Bishop Manlove’s Report to Northwest Intermountain Synod Council
Jan. 27, 2024
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8)
We exist first and foremost to proclaim this life-giving gospel. What does this look like for an ELCA synod bishop? I am using the introduction to the election, read by ELCA Secretary Sue Rothmeyer at Synod Assembly 2023, to frame this report. A bishop is….
A Pastor: It has been a privilege and honor (and quite fun) to preach and/or preside at Emmanuel, Moscow (Installation); Grace, Mountain Home; Faith, Caldwell; Zion, Spokane Valley; LCM Cheney/Spokane (Installation); Our Savior, Pinehurst; St. John’s, American Falls; and at Bishop’s Fall Convocation since our October meeting. I also dedicated foundation stones and participated in an ordination during the trip to the Ulanga Kilombero Diocese of Tanzania.
A Servant: I attended my first meeting of Pacific Lutheran University’s Board of Regents (three of the six Region 1 bishops sit on this board). I helped plan and carry out First Call Theological Education; five synods in Region One all together at Camp Lutherhaven with our pastors and deacons (those serving in their first thru third years of ministry). I sit on the synod Candidacy Committee and am working with the seminaries on internship sites and general support for our candidates. With the entire staff, we continue to plan our spring Regional Gatherings.
A Symbol of Unity: I have begun to build relationships with LuAnn Ferguson of the Mission Investment Fund (taking over Region 1 for Joel Wudel), Nick Kiger from ELCA Stewardship and Mission Support (taking over our synod from Victoria Flood), and Josh Kerney from the ELCA Foundation (filling in until Beth Adam’s successor is hired). I invited Vance Blackfox, ELCA’s Director of Indigenous Ministries and Tribal Relations, to be our Fall Convocation speaker. I continue to build relationships across the synod with Episcopalian bishops, Methodist district superintendents, Presbyters, and others.
The CEO: We had a wonderful staff development retreat in December. One of many outcomes was creating our staff purpose: 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. Part of my work with Nick Kiger (see above) was on an end-of-year appeal letter to decrease our projected deficit. I will convene a Stewardship Team for the synod in 2024 to help congregations with their own financial and all-around stewardship. During the pandemic we lost track of several congregations, but we are slowly re-connecting and re-engaging with each of them. I have chaired the Synod Authorized Ministers task force of the synod council, and we have definite goals for 2024.
21They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. 22They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 25But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.27They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
Happy Installation Sunday Immanuel Lutheran! Thank you for your faithfulness to the gospel these past nearly three years, for patience, for love, for good Spirit led discernment. I know it was hard because as cluster dean I walked alongside several council presidents and one deliberate and steadfast call committee chairperson. Today we finally get to celebrate a new pastor called to the corner of Fort and 7th and a new chapter of Lutheran ministry near downtown Boise, Idaho. Alleluia!
Preparing an installation sermon was an easier assignment a few weeks ago when the appointed gospel text was the calling of the disciples, that was before a snowstorm delayed today’s festivities. In a way, today’s gospel calls us all back to why we are here. Rather than focusing on the relationship between pastor and congregation, we have to point to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, who you all and Pastor Lewis will bear witness to together, in what we call mutual ministry. In this next chapter of Immanuel Lutheran’s, you will point to and share the good news of a God who came to dwell with us and bring new life.
At the heart of today’s gospel passage is Jesus’ first public act. We should take note because this is his first. It might seem strange to our 21st century ears and eyes when we first hear or read about Jesus’ exorcism of the demon. I have done lots of blessings, but no exorcism. But let’s not let that fact distract us.
What is Jesus really doing to this man? He is liberating him. First Jesus rebukes the demon, “Be silent.” Then he casts the demon out, “come out of him!” And the unclean spirit comes out. The man if free and his life is changed forever.
We can barely count the ways that Jesus has changed this man’s life. His physical body is changed, no longer possessed by the demon. Yes. Jesus cares about actual physical bodies. The man’s social standing is forever altered, for the better. This means his mind and spirit are going to be changed as well. He can be part of community now. Through the exorcism, Jesus has liberated the man in so many ways.
