Minister’s Musings
On August 13, I’ll be heading to Minneapolis to attend our church’s biennial Churchwide Assembly. I’ll be ironing albs again for a week (This is God’s sense of humor since normally I barely touch an iron during the two years between assemblies). I usually am at work by 7 am because we instruct the worship assistants every day around 7:30 am and then I assist them with finding an alb that fits. This is very rewarding as many people have never had the opportunity to assist in Holy Communion before and have never worn an alb. We usually have 3 communion assistants at 13 communion stations plus a presider at communion, a preacher and an Assisting Minister, a book bearer and 2 torch bearers (candles). That’s 44 people assisting at each daily worship service. When the people come back, I iron the wrinkles out of their alb, check for stains or candle wax, take out the masking tape hems if there are any and put the albs back on the racks arranged according to size so we are ready for the next day. Other people wash and dry the communion ware, and take the purificators (napkins) and other altar linens home and wash them. The altar cloths are generally changed every day and I often assist with that as well.
In my free time, I look at all of the displays of organizations that we are a part of such as Lutheran Disaster Response, Lutheran Campus Ministry, World Missions, etc. Our book publisher, Augsburg Fortress always has a huge display room - about twice the size of a school gymnasium - with lots and lots of temptations (interesting stuff as well as books).
This year I will meet the new head of the ELCA worship team, Robert Schaefer. He was assistant to the Bishop of the Florida-Bahamas Synod. Most of the other team members I have met before and look forward to seeing again. Some are on the churchwide staff and others are like me, volunteers who come to be a part of the Assembly.
Why do I do this? For me, Churchwide Assembly is an amazing spiritual experience. There are thousands of delegates from congregations all over the country who come together to envision the future of the ELCA. These people have very different experiences and very different understandings of what it means to be a Lutheran in America. There are “high church” Lutherans and “low church” Lutherans. There are people from the east coast and from the Midwest, from Washington, Alaska, Hawaii and California. There are Norwegian- and German-Americans, Hispanics and African Americans, Orientals and South Pacific Islanders. Our ELCA is a very diverse church!
What I really love is that when you walk into the assembly room, you can almost feel the Holy Spirit moving in that place. Prayers are said before each vote and even if I don’t agree with the decision, I feel that it is the decision God wants at that time.
This year, the Assembly will be voting on some very important issues. We will be voting on whether or not to enter in to full communion with the United Methodists. We will also be voting on whether or not to accept the Social Statement on Human Sexuality and the recommendations on policy changes that would come from the social statement. A full text of the Social Statement and the Recommendations are located at the ELCA website: www.elca.org. Click on “What we believe” and then on “Social Issues” then “Social Statements in Progress,” and finally on “Human Sexuality.” You can also look at the copy in my office. Other items that will be voted on include:
* A request for a social statement on sexism
* Funding of the HIV and AIDS Strategy
* Lutheran Malaria Initiative
* Changes to the ELCA Constitution, Bylaws,
and Continuing Resolutions which mainly
seem to have to do with making our constitution
more in line with current laws on disability, changes
to the composition of the Board of Pensions, the
Mission Investment Fund Board and the Mulitcultural
Ministries Program
* Passing the 2010-2011 Budget
I am honored to be able to serve the Church in this way and grateful to come home again to St. Peter whose people are so much a part of God’s mission to bless and heal this world. May you find rest and inspiration in August. Please continue to pray for our Churchwide Assembly August 17-23.
In Christ,
Pastor Betty
