It is a big day at the Churchwide Assembly. The ELCA meets in assembly every three years but the work of the church, at every level, continues. Which means that there really is a week of work to get done. We are committed to get the business of the church done this week, so today might be a long day.
As I reflect on our time in New Orleans some of it is hard to explain. I have watched the last several Churchwide Assemblies online and have been engaged and aware of the processes of our work. But the experience of it in person is very different. There is real power in the work we do together. It might seem as if our statements and resolutions are simply busy work, but we have always been a public church. What we say as a church, and how we create those statements matters. The ELCA Churchwide Assembly is a public process of discernment that we engage together and it makes me proud to be a part of a church that functions with such transparency. No other church works the way we do. It is in our DNA to publicly live out the Gospel of Jesus in this way. You can learn more about our statements, the decisions we have made and how we are living out our mission go to www.ELCA.org and you can live stream the plenary sessions and worship.
Update from Pr. Jeff Kallevig, Our Saviour’s, Tucson