Dear Partners in Mission:

This week we are preparing for our 2023 Synod Assembly. It will be the first time NT-NL will gather in assembly in Louisiana in many, many years. I am glad we are able to honor those who serve in that part of our territory and am gratified to see the strong registration numbers. It is going to be good to be together for worship, business, and fellowship.

As you hopefully have seen via our extensive communications last week, the sale was closed on the property owned by Briarwood Lutheran Ministries. This decision to transition Briarwood into a new way of being brings with it grief and also great opportunity. In so doing we are reminded as synod that we, like all our congregations, need to be honest in assessing our facilities and property. And remember that these physical structures are not the church, the people of God who do God’s mission are. With the establishment of the Briarwood Legacy Endowment, we will be able to fulfill Briarwood’s mission without the difficulty of continual struggles to maintain aging facilities and providing programming. Additionally, with the purchase of Briarwood by Denton County, an entity with the resources to do the needed work on the facilities, the property at 670 Copper Canyon Rd will continue to serve the community for years to come while also preserving the history of the retreat center.

I look forward to seeing many of you in Shreveport this weekend. We do so…

#InMissionTogether

Bishop Gronberg