Synod Assembly 2025
Synod Assembly takes place each spring and brings together voting members from congregations to discuss and vote on resolutions, elect synod council and committee representatives, consider finances, and other business.
Before you begin the registration process, please check out our “things to know before you register” information below.
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- Rev. Khader El-Yateem
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- Tyra Dennis
Friday Evening Events
On Friday evening, we will welcome Rev. Khader El-Yateem as our keynote dinner speaker. Synod Assembly registrants will receive a dinner ticket when they arrive. Non-registrants may purchase a ticket here.
After dinner, Tyra Dennis will lead an energetic and contemporary-style worship; this service is open to all, and it is not necessary to register to attend worship.
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- Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Calling All Youth!
Friday Evening Worship Volunteers: We’d love for youth to serve as readers, ushers, communion assistants, and more.
WhirlyBall Social: After worship, we’re inviting youth and chaperones/leaders to gather at WhirlyBall in Brookfield Square. Bishop Erickson and Tyra Dennis have promised to WhirlyBall, too!
Learn more and sign up here.
Important Dates
April 30, 2025: Final day of early bird pricing
May 1, 2025: Registration prices increase
May 14, 2025: Cancellation deadline
May 14, 2025 – Advance registration closes (including registrations with childcare)
2025 Registration Fees
Voting Members/Non-voting members: $245 (early bird pricing – register by April 30)/$270 (standard pricing – register May 1 or later)
Retired Rostered Ministers, Youth, Young Adults: $145 (early bird pricing – register by April 30)/$170 (standard pricing – register May 1 or later)
Things to Know Before You Register
How are Voting Members Determined?
- All actively serving rostered ministers (pastors and deacons) are voting members at Synod Assembly. They do not count towards your lay voting member limits.
- Retired rostered ministers who wish to attend as a voting member must contact the synod office prior to registering. Retired Rostered Ministers do not register as a lay voting member of a congregation. Learn more by visiting the Retired Rostered Minister Voting Information tab below.
- The number of lay voting members your congregation elects depends on the number of baptized members reported on your 2023 congregational report form A. We encourage congregations to choose voting members who will represent a range of age, ethnicity, and gender whenever possible. Use our handy chart to see how many voting lay people your congregation can register for Synod Assembly. This page also includes some helpful FAQs about voting members.
- All congregations may elect at least two lay voting members to the Synod Assembly.
- Congregations having 750 to 1,249 baptized members may elect a third lay voting member. Thereafter an additional lay voting member may be added for each additional 500 baptized members of the congregation (e.g. at 1,250 members, 1,750 members, etc.).
- All congregations may add one voting member to the number allotted if that additional member is a youth or young adult (30 or younger when elected).
Registration
Important Dates
April 30, 2025: Final day of early bird pricing
May 1, 2025: Registration prices increase
May 14, 2025: Cancellation deadline
May 14, 2025 – Advance registration closes (including registrations with childcare)
2025 Registration Fees
Voting Members/Non-voting members: $245 (early bird pricing – register by April 30)/$270 (standard pricing – register May 1 or later)
Retired Rostered Ministers, Youth,Young Adults: $145 (early bird pricing – register by April 30)/$170 (standard pricing – register May 1 or later)
Walk-in registration ($170/$270) will be available beginning May 30. Meals are not guaranteed for walk-in registrations.
We respectfully request that all registrations (including walk-ins) be paid by May 31, 2025. If you need to make other arrangements, please contact us directly at 414.671.1212.
Childcare
Our childcare room is staffed by a paid and background-checked team of adults. Children must be pre-registered for childcare; we are unable to accommodate children that are not pre-registered. We hire providers based on the number and ages of registered children.
Childcare is available for children 6 weeks through five years old. If you have older children we’ll do our best to provide childcare for them. Please contact the office for details about childcare for older children at 414.671.1212.
Children will have Friday dinner and Saturday lunch in the childcare room. Parents should plan to send their own snacks, diapers, comfort items and shareable toys with their child.
Parents of registered children: Please take a few minutes to fill this form in before you arrive for assembly: Child care form. You will turn this form in to the child care providers.
IMPORTANT!! Our childcare providers have received background checks and they are compensated for their time. If you find you won’t need childcare after registering we would appreciate a phone call.
