2022 Metro D.C. Synod Assembly
JUNE 10-11, 2022
We are excited to announce the 2022 Synod Assembly is being held in-person on June 10 – 11, 2022! We will gather at the College Park Marriott for a time to explore what it means to be Rooted in Jesus and to what we are being called to as congregations of the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Synod.
The assembly will begin with attendee check-in and opening worship on Friday, June 10 and will end on Saturday, June 11 by 6:00pm.
We are excited to plan for an event that will bring the synod back together again while carefully considering the health implications of such an event.
Assembly Location
College Park Marriott Hotel & Conference Center
3501 University Blvd. E,
Hyattsville, MD 20783
A large FREE parking lot is available at the Marriott Conference Center. There are plenty of spaces to accommodate all our attendees. Know that since our last in person assembly the signage has changed to reflect the new name UMD-Global Campus.
Friday, June 10
9:00 AM | Registration Opens
10:00 AM | Orientation for New Voting Members
11:00 AM | Opening Worship
11:30 AM | Plenary Session 1
12:30 PM | Lunch & Workshops
2:05 PM | Plenary Session 2
3:50 PM | Break
4:25 PM | Plenary Sessions 3 – 6
6:30 PM | Dinner
7:30 PM | Evening Service & Fellowship
Saturday, June 11
8:00 AM | Registration Opens
8:00 – 9:30 AM | Breakfast
9:00 AM | Morning Worship
10:00 AM | Plenary Session 7
10:45 AM | Workshops
Noon | Lunch & Workshops
1:30 PM | Plenary Session 8
2:30 PM | Closing Worship & Installations
Registration is Closed
All voting members and rostered ministers should be registered for the 2022 Synod Assembly. If you have any questions about your registration or are no longer planning to attend – please reach out to the synod assembly team at synodassemblyteam@metrodcelca.org
Assembly Materials
Everything you need to follow along with the assembly is included in the Assembly report below - draft agenda, venue maps, reports, candidate information, and more. Additional items will be added as they come available, but the original link will remain the same so make sure to bookmark it.
Our Synod Council, Staff, and Assembly Planning Team have been considering the best protocols for our 2022 Synod Assembly knowing that we are bringing together a large group of people while we are still in the middle of a pandemic that has caused over one million deaths in our nation alone.
We want to create a safe environment to gather together for our first time in over two years. The hotel hosting our assembly has implemented protocols for ventilation and spacing. In addition, we are asking assembly participants to take the steps outlined below in the hope that we can create an event that feels as safe as possible for our attendees and their loved ones.
Our current protocols for the 2022 Synod Assembly are:
- We strongly encourage attendees who are eligible to be vaccinated and boosted;
- We strongly encourage attendees to take a covid test (PCR or at-home antigen test) within 48 hours of the assembly; and
- We strongly encourage masking inside unless eating, and especially while singing.
We will continue to closely monitor local and national trends and ask that anyone attending the assembly who tests positive for COVID-19 or suspects they may have COVID-19 within 5 days of the assembly to immediately contact the assembly planning team at synodassemblyteam@metrodcelca.org to receive information on how to attend and vote remotely.
To help all our attendees with these requests we suggest going to the COVID-19 Toolkit provided by the US government at https://www.covid.gov/ which will help provide information on:
- Local Free N95 masks
- Local Vaccine and Booster Locations
- Local Testing Centers and Treatment Information
- Free At-Home Test Ordering
Additionally, many of our local counties and the district are providing free PCR and at-home antigen tests. Please reach out to your local authority for more information.
Thank you for participating in these protocols to allow for a healthy and spirit-filled assembly. We are looking forward to seeing you.
Help create our visual space and surround those in attendance with hopes and dreams from around the synod.
You are invited to use one of the leaf templates provided or create your own leaf (using an 8×11 size paper) and write or draw a hope, prayer, or dream for the synod.
We ask that these leaves are brought to the assembly so they can be added to the branches of our tree backdrop.
This is something that congregation members of any age can participate in as part of our gathering.
The Rev. R. Guy Erwin, Ph.D
President, United Lutheran Seminary
The Rev. Dr. R. Guy Erwin was appointed president of United Lutheran Seminary and Ministerium of Pennsylvania Chair and Professor of Reformation Studies on August 1, 2020. Prior to this appointment, he was fourth bishop of the Southwest California Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
From 2000 until his election as synod bishop in 2013, President Erwin held the Gerhard and Olga J. Belgum Chair in Lutheran Confessional Theology at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. At Cal Lutheran, he taught in the Religion and History departments, served as faculty chair for two years, and directed the university’s Segerhammar Center for Faith and Culture.
All congregations are invited to include this Blessing for the Assembly and Voting Members during their worship service the week prior to the assembly.
We will also be using Setting 11 of the All Creation Sings during the Saturday morning Eucharist service and one of the songs we will be singing is “May This Church Be like a Tree.” Here is a beautiful version by the choir of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Geneva.
Congregations are invited to use these resources in their own contexts leading up to the assembly.
During the 2022 Synod Assembly, we will be voting to elect lay leaders and rostered ministers to serve on the Synod Council and Consultation Committee.
The following positions are up for election on Synod Council:
Synod Secretary (4 year term)*
DC Conference | Clergy Member (2 year term)
Fairfax Conference | Lay Member (2 year term)
Maryland Conference | Lay Member (2 year term)
Montgomery Conference | Lay Member (2 year term)
Potomac Conference | Lay Member (2 year term)
Virginia Conference | Clergy Member (2 year term)
Young Adult Member (2 year term)
*also member of Synod Executive Committee
The following positions are up for election on the Consultation Committee:
Two Clergy Members (6 year term)
Two Lay Members (6 year term)