Synod Assembly 2023:
Announcing Our Preacher, Offering Recipient and Keynote
We’re excited to officially announce some exciting updates about our 2023 Synod Assembly!
Keynote Speaker: Pardeep S. Kaleka
We are delighted to welcome author and activist Pardeep S. Kaleka as the keynote speaker at our Synod Assembly dinner on Friday, June 2 at 5:30pm.
Pardeep S. Kaleka is a hate and violence prevention senior advisor with Not In Our Town, and the author of “The Gifts of Our Wounds.” As a first-generation immigrant from India, Mr. Kaleka has spent more than 25 years in the public arenas of law enforcement, education and social services. He is the former director of the Interfaith Conference, and has worked on coalition-building efforts across ethnic, racial and religious differences following the death of his father in the 2012 hate killings at the Oak Creek Sikh Temple.
Dinner tickets are included for all registered Synod Assembly voting members, or may be purchased individually by the general public for $50 each.
Preacher: Rev. Kenneth W. Wheeler
We do a lot of important work during Synod Assembly, and one of the most important things we do is to worship together. This is a time to ground us in the word of God, bring us together as the body of Christ, and help us prayerfully reflect and prepare for the work ahead.
Our preacher for this year’s service is Rev. Kenneth W. Wheeler: a retired ordained pastor in the ELCA, and a sought-after preacher, public theologian, and writer. Most of his writings, sermons, and lectures focus on faith, race, and social justice.
Our Synod Assembly worship service, scheduled for the evening of Friday, June 2, 2023 at 7pm at the Italian Community Center Festa Ballroom, is open to everyone. You do not need to be a registered member of the assembly to attend worship.
Offering: Ken Wheeler Scholarship Fund
The Greater Milwaukee Synod’s Ken Wheeler Scholarship Fund was established in our preacher’s name to aid African American seminarians. We’re honored to name this fund as a recipient of our Synod Assembly offering, in honor of Pastor Wheeler’s work as a respected elder and mentor to young pastors and seminarians in our Synod.
The offering will be received during worship on Friday, June 2, and we would like to encourage congregations and individuals to consider making a gift toward this offering. Checks can be made payable and mailed to the Greater Milwaukee Synod, PO Box 341695, Milwaukee WI 53234 with “assembly offering” noted on the memo line. We will also provide more information soon on how to give online.