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Bishop’s Report to Synod – Third Quarter 2023

Grace and peace to you! This summer was quieter than last summer for me. Last year I was traveling to our sister synod in El Salvador and to Columbus, Ohio for the triennial Churchwide Assembly. There was a week in Holden Village in Washington and various other bishop commitments. It’s nice to just be in our synod this summer.

We rejoice in the ordinations of Pastor Jade Ortiz to Redimidos and Deacon Natalie Larkin as a spiritual director. We are also excited to announce the SAM Academy, starting mid-September. SAMs are Synodically Authorized Ministers. Many synods utilize these lay leaders, who have been lifted up in their congregations to preach and teach and care for congregants when a congregation cannot afford an ordained leader or their leader is not available for an extended period of time. Pastor Abel Arroyo Traverso has created this first course on preaching, which will bring people through ten weeks of learning on preaching in context, preaching for festivals, preaching for seniors and youth, etc. We are inviting a wide variety of pastors from our synod to teach us. It’s not too late to sign up! If you are interested, please click here.

Pastor Toni Rose Casteneda Carrera has been working with many congregations in transition. She has designed “Pathways of Mobility” for congregations. This process helps congregations determine what their overall health is, including their number of capable volunteers and viability of their building. As congregations understand their capacity more clearly, they can make clearer decisions about what ministries they are able to take on. Even the smallest congregations can find ways to serve God and God’s people. Others may determine their ministry has run its course. We are ready to help a congregation move into holy closure, and help them see the amazing legacy gifts they can use to support other ministries. Lisa Higginbotham is a wonderful resource for these legacy conversations.

I feel strongly this honest assessment is part of God’s work among us. We have seen the decline in membership over the past decade or two, and must acknowledge this is a very real trend. Instead of wringing our hands and wondering what we’ve done wrong, I believe we need to praise God for the pruning. Yes, pruning is painful (there’s a farm implement involved!) but it produces sweeter fruit and healthier plants. We have to admit God is pruning us. This is not destroying trees; it’s improving the harvest. My pledge in the remaining four years of this term is to help congregations deepen their faith expressions, being more committed to the Risen Savior. The world needs Jesus. It’s possible (maybe likely) that God is asking us to bring Jesus to the world in different ways. The “Sunday morning only” model has failed the world, and we need to recognize that.

There is a dying here. We can grieve. We should grieve. And then we need to get ourselves to the garden and meet the Risen Savior. Remember in the Easter morning story, Mary didn’t recognize Jesus at first. I’ve always been fascinated by that. Did He look really different? Or was it simply that she couldn’t imagine He would be there? Had her grief kept her from recognizing Him? What’s happening in our own encounters with Jesus? Does He look different? Maybe. Or is He appearing in new places? Definitely. And how might our grief be affecting our ability to encounter Jesus? Much to consider and pray about.

Pastor Tracy Williams has visited with many of your congregations, providing intentional care. Pastor Chryll Crews is about to start year-end reviews on our Strategic Ministries and Synodically Authorized Worshipping Communities. We have put out a call for volunteers who are interested in learning more about these cutting edge ministries and participating in their support and assessment. If you want more information, contact Pastor Crews at ccrews@socalsynod.org.  TaSh Elzie is revamping the synod website. Deacon Cecelia Travick Jackson launches a new senior ministry task force in September. Tyra Dennis and the Synod Youth leaders are launching an exciting $125k fundraising campaign to ensure all young people in the synod can attend the ELCA National Youth Gathering in New Orleans in 2024. If you are interested in donating to this important ministry, please click here.  There’s a lot going on.

Your generous gifts have kept us sustainable and able to dream of financial freedom in our future. Please continue to participate in these ministries with your offerings. Ask your church leadership how much your donation to the synod is. Maybe this is the year to support these ministries more intentionally with your congregational gift, or with a personal gift to the synod. We give 45% of your synod offerings to the ELCA and 5% to California Lutheran University and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary. The other 50% of your offerings is used right here in Southern California, advancing the gospel in Lutheran contexts.

We are continuing our search for a Director of Finance and Administration for the synod staff. This position will be a key leader in streamlining our synod office function and guiding us forward into our financial future. We have a lot of resources, and I feel God calling us to new and bold ways to utilize those resources. Of course we will report more details as they emerge.

And finally, we welcomed seven new council members at our synod council retreat in August. They have agreed to meet quarterly, in person, for six hour meetings. This is a return to our old format, pre-COVID. We are excited to see what God will do with more intentional time together.

I’m considering rewriting my first paragraph, where I said it was a “quieter summer.” I suppose it’s all relative. As I enter my third year as your bishop, I thank you for your trust in me, and praise God for the opportunity to lead this church forward into God’s glorious future. Clearly, God is not done with us yet.

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Bishop’s Pastoral Letter in response to the shooting in Monterey Park

主教/監督回應蒙特利公園槍擊案的牧函

 

「聽,你兄弟的鮮血正從地底向我呼喊!」創世紀 4:10

2023 年 1 月 21 日,星期六,二十人在加州蒙特利公園被槍手射殺。 第二天,警方在托倫斯找到了開槍自殺的槍手。 這個可怕的事件發生在我們的城市,殺死了我們的兄弟姐妹。 兇手開車穿過我們的街道,在阿罕布拉停留,試圖繼續殺戮。 我們兄弟的鮮血從我們自己社區的土地上向我們呼喊。

對於我們中的許多人來說,我們醒來時聽到了大規模槍擊事件的消息,感到沮喪但筋疲力盡。 我愣了一會兒才意識到這些謀殺案發生在我們的教區裡:如此地接近。 無論如何——各地的犯罪都應該由各地的人來打擊。 但我們在這裡對受害者和急救人員負有特殊責任。

西南加州教區在我們中間有大量華裔人口,有幾個華人教會或敬拜團契。 我們的許多亞裔牧師報告說,早在這起事件發生之前,他們的會眾就害怕離開家園。 新聞報導稱今年的農曆新年是人們願意聚集在一起慶祝的第一批春節之一。 而現在發生這種事情。

我請求我們所有人,無論身在何處,都為亞裔社區祈禱,尤其是讓反亞裔仇恨消退。 如果你有亞洲朋友,請和他們聯繫,看看他們好不好。 如果您是我們華人、日本或菲律賓教會之一的成員,或者是 AAPI 社區的成員,請知道我們愛您並為您祈禱。 我們需要不再將這些視為「單一事件」。 槍支暴力影響到我們所有人。

我將在 1 月 25 日星期三晚上 7 點召開禱告會和談話會。 祈禱很重要,但我們知道我們還必須組織起來影響立法者和執法部門,使我們的城市和國家更加安全。 這是一場長期的鬥爭,我們將與其他幾十年來一直致力於解決槍支暴力問題的人一起努力。 這場運動總是需要新的聲音,我邀請你加入我們。ZOOM會議鏈接為 https://forms.gle/WKkhCyyRDv3gsawP6

請和我一起祈禱:宇宙萬物的主啊,請給我們帶來平安。 給我們勇氣和澄清的思緒,去結束街頭暴力。 我們為本週末在蒙特利公園失去親人的家庭以及所有受槍支暴力影響的人祈禱。 幫助我們通過明智的法律,找到打破我們國家槍支暴力循環的方法。 賜福給必須處理這些謀殺案的急救人員。 幫助已經生活在如此恐懼和仇恨中的亞裔社群。 保護他們,安慰他們。 讓我們成為一個更好的教會,以你的聖名提供支持和關懷。 阿們。

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