Pastoral Message: “Prayers for our Synod in Assembly” Week of the First Sunday after Pentecost June 7, 2023
Pastoral Message:
“Prayers for our Synod in Assembly”
Week of the First Sunday after Pentecost
June 7, 2023
Dear People of God at Faith-La Fe!
I invite your prayers as our Grand Canyon Synod gathers at Resurrection Lutheran Church near Tucson this coming Friday and Saturday for our annual Synod Assembly. Some people view the synod assembly as something we have to endure – not unlike how some members of congregations view annual congregational meetings. And synod assemblies are, really, the annual meetings of our wider church, dreaded, alas, by some of my pastor colleagues.
But as you have gotten to know me, you will not be surprised to read that I am one who loves synod assemblies – and have since I was an adolescent. When I was a freshman in high school, I participated in the “Youth Convo” that met alongside the annual convention of the Illinois Synod of the Lutheran Church in America. But somehow, I managed to skip out on all of the youth activities to attend as a visitor the synod convention with the adults – church geek that I am, happily guilty as charged…. A couple of years later, the churchwide convention of the Lutheran Church in America was held in Chicago, and our youth group attended as visitors.
All of this was thrilling for me. Why? Because both synod and churchwide assemblies give us an opportunity to experience the wider church beyond our local congregations. There is at these assemblies a palpable sense that we are the church together, that we’re not left on our own devices locally, that we belong to something much bigger than ourselves.
Indeed, it is a thrilling thing to me – and to most who attend assemblies – to be gathered with hundreds of other Lutherans and to worship together. Hymns and the canticles of the liturgy become all the more powerful when hundreds of voices sing our beloved songs with one voice.
Like a local annual congregational meeting, a lot of the business at synod assemblies is routine – passing the budget (mission plan), electing members to serve on Synod Council and other committees, passing resolutions (one this year focuses on deepening our commitments to battle hunger in our local settings), hearing reports from the Bishop and others.
But amidst these routine matters, voting members and visitors get a sense of the many and various missionary things our wider church is up to in the world in advocating for justice, in alleviating human suffering in our region and throughout the world, in preparing leaders to be ordained to serve the church, in sending missionaries hither and yon, in financially supporting local congregations (like ours!) in development and redevelopment, and more. Through such reports we get a sense that the money we send along to our synod and churchwide organization goes a long way in extending the reach of our own local ministry here at Faith-La Fe. Thanks be to God.
And there’s more! Those attending synod assemblies are also treated to keynote speakers, often some of our church’s top theologians, to address us on matters of theological and social importance. And each synod assembly is sent a representative from our churchwide organization to report on what our church at a national level is doing. It all adds up to a good deal of inspiration and encouragement to continue the work that God has entrusted to us, and to know in confidence that our labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Still another crucial dimension of synod assemblies is the occasion to connect with other colleagues and church leaders, folk whom you might see only once a year, but who nonetheless have been important in your life. Since this is my first assembly in the Grand Canyon Synod, I’m looking forward to reconnecting with some people, now serving or retired here, whom I’ve known in other times of my life and career.
Again, all of this adds up to the experience of really being and doing church as the body of Christ, but with a wider angle and scope compared with our usual Sunday worshipping assemblies at home. Indeed, in the understanding of what church is in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, we affirm in a manner not unlike our understanding of the Trinity, that the local congregation is church, the synod is church, and the churchwide organization is church, though the individual parts are not by themselves fully the whole church. Rather, the fullness of church in the ELCA happens in the dynamic interdependence between and among each expression of the church working together – congregations, synods, and the churchwide organization.
A goodly number of persons from Faith-La Fe will be present for this year’s Grand Canyon Synod Assembly in the Tucson area: our congregation voting members include Pastor Veronica and me along with Lupe Rael and Cody Schaar; Carly Chamberlain is attending as a visitor; Pastor Stoney Bowen-Weiszmann will also be a voting member as a rostered minister of the ELCA; and Erik Rehms will be present ex officio, since he serves as our Synod Treasurer.
In conclusion, once again, I encourage your prayers for your church, the Grand Canyon Synod, as we meet in assembly this coming Friday and Saturday!
Together as church in mission for the sake of the world,
Pastor Jonathan Linman
Pastor’s Office Phone Number: 602-265-5860
Email: pastor@faithalive.com
Announcements
Covid Positive Among Some Faith-La Fe Members
Please be advised that members of the choir for our 11:00 am worship (El Coro de la Fe) have tested positive for Covid. This includes Pastor Veronica. Thus, you are encouraged to monitor your symptoms, to test for Covid as appropriate, and to take precautions, perhaps returning to wearing a mask for a time until this episode passes.
