1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being ⁴ in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it. (John 1, Gospel for Feast of Creation)

I remain grateful that the ministry sites that make of the Northwest Intermountain Synod continue to be wellsprings of God’s love. You proclaim the lifegiving Word in worship and individual disciples of Jesus carry Jesus, the Word, into their daily lives in every corner of our synod, sharing the triune God’s love and forgiveness and grace. 

Since Synod Assembly I will have visited the following ministry sites, usually on a Sunday morning: Central, Yakima; St. Mark’s, Spokane; St. John’s, American Falls; Shepherd of the Valley, Boise; St. Paul, Ontario; Immanuel, Moses Lake; Lake Chelan Lutheran-Ordination/Installation; Trinity, Nampa; Advent Lutheran, Spokane Valley; Our Savior, Pinehurst-Installation; St. Paul, Quincy and Holy Trinity, Ephrata; Luther Heights-summer camp; Lutherhaven-Boots and Pearls Fundraiser; Grace, Lewiston; Star Valley United, Thayne; King of Glory, Boise; and Peace, Colfax and Trinity, Endicott. I have visited with Prince of Peace and St. Luke leadership in the aftermath of the wildfires and I’ve met with a few other councils during pastoral transitions during Pastor Phil’s sabbatical.

Staff’s purpose (adopted December 2023): serve, accompany, and equip ministry sites and leaders of the NWIM of the ELCA so they can point to and participate in the gracious work of Jesus.

In bold below, and shaping this report, are the staff’s four subgoals, created at the same staff retreat in 2023 where we created our purpose statement. I’m surprised, three years later, how well these are still guiding our work.

Amplify collective gifts and resources by deepening and broadening relationships and partnerships.

We knew this would be a challenging wildfire season, given the low snowpack and infrequent spring rains, but we could never have predicted the Spokane Wildfires along with the wildfire that caused Luther Heights to briefly evacuate, the Little Giant Fire near Chelan, and the many wildfires whose smoke has impacted life and, as of me writing this Aug. 31, whose burn scars are impacting drinking water in Washington State. And, all of this has, as I have written elsewhere, made me ever grateful for the VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters) teams in our states and Lutheran Disaster Response’s membership in state and national VOADs. We have never been alone. I am also incredibly proud of the individual and congregational generosity that these disasters have brought forth. Thank you!

Ecumenism (and interfaith relationships) has shaped disaster relief, but it also is part of so much more of our culture. Thanks to our CaSTLE Grant from Wartburg Seminary, we kept pastors from full-communion denominations serving ELCA churches and ELCA pastors serving full-communion denomination congregations an extra day after Synod Assembly. We had sessions on preaching, worship, governance, and pastoral care. Thanks to Pastor Liv for organizing our time.

The CaSTLE Grant and synod’s long commitment to ecumenism led to an invitation for me to participate in opening worship (including ordinations) at the Oregon Idaho UMC Annual Conference in Boise. In late September I’ll be a guest at the Oregon Idaho UCC Conference in Boise. In October, Spokane Executive Presbyter Sheryl Kinder-Pile and I will be guests at the Spokane Episcopal Diocese event in Pasco. 

In 2024 I wrote the application for a Quality of Call (supporting women in ELCA rostered ministry) grant for Region 1. This summer we used grant funds to scholarship Region 1 women serving in active calls to attend the Rostered Ministers Gathering in Indianapolis AND we had a dinner for everyone from Region1 at the RMG during which we talked about gender justice in the church. In 2027, we’re planning a retreat for women rostered leaders.

Two events that anchor the fall are Bishop’s Fall Convocation for pastors, deacons, and Synod Authorized Ministers and First Call Theological Education for pastors/deacons in their first three years of ministry. I am very much looking forward to welcoming Bishop Emeritus, Pastor Leila Ortiz to Bishop’s Fall Convocation in Lewiston in October. I have been communicating with the Nez Perce National Historic Park about tours during Tuesday’s open afternoon. Our presenter for First Call Theological Education at SeaBeck in Washington will be Pastor Sara Cutter, Senior Director for Operational Effectiveness in the Christian Community and Leadership Home Area of the ELCA’s Churchwide Organization.

Develop and raise up discerning leaders who proclaim and further the Gospel.

A highlight for our Candidacy Committee was holding our first ever Candidacy Retreat at Lutherhaven. Deacon Tammy Devine was our guest presenter. The value of this retreat cannot be overstated during a time when so many of our candidates are distance learners. We will hold this retreat again in 2-3 years.

A joy of Synod Assembly was commissioning Lay Ministry Associates at Synod Assembly. We are growing into tracking these students, making sure they have pastors or deacons mentoring them, and encouraging their learning. Right now, we have LMAs in the Synod Authorized Minister certificate programs at Wartburg Seminary and PLTS. Several LMAs have completed Luther Seminary’s one-year lay school of ministry program.

It was a joy this summer to ordain and install Pastor Lynette Rose as Associate Pastor of Lake Chelan Lutheran and to install Pastor Amy Sperline as pastor of Our Savior, Pinehurst.

