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Rostered Ministers

Resources for rostered ministers of the Upstate New York Synod.

Rostered Minister Resources

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This is a space for information about resources that are available for a specific time in the year, whether it be an Advent Appeal from World Hunger, or Lenten preaching resources. Please check back regularly to see what may have been added!

2026 Fall Ministerium

October 26-27

Cultivating a G.R.A.C.E. Mindset · EXPERIMENTATION

The bigger game you are called to play for the people you serve.

The whole roster, gathered in Canandaigua — with Presiding Bishop Curry, Melissa O’Mara, and Adrien Gehring.

You tend a community. You hold others through every season — often while your own well runs low. This is where you are tended, too.

“What is the bigger game you are called to play in your context— and what is one experiment you are ready to begin?”

This October, the whole roster gathers to be resourced for that sacred work — so the GRACE Mindset we’ve been growing continues to move from words we speak to a way we live, in us, and in the people we serve. You are already on this journey. Come as you are.

With the Presiding Bishop Curry — presenting and dialoguing with the whole roster and preaching at our closing Eucharist.

Two days together, we will:

  • Celebrate where the GRACE Mindset is already alive across our congregations.

  • Tend the ones who tend everyone else — and be resourced together.

  • Name the bigger game each of us is called to play for our people.

  • Carry home one real experiment — for our community and our ministry.

Location

Notre Dame Retreat Center, Canandaigua, NY

“I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth!”

— Isaiah 43:19a

  • Bishop Yehiel Curry

    The fifth presiding bishop of the ELCA and first of African descent, teacher and social worker turned pastor and synod bishop bringing a deep passion for lay leadership, community-rooted ministry, and faithful embodiment of the church’s call.

  • Melissa O'Mara

    A systems coach and convener who walks alongside purpose-driven leaders. Certified Co-Active & PQ Coach, iEQ9 Practitioner, and xChange Guide, with two decades of practice with The Bigger Game.

  • Adrien Gehring

    An Episcopal priest and coach, founder of Watershed Insight. Deep fluency in family systems and non-anxious presence; a PQ-trained coach and registered yoga teacher.

Synod Ministerium is an annual retreat where our rostered ministers gather for a time of worship, learning, collegiality, and collaboration. Guest speakers are chosen to reflect the theme established at the previous Synod Assembly. All rostered leaders are welcomed to register for a nominal fee, and are encouraged to attend. 

The Bigger Game™ was created by Rick Tamlyn; the model and nine-square board are © It’s All Made Up, Inc., used with permission and facilitated under Melissa O’Mara’s certification.

October 27-28 for SAMs, Lay Preachers, & Mentors

With the Rev. Hank Langknecht, Retired Associate Professor of Homiletics, Trinity Lutheran Seminary.

For more information, visit the SAM’s page.