Author: MASadmin

Well, I’m back! While I’m here catching up on episodes of 30 Rock, I thought I’ve give some first impressions after coming back. There’s a chance this will be very short. There’s also a chance it will be long. We’ll see how many 30 Rock episodes I watch.

I started to write a long detailed post and then realized when I got to the 1000 word point, I hadn’t even finished Friday afternoon’s session yet. That’s too long and I was even trying to be brief. I’ll keep it to just the highlights.

K and I were hoping for fireworks when it came to the resolution supporting gay and lesbian ordination and some sort of recongition of same-sex relationships. In August, the ELCA will host a church wide assembly and that will be one of the discussions. The fireworks were rather muted. Sure, we had the person stand up and basically say that all gay men are pedophiles. And the person asking us to stall and really define what we mean by man, woman, gender, and sex. There were the comments about how a former bishop of ours was gay and how denying love to people is wrong. Amendments were added to the resolution and all were defeated. Even the so-called anti-gay war party basically gave up. We had the one guy wanting a written ballot so he could sign his name to his no vote. The other guy, who in the past had no problem going on a tirade, just asked if his congregation could leave the ELCA quickly (like that would happen). And there was the one guy who brought up his long military career for no real reason at all. But that was it. Everyone was pretty much tired of talking about sex all the time. For the last decade, the MNYS has had to talk about it. Even a theological dialog on Christian Ethnics recently devolved into a discussion of homosexuality. People were just tired of talking about it so much. It passed 75% to 25% roughly. We’d vote by holding up a red card for no, a green card for yes. I expected a 60-40 split. It turned out better than I expected.

Bishop Rimbo is a funny and charismatic guy. He wore a big silver cross to mark him as bishop even though it would be hard to miss him because he’s 6’5″. At lunch, I shook his hand, and his “bling” hit me in the back of the head. Stuff liked that happened all weekend long.

The first part of the Bishop’s report scared a lot of people in the room. We currently have 212 congregations with 69 in a transitional phase for a new pastor. 28 are going to be able to call a new pastor. 41 can’t. And only about 50 congregations have an average weekly worship attendance over 100 people.

Is anyone amazed at the fact that we passed resolutions supporting women’s rights, reading the bible, and being against hunger? And we passed that last one right before lunch on the first day. Hmmm.

The food was bad though I still ate it. Everything was chicken related. Even the desserts were made with eggs and I swear that the Turkey sandwich served today for lunch was probably a chicken in a turkey dress.

The Seminary in Philly threw a good party. Lots of different wines, beer, lots of chips and salsa. The President was very nice, asked me when I was going to attend Seminary (after some hinting by my pastor’s wife) and also asked me to review their website after finding out I was a web designer.

The GLBT people throw an AWESOME party. Lots of great people, awesome food, but the alcohol situation was limited. K took a mexican rubber ducky. I hope they don’t mind.

The resolution on torture (i.e. we’re not for it) went 66 to 44 and looked closer than it really was. We voted by holding up red or green cards and someone asked for a count so we had to do a Serpentine vote. That was neat.

I actually got to vote on a position that only had like 3 other people on my side.

The beds at the Marriott hotel seemed to be curved with a large hump in the middle. And all their tvs are crappy.

There was a prom held at the hotel on Friday night. Nothing kills a prom like showing up and finding 200 clergy walking around the hotel. But when finding out that the clergy partied harder than the teenagers, I bet those teenagers probably wouldn’t mind. K did see one prom goer barely awake, slurping coffee at the lounge, at around 10:30 the following morning.

The Eucharist on Saturday was this big giant loaf thing. It was delicious.

Lutherans love to eat candy.

Lutherans also love to defend their position by comparing themselves to Martin Luther. We can’t help ourselves.

And, from what I can tell, I don’t think Trinity is going to have any problems finding a pastor. It’s good to be at a congregation that is growing, has a stable financial source, and a beautiful building. I’m hoping that the Call Process (that I will be the head of) will be easier than I’m afraid it could be.

Friday through Saturday, the Metropolitan New York Synod (belonging to the ELCA in case you didn’t know) is holding their annual Assembly. That means that close to 80% of all congregations in the NY Synod (numbering around 230 or so) will be in attendance. The assembly will be a time to mingle, to meet pastors, to hang out with the bishop, and get some time in at the hotel pool! I’m excited.

