Loss, Grief, Resurrection, Transformation

"We are the Church"


These are the closing remarks of our Bishop Steven Ullestad's sermon at our Synod Assembly Opening Worship Friday night.  I think you had to be there.  

I was there and the tears were streaming down my face by the time he got to this part.  And I was not the only one.

Loss, grief, resurrection and transformation.   

Our synod has been through hell and back.  We've lost a substantial amount of congregations in the wake of the 2009 CWA.  

And many of those exits were just plain nasty and ugly.  And he acknowledged that in the sermon.  He referenced and showed clips of the movie "We are Marshall", about the aftermath of the 1970 plane crash that killed 37 football players on the Marshall University Football team.  

Everybody yells "WE ARE MARSHALL" - that's how we got to WE ARE THE CHURCH.

But it was when he said "We rejoice that we will never be the synod we once were" is what got me.  

Because that is, in the end what the work of grief is all about...coming to terms with the fact that you are different, life is different after loss and learning to embrace and love the new you, the new life that comes about after that life.  

And Christians of all people should be able to rejoice in new life.

But we don't.  We bitch and moan that the church is not what it used to be.  We blame and scapegoat and whine that if we just a) did what our grandfolks did or b) stopped doing what our grandfolks did  the church will again be what it used to be.  

Well that church that used to be is dead and it ain't coming back.  God never leads us backwards - only forward.

But it's hard.  There was a time in my grief where just the idea of not being in grief anymore saddened me.  Because my grief allowed me to hang on to Loren in some small way.  To give up that grief was to let go of our past.  

But it was the only way I could embrace the newness that was waiting for me.  At some point I had to just decide that I was not going to be sad anymore.  And I did.  

I think at this year's assembly we made a communal decision that we were not going to be sad anymore.  

After the bishop's sermon he asked every pastor who lost their job because their congregation left the ELCA, every member who lost their church because their congregation decided to leave the ELCA, every person who lost friends and family because of the leavings to stand. 

 And then he had the whole assembly pray for us.  And in those prayers I believe there was a letting go of the sadness and anxiety and anger and regrets  and an embracing of the newness that resurrection brings.  

And we decided to stop being sad.  

And the rest of the weekend was a celebration of what we have done this year  and a renewed commitment to mission for the future.  It was a joy.

The disciples were never the same group they were before Jesus rose and ascended to the Father. We will never be the synod we once were.  We will never be the church we once were.  We can rejoice in that. 

We are the CHURCH!

Friday Five - More Randomness

 

So the RevGalBlogPals are into Spontaneous Thinking today...  In honer of that I offer a randam picture of a Goldfinch in a tree right outside my window.  I took it with a new camera I bought for myself because I was not happy with the zoom on my other cheaper one.  I keep an envelope stuffed with cash that people give me for gifts and save up until I want something for myself.  I thought this was a good use of that cash.  How is that for a random thought?
So...
1.  What religion/faith besides yours captures your curiosity and why?  Both Quakers and Roman Catholicism.  I know, they are totally opposite right?  That's probably why. I like Roman Catholic stuff in worship way too much to ever be a Quaker but I am appreciate their simplicity idea of just shutting up until the Spirit speaks and listening to other people speak.  I don't think I could ever do that which is why I think it's important. 
And sometimes I think the Roman Catholic church is really the one true church.  Just really screwed up. 

2.  What is the first or most memorable pop song you ever learned as a kid?

I remember watching the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show the first time.  And we all went to school the next day singing "She loves you YEA YEA YEA"

3.  If God were a color.....(finish this sentence creatively) Not a color - the RAINBOW.  Of course.

4.  If you were going to make a sandwich right now for lunch, and you magically had all the items you need for it, what would that sandwich be?

 Grilled fresh Sourdough bread from San Francisco,  smoked extra sharp ceddar cheese, applewood smoked bacon and thinly sliced honey crisp apple.

5.  How are you doing?  Really, how are you? Really?  Well I had a rough night last night as I suffer from acid reflex and I seemed to suffer all the ways you can from it last night.  Not just heartburn but nausea , coughing, burning throat.  Okay, well you DID ask! (And don't bother commenting all the things in my diet I need to give up--I won't do I tell you!)

But the good thing was as I was walking around (lying down makes it worse) I looked out my window where their is a light and saw my woodchuck wandering around looking for trouble.  He didn't seem to find any as my flowers were all intact this morning.

Bonus:  What are you enjoying/loving right now? 

