Let me begin this letter by telling you how pleased I am with our New England Synod in these challenging times:

Our congregations, leaders and ministry centers have risen to the challenge. Pastors and Deacons are working extremely diligently alongside worship teams to bring online worship to our congregations.
Food ministries, hospitality centers and care for the homeless and vulnerable are continuing across the territory of the synod.
Laypersons are stepping forward to serve as shepherding chaplains to small groups in their congregations.

These might be difficult times, but we, in the New England Synod, are stepping up to the challenge! Thank you!

Synod Assembly

The Synod Council met this past Saturday via Zoom and made some important decisions. One of those decisions was to not hold Synod Assembly this year (2020) and instead move our three-day Assembly to 2021. In accordance with the Synod Constitution, the Synod Council will attend to all business until that time. Any business that cannot be addressed by the Synod Council will be moved forward to the 2021 Synod Assembly.

This decision was made based on a recommendation from the ELCA, in consultation with the ELCA Office of the Secretary along with legal counsel, and is within the parameters of our constitution. Aside from this guidance, the Synod Council also deemed it unwise to bring 450+ people (many of whom are over the age of 65) into one room for three days anytime in the near future.

If you have already registered and paid for assembly, your fees will be refunded. However, please note that this will take some time as we will have to process these refunds in the form of written checks. Please be patient - you do not need to request a refund; it will be issued automatically. If, however, you made hotel reservations, you need to cancel those directly with the hotel.

CARES Act

Many of you are wondering how the recently passed legislation, known as the CARES Act, applies to our congregations. This is a complex piece of legislation that our synod attorney and treasurer are reviewing. Later this week we should have additional information to share. In the meantime, this link provides a summary of some aspects of the bill.

In-person Worship

As nearly all our New England states are in various stages of “Stay-at-Home" executive orders, and the number of those diagnosed with COVID-19 continues to rise, I want to underscore our responsibility as Christians to be role models. We are called to attend to the needs of others - it’s not just about us. This includes our desire to have in-person worship.

I encourage you to listen to the orders of your state governors as well as health care professionals. Tied into this, there is some debate regarding how we are to understand ourselves in relation to “essential” vs. “non-essential” organizations. We should consider ourselves non-essential when it relates to worship gatherings. (Please note, I’m speaking in this instance practically, not theologically.)

Among New England Synod congregations, there are now several members who have tested positive for the virus. It’s time for us to be cautious. This is a long way of saying, please refrain from in-person worship for the foreseeable future.

Some of you have asked about practices of worship as well as Holy Communion. I’ve written about this in two recent articles. You can see them hereand here. Please refrain from various online strategies regarding Holy Communion.

Holy Week Worship Resources

We will not be worshiping in-person during Holy Week, but it doesn’t have to mean that we will not be worshiping at all. As one person remarked, “This year Holy Week may be more like the original one than in most recent years”:

Recall the Hebrew slaves sequestered on the night of the first Passover marking their doors, staying inside for fear of a cloud of death moving about the land of Egypt.
Recall the abandonment on the cross, and Jesus’ words, “Why have you forsaken me”?
Recall the early morning journey to the tomb, Jesus resurrected and as disciples move closer to him, he says, “Do not touch me?”

Our Synod Worship and Spiritual Life Team has prepared some resources that may be of help for Holy Week as well as other aspects of congregational life in these times. They can be found on our synod website: https://www.nelutherans.org/covid-19-resources

Bishop’s Easter Season Message

Lastly, I’ll be recording a sermon which can be used for your worship services on the weekend of April 18 & 19 (2nd Sunday of Easter). I’ll provide a text, audio and video version. You’ll have options to use the format that works best for you.

I have delayed providing a sermon for some time now as I’ve wanted our congregations to "grow their glue." I want congregations to be connected locally as much as possible and wish that to continue through Holy Week and Easter Day. However, it strikes me that:

Many of our preachers could benefit from a weekend off.
By that time we will have been into this stay-at-home mode for at least a month.
The Sunday of Doubting Thomas seems a good time to speak a word of hope.

I’ll make sure you get the necessary worship items by Tuesday, April 14th.

Thank you for your thoughtful attention to what matters most.

Sincerely in Christ,

Bishop James Hazelwood