Partners in Mission:

A blessed Reformation Day/All Hallows Eve to you all. Today we remember how 506 years ago a young monk asked for a disputation regarding abuses he saw in the church. The nailing of the 95 theses by Martin Luther not only changed the church but also our world forever. Luther’s intense focus was that the gospel, in its truth and purity, be proclaimed clearly. It is good today that we remember this heritage of faith and also consider what it means for us today.

The church in 2023 is continuing to go through significant changes. The realities of demographic shifts, a lack of denominational loyalty, continual mobility in communities, and a host of other issues have made doing church today drastically different than any other time in our lived history. Assumptions or best practices from even a few years ago cannot be counted on. And so the church must reform and adapt if we are to continue, in the tradition of Martin Luther, to ensure the free course of the gospel.

I experienced this willingness to adapt, to be reformed, this past Sunday, October 29th when I was blessed to be with our faithful ELCA communities in the Permian Basin. Christs Lutheran-Odessa and Midland Lutheran came together with Grace Presbyterian and St. Nicholas Episcopal for Reformation Sunday worship. Midland Lutheran made the faithful, and difficult, choice several years ago to sell their building and look for a new location for worship. They have since found that with Grace Presbyterian who has welcomed them with open arms. The new pastor at Grace, the Rev. Diane Baldwin, as well as Midland Lutheran leadership and I met on Sunday morning. There I heard a vision of two congregations being together in worship and contributing to the life of their community while retaining the clarity of each theological tradition. Encouraging this unity, without imposed uniformity, were Mother Amy Haynie from St. Nicholas and SAWL Mark Russell from Christ’s Lutheran-Odessa. All have a commitment to seeing our witness continue in this part of Texas which so desperately needs a gospel word of welcome and inclusion in a church culture, as we see across our territory, dominated by legalism and deeply partisan political ideology.

We celebrated the Reformation, worshipped together, had a trunk or treat (indoors due to the chilly and rainy weather) and even a visit from Dr. Luther (Markan Luther) himself. It was a festive and hopeful day to see these communities come together to celebrate and commit ourselves to the free course of the gospel in the world. I give thanks for all our communities this day and look forward our continued work in God’s world. We are…

#InMissionTogether,

Bishop Gronberg