As I write this, we are a few days from the election. Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton has excellent words about Casting Ballots as People of Faith in THIS VIDEO, which I encourage you to watch. The other two ELCA Washington bishops and I WROTE about WA 2117 from a Lutheran perspective and I WROTE about ID Proposition 1 from a Lutheran perspective. It is an honor and privilege to vote, and I implore you to prayerfully consider what it means to vote with a Christian lens or ear. DEM Pr. Liv Larson Andrews is collecting prayers for election day from across our synod and they will be shared on Facebook and YouTube every hour beginning at 8:00 am Pacific.

And yet there is more I want to say about this season. Oct. 14-16, about 90 of our pastors and deacons gathered in Walla Walla for Bishop’s Fall Convocation under the theme Leviticus and the Land: Stewardship and Sabbath. Our presenter, Dr. Rachel Wrenn from Trinity Seminary in Columbus, Ohio, said that “Being in relationship with the deity means being linked to raw, unadulterated divine power. That’s holiness.” Wow! Later, talking specifically about the book of Leviticus (Wrenn completed the footnotes for the NRSV Updated Edition of the Lutheran Study Bible), she said that “the goal of Leviticus is to establish healthy boundaries in the divine-human relationship so that the people can safely steward divine presence and power.”

This notion of divine presence and power has me wondering what is grounding me and you and the many ministry sites across our synod during this season? By season, I mean the election season, the season of fall holidays, the season of big family gatherings, the season when the days become shorter, and the church season of Advent, all of it.

As I listened to Dr. Wrenn, I was reminded that one of the greatest gifts the body of Christ, which we call the church, can give to its members and our larger communities is the opportunity to take a breath, the gift of making space, and not just space but sacred space, space where we can bring our deepest longings to God and then be silent. In our singing and praying we make space. This is one way we safely steward divine presence and power. Around the table of Holy Communion, we make space for all who want to feast on mercy and grace. When we read scripture as community and let it speak to us, we make space to encounter the holy.

What scripture passage or prayers or sacred songs are grounding you and your congregation in this season? How are you making space for yourself and your community of faith to take a deep breath? What are your individual or collective prayers to the triune God? Finally, when we encounter the Jesus of the Gospels, God’s love can take on many different forms, but ultimately it looks like compassion. Where are you witnessing compassion?

God’s Peace,

Bishop Meggan