Southwest Minnesota Synod Assembly, April 21-22

I attended my synod assembly this past weekend in the southwestern Minnesota town of Redwood Falls. Or as Jon Bishop Anderson (see photo) calls this event, “The great Southwestern Minnesota get together.” And great it was with over 750 people in attendance gathered under the theme of “You will be my Witnesses” from the first chapter of Acts.

I am probably one of those rare pastors who doesn’t mind attending the synod assembly and find most of it quite enjoyable. Alright the sitting for long periods of time and sometimes the debate around the resolutions that need voting upon is not always the most fun, but those are outweighed by better things.

Here is a list of the things I enjoy:

• Catching up on the lives of my colleagues, friends and classmates who may work in the same synod, but whom I only get to see on sporadic occasions.
• Worshipping and singing with such a “great cloud of witnesses.”
• Being immersed in scripture by wonderful Bible study leaders.
• Being informed about all that is happening not only in the synod, but in the larger Church as well.
• And by participating in the assembly, I feel good that I have contributed to the larger workings of the Church and have been given opportunity to make my voice heard.

I was reminded how young the ELCA is when I read that the 20th anniversary will be celebrated this summer at the churchwide assembly in Chicago. We haven’t even reached the drinking age yet. I will admit those teenage years were tough, lots of talk about sexuality and getting along with our ecumenical brothers and sisters. Growing up is hard. But as a pastor who has worked with many young people and watched them mature over the years, I am hopeful.

My thanks to the interns whom I sat with at the assembly from Luther Seminary (see photo) Jonathan Dahl and Dan Forsgren who added to my enjoyment of the assembly; it was fun guys.