Having always had a lot of cats and letting them roam pretty free (no comments about THAT either) I never felt like I should have a bird feeder.  My cats are all elderly and we live in open country now so they only go out with supervision now so I put out a finch feeder with thistle right out side my window.  It did not take long before I had goldfinches and house finches.  In an attempt to attract different birds I've put out sunflower seeds and grape jelly on my picnic table.  All that attracted was more finches but they are delightful to watch.  They are very busy.  I know there are blue jays and cardinals I see once in a while but they don't care to come.  But I'm happy with the finches.

  

And I'm taking off for the Synod Assembly and am expecting it to actually be an enjoyable experience.  And I'm convening the hearings for the Social Statement on Criminal Justice   It's been very stressful trying to decide what to wear.

Seriously, the Northeastern Iowa Synod is the Best Synod in the ELCA

Our bishop is too modest to say so, but he did keep saying that the future of this synod looks very bright and he's right.

I just got back from our Synod Assembly.  I've been to many assemblies in many synods and usually I leave thinking "well that's three days of my life I will  never get back" (except for the late night poker games in Wisconsin back in the late 80s but I digress) but I left today feeling good about the church, the ELCA and my synod.  

No fighting, no wrangling, no scolding, no politcking, just uplifting and encouraging stories about the mission.  



Some highlights

A touching and inspiring tribute by the Bishop for L. David Brown, the first Bishop of the Northeastern Iowa Synod.  I thought our present bishop was the coolest bishop ever.  No. Bishop Brown was the coolest bishop ever.  In 1961 the Rev. Martin Luther King jr. was invited to speak at the ALC Youth Convention.  Then some of the bigwigs of the church though it best to uninvite him.  King uninvited himself, not wanting to be the cause of controversy.  It was Brown who talked him into coming.  He really was a remarkable man, you can read more information about him here: L. David Brown.  But it was really touching hearing our bishop speak of him because he always gets emotional about these things.

A keynote by one of our own, Pastor Steve Brackett who spoke of how his ministry at St. Paul in Postville led up to them being prepared to respond to the crisis when ICE raided the town.  I just think it was so cool to hear from one of our own, to remind us that WE are doing the work of God, here, in Podunk Iowa.

We also heard from the Rev. Twila Schock Director for Global Mission Support, ELCA, reminding us that yes, the ELCA is still doing Global Mission.

Our synod is one of the pilot synods to support the ELCA Malaria Campaign. We passed a resolution with a goal to raise $350,000 for the Malaria Campaign in three years.  We had people dressed up like farm animals holding a mosquito net to take pledges.  I mailed my pledge in last week.  I didn't know we were going to have an opportunity to throw it in a net held by people dressed up like farm animals.  I feel a little cheated.  Kind of like on 9/11/01 when everyone was giving blood--I couldn't because I had given blood the week before.  By the time the synod was over we had $60,000 in gifts and pledges.  

We passed a new synod structure, pretty much doing away with committees that meet because it says in the by laws they need to meet.  We are going to do business through networks and task forces.  Not sure how it's going to work, but I think it's pretty exciting that we are blazing the way.  And it passed with nary an argument.  Which I credit to the synod doing good work on educating folks about it beforehand and the fact that people pretty much trust the synod.  So different than the days in some synods (Ahem....WESTERN IOWA) where you couldn't even pass a budget without folks arguing and questioning nearly every line item. 


And because we did not spend time arguing, we had time at the end to have people come to the mike and tell the stories of mission going on in their congregations. 


There was nary a word about sex at this assembly.  Because the sad hard truth is that pretty much anyone that is unhappy about the sexuality statement or ministry recommendations has left the synod.  A lot of congregations and pastors have left.  We are a smaller synod with less money to work with.  But we are moving forward doing good stuff, instead of arguing about sex.  It's a good thing.

More Sex Talk at the North Eastern Iowa Synod Assembly

Just got back.  I am kind of wiped out but I guess some people actually care what happens in Iowa.

There were two main discussions on "THE ISSUE"   There was a resolution to go back to the Old visions and Expectations and to not allow any calls in the NEI Synod to rostered leaders in committed same sex relationships.  Discussion was rather muted, but respectful.  I think everyone knows that positions are entrenched.  The resolutions committee did not recommend the resolution ruling it out of order because it sought to override a decision of the Churchwide Assembly, which is the highest authority in our polity.  It got moved anyway then someone moved to refer it back to Synod Council.  Considering Synod Council first passed such a resolution, then rescinded, the assembly was not inclined to give it back to them. 

After the motion to refer the resolution failed, the chair, Bishop Ullestad, ruled the resolution out of order for the reasons stated by the resolutions committee and also because it interfered with the authority of a congregation to call their own pastor and it also interfered with the authority of the bishop's office as it tried to instruct the bishop as to what calls to approve.    His ruling was appealed but the assembly voted down the appeal. It was not even close enough for a division of the house.

