Day One in Minneapolis

The first day of the Churchwide Assembly is always a long one, especially since so many voting members travel early in the day. Today was no exception. I returned to the hotel shortly after 11:00 p.m. The second plenary session begins tomorrow at 8:00 a.m., so it will be a short night for everyone.

All of our voting members from Northern Illinois arrived safely. I have managed to speak to most of our voting members and many visitors from the synod, but not everyone yet. Synod staff members are seated in their own section and I do not have access to the voting members’ area, so a quick “hello” is not always possible. By tomorrow I am sure that I will have spoken to everyone!

I drove to the Twin Cities yesterday and spent the night with friends. This morning I turned on the radio and one of the lead local news stories had to do with the tough decisions the assembly will make this week. The person whom they chose to interview was predicting schism for the church. It was not the best start to a morning.

The assembly began this afternoon with worship. Bishop Mark Hanson preached a powerful sermon in which he said, “The story is not yet written.” He said that he has heard of the anxiety, dissension and predictions of division. Bishop Hanson asked the voting members to let God hold their fears rather than allowing their fears to hold them.

I watched as faithful members from across our ELCA received the bread and wine of Communion. It was good to see people, who may vehemently disagree with each other later in this week, come with open hands.

After supper, it took a while to work through the rules for the assembly and the agenda, but that work got done and the assembly is off to a good start.

Our voting members do appreciate your prayers. Remember to follow the assembly at http://www.elca.org/. There are lots of options for you to choose. --JC