To God’s Beloved People in the NW Intermountain Synod,
Grace and peace to you as we enter the 2021 holiday season!
I’m getting really tired of writing to you about COVID, took a couple of months off to see if I was going to get to stop, and it appears that was a fruitless hope—we are still living daily with the impacts of the global pandemic.
And while the pandemic has been a burden to carry, there have also been valuable, life-giving changes that have taken place as a direct result of our time living with SARS-COVID19. Some of the changes that have taken place at the synod level:
The majority of synod staff continue to work from home, and plan to continue to work primarily from home even when the pandemic resolves. Because of this reality, we are thinking of ways to reconfigure our existing office spaces into more flexible spaces—spaces that could be used for meetings, individual workspace, etc. We plan to be together face-to-face quarterly at a minimum, more often if necessary, and have discovered over these long months that we are able to work together (and maintain our staff culture) via digital tools such as Zoom, Slack, and others.
Our administrative assistant, Melody Green, had left employment with the synod and the diocese. This was a planned departure, as she needed to engage in student teaching for the master’s program she is completing. We said a sad good-bye to her at the end of August & in September we contracted with Lin Carlson to provide our digital newsletters & e-communications. This has been a good shift, as Lin brings experience in digital communication and web design to enhance our synod communications. Moving forward, if you would like to have something included in the synod newsletter, please send that information to office@nwimsynod.org. Thanks! While we anticipate calling another administrative assistant, we are also wanting to wait a little bit to see how our work life continues to evolve so we can find someone who has the gifts we need for the way we work now.
Travel continues to be an area of great change in the synod. We are traveling much less, which allows us to be much more available to congregations within the synod—simply because (thanks to the ever-present Zoom) we can meet with multiple congregations in multiple geographic areas within a matter of hours. This was a gift we didn’t have before the pandemic, and one that we continue to take advantage of to be a support to congregations in need.
We have a high number of congregations in the transition process. This was not unexpected. Typically, after some sort of traumatic event you see movement in congregational leadership. While it isn’t an absolute rule, it happens often enough that I was wondering if “global pandemic” would follow the timeline. Turns out - it does. And it follows the timeline with a much broader impact than more localized trauma. All across our synod, we have a number of congregations in transition as their pastors have discerned calls to other congregations. As I said: I was wondering if this would be the case, so I am not concerned that there is “something wrong” with our rostered leaders or our congregations. Synods all across the ELCA are experiencing the same movement along the same timeline. Know that Pastor Phil is working hard to find transitional care for congregations and filling those rostered leader vacancies as quickly as he can.
We are moving forward in planning our spring regional gatherings, in the hope that gathering in person will be something we can do safely. Be on the lookout for more information on those events after the first of the year! If you are able to help by being on the planning team, please contact Pastor Phil. He will be relying on a team this year to free him up to work with call process.
Finally, we are beginning to move into my favorite part of the year. I joke that I have reverse seasonal affective disorder—I like the cold & the darkness this time of year brings. I get so much joy out of making things cozy and warm—welcoming my family home from work & school with soup on the stove and bread in the oven, or piling under quilts to read a book and sip tea, or walking my dog while the cold air pinks my cheeks & my breath clouds the air.
But this time of the year gets to be my favorite because I have a home to make cozy. I have a family to feed soup. I have blankets and a tea kettle and books. There are many who do not, and this time of year is a time of even greater anxiety for those who are experiencing houselessness. Several of our congregations have been given a call to serve and a heart to love our houseless siblings. If you want to know more about how you or your congregation can help, please contact Pastor Alan Eschenbacher at All Saints’ Lutheran in Spokane. You do not have to be geographically located in Spokane to be a support, and can support in ways other than financial, too! As we prepare ourselves for Advent, let's not only have compassion for the Christ child born in a manger but those who are without a place to lay their heads today.
May God bless and keep you, Dear Ones. I know we are all struggling right now. My prayer is that we find our roots, our strength, our compassion in our identities as Children of God—beloved beyond all our ability to imagine. Peace be with you.
+ Bishop Kristen