“Commonwealth is God’s commandment; common goods are meant to share. Tables set and doors wide open welcome angels unaware…. Sharing lavish gifts and blessings, love that no one mite withholds, stretch out arms to friends and strangers: God has sheep of many folds.” (All Creation Sings 1036)

Feb. 5, 2024

Dear Friends in Christ,

Thank you so much for the Mission Support given to the synod all year long and for helping us end the fiscal year well. We can celebrate so much from 2023, like continuing to lift up and equip candidates for public ministry, supporting Lutheran Campus Ministry on state university campuses, strengthening our long-term relationship with the Ulanga Kilombero Diocese of Tanzania, aiding Lutheran Community Services Northwest, and digging into what it means to be a Lutheran Christian in the Mountain West. I know that so many of our congregations also support our vital Lutheran Outdoor Ministry sites, ELCA World Hunger, ELCA Disaster Response, and hundreds of local nonprofits. Thank you!

In 2024 we look forward to our Regional Gatherings in Spokane Valley (April 27), Twin Falls (May 4), and Ellensburg (May 18). Instructor and writer Grace Pomroy will be with us to open up scripture and help us think about what funding ministry could like in the future, all so more people can experience the love of God in Jesus Christ. These gatherings will be an opportunity to learn, reconnect with friends, and build new relationships with people from neighboring congregations. Your mission support allows the staff to work with Grace and create what we anticipate will be three wonderful days of gathering across our synod.

Our synod Candidacy Committee has an upcoming spring meeting in which we will conduct several entrance and approval interviews. There is so much about the ELCA Candidacy process that happens behind the scenes: making the sure the committee members are prepared, coordinating with the seminaries and the churchwide organization, and most importantly caring for the candidates. This important and holy work is all possible because of Mission Support given to the synod.

Hopefully you have seen our call sheet, updated regularly, on the synod’s website. Like Candidacy, the call process involves a great deal of communication, coordination, and accompaniment. So many call committees across our vast synod have had Assistant to the Bishop Pastor Phil Misner walking alongside them in the past five plus years. Mission Support from across the Northwest Intermountain Synod funds this good and faithful work.

We know that the ELCA Lutherans across the synod want to be connected to the synod office and to one another. As staff make visits online or on Sunday mornings, we seek to nurture our connectedness to one another and to the Triune God we worship. Travel and technology are also possible because of the Mission Support given by you. Thank you once again for your generosity!

Bishop Meggan Manlove