In one of my summer columns, I promoted next summer’s ELCA Youth Gathering in Minneapolis. About six years ago, Sacred Playgrounds did an “enormous survey of Lutheran (ELCA) clergy members in fall 2020. We heard from over 3,000 pastors and deacons. Of all the ministry spaces we examined, four rose to the top as particularly important for faith formation and call to ministry among our respondents. These big 4 ministries include Sunday school, camp, the national youth gathering, and campus ministry.” I would love to see a large group from the NWIM Synod attend the Gathering.

            Speaking of campus ministry and ecumenism, the Spokane Diocese, Spokane Presbytery, and NWIM Synod applied together in April for the Lilly Endowment’s Exploring Christian Faith Practices Initiative (though Pastor Liv and I think it’s easier to keep track of who in our worlds did NOT apply for this grant than who did). Nonetheless, if we are a recipient, our piece of the pie will support our campus ministries and Cultivating Justice, a Synod Authorized Outreach Ministry in Wenatchee. 

Equip and empower partners to practice stewardship towards solidarity in Christ.

I remain grateful for the work of our Companion Synod Committee, Domestic and World Hunger Committee, and the Eco-faith Action Network. We have our long-standing partnership with Lutheran Community Services Northwest. Thanks to a SHARE Grant, we have new partnership with the ELCA’s Organizing for Mission Network, and we hope to bring director Brother Steve Jerbi to the synod in 2027.

By the time synod council meets, I will have hosted the first of two Zoom sessions on Conscience and Conversation: A Study during the Reconsideration of the Social Statement Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust. Thanks to the ministry sites across the synod engaging in the study and individuals providing feedback to the ELCA task force.

I have enjoyed working with the Prayer and Public Life working group that came out of our spring council meeting. This work aligns so well with the biweekly conversations I have with around ten bishops focused on the national Faith in Us movement. 

We sent Pastor Ian Carr McPherson (Salem, Spokane) to the Faith in Us training in September in Minnesota. Pastor Sarah Toney (Celebration, Wenatchee) will attend the Sumud Ambassador event in Chicago this fall. Pastor Ethan Bergman and two others will attend the next ELCA Hunger Gathering. More exciting, Deidre and Lance Jacobson (St. Mark’s, Spokane) are attending the Montana Synod’s hunger ministry retreat in Great Falls, MT September 17-19, 2026, to learn more about the Montana Synod’s internal hunger grant programs/ministry.             

Our CaSTLE Grant from Wartburg Seminary ($30,000 for 2026) continues to draw people together for rural ecumenical gatherings. I’m meeting with our facilitators and my denominational counterparts online in September to discern if and what we will apply for this fall for 2027. Wartburg asked me to be one of the bishops who attends the rural ministry Lilly Endowment gathering in Indiana in October.

This summer, Bishop Brenda Bos (Southern CA) and I were the two bishops on the Lilly Storytelling Initiative Advisory Team for Regions 1 and 2 (using a $50,000 preparation grant to apply for a 5 million five-year grant for the two regions). We were invited to apply this round so unless we really messed up, we should learn by December that we will receive the grant. 

Cultivate a team culture that enables our collective work and individual thriving.

Pastor Phil Misner received a sabbatical. Alleluia! Pastor Terry Tuvey Allen was a wonderful interim assistant to the bishop. Please thank her if you see her around the synod. 

Our staff decided to extract the Candidacy part of Cathy Steiner’s large job description and hire a Candidacy Manager. We had three excellent applicants. Cathy, Candidacy Committee Chair Cory English (Calvery, Post Falls), and I were the hiring team. We offered the position to Pastor Tricia Christman and she will start training in September, overlap with Cathy for the October Candidacy Committee meeting, and then take over the role completely.

All Saints Legacy

All Saints Lutheran, Spokane had their service of completion or holy closure May 31. There will be more gifts from All Saints’ legacy as the payments for the building continue. With the $25,000 initial gift to the synod, we followed our gift policy and then made additional decisions:

$2,500 to Churchwide for Mission Support

$2,500 to the Wells Endowment for Campus Ministry

$3,000 to fund the PLTS Certificates in Lay Ministry for three lay people.

$3,000 for two pastors/deacons to attend the Faith in Us training in Minesota in August (only one ended up attending)

$14,000 to be held in bequests for later needs

Besides the NWIM Synod, other organizations were/are recipients of All Saints’ legacy. From the All Saints Dissolution Trust Document:

Net Proceeds shall be distributed in the following percentages:

Beneficiary	Address	Percentage
Spokane Urban Ministries	1423 W. Broadway Ave., Spokane, WA 99201	30%
Lutheran Community Services Northwest	210 W. Sprague Ave., Spokane, WA 99202	20%
NWIM Synod Campus Ministry	c/o Northwest Intermountain Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 245 E. 13th Avenue, Suite A, Spokane, WA 99204	15%
Lutherhaven Ministries	3258 W. Lutherhaven Rd., Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814	15%
Salem Lutheran Church	1428 W. Broadway Ave., Spokane, WA 99201	10%
Northwest Intermountain Synod ELCA	245 E. 13th Ave., Spokane, WA 99204	10%