2021 Pacifica Synod Assembly General Information
On June 17, 2020, the Office of the Bishop announced that Synod Council voted to postpone the 2020 Pacifica Synod Assembly and designated Saturday, May 1, 2021 as the date for our next synod assembly. This one-day assembly will be held completely online and planning for our time together has already begun.
Please begin to consider who your voting members will be, keeping in mind the following:
• Voting members will need to be familiar with computers or tablets (such as iPads) and able to learn an additional voting program/app.
• As this will be a one-day assembly on a Saturday, consider electing people whose schedules have prohibited them from attending past assemblies during weekdays.
• Each voting member will need to have their own device. Even if voting members live together, they cannot share one device. Each person needs their own device to vote.
Each congregation will receive their voting member allocations and assembly invoice in January. There are still costs involved in creating an online assembly, but there will be no costs for travel or housing.
We anticipate that the congregational fee (for rostered ministers and all voting members assigned to the congregation) to be as follows:
Early Bird Rate (paid by Feb 28, 2021) – $295 per congregation
Regular Rate (paid March 1 or later) – $315 per congregation
Watch your mail for your assembly invoice and voting member allocations to arrive by mid-January 2021. Online registration of your voting members will open in early March 2021.
This Assembly will elect Synod Council members and will also elect voting members from Pacifica to attend the Churchwide Assembly which will be held in August 2022 in Columbus, Ohio. Applications to be nominated for Synod Council positions or to become a Churchwide Assembly Voting Member will be coming soon.
Pacifica Synod Nomination Period Now Open!
Are You Feeling Called to be a Leader in the Pacifica Synod?
- Do you feel called to do more in Pacifica?
- Do you want to do something new in Pacifica?
- Do you think you could be a leader for change in Pacifica?
- Perhaps you are being called to be a leader in the Pacifica Synod.
The Nominating Committee of the Pacifica Synod invites members of Pacifica Synod congregations to prayerfully consider if God is calling them to serve on Synod Council, the Discipline Committee, or as a Voting Member at the next Churchwide Assembly. Elections to fill these positions will take place at the 2021 Synod Assembly on May 1, 2021. Descriptions of the duties of each open position can be found in the links below.
Any congregational member in good standing may self-nominate or be nominated to open positions by completing the online nomination form.
Nomination forms for all positions must be received no later than Friday, February 19, 2021. Those who wish to be considered for open positions who have not submitted their form by that date will need to be nominated from the Synod Assembly floor per S9.03.02 and must be accompanied by a written nomination containing the signatures of no less than 10 persons entitled to vote at the assembly for the nominee. Questions about nominations may be directed to the Nominating Committee at office@pacificasynod.org.
Together in Christ we equip, accompany, and serve boldly so all may experience God’s boundless grace. Together in Christ we are Pacifica Synod.
The following Synod Council positions are open:
Synod Council Secretary
This position may be filled by a layperson or rostered minister
(three-year term)
Description
ONLINE NOMINATION FORM
Synod Council Treasurer
This position may be filled by a layperson or rostered minister
(four-year term)
Description
ONLINE NOMINATION FORM
Synod Council Area Voting Member (11 open positions)
These positions are to be filled by a layperson or rostered minister as noted
(two* or three-year term)
- Orange County Area: male clergy
- Orange County Area: any gender clergy
- Orange County Area: male lay
- *Orange County Area: female lay
- San Diego Area: any gender lay
- San Diego Area: male clergy
- San Diego Area: female clergy
- Inland Empire Area: any gender clergy
- *Inland Empire Area: female clergy
- *Hawaii Area: any gender lay
- *Person of Color/First Language other than English: any gender, clergy or lay
Description
ONLINE NOMINATION FORM
This position must be filled by a layperson who is a voting member of a congregation who has not reached the age of 18 at the time of the election
(two-year term)
Description
ONLINE NOMINATION FORM
The following Discipline Committee and Churchwide Assembly positions are also open:
Discipline Committee Member (4 total)
- Male clergy
- Female lay
- Male lay
- Male lay
- Hawaii Area: male lay
- San Diego Area: female lay
- Orange County Area: male rostered minister
- Inland Empire Area: female lay
- Person of Color or 1st language other than English: female rostered minister
- Youth/Young Adult: male lay (a voting member of a congregation who has not reached the age of 30 at the time of the election)
2021 Pacifica Synod Assembly Resolutions and Memorials Process
The deadline for presenting a resolution or memorial
to the 2021 Synod Assembly is February 1, 2021.
The resolutions process enables individuals or recognized groups within the synod to bring a request for action or a request for a statement to be made by the Synod Assembly. Since the ELCA Churchwide Assembly meets in 2022, this Synod Assembly will consider both resolutions and memorials. For information and resources about the differences between a “resolution” and a “memorial,” please visit the ELCA Office of the Secretary webpage found here.
Resolutions and memorials may be submitted by a congregation of the Synod, a Ministry Team, an ELCA institution or agency, a conference, or the Synod Council and must be signed by the appropriate leadership (i.e., president, chair, dean, etc.). Individuals may submit a resolution/memorial with the signatures of 10 other members of the Synod. The maker(s) of the resolution/memorial must be identified separately from the required signers.
Resolutions/memorials are to be submitted in writing 90 days in advance of the Synod Assembly (by February 1, 2021) for review by the Resolutions Committee and for placement in the pre-assembly materials. They may be mailed or emailed to the synod office at rachelline@pacificasynod.org, to the attention of the Resolutions Committee. Any resolutions received after the 90-day deadline will be considered by the Synod Council at its next meeting. Any memorials received after the deadline will be considered in the 2022 Synod Assembly.
Resolutions/memorials submitted are reviewed by the Resolutions Committee for proper form, appropriateness of subject, appropriateness of desired action, inclusion of a plan of implementation, and for elimination of duplication. The Resolutions Committee has the responsibility to ensure that resolutions/memorials brought before the Assembly are grammatically correct and factually correct as to existing church policies or structure. Therefore, the Resolutions Committee has the responsibility to edit resolutions/memorials as needed so that the Assembly can deal with the substance of the issues presented. The Committee shall report its action to the makers of the resolution/memorials and to the Synod Council, to which the makers can appeal the decision.
The Resolutions Committee shall report its action on each resolution/memorials to the group submitting it and to the Synod Council who can overrule the committee’s decision.
If you have any questions about the 2021 Synod Assembly, please contact Rachel Line at rachelline@pacificasynod.org.
