“We have such great opportunities around us. We live in a place where the Gospel is really news to a lot of people, and where every congregation is in a mission field, where people really need to hear from us about God’s love and God’s goodness.

“And to have a mission, to have a reason to be a-live in the church, that might be God’s greatest gift to us.”

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The assembly closed with a resolution of gratitude and thanksgiving for Harold Sargeant, AIM, who is retiring after faithfully serving the synod for six years, as well as a resolution of gratitude and thanksgiving for all people who worked to organize, plan, and run the Synod Assembly.*

Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson commended the Assembly for re-electing Bishop Graham, who he said “brings deep theological wisdom to this office and a passion for the Gospel”.

Closing worship began at 12:19, significantly earlier than anticipated. Worship was led by the Rev. Kate Davidson, worship committee chair, and the Rev. Eric Wester, chaplain for the Assembly. It ended with an installation of all people elected to Synod Council or other position of synod leadership.

“Go in peace, serve the Lord.” “Thanks be to God!”

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*Including you, Rose Beeson! Your words put us all in the room during the 2013 Synod Assembly.

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Pr. Hirsch began by showing a series of slides with various metrics regarding worship attendance and congregational life, including adult baptisms which peaked in 2009 and sharply declined since and worship attendance which has been steadily declining since tracking began in 2004. A new metric, “Active Participants,” measures people who are active in a congregation but would not be considered members (for whatever reason). It is a new indicator that has been being used by the national ELCA office since 2009.
Pr. Hirsch then called forward the Rev. Dave Sonnenberg, Chair of the Stewardship and Mission Table, who introduced a new resource titled “Embrace Generosity.” That handout as well as “Generosity,” a  30-day devotional book by Gordon MacDonald, are available.

The following is my paraphrased attempt at taking notes on Pr. Hirsch’s presentation on discipleship and challenge that each of us would reach out to a person who is not currently churched and does not know Christ.

• Our efforts to make disciples, to bring people into the faith, cannot be motivated because we want to keep our congregations and the ELCA viable. We need to take a step back… and think about the fruit we hope to be bearing. We know what to do when a young couple brings a baby to us to be baptized, but we don’t know what to do when young couples stop bringing their babies to us to be baptized. Lutherans have historically struggled with creating disciples and bringing new people to Christ. The good news however is that God isn’t us looking to create the church – God has called and commanded us to make disciples.
• What are disciples, and how do we go about making disciples for Christ? Disciples are ones who sit at the foot of a master and seek to become like that master – an apprentice of the master. Pr. Hirsch shared an incredible story about the Rev. Connie Thompson who shared the hope of the resurrection with a server at a restaurant, and he challenged us to do the same. What would happen if in the next five years each of us were able to reach out to someone who isn’t involved in church and doesn’t know Christ? We’d go from a synod of around 30,000 to around 60,000. Nationally the ELCA could grow from 4 million to 8 million. It just takes a lot of courage to meet the deepest human need that is out there – the need for connection in the midst of hurt. Underneath the wealth and pretense of perfection in our region there is a deep pain that Christ can heal.

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To break us out of our mid-morning slump, Alice Benson, Regional Gifts Planner with the ELCA Foundation, led us in a rousing ditty sung to the tune of “The Church’s One Foundation.” The words aptly describe the mission of the ELCA Foundation:

The Rev. Phil Hirsch, Director for Evangelical Mission and Assistant to the Bishop, followed with his report. It introduced new words to the synod organizational vocabulary, starting his talk with the “Tale of Two Tables,” and brought in several speakers who described new ministries in the synod. These included a reshaped Together in Mission Event and a personalize-able stewardship resource, “Embracing Generosity.”

The post Is a song better than coffee? first appeared on Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Synod.

The morning opened at 9:35 a.m. with a prayer led by Bishop Hanson.

Activities included an almost unanimous vote to refer the by-law changes to Synod Council for further discussion, and reports from synod leaders.

In her report, the Rev. Amy Thompson Sevimli, Assistant to the Bishop, commended to us an article in The Atlantic titled “Listening to Young Atheists: Lessons for a Stronger Christianity.” The article says that many young adults don’t find mainline congregations meaningful because of the lack of focus on the way Jesus really matters in our daily lives. She also invited presenters forward to share stories from two recent synodical trips that were taken by young adults in the synod – one to the US / Mexico border and the other to Israel and Palestine. A Synod Youth Protection Policy has also been created, as requested by a previous Synod Assembly. Pr. Sevimli opened and closed her remarks with the verse: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

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Bishop Graham re-elected!

