Every three years this church holds a gathering of voting members from all 65 synods to conduct business. I just returned from the 2022 gathering in Columbus, Ohio. What follows are a few personal highlights and reflections. However, for a more thorough overview I commend to you the series of articles written by Mitch Robinson, assembly voting member and current member of St. Luke Lutheran Church in Gales Ferry, CT. You can find the first of his articles by clicking here.

Three moments stand out for me. The first is the election of Imran Siddiqui as Vice president. This is a volunteer or non-stipendiary position in our church. The chief responsibilities include chairing the meetings of the ELCA (national) church council, as well as serving as a public face of lay leadership in this church. I happened to be sitting next to Imran throughout the assembly and enjoyed brief exchanges. I found him appropriately lighthearted at times, yet also intentional about new ways of being church in a changing world. I view his election as indicative of a shift to a younger generation of leaders for our church. There were other aspects of this assembly that marked this turn, but Imran’s election captures it most clearly.

The second moment of significance is the many decisions that are pointing this church into a new direction. The resolution on establishing a Commission to examine the structures, practices, and patterns of the ELCA is the most visible. But there were other amendments to our current governing documents that also point to the ever-evolving nature of this church. Many of these resolutions and amendments passed by overwhelming large margins of 80 or 90%. This signaled to me a desire to move forward with restructuring with boldness and a vision. In other words, I see a hunger for something BIG and BOLD, not simply tweaks. More thoughts on this later.

The third significant moment for me occurred one evening while walking back from dinner. I was alone and happened upon the four representatives of Iglesia Luterana Santa Maria Peregrina. This is the congregation in California that experienced the crisis surrounding the removal of their pastor. (See here for background letters I have written) I had met these four at the beginning of the assembly, so we recognized one another. Following a humorous exchange involving selfie photos with a mildly inebriated fraternity group, we settled into a serious conversation about the next steps following Bishop Eaton’s apology. The four members of Santa Maria had received the apology as a genuine act of contrition and were interested in the continuing process of reconciliation. Of Primary importance to them now is follow through and next steps. I gave them my assurance that Sierra Pacific Interim Bishop Claire Burket is the right person for the current situation. We concluded with a warm embrace and prayers right there on the street. The moment was marked with tears and laughter.

The church is not perfect. It is made up of flawed human beings. We do well to remember that we are simultaneously saint and sinner. We pray that the Holy Spirit will work through us. We live in times where the flaws of our church seem to be more evident, yet I hope we can lean into the blessings of being church. We don’t have it all figured out, and it’s likely that we never will. But my prayer is that with each step, God will find a way.

Bishop James Hazelwood

For more about the Churchwide Assembly see www.elca.org/churchwideassembly