Bishop's Easter Message 2026

Holy Trinity - May 31, 2026

Pastor Joel Pakan, Director for Rural Ministries for the South Dakota Synod, has prepared a sermon and transcript for Holy Trinity Sunday. Following the Revised Common Lectionary, the text for Sunday, May 31, 2026 is is Matthew 28:16-20. A video recording of this sermon is available at https://foodforthejourney.substack.com/p/holy-trinity-sunday-year-a-sermon [https://foodforthejourney.substack.com/p/holy-trinity-sunday-year-a-sermon]

Second Sunday of Easter - April 12, 2026

Pastor Tom Opoien, South Dakota Synod Rural Ambassador for the South-Central part of our Synod, has prepared a video sermon for congregations to use for the Second Sunday of Easter. Following the Revised Common Lectionary, the text for Sunday, April 27, is John 20:19-31. A video recording of this sermon is available at https://foodforthejourney.substack.com/p/sermon-for-the-second-sunday-of-easter-8c2 [https://foodforthejourney.substack.com/p/sermon-for-the-second-sunday-of-easter-8c2]

Bishop's Easter Message 2026

Bishop Constanze Hagmaier delivers her 2026 Easter message to the South Dakota Synod’s congregations, rostered ministers, and members: “…Christ is risen. And that changes everything, not because the world suddenly looks different, but because we now know what is ultimately true. So when we say we are Easter people, we are not talking about being cheerful or optimistic…We do not deny the weight of things. But we refuse to agree that death, division, or despair gets the final word.” Watch on YouTube [https://youtu.be/EXqG8LpwQXY] or Vimeo [https://vimeo.com/1179683174] (with Closed Captions). You can download a manuscript here [https://sdsynod.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/2026-bishops-easter-greeting.pdf].

Rev. Linda Manson - Closing Worship - Region 3 Quality of Call Event - January 2026

The Rev. Linda Manson (she/her/hers) is Director for Evangelical Mission/Assistant to the Bishop for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, ELCA. This sermon, based in the Magnificat text (Luke 1) was preached on January 14, 2026 at the Region 3 Quality of Call Event.

First Sunday of Christmas - December 28, 2025

Pastor Renee Splichal Larson, Associate to the Bishop of the South Dakota Synod for Candidacy, Congregation, and Rostered Minister Accompaniment, has prepared a sermon and transcript for the First Sunday of Christmas. Following the Revised Common Lectionary, the text for Sunday, December 28, 2025 is Matthew 2:13-23. A video recording of this sermon is available at https://foodforthejourney.substack.com/p/first-sunday-of-christmas-sermon [https://foodforthejourney.substack.com/p/first-sunday-of-christmas-sermon]