Companion Synods/Global Mission | Central States Synod

Companion Synod Team

Our Companion Synods give us the opportunity to engage with Companion Christians who live out their faith in different parts of the world. As we come together with our CoSyn Lutheran Christians in Papua New Guinea, Russia and other parts of the world, we both bless them and receive their blessings. We both teach and learn. We both encourage and are encouraged.

Every congregation in the Central States Synod is encouraged to celebrate the World-wide church we are a part of and to find ways to walk more closely together with our partners in Papua New Guinea, Russia, and around the globe.

For a more detailed explanation of the Companion Synod Ministry, read:

Companion Synod Ministry, CSS-ELCA.

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2024 Companion Synod PNG Visitation

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Companion Synod - Russia 10.23

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PNG Sunday School

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2021 PNG

Far East Deanery

Russia

Reports, updates and trip summaries of the Far East Deanery of the Lutheran Synod of the Urals, Siberia and the Far East.

Kotte District

Papua New Guinea

Reports, updates and trip summaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Kotte District of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea.

Young Adults in Global Mission

Stories, missions, and updates from the ELCA and Central States Youth participating as a YAGM.

"A Season of Global Awareness."

The 2025 Central States Synod Assembly adopted Resolution SA 25.02, "A Season of Global Awareness". Which resolved that Sunday, October 5, 2025 is designated as the Sunday to remember and celebrate our companion church relationship with the “Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Urals, Siberia and Far East” (ELCUSFE) with a special focus on the Far Eastern Deanery. (This date was chosen because the first Sunday in October is widely observed by the churches in Russia as a harvest Sunday when they give thanks and celebrate the completion of the fall harvest).

The Lutheran Church in Russia, comprised of some 40,000 congregants spread out among a vast territory extending from Kaliningrad in the west to Vladivostok in the east, has no power or influence. Yet, it persists in the face of sanctions, political challenges, and legal restrictions crafted to thwart evangelism. The church persists because the biblical witness gives us the strength to continue in the face of difficult circumstances.

- Archbishop Vladimir Provorov

On Sunday, October 5th, we celebrate our companion synod relationship with the ELCUSFE. May we also thank God for an enduring relationship that transcends borders, political divisions, and distance. Though the challenges before us are daunting, we move

forward together in faith, trusting that God is leading us, guiding us, and empowering us – all of us – for mission and ministry.

Bulletin insert for use October 5, 2025