A Summary by Bishop Meggan Manlove
“6 Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are being destroyed. 7 But we speak God’s wisdom, a hidden mystery, which God decreed before the ages for our glory 8 and which none of the rulers of this age understood, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the human heart conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
10 God has revealed to us through the Spirit, for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For what human knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. 13 And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual. ”
Dear Friends in Christ,
The above text was the second passage for our Monday morning worship at Churchwide Assembly in Phoenix, AZ. It was an honor to be one of the seven voting members from the NWIM Synod at this Assembly, under the theme For the Life of the World.
Inside this e-newsletter you will find news about our newly elected Bishop-elect Curry (see video below) and Secretary-elect Mills.
We also elected ELCA Church Council members, including Rev. Dr. Barbara Rossing from Faith, Leavenworth.
We adopted our newest Social Statement: Faith and Civic Life. Rev. Dr. Anthony Bateza, one of the co-chairs of the statement’s task force will be with our pastors and deacons this fall.
We approved updates to the Human Sexuality Social Statement.
We heard the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church’s final report along with the ELCA Church Council’s response to the report. The CRLC’s work also found its way into some of our Constitution revisions.
We adopted a Memorial that has us standing for the End of Occupation of Palestine (I have been thanked by several people for NWIM’s Pastor Dane Breslin’s words about this Memorial). Video of speech
We received the Common Statement on the Filioque (which I wrote about earlier here).
Our own Mondo Davilla (Celebration, East Wenatchee) served on the important Reference and Counsel Committee during Assembly, so we rarely saw him at lunchtime.
We adopted another Memorial on Indian Boarding School Remembrance.
One evening, we participated in an educational Powwow and later in the week
AMMPARO held a Candlelight Prayer Vigil for refugees and immigrants.
Our synod joined voting members and guests from the Greater Milwaukee Synod (our domestic companion synod) for a wonderful dinner.
Every day was grounded in amazing worship services. We were fed by sermons by
Bishop Elizabath Eaton;
Rev. Imad Mousa Dawood Haddad, bishop-elect, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land;
Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, General Secretary and President of the National Council of Churches; and
Rev. Wyvetta Bullock, ELCA executive for administration.
We heard an amazing presentation from Professor Chad Rimmer from Lenoir-Rhyne University and Southern Seminary. He introduced me to/reminded me of this wonderful quote by Martin Luther:
““This life, therefore, is not righteousness but growth in righteousness, not health but healing, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise; we are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it; the process is not yet finished, but it is going on; this is not the end, but it is the road; all does not yet gleam with glory, but all is being purified.” ”
I don’t know how long the recordings of the plenaries and worship services will be online, but if you can, please watch some of them! You can also check out Living Lutheran online and watch for the next print edition.
Live video of the plenary sessions will be accessible at www.elca.org/CWA.
-Bp Meggan Manlove