Easter greetings to you all! We are now entering into the month of May, and it is an exciting month! It is exciting because on May 3-4th representatives from all 146 congregations of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod (SEPA) will be gathering for its annual assembly. However, this assembly is more than just regular business. This year we will be electing a new bishop to lead and guide our synod. Bishop Patricia Davenport has made the decision to retire after gracefully leading SEPA for the past 6 years. We thank her for her service and leadership, especially for her leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. She showed great care for each congregation during those difficult times.
This task of electing a new bishop is very important. Who we elect will have an impact on our synod and on the greater ELCA. The role of the bishop in the ELCA is wide. They oversee the ministry of Word and Sacrament in their synod, which gives them the duty of ordaining and installing rostered ministers. They represent us at Churchwide in the Conference of Bishops. They perform other administrative duties in the synod and promote relationships with local organizations. They also provide pastoral care, and they “Interpret and advocate the mission and theology of the whole church.” Bishops help synods discern who they are, and they set goals for the synod. They help their synod and the congregations within to better understand who they are called to be. Thus, the election of a bishop is the opportune time to ask the question of “who are we?”
This is a question that Faith has been grappling with over the last year since I was called to be your pastor. The world has changed a lot over the last several years due to circumstances such as the pandemic, and we have started to reimagine what it means for us to be disciples in this time and place. This is a question that Christians have been pondering a lot in the last several decades as congregations have faced many challenges. Church buildings are growing old and require much maintenance. Interest in the institutional church is waning, and the communities around our congregations have changed. Thus, congregations have had to rethink their identities and their roles within our communities. So, who are we? Well, we are the Church, and what is the Church? “The Church is a 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” (ELCA Constitution 4.01.). However, what does it mean for us “to bear witness?” This is the question that Christians are called to reflect on.
So, how can we reflect on this question? Well, I am excited to announce that Faith was recently accepted into a program called the “Nourishing Vocation Project” sponsored by St. Olaf College and funded through the Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative. This project aims to help congregations discern their vocation. Vocation comes from the Latin word vocare, which means “to call.” “To embrace vocation is to recognize that what one does in life is not merely by one’s personal choice or for one’s personal fulfillment or gain. Instead, God calls people to be a part of God’s purpose in this world for the sake of the common good. Leaning into the call of God in all areas of life is to live attentive to vocation.” This program will help us to identify what God is calling us to do. It will help us learn how we may “bear witness” to all that God has done.
This may be a hard task, but this month we are reminded that we have been lit on fire with the Holy Spirit. On May 19th this year, we observe the Day of Pentecost. On this day, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples in a sound of rushing winds, and “Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability” (Acts 2:3-4). On Pentecost, the disciples were given the gift of the Holy Spirit, and that Spirit called them out into the community, to share in God’s creation. This day is sometimes referred to as the birthday of the Church. It stands as a reminder of the new life and purpose that was brought into the world in Christ through the Holy Spirit. However, in celebration of the birth of the Church, we are reminded that this new life continues on in us, and that we too are continually given purpose. We are reminded that the Spirit guides us in this life so that we may continue to serve the world as Christ has served us. So, this May is indeed a good month for us to ask the question “who are we?” In fact, the Holy Spirit calls us to do this. So, let us remember that we are the Church, and that we are called by Christ with a discerning heart to serve and love the world.
Peace and Blessings, Pastor Ethan Doan
This task of electing a new bishop is very important. Who we elect will have an impact on our synod and on the greater ELCA. The role of the bishop in the ELCA is wide. They oversee the ministry of Word and Sacrament in their synod, which gives them the duty of ordaining and installing rostered ministers. They represent us at Churchwide in the Conference of Bishops. They perform other administrative duties in the synod and promote relationships with local organizations. They also provide pastoral care, and they “Interpret and advocate the mission and theology of the whole church.” Bishops help synods discern who they are, and they set goals for the synod. They help their synod and the congregations within to better understand who they are called to be. Thus, the election of a bishop is the opportune time to ask the question of “who are we?”
This is a question that Faith has been grappling with over the last year since I was called to be your pastor. The world has changed a lot over the last several years due to circumstances such as the pandemic, and we have started to reimagine what it means for us to be disciples in this time and place. This is a question that Christians have been pondering a lot in the last several decades as congregations have faced many challenges. Church buildings are growing old and require much maintenance. Interest in the institutional church is waning, and the communities around our congregations have changed. Thus, congregations have had to rethink their identities and their roles within our communities. So, who are we? Well, we are the Church, and what is the Church? “The Church is a 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” (ELCA Constitution 4.01.). However, what does it mean for us “to bear witness?” This is the question that Christians are called to reflect on.
So, how can we reflect on this question? Well, I am excited to announce that Faith was recently accepted into a program called the “Nourishing Vocation Project” sponsored by St. Olaf College and funded through the Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative. This project aims to help congregations discern their vocation. Vocation comes from the Latin word vocare, which means “to call.” “To embrace vocation is to recognize that what one does in life is not merely by one’s personal choice or for one’s personal fulfillment or gain. Instead, God calls people to be a part of God’s purpose in this world for the sake of the common good. Leaning into the call of God in all areas of life is to live attentive to vocation.” This program will help us to identify what God is calling us to do. It will help us learn how we may “bear witness” to all that God has done.
This may be a hard task, but this month we are reminded that we have been lit on fire with the Holy Spirit. On May 19th this year, we observe the Day of Pentecost. On this day, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples in a sound of rushing winds, and “Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability” (Acts 2:3-4). On Pentecost, the disciples were given the gift of the Holy Spirit, and that Spirit called them out into the community, to share in God’s creation. This day is sometimes referred to as the birthday of the Church. It stands as a reminder of the new life and purpose that was brought into the world in Christ through the Holy Spirit. However, in celebration of the birth of the Church, we are reminded that this new life continues on in us, and that we too are continually given purpose. We are reminded that the Spirit guides us in this life so that we may continue to serve the world as Christ has served us. So, this May is indeed a good month for us to ask the question “who are we?” In fact, the Holy Spirit calls us to do this. So, let us remember that we are the Church, and that we are called by Christ with a discerning heart to serve and love the world.
Peace and Blessings, Pastor Ethan Doan
