FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 25, 2025
The Southwestern Minnesota Synod, ELCA, Receives Grant from Wartburg Theological Seminary’s CaSTLE Project to Support Rural and Small Town Congregations
Redwood Falls, MN – The Southwestern Minnesota Synod, ELCA, is honored to announce that it has been selected as a grant recipient through The CaSTLE Project: The Country and Small Town Lived Ecclesiology Project, a five-year initiative led by Wartburg Theological Seminary to support renewal in small town and rural congregations.
With this grant, the Southwestern Minnesota Synod will receive funding to launch an initiative for the training and coaching of mentor pastors and lay leaders (Synod-Authorized Ministers – SAMs). The project seeks to deepen baptismal identity and cultivate thriving, Spirit-led communities of faith in rural contexts.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with Wartburg Theological Seminary and The CaSTLE Project,” said Bishop Dee Pederson. “This grant will allow us to enlist pastors or deacons currently serving congregations to support our Synod-Authorized Lay Ministers as they step into new roles leading congregations who are not currently served by a settled-call pastor or deacon. In our synod, we are excited about equipping our congregations and all leaders for a future rooted in hope and purpose.”

Guiding the project will be Bishop Pederson, Synod Minister Rev. Heather Culuris, Dr. Ben Durheim – Systematics, Liturgics, and Theological Ethics; Rev. Dr. Hollie Holt-Woehl – Pastoral Theology and Ministry; Rev. Dr. Anna Mercedes – Systematic, Contextual, and Lutheran Theology; and a planning team of rostered ministers, lay leaders, and SAMs. Three retreats this year will be held at retreat sites in our synod: Shalom Hill Farm and Collegeville, MN.
The CaSTLE Project, funded by the Lilly Endowment Inc., is part of the Thriving Congregations Initiative and aims to renew a baptismal ecclesiology for the long-term flourishing of rural congregational life. Synod Staff Coordinators will gather at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, IA, from August 11–13, 2025, for a summer conference focused on mutual learning, community-building, and innovation.
“We are excited to walk alongside the leaders of Southwestern Minnesota Synod in this journey of renewal,” said Rev. Ramie Bakken, Director of The CaSTLE Project.
For more information about The CaSTLE Project, visit: https://www.wartburgseminary.edu/castle-project
Local Contact:
Bishop Dee Pederson [email protected] 507-637-3904