HIGHLIGHTS
SYNOD COUNCIL MEETING
JAN. 26-27, 2001
The Council of the Sierra Pacific Synod had a full agenda and a number of special visitors at its January meeting. Among the actions approved were:
-- A proposal to the 2001 Synod Assembly for the amendment of Synod Bylaw SB11.07.03:
SB11.07.03. A total of nine persons shall constitute a Discipling Team. Each of the five Electoral Districts shall elect one member to each team; two members shall be appointed by the Synod Council, from among its members one of whom may be a member of the Synod Council; one conference dean shall be appointed by the bishop of the Synod; and a chair shall be appointed by the Synod Council.
-- The adoption of a new Continuing Resolution:
SB11.07.03.A01 The Nominating Committee shall present as nominees for Council's appointment to discipling teams persons who have been determined in consultation with the discipling teams and the Persons of Color Network.
-- Approval of Bishop Mattheis' request that a synodical call be issued to the Rev. Dr. Brian Hughes as an assistant to the bishop for a term coterminous with the bishop's term. (The position title has been amended to Assistant for Christian Formation.)
-- Grant of funds from the Warner Trust for the support of children's ministries at St. Luke, Sunnyvale, Gloria Dei, Sacramento, Christ, El Cerrito, and Emanuel, Modesto.
-- Approval of the change in conference affiliation for Christ Lutheran Church in Reedley from the Central San Joaquin Conference to the South Valley Conference (on the recommendation of the Witness and Service Discipling Team and the congregation's other ministry partners).
-- In response to a request from the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Sacramento that "disciplinary measures of more consequence than the bishop's censure and admonition" be levied against University Lutheran Chapel in Berkeley, Council adopted the following resolution:
Council has received and is appreciative of Good Shepherd, Sacramento's communication.
It is the sense of Council that "censure and admonition by the bishop of the synod" is the most appropriate disciplinary measure in response to University Lutheran Chapel's action in calling the Rev. Jeff Johnson as its pastor; and, given the recent action of the Synod Assembly (SA00.05.12) encouraging the bishop and Synod Council to do everything possible within church guidelines to avoid the expulsion of University Lutheran Chapel, and the recent action of the Tri Synod Campus Ministry Board to restore full funding to University Lutheran Chapel, Council declines to bring charges against University Lutheran Chapel.
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Representatives of other expressions of the ELCA met with Council to exchange perspectives: the Rev. Paul J. Blom, Bishop of the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod, the Rev. Kathie Bender Schwich, Assistant to the Presiding Bishop, Director, Department of Synodical Relations and chief staff person for the Conference of Bishops, and the Rev. Mark Moller-Gunderson, Executive Director and Coordinator for Mission Support, Division for Congregational Ministries. Council members asked for help for congregations with questions that included:
-- Given that majorities within many congregations have no Lutheran background, how can we articulate the Lutheran message simply?
-- What is "Lutheran" worship?
-- What help may given in engaging the communities around us, especially in finding ways to blend children (and adults) with no faith background with those who have a Christian base already.
Our guests reflected that the ministry challenges encountered in the Sierra Pacific Synod are those facing all 65 of the ELCA synods, and in areas such as cultural diversity and sexuality, the rest of the church is looking to our synod for leadership based on our experience.
Pastor Schwich spoke of the training available through the ELCA for transformational ministry and turning around congregations. Bishop Blom recommended the book by Thomas Bandy Christian Chaos, and pointed out that Christian ministry is like surfing -- being surrounded by chaos; sometimes you wipe out! Pastor Moller-Gunderson spoke of Lutherans as being world leaders in ending world hunger, and challenged our Synod to develop a plan for fulfilling the ELCA Churchwide goal of doubling World Hunger Fund support by 2004.
A special visitor, the Rt. Rev. Peter Mwamasika, Bishop of the Dodoma Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania was welcomed, along with members of his family, two of his former parishioners who are now members of Resurrection L. C. in Oakland, and Resurrection's pastor, the Rev. Lucy Kolin. Bishop Mwamasika explained that he is in the United States to encourage cooperation among Christians. He spoke of the excitement of young people in Africa about Jesus, and on the importance of ''people to people" engagement and partnerships with democratic leadership among denominations. He said that the Church of Christ must work together in a wholistic sense of evangelism on the seven continents -- spiritually, educationally, economically, and politically. (Visit the ELCT website at www.elct.org and the ELCA's Div. for Global Mission at www.elca.org/dgm.)
A major item on the agenda for Council's next meeting (April 27-28 in Burlingame, CA) will be a synodical budget for 2002 to propose at the June 14-16 meeting of the Synod Assembly. As Treasurer Don Mai and Stewardship Specialist Lauren Egdahl reminded Council: Budget planning for future years depends on all of our congregations submitting their Mission Support Statements of Intent early in the present year. If your congregation has not already sent its 2001 Statement, please do so soon.
Prepared by Linda Headrick, Synod Secretary
Comments for Synod Council may be sent to:
Bishop Robert W. Mattheis
Vice President Margie Back
Secretary Linda Headrick