Retired Rostered Minister Voting Information
In accordance with the bylaw adopted at the 2022 assembly, the number of retired rostered ministers serving as voting members shall not exceed 15% of the retired roster. All other retired ministers rostered in this synod shall be advisory members to the Synod Assembly, with voice, but not vote. For 2025, the number of voting members from the retired roster is 22 (15% of the 148 retired rostered ministers in the synod as of 12/31/24).
Retired rostered ministers do not register as lay voting members of a congregation.
Retired rostered ministers serving under contract in transitional ministries are automatically granted voting privileges.
Retired rostered ministers who are NOT serving under contract in transitional ministries must contact Mary Romskog (414.671.1212) in the synod office by March 31, 2025 prior to registering. If there are more than 22 retired rostered ministers who express interest in serving as a voting member, we will conduct a vote, allowing you, as the retired rostered ministers, to decide who will be the voting members.
If we reach the limit of 22 retired rostered ministers with voting privileges, additional retired rostered ministers are welcome to register as non-voting members and are allowed to speak on all matters before the assembly.
Simple Agenda
A more detailed agenda will be available closer to the Assembly.
Tuesday, May 27 (pre-Assembly)
6:30 pm – Assembly Orientation via zoom
7:30 pm – Resolutions Hearing via zoom
Wednesday, May 28 (pre-Assembly)
6:30 pm – Budget Hearing via zoom
Friday, May 30 (Assembly, Day 1)
2:00 pm – Registration opens
4:00 pm – Plenary 1
5:15 pm – Dinner and Keynote with Rev. Khader El-Yateem
7:00 pm – Worship with Tyra Dennis
Saturday, May 31 (Assembly, Day 2)
7:30 am – Registration opens
8:30 am – Plenary 2
10:00 am – Break
12pm – Lunch
1:15 pm – Plenary 3
2:15 pm – Break
4:00 pm – Sending
Information for Voting Members
Please check this page for updated information that will assist you as you prepare to attend Synod Assembly.
Here are a few tips to get started:
Materials and information will be shared directly with voting members at the email address you provide when you register. This includes information for voting during assembly.
If your email address changes or you are not receiving information starting in May, please contact us immediately.
Synod Assembly work includes being informed about the resolutions, rules, constitutional amendments, elected positions and more that will be presented.
We strongly encourage you to take the time to read through the information and be prepared for discussion and voting during assembly.
Learn more by visiting the Resources to prepare for Assembly section below.
Worship and Offering
One of the most important things we do at synod assembly work 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 Synod Assembly worship service is scheduled for Friday, May 30, 2025 at 7:00 pm.
This year’s worship will be energetic and contemporary, in the style of the ELCA Youth Gathering. We encourage congregations to invite their youth and young adult members to attend!
This service is open to all. It is not necessary to register to attend worship. You do not need to be a voting member of the assembly to attend worship.
Opportunities for High School Youth
Worship Volunteers: We’d love for youth to serve as readers, ushers, communion assistants, and more.
WhirlyBall Social: After worship, we’re inviting youth and chaperones/leaders to gather at WhirlyBall in Brookfield Square. Bishop Erickson and our worship leader, Tyra Dennis, have promised to WhirlyBall, too!
Tyra Dennis, Worship Leader
Tyra Dennis, better known as “Tyralucia,” was born and raised in Los Angeles, California and has always been drawn to the stage by her talents: singing, composing music, playing the piano (as well as 11 other various instruments), acting and writing. The singer, songwriter and musician has accomplished so much and continues to excel beyond expectations, from performing with the greats such as Chaka Kahn, Stevie Wonder, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member Jackson Browne, Ray Charles and Slash from Guns and Roses while still being in high school to having a key role in developing and starring in the first Apple iPod commercial. Tyra’s work spans across all music genres and audiences. Tyra has also always made it important to share her blessings with others and does so, among other music and philanthropic efforts, with Music Mayhem; a full service entertainment company specializing in music production, artist development, talent management and event curation which she founded in 2012. She has also opened for Grammy winner Eric Bellinger during 2014’s Stand Against Autism Benefit Concert, which was one of her philanthropic efforts. She has worked with the likes of Ike Turner, YoYo, Herbie Hancock, Izzy The Kidd, Symbolyc One, Andre Merrit, First Born, Soaky Siren, Kevin McCall and more. Not only did she perform with those acclaimed musical masterminds, she also recorded an upbeat swinging version of “Let The Good Times Roll” with Ray Charles and Slash from Guns and Roses.
