This past weekend, the Grand Canyon Synod held its annual assembly at Love of Christ Lutheran Church in Mesa. While I wasn’t able to attend the entire assembly — my thanks to Brad, Tami, and Deacon Connie for representing Esperanza in my stead — my time there was a wonderful reminder of what it means to be church together, and how the church we are a part of in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America offers opportunities and connections both expected and unexpected. As a person who has spent his entire life in the ELCA (and predecessor bodies), I still find myself surprised and gratified at the connections I have made.
For me, Synod Assembly actually began hours before it did for most others, as I am a member of the Grand Canyon Synod Church Council. Prior to every assembly, the synod council meets to go over any outstanding business items and also to sometimes bid farewell to synod council members whose terms are about to expire. In our post-Covid world, we’ve adapted to meeting primarily over Zoom, so Assembly is one of the few times that we gather together in person. Also present at this particular synod council meeting this year was the Grand Canyon representative to the Churchwide Council, the Rev. Ben Bergren, who currently serves a congregation in Las Vegas. This is where I was able to experience one of those “small Lutheran Church” connections that remind me of our interconnectedness in the body of Christ.
While I was serving my first call in northern Illinois, I served a four-point parish that was located near a congregation that at the time was being served by Ben’s brother, the Rev. Arthur Bergren. But even that isn’t where the connections end. You see, one of the four congregations I served was at one point the congregation where Ben and his brother spent much of their growing-up years when their father was pastor of that congregation. Pastor Ben had been invited by Bishop Hutterer to provide a devotion to begin our meeting, and a portion of his devotional used his growing up in that small Lutheran church parsonage (not the parsonage I lived in, although I have been in it) as an illustration. I couldn’t help but chuckle at how his description lined up with my own experience some 15 years earlier.
As Assembly unofficially began that evening with registration and a devotional hymnfest, I spied across the gathering space another familiar face – Bishop Jim Gonia of the Rocky Mountain Synod, who was bishop while I served in Albuquerque several years ago. He is now on the verge of retirement and enjoying time as a grandparent, but he was present as a representative of Region 2, the broader region the Grand Canyon Synod is a part of. I had the opportunity to catch up with him briefly, and hear of news of some of my friends who still serve in Albuquerque.
In the meantime, I reconnected with a fellow Campformation veteran who also serves on the board of Leadership Lab, an annual training event for high schoolers and adults that also has roots in the Northern Illinois Synod (I had several friends attend in their younger years). Her children are a similar age to my older two, and we had an opportunity to compare notes on what it’s like to raise kids in the church.
It’s definitely a blessing to reconnect with colleagues, friends, and mentors while at events like this. It’s always surprising where we might find common connections in this church we are a part of. As I ponder the connections I have, I wonder how you might find connections within our larger church. Who might you know that you had no idea is connected to this expression of faith that is the Lutheran Church?
Next year, you may have an opportunity to find out. The ELCA Churchwide Assembly (an event that occurs every three years) is taking place in Phoenix. They’re going to need volunteers for the event, and it’s a wonderful opportunity to connect with Lutherans across the ELCA. Who knows, you might encounter a friend or pastor from years ago. You might find someone who has inside info on a favorite pastor, or a funny story to share.
Whatever it is, I encourage you to find ways to engage in this institution that we are all a part of. The ways God’s Holy Spirit continues to connect us may indeed surprise you.
Pastor Chris