In Jesus, God is doing something new, but it is not entirely out of character. Remember that the central story of the Hebrew Peoples’ past is the liberation from Egypt, through the Red Sea. The Passover is still celebrated by Jews every year. Each year, on Maundy Thursday, Christians remember Jesus and his disciples celebrating the Passover.
Then, on Mount Sinai, God gave the 10 Commandments to the liberated Israelites. We think about rules confining us, limiting us, but these rules were given so every single person in the community could live an abundant life. Over and over, God has been a God of life and liberation for all people.
The story of the exorcism continues this theme and makes it new. As one pastor said, “Jesus has come to oppose all the forces that keep the children of God from the abundant life God desires for all of us.” Let me say that again, “Jesus has come to oppose all the forces that keep the children of God from the abundant life God desires for all of us.”
Is that not a message we still need to hear? Is it not a message people need to hear in Boise, the Treasure Valley, in Idaho? Of course, it is, because there are still forces that bind us, forces that keep the world from experiencing the abundant life God desires for all creation. Such binding forces include systemic racism, polarized worldviews that demonize one another, loneliness, and environmental disregard, just to name a few big ones.
What does this look like for our personal embodied lives? Each one of you can probably name forces that bind you. I know that some of the strongest forces in my life that go against God’s desire for abundant life, are simple and every day. Chiefly, these forces include the deep need to continually produce and the desire to be perceived as enough.
I do not mean to imply that productivity and quality are inherently bad, but when they are not checked, they can bind me and others in destructive ways. I believe we are pushing our individual selves, our systems, and our natural resources too hard and too fast. It is destructive for our communities, the earth itself, and our embodied selves.
“And yet,” those are our words of promise and hope. And yet, the kingdom of God breaks in through Jesus Christ and offers a new way—a way of abundant life and liberation. And Jesus comes as one with authority. As we hear in our scripture passage from Mark this morning, this authority seems to permeate everything he does and speaks. Jesus’ authority, I would contend, comes from those two things aligning. Jesus’ actions align with his words.
The scribes, who Jesus is contrasted with, depend only on words and teaching. We read that Jesus entered the synagogue in Capernaum and taught. The text says, “They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” Jesus is not teaching something new. He comes from and follows the same tradition as the scribes.
But he is giving a different interpretation. The scribes’ teaching has not liberated the people. It has, instead, oppressed and enslaved them. Jesus brings a new interpretation. And Jesus not only teaches this liberation with his words. He also pairs it with his actions by exorcising the demon.
Where does this leave us, those of us who are trying to faithfully follow Jesus today? Rev. Dr. Wil Gafney says, “We can no longer pretend that we can follow [Jesus] without following him into the broken places of the world. We can no longer pretend that we can follow Christ without paying an exorbitant price at some point. We can no longer claim we follow Christ if we never leave our places of safety and never raise the ire of those who construct and benefit from the systems that impoverish and imprison.” We all are both liberated from and liberated for.
Today is not only Installation Sunday for Immanuel, but also annual meeting Sunday. I assume that your annual meeting packet includes many words attempting to tell the story of how individual members and the entire congregation tried to follow Jesus and bring life and liberation to the broken places of our community.
Certainly, you have brought life to the hurting and bound places in the community through the ministry of Food Fellowship, Quilts, and Feed My Sheep. Celebrate also the worship, bible studies, and Messy Church that nourishes you to be sent forth. Consider too the many ways each of you shows neighbor loves in hundreds of individual actions and decisions.
When we are wavering about what to do, where our own authority comes from, we need only look to the life and ministry of Jesus, who came “to oppose all the forces that keep the children of God from the abundant life God desires for all of us.” Whenever we need a reminder of this life, we come again to the meal. It is this banquet, thousands of years after the exorcism in Mark 1 that reminds me that God sees and loves me, embodied as I am. Here we feast together on bread and wine, which become gifts of Jesus Christ’s life and healing. We are liberated once again and given new life. As we will pray after Communion this morning, Giver of every gift, Christ’s body is our food, and we are Christ’s body. Raise us to life by your power for the benefit of all and to your glory, now and forever. Amen.