Since 2016, Tyra has been able to show her passion for worship and love for Christ by becoming a worship leader within the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America) when answering the call to serve at Another Level Ministries. She has led the music for many events, including but not limited to Western States Youth Gathering (WYLE), Theoasis (SYC Synod), Synod Assembly (SWC Synod), ELCA Gathering, Extravaganza and more. She is honored to use her gift in a way that elevates God’s kingdom and gives back to the one that has given her everything.
Assembly Offering
This year’s offering will go to support the work of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL). Our keynote speaker, the Rev. Khader El-Yateem, is a native of Bethlehem, Palestine, and he is one of the many gifts that comes from the Lutheran Church in that fractured part of the world. The ELCJHL has six congregations and operates four K-12 schools in Ramallah, Beit Jala, Bethlehem and Beit Sahour. Each year, the ELCJHL schools serve more than 3,000 students. The ELCJHL also has four additional ministries; the Gender Justice Ministry, the office of which is housed in the main offices of the Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem, the Environmental Education Center located on the Talitha Kumi campus in Beit Jala, the Diaconal Ministry, which is housed in the offices of Beit Ibrahim, and a Youth Ministry. Their congregations and communities have suffered greatly during the Israel-Hamas war, and our gift will be a sign of solidarity and support.
Dinner Tickets and Keynote Speaker
Our Synod Assembly dinner is scheduled for Friday, May 30, 2025 at 5:00 pm.
Dinner tickets are included for all registered members. If you would like to attend the dinner, but are not registering for the entire assembly, use the button below to purchase dinner tickets.
Dinner guests are also invited to attend the worship service that follows. (No registration is necessary to attend worship.)
Rev. Khader El-Yateem, Keynote Speaker
The Rev. Khader El-Yateem is the Executive Director of the Service and Justice home area of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Pastor El-Yateem has served as Assistant to the Bishop and Director for Evangelical Mission with the ELCA Florida-Bahamas Synod. Prior to joining the synod staff, he served as pastor of Salam Arabic Lutheran Church in Brooklyn, N.Y., a congregation he started as a mission developer in 1995. El-Yateem also worked in patient relations at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn from 2010 to 2017 and was chief financial officer at Bethlehem Bible College in Bethlehem from 1990 to 1992.
Born and raised in Bethlehem, El-Yateem received his Bachelor of Theology from Bethlehem Bible College in 1989 and his Bachelor of Theology and World Religions from the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo in 1991. He received his Master of Divinity degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (now United Seminary) in 1996.
Resources to Prepare for Assembly
Detailed Agenda
Tuesday, May 27 (pre-Assembly)
6:30 pm – Assembly Orientation via zoom
7:30 pm – Resolutions Hearing via zoom
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89303550254?pwd=ARXGuL8wABYCcbJG52BcKmSzmuOeui.1
Meeting ID: 893 0355 0254 Passcode: 327080
Wednesday, May 28 (pre-Assembly)
6:30 pm – Budget Hearing via zoom
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89303550254?pwd=ARXGuL8wABYCcbJG52BcKmSzmuOeui.1
Meeting ID: 893 0355 0254 Passcode: 327080
Friday, May 30 (Assembly, Day 1)
2:00 pm – Registration opens
4:00 pm – Plenary 1
Welcome
Land Acknowledgment
Opening of the Assembly
Orientation and Welcome Special Guests
Interfaith Greetings
Report of the Credentials Committee
Assembly Appointments
Adoption of Agenda
Approval of Rules and Procedures
Nominations Report
Reference and Counsel Report
5:15 pm – Dinner and Keynote with Rev. Khader El-Yateem
7:00 pm – Worship with Tyra Dennis
8:15 pm – Dessert Reception
Saturday, May 31 (Assembly, Day 2)
7:30 am – Registration opens/Breakfast available
8:30 am – Plenary 2
Devotion
Orientation/Review
Budget Presentation
Bishop Report
Devotion
Break
First Ballot for Open Positions
Vice President Report
Report of the First Ballot
Action on the Budget
Resolutions
12pm – Lunch
1:15 pm – Plenary 3
Devotion
Report of the Credentials Committee
Second Ballot for Open Positions
ELCA Representative Report
Devotion
Break
Report of the Second Ballot
Third Ballot for Open Positions
Resolutions
Install Elected persons
Closing of the Assembly
Please note: This agenda is not finalized and may change prior to the opening of assembly.
