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Synod Assembly is underway, and the Doubletree in Fresno has been quite the busy bee-hive! Staff and volunteers began arriving on Wednesday, hauling supplies in, coordinating with the hotel, printing name badges, stuffing folders, and attending meetings late into the evenings to run through the technical parts of Assembly.

We'd like to offer a GIGANTIC thank you to each and every person who helped prep for the assembly in any way, shape, or form.

Worship began at 1pm with exuberant music from our assembly musicians. Prayer followed in both Spanish and English, plus an acknowledgement that our assembly is held on Yokut land. 

After a thoughtful and playful introduction from Bishop Jeff Johnson, Rev. Jodi Golden-Lund introduced this year’s synod offering, with a greeting by Canon Anna Carmichael.

Bishop Jeff proceeded to thank the Synod Assembly Planning Team, Committee Leads, Synod Financial Team, Synod Council, Conference Deans, Synod Staff, New Rostered Leaders, and Ordinations and Candidates. 

After an overview of the standing rules of order, and a humorous practice-vote where red and green cards were suspended in the air like Christmas lights, we moved on to our voting session, featuring Bishop Jeff Johnson, Christa Wyneken Garcia, and Paul Larson.

After voting, Scott Taylor, Sierra Pacific Synod Council Treasurer, shared the results from last year’s financial audit presenting a statement of financial position. The Synod had a net loss of 1.2 million dollars due to one-time expenses related to temp staffing and a legal settlement including severance. Congregational giving was under budget as well. The Synod has brought in outside consultants to ensure timely and accurate financial statements in the future; these outside consultants will also help us quell our operating costs. We have a small amount of cash reserves, plus 3 to 4 million dollars in investments. We will review the spending plan for next year at tomorrow’s assembly meeting. 

The plenary session concluded with announcements from Rev. Dr. Charlane Lines, Assistant to the Bishop.

In the evening, worship was held in the ballroom. We were blessed with uplifting music, a historical and emotional sermon from Bishop Jeff, and a special, heartfelt blessing for those attending Mt. Cross. The service concluded after Communion, a beautiful Hmong rendition of How Great Thou Art from the Grace Lutheran Evangelical Choir, and a staff blessing.

Motion to adopt standing rules of order:

Motion carried

Motion to adopt proposed agenda:

Motion carried

Motion to grant voice to lay members:

Motion carried

Representatives for Synod Council, uncontested:

Conference 1: Tyler Biscocho

Conference 2: Rev. Claire McElaney

Conference 3: Deanna Moore

Conference 4: J. Pierce

Conference 6: Melva Mack

Conference 7: Donald Eismann

Conference 9: Carol Bentz

Motion carried

Representatives for Synod Council, contested:

Conference 8: Rev. Sylvia Mueller OR Rev. Sharon Amundson

Voting was held; results will be shared tomorrow morning

We will be electing 9 voting members to Churchwide Assembly; only 6 will be able to attend. Later in the assembly, these names will be drawn randomly to finalize the vote. 

Uncontested Nominees for Conference Representative voting member to the 2025 Churchwide Assembly:

Conference 1: Rev. Kathryn Gulbranson

Conference 2: Jeff Pennington

Conference 5: Yvonne Baur

Conference 6: Rev. Sara Pearson

Conference 9: Rev. Julie Kelly

Motion was made to elect uncontested nominees on one vote; motion carried

Contested Nominees for Conference Representative voting member to the 2025 Churchwide Assembly:

Conference 7: Erika Hidley OR Sue Hertless

Conference 8: Rob Westerhoff OR Jorge Carajal

Voting was held; results will be shared tomorrow morning

Our keynote speaker, Pr. Rebecca Anderson, came to show us exactly what storytelling means to her. Rebecca grew up in a megachurch in the Bible Belt. Now, she’s the pastor of a queer, karaoke bar church in Chicago. Her colorful, vivacious anecdotes stirred uproarious laughter, and before long, each table was telling stories of their own. 

Aside from having the pleasure of participating in Pr. Rebecca’s storytelling experience, a plethora of workshops broke out in various places throughout the hotel…even a few across the street! Dozens of attendees were able to beat the Fresno heat to make it to these sessions. Booths adorned the hotel’s common room, and refreshments were available for guests to partake in. The hotel this Friday was a cacophony of music and lively conversation, and we look forward to continuing our experience tomorrow!

Assembly Workshops

English | Spanish

Download Guidebook

For Android/PC | For Apple/Mac

Paper copies are not available at Synod Assembly this year. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Synod Compensation Guidelines

(Proposed Resolution)

English | Spanish

Facilitating Healthcare Options for Rostered Ministers

(Proposed Resolution)



English | Spanish

Synod Offering

Support for St. Andrew's Refugee Service (STARS)

The Bulldog Pantry | La Despensa Bulldog

Photos Wanted!

Are you at assembly in person? We encourage you to take photos! You can share your photo by clicking the link to our Drive, or accessing the QR code. You may also send pictures to Michael N-D, Comms Coordinator at communications@spselca.org.

Click Here for Link to Drive

Connect with Synod Staff & Conference Deans

***** SPS STAFF *****

Bishop Jeff R. Johnson, Sierra Pacific Synod

bishopjeff@spselca.org

Debbie Cook, Finance Assistant Contractor

debbie@spselca.org

Rev. Brandon Peck, Administrative Director

brandon@spselca.org

Michael N-D, Communications Coordinator

communications@spselca.org

Rev. Manda Truchinski, Assistant to the Bishop for Leadership & Strategic Organization

manda@spselca.org

Rev. Ron Valadez, Interim Assistant to the Bishop for Candidacy and First Call

ronv@spselca.org

Rev. Dr. Dawn Roginski, Director of Evangelical Mission

dawn@spselca.org

***** SPS CONFERENCE DEANS *****

Rev. Janet Blair, Redwood Mountain Conference 1

conference1@spselca.org

Rev. Jill Ross, Bridges Conference 2

conference2@spselca.org

Rev. Dr. Gabriele Schroeder, Capitol Valley Conference 3

conference3@spselca.org

Rev. Christian Schweter, Sierra Nevada Foothills Conference 4

conference4@spselca.org

Rev. John Kuehner, S.F. Peninsula Conference 5

conference5@spselca.org

Rev. Cristina Beauchemin, El Camino Real Conference 6

conference6@spselca.org

Rev. Dr. John Valentine, Mt. Diablo Conference 7

conference7@spselca.org

Rev. Karen Johnson, Sierra Central Valley Conference 8

conference8@spselca.org

Rev. Jodi Golden-Lund, Central San Joaquin Conference 9

conference9@spselca.org

Rev. Cindy Beck, Interim Ministry

interims@spselca.org

The Sierra Pacific Synod Office resides on the unceded land of the Muwekma Ohlone People.

To learn more about their tribal history, we encourage you to click here.