Most of you know I am a voting member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s (our church body) churchwide assembly. We gathered in Phoenix, AZ for this important work.
The “national church” does its business every three years in an assembly format. In between those three years, the ELCA church council acts on behalf the entire church. I am honored to serve on our ELCA church council (until this Saturday).
This is an important assembly as we tackle the issues of the day and elect a new bishop.
The ELCA has 65 synods (regions, areas, districts). Each synod elects a bishop to oversee that area. Our synod, The Grand Canyon Synod is led by Bishop Deborah Hutterer. However, there is also a national bishop, and they are known as the presiding bishop.
Like the synod bishops, the presiding bishop is elected for a six-year term. This year, our current presiding bishop, Bishop Elizabeth Eaton is retiring. Therefore, this churchwide assembly took up the work of electing a new presiding bishop.
On Wednesday, this voting body elected the synodical bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod. His name is Bishop Elect Yehiel Curry. I know him and our church is in good hands. I am excited for our future.
Also we passed an important memorial about the atrocities of Indian boarding schools. This resolution calls for (779-7 vote) the church to observe the National Day of Remembrance for Indian Boarding Schools annually, develop educational programs and materials surrounding the history and ELCA’s complicity with Indian boarding schools, and provide ongoing recognition and support for the continued work to locate all known records regarding the ELCA predecessor churches’ involvement with Indian boarding and day schools, among other actions.
We are working on lots of other things too. It is important to take stands on important issues of the day. Hopefully by Saturday I will have more to report.
And yes, we have been worshipping too. We are keeping Jesus at the center of this assembly.
I am tired, but I am renewed, blessed and excited to see that Jesus is still working on us, in us and through us (as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America).
God bless you,
Pr. Ben