“7Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. 8He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it. 9When the steward tasted the water that had become wine,” John 2:7-9a.
Dec. 18, 2023
Dear Friends in Christ,
I have always loved the story of the Wedding at Cana and can still hear my dad singing this line from my family’s favorite table grace, “He who fed the multitude, turned the water into wine, to the hungry calleth now, come and dine.” What does abundance look like for a synod?
This past summer, Assistant to the Bishop Pastor Phil Misner began convening monthly all of the pastors in our synod who are leading congregations in transition. They read materials in advance, check-in, share practices, pray, and provide support to one another. This support is possible because of Mission Support given to the synod.
Our synod council designated funds this summer so that each one of our pastors and deacons in their first three years of ministry could receive coaching for a year. Pastor Peg Harvey-Marose is paid a stipend to coordinate these relationships and she recently reported that everyone now has a coach! This ministry is possible because when a church closed, they gave a gift to the synod.
In the fall I led a series on Martin Luther’s treatise Freedom of a Christian and now DEM Pastor Liv Larson Andrews is leading a book study on Vine Deloria Jr’s God is Red: A Native View of Religion. The generosity of your congregation and other congregations in this synod allows us to provide learning opportunities on what it means to be a Lutheran Christian in the world today.
Our Presbyterian colleagues in Spokane have just been awarded a grant to help congregations with land stewardship discernment and they are committed to this work being ecumenical. Our Episcopal colleagues have shared that they would welcome our congregations to participate in their two-year College for Congregational Development. Mission Support gives the Northwest Intermountain Synod opportunities to foster strong ecumenical relationships that help us share the good news of Jesus alongside these partners.
We worship a God of abundance and that is clearer to me than ever as I finish my sixth month as bishop of our synod. Everywhere I turn, people, organizations, and full ecumenical bodies have time and resources to share for the sake of the gospel. Take a moment during this season of hopeful waiting and just imagine what more we could do as a synod with even more financial resources. What more resourcing, equipping, consulting, coaching, and building up of the church could this synod do, all for the sake of sharing the good news of Immanuel, God with us?
At our current rate, our synod will need an extra $35,000 to meet our budget, just $410 per congregation. Thank you in advance for your end-of-year Mission Support. The synod hopes to build on the ministries named in this letter in 2024!
Bishop Meggan Manlove
To give online to the synod, follow THIS LINK.
Checks can be mailed to:
A Place at the Table 