Assembly Afterthoughts

Today has been a quiet day in the synod office. The phone has been nearly silent, I had one piece of mail, the email has been manageable, and there have been no visitors at the door. A quiet day is welcome every once in a while. We have barely had a chance to catch our breath following the synod assembly.

Several months of preparation lead up to the two days of our synod assembly. Prior to my coming on the synod staff, I had no idea as to how much work it takes to prepare for the assembly each year. It takes a lot of work and coordinated effort to have a successful assembly. Sandy Musch and I serve as co-chairs of the assembly. I think we are made to look pretty good by our synod staff and assembly volunteers. Nancy Corey, our synod registrar does an unbelievable amount of behind-the-scenes work. The year’s host congregation, St. Paul Lutheran Church in Orion did a great job. Augustana College is a gracious host and works hard to accommodate our needs. I know of no one who comes to an assembly better prepared to lead than our own bishop. All of that preparation generally pays off in a good experience for our voting members and visitors.

This year it was so exciting to welcome additional youth and young adult voting members. The ELCA has a goal of 10% youth/young adult voting members at synod assemblies. In addition to the regular number of voting members, each congregation was invited to bring an additional youth (high school aged) or young adult (18-30 years old) voting member. The Synod Youth Assembly, as we have known it for many years, is now a thing of the past. We expect the number of youth/young adult voting members to grow in coming years.

Following the Synod Assembly, there are many “thank you’s” to be written and evaluations to be read. Nancy Corey prepares a compilation of ratings and comments from the evaluations for the staff and Synod Council members to read. Later, I receive the original evaluations so that I can make good on my promise to respond to any individual who desires it.

Those comments are important to us and are taken into consideration as we finish work on one assembly and begin planning the next. I am annually amused by those comments that seem to cancel each other out. For example, 88 individuals felt that the time spent on resolutions was either very good or excellent, while at least one person felt that resolutions should be eliminated altogether. One thing most people agreed on was that Centennial Hall was far too warm on Friday!

Some other points can be summarized easily. There is no doubt that Dr. John Nunes, president and CEO of Lutheran World Relief, was a hit. The assembly appreciated his passion and enthusiasm. The ordination of four new pastors was a highlight even as Saturday morning’s Memorial Service generated more positive comments than any I can remember. There were some comments about certain rooms being hard to find. That’s true. We try to remember always that at least 1/3 of our voting members have not attended an assembly before and don’t know their way around. We get comments about how jam-packed our assembly agenda is. We debate each year about what is essential to the agenda and what is not. There is no doubt that Friday is a taxing day for all.

We continue to search for a cost-effective to handle online payments. From some comments, I am led to believe that our pastors need to spend a little more time preparing voting members for the experience. Some voting members felt ill-equipped to discuss genetics or to vote on nominees.

If you attended the assembly and submitted an evaluation, we thank you. Of the 700 we distributed, we received 129 back. If you attend next year, you will see the impact that the evaluations made. We strive to make each assembly experience better than the last.

For me personally, as I read the evaluations, I am most pleased that our voting members and guests always go home with a better sense of who and what the Northern Illinois Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are.

Comments? Go to http://niselca.blogspot.com or comment on Facebook. For photos and highlights of the assembly, go to www.nisynod.org. --JC