Welcome to Our Synod
We are glad you found this site and welcome you to learn about the ministries of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod. Perhaps you are looking for a church home. Perhaps you are here to find information as a leader or congregation. Whether you’re here for a specific reason or just curious, you are welcome here.
As the ELCA professes, we are the church that shares a living, daring confidence in God’s grace. Liberated by our faith, we embrace you as a whole person—questions, complexities and all. Join us as we do God’s work in Christ’s name for the sake of the world.
Synod Assembly to gather around ‘Stronger Together’ theme
Plans are well underway for the Metropolitan Chicago Synod’s 2026 Synod Assembly. It is June 5-6 and will again be held at the Q Center in St. Charles.
This year’s theme is “Stronger Together.” As usual, the assembly will include worship and workshops, a guest speaker and reports from key officers, meals and fellowship, and the business of the synod.
Of particular interest and focus this year is the election of a new bishop. Prior to that election, the synod is undergoing a pre-identification process being planned and led by a synod-appointed group. The process will include identification of potential candidates by those who are registering to be voting members. Those who are identified and willing to participate in the process will share biographies with the synod and participate in at least one public forum.
Information will be shared on this website as it becomes available. Prior to the assembly, that pre-identification process ends. A new process for electing a bishop begins at the assembly with an ecclesiastical ballot.
Register today for Lay Leadership Day!
Saturday, March 14, 8:30 (registration)-2:30 p.m.
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Schaumburg
Gathering around our 2026 synod theme “Stronger Together” lay leaders from across the synod will experience worship, learning and encouragement from one another as they grow in their baptismal calling Rafael Malpica Padilla, Director for Latine Ministry and Theology at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, will discuss “Togetherness beyond Sameness” in his keynote address.
Workshops:
Lead Boldly, Build Community Through Hymns (Young Chung)
A hymn-based Bible study for congregations of any size and context. Explore hymn stories and biblical connections; deepen faith, strengthen fellowship, and consider building community through service projects or hymn festival.
Church Treasurers and Administrators Benefits Training (Jennifer Prinz)
If you navigate and administrate the ELCA benefits for your congregation’s pastor(s), deacon and lay employees this workshop is for you. Discover the resources available to help you effectively sponsor and understand the benefits of Portico Benefit Services.
AI as a Tool: Practical Ways to get Started (Patrick Nagaro)
A hands-on workshop offering AI awareness and how tools like Microsoft Copilot can help draft newsletter articles, write social media posts and summarize meeting notes. Learn how to use AI thoughtfully and ethically in a faith community.
Mental Health-Informed Congregations: Understanding and Accessing Support (Tanya Fisher)
Learn from LSSI about the behavioral and mental health resources available in our community and how to connect others to needed support.
Try Something—Anything! (Kathy Nolte)
Are you overwhelmed by what needs to change in your congregation’s ministry to meet current realities? Come learn about good practices that may inspire you to try things and evaluate them quickly.
From Passion to Plate (Sandra Gillespie)
Practical framework for church leaders and ministry teams who want to start or renew a feeding ministry. Grounded in faith and shaped by community-centered practices, this
workshop offers tools to build inclusive, sustainable programs that honor dignity and respond to real community needs.
A Child Shall Lead Them: MCS Youth Ministry Partnerships (Margit Willis, Samantha Rozema and others)
Youth ministry leaders from the synod will share their joys and struggles of their ministries, partnerships in their contexts, and what happens synod-wide through meetings and events.
Who We Are
The Metropolitan Chicago Synod (MCS) is made up of 152 congregations and nine Synod Authorized Worshiping Communities (SAWC). We are both urban and suburban, with 60,805 baptized members in four counties: Cook, DuPage, Kane and Lake. We are one of 65 synods in the ELCA.
Our mission statement calls us to proclaim the gospel, make disciples and do justice in Jesus’ name. We hope the images and information on these pages will introduce you to our synod—our faith and values, ministries and events. These pages are filled with practical information for congregations and leaders, and will help you become familiar with the synod staff and governance.
A Letter from the Bishops of the ELCA
Beloved in Christ,
Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), we write to you in this moment of national and global tension with clarity and conviction. Our faith compels us to stand where Jesus stands—with and for those whom society often seeks to exclude, erase, or diminish…
Get connected to the MCS by signing up for publications and following us on social media.
As a synod, our work focuses on supporting and partnering with our congregations.
Lay and clergy, find resources that will assist you in the work to which God has called you.
God’s work takes many and various forms. Learn about the ministries of our synod.
Our Stories
Good News Garage
They came from a country in the middle of Africa to a city in the middle of America. Husband, wife and four sons, ages 20, 15, 8 and 5. They have been here since January and during the summer were finally settling into their apartment. The oldest son needed a bike for his full-time work and the 15-year-old needed transportation for his after-school job. The younger boys just needed bikes to be kids.
It started with Seeds
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church of Northbrook helped area folks usher in the summer by hosting their fourth annual Native Plant Fest on the last Saturday morning of May. More than 100 people from the community browsed tables of plants that had been nursed by members throughout the winter in their gallon plastic milk jugs.
Irving Park pantry and congregation build new pantry with $1 million grant
The Irving Park Community Food Pantry, which Irving Park Lutheran Church (IPLC) has long supported and is intentionally partnering with to help identify a potential new space, in early summer received news of a $1,035,617 grant from the City of Chicago. The grant may be used to reimburse half the cost of construction of a new facility for the pantry, to be built on land owned by IPLC and adjacent to the church.
Metropolitan Chicago Synod Office
Ph: 773-248-0021 | Address: 1420 W. Dickens Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614