Coming Attractions

While it may seem a bit early to some of you to be thinking about the Synod Assembly, we (your synod staff) have been working on the assembly for months.  In fact, it will be just a few short weeks until congregations receive registration materials.

This year will be our twenty-fifth annual assembly.  In the summer of 1987, congregations of The American Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Church in America, located in the twenty-two counties of what would become the Northern Illinois Synod, gathered together in a constituting convention at Augustana College in Rock Island.  The Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches was also a part of our merger, but I do not recall any AELC congregations in our area.

That first gathering was a bit awkward.  There were lots of new faces, many of us had never been on the Augustana campus, and with an ecclesiastical ballot we had no idea of who would be elected as our first bishop.  That meeting was masterfully presided over by Dr. Robert Marshall, former president of the Illinois Synod (LCA) and later president of the Lutheran Church in America. We all left excited about the possibilities for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and our life together in northern Illinois.

Twenty-five years have passed with remarkable speed. We who were young pastors then are now the seasoned veterans.  We have watched ministry and congregational life change.  Conventions became assemblies, delegates became voting members and our language became inclusive.  All the while, the mission of the church has remained the same, to make Christ known, to make disciples.

This year’s assembly will help us look back, but it will also propel us forward.  Anniversary celebrations can be a lot of fun.  We remember the way we were.  But, I think it is of even greater importance to also consider who we will be.  This assembly will help us do both.

Former ELCA Presiding Bishop Herb Chilstrom will be at our assembly to preach at our anniversary worship.  This special service, to which the whole synod is invited, is scheduled for early afternoon on Saturday, June 16.  Your congregation’s choir will be invited to participate as well.  Former ELCA Secretary Lowell Almen will be this year’s Bible study/keynote leader.  The Rev. Wyvetta Bullock, executive for administration, will be our ELCA representative.  Of course, we will also be taking care of business, welcoming additional youth and young adult voting members, and celebrating the rite of ordination.

It’s shaping up to be a great assembly.  If you won’t be attending as a voting member, please consider attending the assembly as a visitor or, at the very least, participating in the anniversary worship.  I know that you will be glad that you did.

Comments?  Go to http://niselca.blogspot.com or comment on Facebook.  --JC