 and how to nominate
for those positions, visit our Nominations page.
Reporting to/at the Assembly
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Deadline for Reports 15 April 2026 |
Exhibiting at the Assembly
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Deadline for Exhibit Application 15 April 2026 |
Significant changes were made last year when it comes to exhibiting. Please visit our Exhibiting at Synod Assembly page for more information.
Resolutions & Memorials
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Deadline for Resolutions & Memorials 16 May 2026 |
As this is a regular meeting of the Synod Assembly, the introduction of non-germane new business is not only permitted by expected. Those interested in introducing new business needed to submit their resolutions or memorials by the 16 May 2026 deadline. Visit our Resolutions & Memorials page for details on submission, format, etc. If you have missed the deadline, review the parliamentary aids section located in the Pre-Assembly Bulletin of Report.