Augustana Chapel (8:15am worship) an updated and bigger sanctuary (10am worship) and . The full installation service took place during the 10am service but we did include a prayer of blessing at 8:15.
I spent all day Saturday with an incredible group of people talking about camps, congregations, families, and faith. From the Rhythms of Faith website:
“The Rhythms of Faith Project seeks to empower parents and caregivers in family faith formation by leveraging the power of camp experiences to establish rhythms of faith through regular Christian practices.”
And, “This project is a 5-year, nationwide, cross-denominational initiative coordinated by Wheaton College’s Center for Leadership Development (HoneyRock), in partnership with Sacred Playgrounds, and generously funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. The project seeks faith formation through partnership: partnership among parents/caregivers; partnership among camps, congregations, and the home; partnership among practitioners and the academy; partnership among different Christian traditions. We bring together scholars and practitioners from Lutheran, United Methodist, and Evangelical traditions, drawing experience from camp, clergy, and academia.”
This round of Lilly grants was, in large part, kick-started by Christian Smith and Amy Adamczyk’s book Handing Down the Faith. You can read about all of the grant recipients following this LINK.
I first got to know Jacob Sorenson from Sacred Playgrounds when I was serving on the Lutheran Outdoor Ministries national network board. We attended an ecumenical camp board gathering (Outdoor Ministry Connection) at a Methodist camp in Florida a number of years ago. Jake led the task group coordinating empirical research about the impact of camp and I co-led a group that created an ecumenical interim camp director training. A few years ago, when Sorenson finished his book Sacred Playgrounds, I wrote a review of it for The Christian Century magazine. .
Advisory Team
I love that this project brings together two of my favorite things: outdoor ministries and ecumenism!! I also am passionate about this project because the synod I serve as bishop includes three Lutheran Outdoor Ministries sites: Luther Heights Bible Camp, Lutherhaven, and Holden Village.
A bonus of serving on this advisory team, was getting to visit historic Wheaton College for the first time ever. Even though I attended graduate school in Hyde Park, Chicago for three years, I never made it to Wheaton.
Harbor House at Wheaton, our home for the day.
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I was scheduled to preach and preside at an installation in Boise this Sunday. That installation at Immanuel, Boise was postponed by Wednesday and will now happen Jan. 28. My second plan was to worship at Faith, Caldwell, my new church home. My presbyterian friend Kevin was surprised this week to learn that ELCA bishops join churches, as he has only ever had membership, while a paster, in the local presbytery. My plan has been to follow Alaska Synod Bishop Shelley Wickstrom’s example of joining a different congregation every year.
At 7:30am, Pastor Lucas Shurson texted that it sounded like the snow storm had made the roads pretty bad, and he would send me the Zoom link or 9am worship. I responded that that would be great. If a pastor who went to college and seminary in Minnesota suggested me staying home, that was worth paying attention to. Faith, Caldwell is currently worshiping using All Creation Sings Setting 12, which I love.
I haven’t been able to get to the Lower Central Washington cluster yet in my term, so at 10am Mountain I went to Central Lutheran, Yakima’s YouTube Channel and joined them for worship. Retired Pastor Ginny Krekling was filling in as preacher and presider for Pastor Ann Murphy. The choir sang a few pieces. At the end of worship, the musician announced that Central would be hosting an MLK service that afternoon. I heard two quite different sermons on John 1:43-51 (Shurson and Krekling) but they were both so faithful to the text and the day–such a gift.
I got outside to do some shoveling. About two-thirds of the way through shoveling my parking pad and sidewalk, my neighbor and his dog joined me. Rich has lived two doors down from me since I moved into this home in 2011. He and his wife are getting ready to go on the adventure of a life time (involving race cars and travel) and it was fun to catch up.