I spent almost 3 hours today talking to my pastor about the Assembly. Him, his wife (who is also a pastor), my fiancee and I will be there as voting members of the assembly. Resolutions will be brought up and passed or rejected. We’ll be given red and green cards to vote no and yes. Synod staff will give their reports about the budget, certain ministries, and other such things. Talk will revolve around how the Synod is handling certain internal issues – from the congregations under synodical administration (and to the one in Brooklyn that we’re in a quasi scuffle with over the property). But the big story, of course, will be about sex. It’ll be the same argument that’s been brewing for the last 40 years and has completely distracted the ELCA for the last decade. This has, of course, occurred to many other denominations in the US. Some are pro the recognition of same-sex unions, others not so much. The ELCA will be having it’s church wide assembly in August where the topic of recognizing some form of same sex unions and rostering gay pastors in same sex unions will come up. Synods across the country are deciding in these spring and summer months how to respond to the statement on human sexuality and these recommendations that an ELCA taskforce put forward. Some will reject; others will support. My guess is that most will probably not respond and have a wait and see attitude. One guaranteed thing though is that people at all these synod assemblies are going to stand up and give passionate statements about why gays should get married, why they shouldn’t get married, and why everyone who doesn’t believe that their side is right is a failure when it comes to being a Christian. Well, maybe no one will come out and say that but you can bet a lot of people will think it. I’m looking forward to see the sparks fly.

I’m not a life-long Lutheran. In fact, I might be the first Protestant in my family in three generations (I know I had a great grandmother who converted to Catholicism so she could marry my grand dad). For all I know, I’m the first Lutheran (that great grandma was Episcopalian). I don’t come into this Assembly experience with a lot of non-Catholic (or non-atheist/agnostic) church body experience. As a relatively new Lutheran, it’s exciting to not only see how the “system” works but also to just go out and meet other Lutheran clergy, lay Lutherans, and to see what this whole big 10 million member strong denomination looks like in the flesh. I know what “Catholics” looks like. I know what “secular humanists” look like. And, because of where I grew up, I know what “mormans” and “the evangelical right” look like. But Lutherans? All I got is my history books, a few blogs, my pastors, and my congregation. Luckily, my church is fantastic and my pastors are wonderful. I’ve also got a copy of the Book of Concord on my shelf and I know why it’s there. That has to mean something, right?

But it’s not hard to, when looking at the Agenda, the bulletins, the minutes from last year’s assembly, and just basic conversations with my pastors, to not feel a little behind. I’m at the point in my life where I can comfortably say, and acknowledge, what I don’t know. I don’t really know the history of Lutheranism in the US. I couldn’t explain to you, right at this moment, how Lutheran theology evolved, how it is different from all other denominations, and even how the different Lutheran denominations in the US handle it. I’ve read about it, of course, but I haven’t felt it or lived it. There is still a feeling of distance to it that I’m still struggling to overcome. I also don’t have the basic creeds memorized even though we say one every week at service. This past Easter, I made a vow to memorize them but I didn’t. I kept my Lenten fast (no Mexican food) but not the other thing. Repetition, sadly, is not how I can effectively memorize things. If that was true, I’d be able to sing out loud at least a thousand songs that I’ve heard a thousand times but I can’t. I’m cool with not knowing everything, at the moment. I know I’ll figure it out eventually. And I know when I attend this Assembly that there are many who feel as I do and there are many who know less about these things than even I know. My faith does not depend on merely what’s in my head but my personal faith grows and is nurtured by the more I know. I still feel as if I’m playing catch up though I’m not sure what I’m catching up too. It’s a struggle.

I’m not sure exactly how this Assembly is going to turn out. My guess is that there will be a 60-40 split in support of the recommendations spelled out in the ELCA’s Statement on Sexuality and its resolutions to roster gay pastors and support same-sex unions. I expect to hear a bunch of random stories that, while passionate, will not be necessarily relevant to the discussion at hand. I expect my pastor’s kid to run around and keep me entertained during the parts that make me yawn. I that there will be a lot of references to Lutheran traditions that will go over my head. I expect to find myself talking to my pastors quite a bit going “what does that mean?” when the talk turns legal and bureaucratic. And I also expect to sit there several times and, while watching the speaker at the microphone, ponder if anyone in the audience has a yellow card and how I could get them. I can’t be the only one who heard about the red and green cards and instantly though about soccer. Am I?

A statement from the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service and 16 ELCA bishops (including Bishop Rimbo of the Metropolitan New York Synod) calling for the Obama administration to overhaul ICE and how they handle illegal immigrant families. I like this statement quite a bit and find it very encouraging in light of the upcoming Metropolitan New York Synod Assembly that is upcoming in a few days (and that I’ll be attending). Postville will hopefully be the watershed movement behind the reformation of ICE. The Supreme Court recently ruled against the standard ICE practice when it came to detaining and prosecuting illegal immigrants – getting immigrants to plead for shorter jail sentences in the face of major identity theft charges. And I’m excited to see that the Lutheran church in Postville is actually paying attention to the stranger. I find this all encouraging for the direction of the ELCA. Now if only the government would listen….