Grace Place Induction

The drama of the moment could have been easily lost from where I was sitting in the back of the room.  The pastor was kneeling on the floor in front of the altar.  No kneeler.  No cushion.  My knees would have been complaining if not screaming.

The installation of the Rev. Amy Fallon as pastor of Grace Place Campus Ministry at Northern Illinois University was last Wednesday evening.  As an accommodation to the “older” people who might attend, the service time was set for 7:00 p.m.  The normal worship time for Grace Place is Wednesday at 9:00 p.m.  In spite of it being Lent, there was a good attendance, although few clergy could be present.

Grace Place is a joint ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Episcopal Church.  The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey Lee, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago was the officiant for the installation, or induction in Episcopal terminology.  Our bishop, the Rev. Dr. Gary Wollersheim, presided over the Eucharist.  The Rev. David Hedges, rector of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Sycamore and chair of the Grace Place board, preached the sermon.

Following the renewal of baptism and Bishop Lee’s questioning of Amy, symbols and tools of the office were presented to her by representatives of the community.  She received a Bible, water, her stole, a book of prayers, anointing oil, the keys to the building, a charter, the Canons of the Diocese, and bread and wine.

It was then that the pastor knelt down on the floor to pray.  I am guessing that this prayer is a prescribed part of the induction rite which is copyrighted so I will not reprint it here in its entirety.  From my seat in the back, purposely chosen since I had volunteered to distribute bulletins prior to the service, I could not see Amy, but I could hear her words.  The image was powerful.  The pastor, on her knees in a posture of humility and pleading, in the presence of her congregation and peers, prayed, “O Lord my God…to you and to your service I devote myself, body, soul, and spirit.”  “Make me an instrument of your salvation for the people entrusted to my care….” “In prayer, quicken my devotion; in praises, heighten my love and gratitude; in preaching, give me readiness of thought and expression; and grant that, by the clearness and brightness of your holy Word, all the world may be drawn in your blessed kingdom.”

As Pastor Amy begins her ministry, let us join her in prayer.  Pray for her work among the young people at NIU.  Check out the Grace Place website, www.graceplaceniu.com.  Grace Place can also be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GracePlaceNIU.

Comments are always welcome.  Go to the blog website or comment on Facebook.

Hedges, Lee, Fallon, Wollersheim (left to right)

Mission Strategy Table

Bishop Wollersheim, Bill Bartlett & Bishop McCoid

Our Synod Council meets just four times a year so each meeting’s agenda is rather full.  Even so, business was kept to a minimum at our council’s January meeting to allow for a full discussion of an idea Bishop Gary Wollersheim and synod vice president Bill Bartlett proposed.  Since each congregation of the synod (in fact, each congregation of the ELCA) has been asked to take a look at its own mission plan, the proposal was for the synod to do the same.

The Synod Council approved the idea and got to work right away.  Joining us for the meeting was the Rev. Don McCoid.  Bishop Wollersheim had invited him to facilitate our conversation.  Pastor McCoid currently serves as the Executive for Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations in the Churchwide expression of our church.  We, however, were drawing upon his deep understanding of synodical work from his twenty years as bishop of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod.

As a result of this guided conversation, the Synod Council approved the formation of a task force, or Mission Strategy Planning Table, which will be under the leadership of Pastor Gary Erickson, our new Director of Evangelical Mission, and Pastor Kurt Nordby, who just finished his work as our DEM.  Any mission strategy process helps a congregation or synod to take a look at what it is doing, how it is doing it, whether it should continue doing what it is doing, and what it will do in the future.  Folks from across the synod will be invited into the process.

A mission statement provides a measure against which to evaluate what you do.  “Making Christ Known” has been the short version of our mission statement for a long time.  Here’s the complete statement as it exists today:

The Northern Illinois Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a gathering of people created by God in Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, called and sent to bear witness to God’s creative, redeeming, and sanctifying activity in the world.  Our mission is simple: Make Christ Known.

What do you think?  Comments?  Go to the blog website or comment on Facebook.  --JC

An Invitation for Youth Leaders

What are you doing next January 31 through February 3?  If you are an adult youth leader in any of our congregations, I would like you to consider this invitation.  Join youth leaders from across the country at the ELCA Youth Ministry Network Extravaganza in St. Louis.

The Extravaganza is an event filled with worship, plenary speakers, workshops, music and displays.  It is intended for professionals and volunteers, young and old, urban and rural.  If you are engaged in youth ministry in any way, Extravaganza is for you.  I would hope that pastors would consider attending too.  I have long believed that every pastor is a youth pastor.  How about using the Extravaganza for some continuing ed?

This past weekend I attended the 2013 Extravaganza in Orange County, California.  There were a handful of us from the Northern Illinois Synod including Audrey Adams, our LYO Event Coordinator and part of the Lutheran Outdoor Ministries Center staff and Rosemary Sibley, one of our synod LYO advisors.  Rosemary and I have attended Extravaganzas in the past.  This was a first time experience for Audrey.  All three of us agreed that it was a great event.

Next year’s St. Louis location should make it easier and more cost effective for people from Northern Illinois to attend.  Extravaganza is sure to be a shot in the arm for you and your work with youth.  You will come home energized.  You will make new friends, hear new ideas, and learn about current trends and resources.

If you are a volunteer youth leader with a limited youth budget, I suggest that you speak to your pastor and congregation council about the possibility of helping pay your way to Extravaganza.  It will be a good investment.

 

You will find more information about the ELCA Youth Ministry Network and Extravaganza on its website.  Comments?  Go to the blog website or comment on Facebook.  --JC

Rosemary and Audrey waiting for the first session to begin