Dear Partners in Mission:

This past weekend I had the distinct pleasure of being with the people of Beautiful Savior, Amarillo, as they celebrated 75 years of ministry. It was a joy to be with them and also many of our Panhandle Conference leaders at the dinner Saturday night. The collegiality of the Panhandle Conference is excellent and they take seriously the gift it is to be able to gather together.

Celebrating the history of our congregations is a gift. Our history is important. As Bishop Mike Girlinghouse reminded us at our 2021 online assembly the past can be a strength for us, if it reminds us that God has been and will continue to be faithful. But it also, if misunderstood, can become an anchor that weighs us down and keeps us from moving forward. It is also very important that when we do these celebrations the focus doesn’t become an idealized version of the past but we are honest that it has always been a challenge to be the church in the world.

As Lutheran Christians our heritage of faith and our witness is always focused on what God is doing for us. How God is acting to provide our daily bread, sustain us by the power of the Spirit, and sending us forth to proclaim good news. Good news that in the cultural Christianity of our time too often comes with a “but” or an “if.” We proclaim a God who loves God’s world and the people in it without ands, ifs, or buts. God loves, provides, and sustains because that is who we know God to be. That is the God of scripture and that is the God we have experienced.

For 75 years God has sustained the community of Beautiful Savior. There have been ups and downs but as we celebrated I invited them to look forward. To 2097 when they will celebrate their 150th anniversary. On that occasion many of us won’t be there, but by God’s grace we pray the month old baby carried by her daddy into worship will be. The generations come and go; the message of the good news and its outcome are eternal.

In Mission Together,

Bishop Erik Gronberg