The other cluster I wanted to visit was Big Bend, so I went back inside and hopped on the Facebook page for Emanuel Lutheran, Ritzville for their 11am Pacific worship. They follow the Narrative Lectionary, so I got to hear Pastor Nathaniel Christman (who leads Emanuel and St. John, Sprague with his wife Pastor Tricia Christman), preach on Mark 4:1-34. Well, I got to hear most of the sermon, because the live feed dropped for a bit. Emanuel was using Marty Haugen’s liturgy Now the Feast, so it was fun and easy to follow along.
I am grateful for all of the pastors, deacons, and council members who had to make decisions about what to do on this Sunday. I loved reading the Facebook messages, which I assume were echoed in emails and texts, encouraging everyone to be safe and do what’s best for your own health and safety. As I was as a parish pastor, I give thanks for those who plowed, shoveled, and handled worship streaming technology. This snow storm that hit the Boise area is something we have not seen since Snowmaggedon 2016-2017. Happy shoveling everyone and thanks to all who proclaimed the gospel on this winter morning.
Originally sent to the congregations of the Northwest Intermountain Synod to be included with 2023 congregational annual reports.
“13 Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them…” (Luke 24)
Dear Friends in Christ,
Welcome to annual meeting season! I hope that in addition to doing the important work of electing leaders and/or approving budgets, your congregation’s annual meeting is a time to celebrate the way the Holy Spirit is working through your congregation and the many ways God’s love is shared in your larger community, across the Northwest Intermountain (NWIM) Synod, and around the world. I am writing this letter in early January, after reading Christmas cards full of laments for Israel and Palestine, Ukraine, and so many other places where violence harms the innocent. But the letters also spoke of the deep hope that comes from trusting in the abundant love and life that comes from the Triune God we worship. I encourage you to rejoice in this hope during your meetings even as you pray for peace.
At the end of April, the NWIM Synod Assembly gathered under the theme Bega Kwa Bega (shoulder to shoulder). We use this Swahili phrase because Swahili has no word for accompaniment, the term the ELCA uses to describe companion synod relationships (like our relationship with the Ulanga Kilombero Diocese of Tanzania) and the many other relationships in our neighborhoods and communities. The scripture story at the heart of our understanding of accompaniment is the Road to Emmaus from Luke Chapter 24, which begins with Jesus walking should to shoulder with two disciples who do not recognize him. The teaching document on accompaniment states, “We, and our acquaintances on the road, are all part of the body of Christ. We walk the Emmaus road every day and the people with whom we share the journey accompany us and we accompany them. The Emmaus road story helps to illuminate Accompaniment, a theology of mission. We see that mission is a journey, and that this journey, taken with many companions, shows us the unexpected and sometimes unrecognized Christ who walks with us. In this journey, we break bread together, we move toward Christ’s mission of reconciliation between us and God, between us and one another.”
Now, anything can become an idol, even a theology. I am not inviting us to worship at the altar of accompaniment, but I do find it a helpful theme and thread for our mission as a synod. Our rostered leaders leaned into accompaniment when we heard from Vance Blackfox at Bishop’s Fall Convocation. Accompaniment will be in the background during our three spring regional gatherings (Spokane Valley, Twin Falls, and Ellensburg) where we will talk about Funding Forward and stewardship. Most important, accompaniment is what each of our congregations and ministries do locally—you are accompanied by your neighbors, and you accompany them. Accompaniment is sometimes hard, other times joyful, and occasionally puzzling. Our synod staff also seeks to accompany you, whether in the call process, a new adventure, or a time of struggle. The English word synod combines two Greek words that literally mean a way together.
In the life of the church, the other place the word accompaniment arises is of course in worship, during which the instrumentalist accompanies the assembly in singing. This may not be shoulder to shoulder, but what joy we have when the instrument and assembly are in sync! All our accompaniment in the world is grounded in worship. We are both sent from worship to serve, and we return to be fed and nourished. Thank you, finally, for your faithful worship of a God whose love in boundless.
