September 11-14  +  Fair Hills Resort

Gather with your colleagues for a time of renewal and reflection at the Eastern North Dakota Synod Fall Theological Conference at Fair Hills Resort in Detroit Lakes, MN. Rostered Ministers are expected to attend this annual event. Lay Ministers are welcome to attend. Our guest presenter will be Dr. Deanna Thompson from St. Olaf College, Director of the Lutheran Center for Faith, Values, and Community; Martin E. Marty Regents Chair in Religion and the Academy. Read more about Dr. Thompson here. Dr. Thompson will lead us in three presentations (titles listed in the draft schedule) that will focus on two of her books. The Virtual Body of Christ in a Suffering World (Abingdon, 2016) on how digital tools can help the church better live its mission of caring for those who suffer; and Glimpsing Resurrection: Trauma, Cancer, and Ministry (Westminster John Knox, 2018), a text that uses research on illness-related trauma to explore places in the Christian story for those undone by serious illness and help them glimpse resurrection.

There are two steps to registration:

STEP 1: Register for the Conference

Rostered Ministers and Lay Ministers - $100

Retired Rostered Ministers and Interns - $50

STEP 2: Call Fair Hills Resort at 1-800-323-2849 to make arrangements for your lodging and meals. 

Information on Lodging and Meals

Draft Schedule (outline below)

Sunday - New to the Synod Orientation and Check-In Begins at 4:00pm (supper and pontoon ride)

Monday - Morning Meetings (Deans and First Call), Main programming begins after lunch through the evening

Tuesday - Main programming goes through lunch, afternoon free time with some options, evening worship

Wednesday - Check-Out by 11am (morning free time and/or optional gathering)

Optional Gathering on Wednesday:  Introduction to New Anti-Racism Materials

A new two part curriculum is being created based on materials from the anti-racism training last April along with other resources. “Entering Our Stories of Race” is a discussion guide primarily for folks just starting in this work. The hope is that exploring our own stories will invite curiosity and open conversation to our wider systems and stories. “Exploring our Shared Histories” is a timeline and discussion guide for folks continuing the work anti-racism. The goal of this discussion guide is to diver deeper into our US history for the sake of learning and unlearning the stories told of our past and to increase awareness of the systems and policies imbedded in our history and that are still having impact today.

Join us for an introduction and orientation to these materials, as well as conversation around how to set up and facilitate what can be very challenging conversations. We will talk through how to introduce these conversations to our communities, share learnings around facilitating anti-racism conversations, and have some time to do our own planning for how we might engage these materials. The conversation will be led by Deacon Erin Power, Pastor Julie Tilburg, and Penny Millspaugh.