I spent last week at the convention center in Columbus, Ohio, for the ELCA’s 2022 Churchwide Assembly: "Embody the Word". This gathering of lay people, rostered ministers, Synod and Churchwide staff, and special guests is held every three years, and is the highest legislative body in the church. Over 800 voting members from each of the 65 synods of the ELCA are tasked with electing leaders (this year, the ELCA Vice President, along with a portion of the members of the ELCA Church Council and of various boards), approving the budget, considering memorials sent from various synod assemblies, and discussing other business raised from the floor of the assembly.
In addition to the regular business, this year’s assembly also included a public apology to Iglesia Luterana Santa María Peregrina (Tuesday afternoon) and the Declaration of the ELCA to American Indian and Alaska Native People (Wednesday morning, beginning around the 1:28:25 timestamp).
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| Voting members and visitors from the SWPA Synod |
While I’ve attended many annual synod assemblies, this was my first time at Churchwide. In other years I might keep up with the movement of the week via Twitter or Facebook posts, or occasionally by watching the livestream of plenary sessions. It was so interesting (and, dare I say, exciting?!) to be on the other side of that this year, in “the room where it happened,” as it were.
It was also fun to receive text messages and get tagged in photos of myself on friends’ tv and computer screens as I spoke at the microphone during plenary sessions. What a nice reminder of how far-reaching our connections are! Our words and actions matter, and this was such a tangible reminder for me of how we never know who is watching and listening and benefitting from both the words we speak and our willingness to stand up and say them.
As with similar events, such as the ELCA Youth Gathering, I was left with a greater appreciation for the breadth and diversity of our church. It was good to be reminded that there were voting members whose first language was not English, and at certain points throughout the week, translation or bilingual worship and song were included. The moments where I didn't understand the language being spoken or sung helped me de-center myself and my own experience, and also allowed me to experience scripture in a new way, as I listened for cadences and repeated sounds. It was good to be reminded of the richness found in the variety of cherished traditions coming out of different locations and ethnic groups across the church. It was good to be reminded of both what we hold in common, and those things that are unique to each context. It was good to be reminded that the kin-dom of God is so much broader than my limited experience of people who look or speak like I do.
This was, perhaps, most apparent in worship, which was absolutely a highlight of the week for me. Each day’s worship service had a different style and feel, with a fantastic range of worship leaders, preachers, readers, and vocal and instrumental music - lament and celebration; organ and drum circle, strings and brass and electric guitar; light and fire and water; dance and fluttering ribbon; rich voices both deep and high. It was all amazing, and also - all of this would be quite difficult to replicate on a congregational or even synodical scale. This is definitely one of the gifts of this type of gathering - it allows us to be more fully “church together," and to experience and celebrate the rich and diverse talents of God's people!
In addition to COVID test kits and a reusable mug, the welcome bag we received at registration on Monday included a copy of All Creation Sings, a hymnal supplement released by Augsburg Fortress in Fall 2020. Throughout the week, we heard and sang about 30 hymns/pieces of liturgical music from that resource (most of which were new to me), which was such a delight! All of the worship services were streamed and remain available on the ELCA website, and I commend them to you (I’m listening to Friday worship again as I write this!).
While we worshiped together each day, most of our time was spent in seven plenary sessions. Synod groups were seated along one side of round tables, facing the stage, and there were six pairs of microphones staged in the aisles - each pair contained a red (speaking in opposition) and a green (speaking in favor) mic, staffed by volunteers. Around the edges of the room were spaces for various groups of non-voting members (Churchwide staff, synod staff, seminary presidents, visitors, congregational observers) as well as for members of the Church Council.
Lots of technology was involved, as the plenaries were all streamed live, plus speakers on the stage and at the floor mics were projected onto two large screens at the front of the hall, along with live captioning. Each voting member received a personalized voting card, which could be read by the Blackberry-like voting machines, as well as by the identical machines at the floor mics, which placed you in the queue to speak and allowed for the speaker’s name, pronouns, and other identifying information to be projected on the screen.
There are a number of places to get an overview of the legislative decisions made last week: Religion News Service’s “5 things you need to know from the ELCA Churchwide Assembly”, and daily summaries from Living Lutheran are both good options. Needless to say, I am still in awe of the sheer volume of work we managed to complete during the week. The agenda was packed full, and - somehow! - we addressed it all, discussing, amending, and voting on a variety of issues. Though we sometimes got tangled up in parliamentary procedure and endured sluggish voting machines, there was a spirit of patience and graciousness throughout the week. This was due in part, I think, to the thoughtful prayers and songs woven through our plenary sessions.
In the week before the assembly, I attended a Zoom training session hosted by EDLARJ (European Descent Lutheran Association for Racial Justice), as well as Zoom hearings about the budget and memorials led by Churchwide staff and relevant committee members. In addition to helping me sift through the mountain of pre-assembly reports and resources (handily available via the ELCA Guide on my iPad and phone), these meetings also served to connect me with others who shared similar goals for the assembly. This sense of community and partnership, both in advance and via meetings and text threads during the assembly, helped me more fully engage with the work of the assembly and emboldened me to speak at the mic. It was incredibly powerful to see so much that was taking place behind the scenes to empower and encourage folks to do the work, share their stories, and help make the church a more just, equitable, and transparent place.
Of course, it was not all work and worship. It was a joy to spend time with others from my synod, reconnect with seminary and camp friends, meet in real life the people whose names I see while scrolling through clergy Facebook groups, and make new connections with folks who share similar interests or mutual friends. My heart is overflowing, and I am looking forward to seeing how these relationships continue to grow.
While the work of last week was vitally important in the life of the ELCA, the fruit of that will be revealed in the months and years that follow. As a church body, we’re so very good at words, and yet the call of scripture is to embody, flesh out, live out those words in ways that are tangible, and real, and good. So - that part remains to be seen. Will our decisions and actions make a difference in the lived experience of God’s people? I certainly hope so. As I said from the mic on Tuesday afternoon, I don’t know what the outcome of this work will look like, but I’m reminded that we’re a church that is always reforming, that we are a church rooted in death and resurrection, and that we are a church that trusts the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Videos of worship services and plenary sessions can be found here, and hundreds of photos have been shared in albums on the ELCA Facebook page.
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