Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ–

 

I begin today reflecting on the words of our Presiding Bishop Mark Hansen from August 21, 2009 while speaking to the 2,000+ in attendance at the Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America that met from August 17-23.  These words conclude his comments, as pastor of the Assembly, immediately following the controversial decisions made in regards to sexuality.  Bishop Hansen proclaimed:

 

“We meet one another finally not in our agreements or our disagreements but at the foot of the cross where God is faithful, where Christ is present with us, and where by the power of the Holy Spirit we are one in Christ.”

For whatever reason, I personally think that that reason is GOD, Bishop Hansen’s words have spoken to me.  “We meet…at the foot of the cross….”  As I see church bodies, congregations, disciples quarrel over “issues” within themselves, I continue to see churches decline.  As I see well intentioned, and well-meaning people of faith get bogged down on polar sides of issues, I see a world continue to hurt.  As I see us turn in on ourselves, I see the church, not the Gospel but the church, become even less useful in and to the world.

 

Yes, we the ELCA, made some decisions.  And yes, some of us agree with the decisions, and some of us do not, and most of us don’t really know what the decisions all mean.  By the way, that is precisely where we are…we do not know what it all means yet.  Prior to August 2009, it can be said that most if not all of us did not agree with everything about the ELCA.  The question now is, “Where do we, at HCLC, go from here?”  I believe that answer is simple:  God has given us work in Kingwood, Texas and beyond as Holy Comforter Lutheran Church.  He has charged us:

 

 

 

We live in a community that needs to hear and see and experience the words of grace, forgiveness, mercy, and salvation to all.  We live in a world that needs to know that God always comes down to His people.  People need to know that God cares and loves all.

 

We all make our decisions at the foot of the cross.  At the cross is where God, in Christ, decided to die for us.  At the tomb of Christ, God decided to give us life.  So now, what will be our witness in our decisions?  What will be the story we tell in our lives?  What do you say today?

 

Peace, Pastor Barb

—

Here’s a brief explanation of how we make decisions in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in

America. I start with part of an article originally published in the May 2009 Stimulus (hence

the italics) and then go on to explain more. Hope this helps answer some questions. –

Pastor Barb

 

What is the Synod Assembly of Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod? First we must answer the question, “What is a synod?” The Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast synod, of which Holy Comforter is a part, is one of 65 synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In this case, the word synod refers to an assembly of congregations that are located within specific geographical boundaries, including specific counties of specific states.

The Synod Assembly of the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod is the synod’s highest legislative authority (decision-making body). A regular meeting of the Synod Assembly must be held at least biennially, according to the synodical constitution. The voting membership of the Synod Assembly, of which at least 60 percent of the voting membership shall be composed of lay persons, is constituted of all ordained ministers under call on the roster of this synod, all associates in ministry, deaconesses, and diaconal ministers under call on the official lay roster of this synod, all retired ordained ministers on the roster of this synod, and a minimum of one lay member elected by each congregation. (The total number of members of a congregation determines the number of lay voting members that may be elected to the Synod Assembly.) In brief, the “work” of the Synod Assembly is to elect leadership that serves at the synod level including the bishop, officers, the synod council, and ministry leaders; to establish the budget for the synod; to maintain the vision of the synod.

Holy Comforter is privileged to send three lay voting members and the pastor to the Synod Assembly based on the size of our congregation. As voting members of the Synod Assembly, the three lay voting members and I have the responsibility to listen thoughtfully, examine wisely, consider with insight, elect with care, act conscientiously, and seek prayerfully the guidance of God’s Spirit in all matters of the Assembly.

Susan Cotton, Peter Kaleda, Marsha Seale and I went as voting members from Holy Comforter to the Texas Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod Assembly, May 28-30, 2009 in Sugar Land, Texas. Following the Assembly, with the publication of the above article and conversations in Church Council, questions were entertained, as well as the invitation to see Assembly reports at www.gulfcoastsynod.org.

We now move on to the question of “What is the Churchwide Assembly?” The Churchwide Assembly is the highest legislative authority (decision-making body) of the churchwide organization (the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) and deals with all matters which are necessary in pursuit of the powers and functions of the church. The duties of the Churchwide Assembly are to review the work of the churchwide officers and units, to establish churchwide policy, to adopt a budget for the churchwide organization, to elect officers, board members, and other persons as provided for by the constitution and bylaws, to have the sole authority to amend the constitution and bylaws, to fulfill other functions as required in the constitution and bylaws, and to conduct other business as necessary to further the purposes and functions of the churchwide organization.

Each synod elects one voting member of the Churchwide Assembly for every 5,800 baptized members in the synod. In addition, each synod elects one voting member for every 50 congregations in the synod. The synodical bishop, who is ex officio a member of the Churchwide Assembly, is included in the number of voting member. The Texas Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod sent 11 voting members who were elected at the 2008 Synod Assembly.

The names of these folks are as follows:

Kurt Koopmann

Chris Markert 

Sue Moehring

Evan Moilan, VP

Robert Moore

Meredith Nelson

Ada Norman

Mike Rinehart, Bishop

Barb Simmers

Carroll Shaddock

Stanely Sommer

One of the distinct changes with the merger of the predecessor Lutheran bodies into the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is the church’s understanding of the role of participants in Synod Assemblies (formerly known as district meetings) and Churchwide Assemblies. Within the predecessor bodies, participants in the business meetings of the larger whole were called delegates and their charge was to vote as would its’ constituency and/or the organizations or units which they represented. Now, as a voting member of either a Synod Assembly or the Churchwide Assembly, persons have the responsibility to listen thoughtfully, examine wisely, consider with insight, elect with care, act conscientiously, and seek prayerfully the guidance of God’s Spirit in all matters of the Assembly. Voting members vote their own good conscience. Why this change from delegates to voting members? The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America holds that wherever it is gathered, whether as a local congregation, a Synod Assembly or a Churchwide Assembly, it is, we are, the ELCA. Just as individual members of congregations make decisions, so do individual members of Synod and Churchwide Assemblies. The decisions of the ELCA are made by the ELCA.

The church, acting within the means of grace, made some difficult, life-changing decisions the week of August 16, 2009, some dealing with sexuality. While we do not all agree with all decisions that were made, and while we do agree we do not have a consensus on most, if not all, issues, as Bishop Mark Hansen, Presiding Bishop of the ELCA, stated:

We meet one another…not in our agreements or our disagreements but at the foot of the cross where God is faithful, where Christ is present with us, and where by the power of the Holy Spirit we are one in Christ.

It is at the cross that we as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America have also decided:

• to advocate on behalf of a peaceful resolution of the conflict between Israel and Palestine;
• to be in full communion with the United Methodist Church (UMC);
• to raise $10 million dollars to support the ELCA HIV and AIDS strategy;
• to support a program that seeks to eliminate malaria in south- Saharan Africa by 2015.

Bishop Hansen went on to say:

“The church needs to be a safe place for rich theological conversation, biblical inquiry and faith expressions and explorations, a quality of the Lutheran Church for 500 years.” By the grace of God, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and in the shadow of the cross, we as the ELCA will do the work of God in the world. Brothers and sisters, we are in a time of discernment, we are in a time of change as the church. Remember that God is with us, and that He is leading us. The question we ask, “What will be our witness? What story shall we tell?” For more information regarding the Churchwide Assembly, please see our national website at www.elca.org.