M&MC Highlights: Standardized Calendar of Major Events
By Lori Hylton
One of the values highlighted in the New Way Forward is that of community. The membership of our Synod thrives on opportunities to come together to support one another through shared learning, shared worship, and shared visioning.
To support the goal of increasing opportunities to come together, the Synod hosts a wide variety of gatherings each year and supports an even broader set of gatherings within each of our 22 presbyteries. As a result, there is always something exciting happening in the Synod of the Northeast. So, to assist the various planning teams around the Synod, the Administrative Working Group has adopted a standardized calendar for the Synod’s largest gatherings.
Standardized Calendar Strategy
The Synod gathers members from all 22 presbyteries four times per year: three times for Mission & Ministries Commission meetings (each presbytery elects a representative) and once as an open gathering of the whole Synod community at either Synod Assembly or Come to the Table.
The Commission meetings are held on the:
- Last weekend of January / first weekend of February
- First weekend of May
- Last weekend of September
Our two Synod-wide community gatherings are held in alternating years on the first or second weekend in November (seeking to avoid Halloween and All Saints Day for families and congregations with related activities).
- Come to the Table – odd years (2019)
- Synod Assembly – even years (2020)
Some of the other large gathering hosted by the Synod each year include:
- Early Ministry Institute (EMI) – beginning the last Sunday in April
- Young Ministry Leaders Gathering – beginning in 2019, returning to October
With the exception of EMI and the Young Ministry Leaders, these gatherings are for 24 hours, starting noon on Friday and ending at noon on Saturday. Each of these meetings is organized to maximize our time together for worshiping, learning, and visioning for the future.
Upcoming Dates
This is by no means an exhaustive list of all the gatherings hosted by the Synod, but these are some of our largest events, to help you with planning. So please take a look at some key dates for 2019 and 2020 below:
2019
Jan. 25-26, 2019 - Mission & Ministries Com.
April 28- May 2, 2019 – Early Ministry Institute
May 3-4, 2019 – Mission & Ministries Com.
Sept. 27-28, 2019 – Mission & Ministries Com.
October 2019 (TBD) – Young Ministry Leaders
November 8-9, 2019 – Come to the Table
2020
Jan. 31–Feb. 1, 2020 – M&M Commission
April 26-30, 2020 – Early Ministry Institute
May 1-2, 2020 – Mission & Ministries Com.
Sept. 25-26, 2020 – Mission & Ministries Com.
October 2020 (TBD) – Young Ministry Leaders
November 6-7, 2020 – Synod Assembly
For more information about all our gatherings, events, and significant dates,
we encourage you to visit the Synod Calendar page on our website.