After worship and dinner, Voting Members tiredly re-assembled to hear the report of the second ballot for bishop. There was loud cheering at the announcement that Bishop Graham had received 211 of the 238 ballots cast, and was therefore re-elected as bishop.

In good Lutheran fashion, the Assembly became carefully involved in detailed discussion surrounding proposed amendments to the bylaws regarding the synod’s organizational structure, around divisions and committees. Discussion surrounding the proposed amendments was tabled for further discussion tomorrow.

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The afternoon continued on into the business of the synod, hearing reports (available on the website), being introduced to the Mission Spending Plan (synod’s budget), receiving greetings from the Rev. Michael Cooper-White, president at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, and conducting elections.

All the uncontested positions of synod leadership were elected by acclamation. This resulted in several representatives to Synod Council being elected, as well as members of the Committee on Discipline. Contested positions (positions with more candidates than the number of openings) will have their elections later during this Synod Assembly. A report of the first ballot for bishop was given. Of the 240 ecclesiastical ballots cast in the first ballot for bishop, 180 (75%) were required for election. No election was made.

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Afterward, he offered the Bishop’s Report. He offered multiple vignettes to share some of the incredibly inspiring stories he has witnessed in his ministry as bishop. He spoke of the synodical trip to Namibia and our Companion Synods there, where he was overwhelmed by the Christian forgiveness, kindness, and charity shown by one of the bishops who had lost a family member in a violent attack. Closer to home, Bishop Graham recently attended a Tamil speaking (from southern India) Lutheran congregation in the Metro D.C. Synod which, after noticing a frightening looking motorcycle gang hanging out across the street, invited them to attend worship and the fellowship meal the following Sunday. This took courage, and it resulted in the bikers attending worship and joining the congregation for a great home-cooked Indian meal! God works in mysterious and amazing ways, Bishop Graham affirmed.

The Rev. Norma Castillo de Menjivar brought greetings from the Salvadoran Lutheran Synod in El Salvador, a Companion Synod with ours. It comprises 57 congregations and ten bishops with a growing national presence. She presented Bishop Graham and the Metro D.C. Synod with a lovely traditional El Salvadoran cross. The Metro D.C. Synod worked hard to facilitate Pr. Norma’s husband (also a Lutheran pastor) and children to come visit the U.S. with her. Unfortunately, U.S. officials were not willing to give the children visas, as they thought the family would flee El Salvador. Speaking of a time in her country of excitement and challenge, she especially asked for prayer as her nation elects its next president.

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GETTING STARTED
Synod Assembly opened with worship. A spirit-inspiring rendition of “Built on a Rock” was accompanied by a magnificent grand piano. Bouquets of yellow balloons, emblazoned with the ELCA’s 25th anniversary slogan – “Always being made new” – adorn the room, swaying from the ends of the tables. The registrar reported a total of 227 Voting Members present as business began.

NEW CONGREGATION WELCOMED
The Rev. Phil Hirsch, Director for Evangelical Mission and Assistant to the Bishop, joyfully welcomed the Oromo Resurrection Evangelical Church, a recent addition to congregations of the ELCA in our synod. Key leaders and a number of youth and young adults regaled the assembly with song and a corresponding slideshow, preceded and followed by warm applause from the assembly.

GREETING FROM GUESTS AND PRESIDING BISHOP
Introduction of guests who quipped about sharing “delightfully short greetings” was immediately segued to the greeting from The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the ELCA.  Bishop Hanson challenged all Voting Members and visitors to immediately call/text/tweet/write a friend and share a word of encouragement during the middle of his presentation. Humming conversation arose on the assembly floor as many attendees rose to his challenge and made contact with a friend. He noted that at times, it seems like fear is binding all of our imaginations. He encouraged us to trust that the Holy Spirit is working even when we cannot sense it.

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Although the look should be streamlined (compared to how it is now), @dcsynodelca Twitter feeds can also be read from our home page.

By the way – did you notice the new “Election of Bishop” page? While this isn’t the only item on the Synod Assembly agenda, but the process is laid out on this page for easy reference.

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