Faith-La Fe Supports Heat Respite Ministry at Grace Church Downtown
As a part of the Grand Canyon Synod Hunger Leaders Network, Chris Jacobson and Gail Turner are heading up efforts at Faith/La Fe to gather food and other items to support the Heat Respite Program at Grace Lutheran Church downtown Phoenix this Summer, June 14th through August 20th.
Throughout the summer, there will be bins in the breeze way each week where worshipers may drop off their offerings of items for Grace’s guests experiencing homelessness, such as:
· bottled water, any size
· packaged snacks (“grab & go”)
· being aware that many people do not have teeth: individual cans or cups of fruits, puddings, potted meats are good for that reason
· small jars (or individual) peanut butter
Other items needed:
· Shoes for men and women
· Socks for men and women
· gently used clothing for men and women
· backpacks
· blankets
· tents, and collapsible umbrellas
· small personal hygiene items (travel size or bring from your hotel stays)
· tooth brushes & small tooth paste
Also, volunteer opportunities abound, call Grace at 602-258-3787 to learn more.
Thank you for your compassion and generosity!
Chris Jacobson and Gail Turner
Invitation to Contribute to These Weekly Pastoral Messages
Please remember that our congregation newsletter is now published quarterly and has more of a wider community, outward-facing, evangelistic focus to herald special, seasonal events at Faith-La Fe. Which is to say, these weekly pastoral messages and their announcements effectively take the place of the more membership-focused concerns of our congregational life. Thus, if there are events and matters related to our life together that you wish to have included in these weekly messages and announcements, please let Pastor Linman know: pastor@faithalive.com. He is always looking for and welcomes new content.
Mark Your Calendars Now for Upcoming Special Worship Services
Further detail about the following special occasions for worship is forthcoming, but please note these special liturgies now in your calendars!
July 22 at 10:00 am + Mary Magdalene, Apostle, Morning Prayer
August 15 at 7:00 pm + Mary, Mother of Our Lord, Holy Communion
September 14 at 7:00 pm + Holy Cross Day, Evensong
November 1 at 7:00 pm + All Saints’ Day, Holy Communion
Upcoming Saturday Quiet Days at Faith-La Fe in 2023
Saturday, September 30 – on this day, close to the commemoration of St. Francis of Assisi, we will explore Franciscan Spirituality and what it might mean for Lutherans in ministry and mission in the 21st Century.
Saturday, October 28 – as we approach Reformation Sunday, this will be a day devoted to revealing key features of specifically Lutheran Spirituality, or Christian spirituality with Lutheran accents. We will discover that there’s a lot to draw from in our own tradition to take us ever more deeply into the spiritual life.
Saturday, November 18 – this day will be devoted to spending our time together in our beautiful nave doing “Stations of Our Stained Glass Windows,” a series of visual meditations on our stained-glass windows and the miracles and parables of Jesus they depict. We’ll explore in conversation the bible stories the windows are based on, and then look carefully at the windows to see features of the story which the stained-glass art highlights. Each station will feature a hymn before we move on to the next window.
Summer blockbusters, anyone?
View and discuss hopeful and encouraging films on climate with us!
ONLINE PROGRAMS FROM
Spirit in the Desert Retreat Center
THURSDAYS BEG. JUNE 8 @ 4:00P PDT Register
Dear Gail,
Because you registered for 40 Days of Caring for Creation and/or Earth Rising: Celebrations of Resurrected Hope with facilitator Sheri Brown, you might have an interest in continuing that climate journey.
Climate fatigue is real. We’re all worn out by the constant barrage of bad news. Climate anxiety is real. More than half of the population reports feeling somewhat-to-extremely anxious about global warming. Climate grief is real. Too many of us have turned that grief inward where it festers as despair.
Where are the voices of hope, of encouragement, of resilience?
They’re coming to you this summer! Following 12 weeks of her weekly series on climate awareness and education, Sheri invites you to join her in viewing hopeful, encouraging, and soul-strengthening films, followed by group discussion and mutual support. Because none of us can deal with climate fatigue, anxiety, and grief alone. Well, Sheri can’t. And you shouldn’t have to.
Movies we'll watch and discuss this summer:
· David Attenborough's A Life on Our Planet
· Kiss the Ground
· The Ants & the Grasshopper
· American Resilience Project's Current Revolution series
· The Letter: A Message for Our Earth
See trailers for each exciting film here. We'll watch together ~ you can turn off your camera, munching your popcorn and Milk Duds offscreen if you like, then join the group on-camera for the discussion. Join us for one film, or for the entire summer series. This'll be fun!
We know this is your jam. Will you join the Spirit community again this summer for an hour on Thursdays at 4:00 AZ (PDT) beginning
June 8? Register here.
Click for upcoming events at Spirit.
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