Dear Friends:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! (2 Cor. 1:2).
It’s a joy to welcome you to our website. Please feel free to browse and to discover new things about our Delaware-Maryland Synod, serving the state of Delaware and most of Maryland through the ministries of 170+ congregations.
The word “synod” comes from the Greek and literally means “walking together.” That is exactly what we are doing as a synod, walking together and bringing God’s Good News in Jesus Christ to many more people than we would be able to if we simply stayed by ourselves.
Here are some examples of what we accomplish together as a synod:
- Starting new congregations, such as Global Peace Lutheran Fellowship, a worshipping community of Asian-American believers and their families now meeting at Evangelical Lutheran Church in Frederick, Md.
- Supporting existing congregations in redevelopment and transition, for example, at Christ Lutheran in Catonsville in an African-American community or at Bethel in North East, Md., in a rural setting.
- Bringing the Gospel to students, faculty and staff at five campus ministry sites in Delaware and Maryland.
- Sponsoring an outdoor ministry and conference center, Mar-Lu-Ridge Camp in Jefferson, Md.
- Providing support to the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, one of eight seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
- Supporting ELCA mission and ministry across the country and around the world by sharing 54% of mission support provided by our congregations with the national church body.
- Raising up and supporting leaders for God’s church, both lay and clergy, through the Candidacy process, leadership academies, Bishop’s Leadership Days and other continuing education opportunities and events.
- Serving youth and young adults who are not just “the future of the church” but very much its present through an active Youth & Family ministry and by involving them in all facets of church leadership, including on the synod council.
In these and many other ways, we are proclaiming the Gospel of God’s unconditional love in Jesus Christ in diverse settings: from inner city to affluent suburban, from shore community to mountain village, from Ocean City to Frostburg and from Wilmington to Laurel … and everywhere in between.
Welcome to our website. We pray that God will guide and bless you always!
Peace & Blessings,
Bishop Wolfgang D. Herz-Lane
Delaware-Maryland Synod, ELCA