Bishop Meggan Manlove
A number of other resources are available to tell about the impact of your partnership and generosity. We hope you include these in your annual reports or as part of your annual meeting, and share the story of our life together!
4John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
9In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him.11And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Yesterday was Epiphany, the day the church celebrates the magi’s bringing gifts to infant Jesus. That day served as a bridge between the short Christmas Season and the Time after Epiphany, a season of manifestations of who Jesus is. We who follow the three-year cycle of scripture passages find ourselves back in Mark’s gospel.
There is no prelude to this gospel where you will read about shepherds, angels, magi, a star or a stable. There’s not a word about Mary and Joseph. Mark’s story of Jesus begins at the river: “In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.” We do not even hear the cosmic wonder that opens John’s Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” Mark is far more ordinary and direct” “In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.” Jesus entered the river with others to be washed in a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Does it seem strange that Jesus submits to a baptism of repentance? It’s okay if you wonder about that. Just remember this is where Jesus will spend his earthly life–in the midst of sinners–eating with them, talking with them, healing them, calling them. Why should his baptism be any different? Jesus went under the waters of the Jordan as the others had–under the waters his ancestors crossed after 40 years of wilderness wandering. Historic waters, even though they looked quite ordinary.
Did Jesus look up at the sky before he went under the water? The narrator doesn’t say. But we do read that when Jesus came up out of the water, wet from the Jordan, he did look up, and he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.
There’s no indication that others saw this–only Jesus. He saw the heavens torn apart. The Greek word there is a form of the verb schitzo as in schism or schizophrenia. It is not the same word as open. I open the door. The door looks the same. But something torn apart is not easily closed again. Picture in your mind’s eye the ragged edges that will never go back together as they were. The use of schitzo is deliberate. It recalls the prophet Isaiah’s plea centuries before when he cried out to God, “Oh, that you would tear the heavens open and come down to make your name known to your enemies and make the nations tremble at your presence.”
Now Jesus stood in the Jordan, dripping wet, without a hint that anyone else saw the heavens torn apart or saw the dove or heard the voice. We have no indication that the nations were trembling. But that did not mean that nothing had changed. It does not mean that the world was about to turn, to quote Jesus’ mother Mary. Though we usually imagine God speaking in a booming voice, resonant and deep, that voice is more often heard in movies than in Scripture. God’s voice can be a whisper, a breath, quiet as the still small voice that reached Elijah hiding in his cave.
At the Jordan River the voice that came from heaven spoke to Jesus alone. I like to imagine that it was intimate and direct. “You are my Son, the Beloved. With you I am well pleased. In you my Spirit will be present on the earth in a new way.” The heavens were torn apart, and they would never close again.
Sometimes that’s how I feel about the world right now. When I was in high school, the Berlin Wall came down. The Cold War that shaped so much of my youth seemed to be ending. I didn’t understand it all, but I heard about real Peace Talks in the Middle East. I remember watching the film of Rodney King being beaten but there seemed to be so much progress in race relations in our country. National and state politics consisted of a two-party system, but there were regular stories about compromise. All of that feels torn apart to me and I can’t see how we’re going to piece things back together.
And yet, and yet I know that the torn place is where God comes through, the place that never again closes as neatly as before. One pastor [Barbara Lundblad] reminds us that from the day he saw the heavens torn apart, Jesus began tearing apart the images of who people thought the Messiah was supposed to be–
Tearing apart the social fabric that separated rich from poor. Breaking through hardness of heart to bring forth compassion. Breaking through rituals that had grown rigid or routine. Tearing apart the chains that bound some in the demon’s power. Tearing apart the notions of what it means to be God’s Beloved Son.
Nothing would ever be the same, for the heavens would never again close so tightly. At the end of his life Jesus hung on a cross between heaven and earth. When he breathed his last, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, torn apart as the heavens had been torn apart. The holy of holies no longer separated the sanctuary from the people. That curtain could never be repaired either. There was no voice from the darkened heavens that day. God was silent, not even a whisper.