Assembly Rules
2025 Rules and Procedures
The Greater Milwaukee Synod Council recommends to the Synod Assembly the following Rules and Procedures for 2025. These will be formalized by the Assembly at the First Plenary Session of the Assembly, but will be followed prior to that action.
Nominations and Open Positions
Open positions for nominations are listed below. Use this fillable pdf or our online form to submit a nomination form.
Please note: Gender non-binary or gender non-conforming people can be nominated to serve in any roles designated for gendered representation.
Consultation Committee
The role of the consultation committee is spelled out in detail in chapter 20 of the ELCA’s constitution, focusing on working to resolve conflicts within the synod and in congregations. The term of service is six years and members may not be elected to consecutive terms.
At Large – Lay Male (full term: 9/1/2025 – 8/31/2031)
At Large – Lay Female (full term: 9/1/2025 – 8/31/2031)
At Large – Rostered Minister (full term: 9/1/2025 – 8/31/2031)
At Large – Rostered Minister (full term: 9/1/2025 – 8/31/2031)
Synod Council
The role of the Synod Council is to be the board of directors of this synod and to serve as its interim legislative authority between meetings of the Synod Assembly.
At Large – Lay Male (full term: 9/1/2025 – 8/31/2029)
At Large – Lay Female (full term: 9/1/2025 – 8/31/2029)
At Large – Rostered Minister (full term: 9/1/2025 – 8/31/2029)
At Large – Youth/Young Adult aged 30 or under when elected (full term 9/1/2025 – 8/31/2029)
At Large – Youth aged 18 or under when elected (full term 9/1/2025 – 8/31/2027)
Vice President – Layperson (full term: 9/1/2025 – 8/31/2029)
Treasurer – Layperson or Rostered Minister (full term: 9/1/2025 – 8/31/2029)
Central Conference – Lay Female (full term: 9/1/2025 – 8/31/2029)
North Conference – Rostered Minister (full term: 9/1/2025 – 8/31/2029)
South Conference– Lay Male (full term: 9/1/2025 – 8/31/2029)
Resolutions
Reports
Transportation, Meals, and Facility Information
Brookfield Conference Center
The Brookfield Conference Center, 325 S Moorland Rd, Brookfield, WI 53005, is the location of our annual assembly in 2025. This conference facility is located just off 1-94 near Brookfield Square Mall. Ample parking is available right outside the venue.
Public Transportation
Public transportation is available from Milwaukee. Learn more about the bus route and transfers here.
Additional Information
Dress in Layers: Conference facilities can vary greatly in temperature and you will be more comfortable if you dress in layers.
Wi-Fi: Coming soon
Friday Dinner: You will find a dinner ticket tucked in the middle of the name badge holder that notes your dinner choice. Place your meal ticket on the table in front of after the conclusion of Plenary 1. If you shared information about an allergy or dietary restriction that requires a special meal, you will have a red colored ticket. Be sure to confirm with the server that you are receiving the correct meal.
Saturday Meals: We have a light continental breakfast buffet featuring juice, house-made pastries, sliced breakfast breads, muffins, coffee, tea, and water scheduled for 7:30 am. Lunch is a southwest buffet featuring garden chopped salad, chicken street tacos, cheese enchiladas, black beans, Spanish rice and more.
Restrooms: The primary set of restrooms is located past the display tables on the west end of the building. An all-gender restroom is available on the east end of the building. There is also a private space for nursing mothers.
Childcare: Our childcare room is staffed by a paid and background-checked team of adults. Children must be pre-registered for childcare; we are unable to accommodate children that are not pre-registered. We hire providers based on the number and ages of registered children. Children will have Friday dinner and Saturday lunch in the childcare room. Parents should plan to send their own snacks, diapers, comfort items, and shareable toys with their child.
Electronic Devices: You are encouraged and welcome to bring your electronic devices along to access documents needed for the assembly. Please do not bring extension cords with you. We will have a charging station near the back of the room if you need to charge your device. Extension cords are a tripping hazard and will be removed.