Next was a motion to "repudiate" the sexuality statement.  People are always confusing this statement with the ministry policies...so there was very little discussion about the statement itself (and I seriously doubt many of those speaking against it at the mike even read the durn thing) and more discussion about gay pastors.  The motion failed, again by a wide enough margin that there was no division of the house.

Oh yea - this is the 40th anniversary of the ordination of women in the ELCA and its predecessors.  That got a nice little recognition.

Maybe next year we won't talk about sex.

The Resolution I'm Supporting and then Hopefully I'll Shut Up About this...

RESOLUTION RELATING TO TERMINATION OF DEFINED BENEFIT PENSION PLAN BY AUGSBURG FORTRESS, PUBLISHERS






WHEREAS, Augsburg Fortress, Publishers, a separately incorporated program unit of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, terminated its defined benefit pension plan by action of its Board of Trustees in December 2009; and



WHEREAS, the termination of the Augsburg Fortress defined benefit pension plan has adversely affected approximately 500 present and former employees; and



WHEREAS, individuals have asked about the background and reasons for the actions of the Augsburg Fortress Board of Trustees, and it is important to provide accurate and complete information regarding the termination; therefore, be it



RESOLVED, that the __________ Synod Assembly requests the Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to conduct a review of the actions of management and trustees of Augsburg Fortress, Publishers, regarding the background of, reasons for, and implications of the termination of its defined benefits pension plan, and to report on the results of the review at the November 2010 meeting of the Church Council; and be it further



RESOLVED, that the _________ Synod Assembly direct the Synod Council to forward this resolution to the Church Council for consideration and possible action.

Other Votes at Synod Assembly

Minimum Salary Guidelines. Why is there always some pastor who probably makes a hell of lot more money than me who has to get up and complain that the guidelines are too high and he feels so sorry for the poor poor congregations and suggests we lower them? There's always one in every synod!. It was pointed out that our synod has the second lowest salaries in the region and we are one year behind cost of living raises. His motion to lower the guidelines was soundly defeated. Personally I think Minimum Guidelines are a joke. In my entire 24 years I have never been paid guidelines and the older I get the less likely I will come even close.

The Budget passed without discussion. I have NEVER been to an assembly where nit picking the budget was not the main event.

ANOTHER study - this one on "Justice for Women" that I think is making the rounds. I did not speak against it. I fear the women in this synod already view me with suspicion because I did not support a move to require 50% women clergy on the synod council (there just are not enough of us for that and I'd probably get stuck serving on it!).

I don't like this idea of dwelling on all the injustice for women. I think there's enough injustice in this country to go around and I don't think a study is particularly helpful. Particularly in family court with issues of custody and child support, I think we could use a little work on justice for men. I would like to see some time and effort to tackle the problem of human trafficking and sexual exploitation that involves children and minors of both sexes. And frankly I'm just tired of listening to white American women with $50 hair cuts, big houses, and computers whine about being "oppressed". You still live better than most women and men in most of the world so get over it. But it passed overwhelmingly.

May 12 - Day of Remembrance and Prayer for Immigration Reform There were two - one for our synod and one to memorialize the Churchwide Assembly to do the same. Passed unanimously.

Then I came home to face the Vacation Bible School kids!

NE Iowa on Sex

The North Eastern Iowa Synod of the ELCA is a conservative synod. So it was not surprising that there were resolutions to memorialize the Churchwide Assembly to defeat the Proposed Social Statement Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust and Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies

I was encouraged that there were proposed substitute resolutions to memorialize CWA to accept the sexuality statement and recommendations. Of course they were voted down. The discussion was decidedly lacking in both passion and profundity on both sides. I guess people are just tired of talking about it and want to just vote and get on with it. Both the resolutions to memorialize to defeat passed but not by much. About 200-150 for both of them. I think that says a great deal that even as conservative a synod as ours is not of one mind on this issue. The times--they are a changing....

There was a truly awful resolution to encourage members and congregations to urge Iowa State legislature to pass a constitutional amendment to declare marraige to be only between a man and a woman. That was soundly defeated, thank goodness.

Probably the stupidest resolution was to table the proposed agreement for full communion with the United Methodist church. The reasoning?? It wouldn't be fair to the Methodists, since we are voting on the possibility of ordaining Gay and Lesbian pastors in committed relationships and currently Methodists do not ordain them. Um, the Methodists have already voted to accept this agreement. And they knew darn well what they were getting into so I find the whole thing rather specious. Anyway we voted to refer that whole question back to the Synod Council.