But there was a voice not far off but close. A centurion soldier stood at the foot of the cross keeping order, marking time, waiting to pronounce death. When he saw that Jesus had breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son.” Who gave him that word? We are never told. That soldier had somehow heard for himself the words whispered to Jesus alone at the Jordan. The word came through the torn place in the sky, through the torn curtain: “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
Is there a torn place in your life: relationship that ended, an addiction finally confronted, the loss of a job, a lifelong dream that’s shifted? Or maybe it’s watching the American Falls community change as growth continues—new jobs but also new people and a crunch when it comes to housing? Whatever life looks like going forward, it may be more like a true crazy quilt or it may be full of patches, still beautiful, but not what it was before it was torn apart.
Jesus stepped into all of this when he was baptized, an act of solidarity with the rest of the community, with all of humanity. What a gift, what good news for each of us who is called Child of God. The same Spirit that entered him, entered each of us in our baptism, not the entrance to a special club, but as an inauguration to abundant life. This abundant life is not without pain or brokenness. If we truly follow Jesus, there will in fact be difficulties.
But it is a life with hope and companion and a God who loves us. And God continues to enter into the torn places and moments. It truly is God’s method of operation. “You are my own Beloved Child.” You likely have had or have now a torn place, but God is in it. The same is true for your neighbor and me, for this community of faith, for the larger Upper Snake River Valley. Even as we leave the season of Christmas, we remember that Jesus remains Immanuel, God with us.
Originally published in the Northwest Intermountain Synod January 2024 e-news:
“…. anthems be to thee addressed, God in flesh made manifest.” ELW 310
Songs of Thankfulness and Praise has always been a favorite hymn of mine, ever since I had to memorize it for a Concordia College Christmas Concert. Epiphany and the Sundays that follow make up a season with stories which show forth who Jesus Christ truly is. The magi’s visit, Jesus’ baptism, the call of disciples, casting out demons, healing, and the transfiguration are all epiphanies, moments in which God in Jesus Christ is made manifest.
It always struck me as an interesting coincidence that Time after Epiphany overlaps with at least the beginning of the state legislative sessions. In the first few weeks of the session (both Washington and Idaho’s sessions begin Jan. 8 this year), citizens get manifestations of the legislative bodies, through bills, speeches, meetings, and local reporting. We talk often in the church about how Jesus made sure people on the margins were brought into the main story; these individuals often take primary space in the pages of the four gospels. As people following Jesus, our eyes and ears should be attuned to what space the marginalized today have in legislative bills and at their hearings.
As we collectively prepare for the legislative season, I think we also do well to borrow the language Franciscan Father Richard Rohr used when naming his Center for Action and Contemplation. Jesus himself modeled both of these—casting out demons, feeding, and healing and then stepping away to pray. We are called to both advocacy and prayer, always both. Some of us are more gifted or our natural charisms may lean into one or the other, but as communities of faith we should hold these two together and probably in conversation.
Our new worship resource, All Creation Sings, has an abundance of prayers for the individual and assembly. I love the first two in the Faithful Living section, the first for each of us and the second for public servants (p. 50). The ELCA has a plethora of resources for advocating on a variety of issues. Our synod supports the Faith Action Network in Washington and in Idaho I found many active coalitions that are issue specific.
The ELCA recently posted the DRAFT ELCA Social Statement on Civic Life and Faith. The Introduction begins, “Daily we are to pray as Jesus taught: ‘Your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread.’ These words teach us that God’s will seeks the well-being of creation and all aspects of human life, including civil society (Micah 6:8) and the blessing of the gospel to join God’s work in society….” I encourage you to read the draft and comment. The Civic Life and Faith study is also still available and very well done.
But also stay informed about the state legislatures, your local city council and school board, and planning and zoning commissions. Write emails expressing why your faith compels you to speak for those whose voices are hushed or silenced. And pray for public servants, those in your congregation, those you agree with, and those you disagree with. Pray for your own neighborhood.
We are also called to listen. Listening is crucial to both prayer and advocacy. It is a huge part of Christian discipleship, to listen—to the Word of God through scripture, to neighbors and strangers and friends, to the stirrings in our own souls, to other followers of Jesus, to people who society tries to mute, and to the Holy Spirit.
German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote this about listening, “The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists in listening to them. Just as love to God begins with listening to His Word, so the beginning of love for the brethren is learning to listen to them. It is God’s love for us that He not only gives us His Word but also lends us His ear,” Life Together. God be with you as you pray, advocate, and listen in this Time after Epiphany.
I just returned from a full weekend in the farthest east cluster of our synod, though I did not make it into Wyoming on this trip.
Not wanting to risk driving in the snow after dusk, I drove over Friday afternoon. This gave me some time to rest Saturday morning before the ecumenical Epiphany worship service at Good Shepherd Lutheran, Pocatello. The Episcopal priest preached, the Methodist pastor presided at Communion, and ELCA Pastor Wayne Shipman led the rest of the liturgy. We each got chalk as we left worship to chalk our thresholds.
Our synod covers four presbyteries and we do a lot ecumenically, so I try to keep nurturing my relationships with the four presbyters. Cathy Chisolm and I met for coffee at Gate City. I parked in a business’ parking lot and got to enjoy the art in this alley, not quite as professional as Freak Alley in Boise, but some fun art nonetheless.
Sunday morning I preached at St. John’s Lutheran in American Falls. Pastor Jon Beake, who as been there over 15 years, presided. It was quite a snowy morning so attendance was low but we all had a great conversation after worship, talking about the changes in the community, what the congregation has meant in people’s lives, why their Christian faith remains vital. Everyone really does have a faith story.
Pastor Beake gave me a tour of the massive building. The gymnasium is used for community youth basketball five nights a week. The congregation moved children’s faith formation to Thursday evening and it’s thriving. American Falls has new businesses coming in–Lamb Weston (think McDonald’s french fries) is building a plant which should employ 600 people and a Ridley’s Grocery store just opened. The community also has a housing shortage.
Pocatello is home to Idaho State University, which houses the Idaho Natural History Museum, open on Sunday afternoons. So after lunch with Pastor Beake, I toured the museum. It is fabulous! Parts of it reminded me of the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, SD, an hour south of my home town of Custer.
Pastors from the cluster drove to Pocatello from Twin Falls, American Falls, and Jackson so we could all enjoy lunch together before I headed back home. It takes five hours to drive across this one cluster, but this group has worked hard on collegiality and it was so good to see and hear their mutual support of one another. We missed Pastor Ann, but she couldn’t miss her ELCA Family Systems Academy sessions.
“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!
Last Sunday would have been my parents’ 52nd wedding anniversary and today is the third anniversary of my dad’s death. I’m so grateful to my former congregation for the way they cared for me in December 2020 and I’m thankful my new job let me spend this week in Arizona with my mom. We went out the saguaro forest Sunday, which dad would have loved. The Black Hills, the land near Highland Lake, NY where camp Koinonia sits, the banks of the St. Croix River, the Iron Range of Northern Minnesota, and so many other natural places are what my dad loved so much. He and mom spent a lot of time exploring the desert the last 20 years of his life so it was fun to go and stand under the saguaros.
Lots of people have speculated about what my dad would have thought of my becoming an ELCA synod bishop this year. We’ll never know. Lately I have mostly not worried about it and instead given thanks for the love he gave me and so many others and the things I learned from watching him. In November, Ralph Yernberg was honored with the Manlove-Howells Leadership Award, named after my dad and Paul Howells. In his acceptance speech, Ralph said of my dad, “Jerry was into leadership development. He was the great connector of all time. He always asked “do you know this person? Have you met that person?” Both of my parents are great connectors and somewhere along the way, I must have seen that and paid attention to it because it’s absolutely one of my methods of operation. I think, “the world would be better if I could connect those two people.”
