Churchwide Assembly Reflection 3 of 6
From Tom Blaney (Rejoice, Frisco), Young Adult Male Voting Member:
I appreciated attending the 2019 churchwide assembly because it made me reconsider the role of the church, and who we are called to be as Christians. I especially appreciated the discussion around the declaration to people of African descent. I was surprised to learn of the church’s historical inaction regarding racism, as current attitudes of the church led me to believe Lutherans would have historically been active in fighting it. I think the acknowledgement is good in that it recognizes a historical failure and gives us impetus to not repeat that mistake by fighting injustices today. It also encourages congregations to recognize racism and help people understand it and its devastating effects. While I believe that most people mean well and recognize that racism is bad, they are often unaware of the ways racism has permeated our society and feel attacked when someone accuses them of being racist for doing something they didn’t see as problematic. It’s going to take education and understanding among white people to help heal this wound, and as an extremely white church, we have a responsibility to this. As a counterpoint to this, I appreciated the decision to brand the ELCA as a sanctuary church body. This I see as taking a direct stand on something that may not always be politically convenient, but is a matter of doing what is right. My only concern now is that the actions and enthusiasm of the churchwide assembly translate down to congregations, and I pray that the ELCA and its synods assist pastors in emphasizing the important actions we must take in order to be the hands and feet of God in the world.
It was good spending time with the bishop and other voting members in Milwaukee, and I was glad to see the enthusiasm and stances took there. I pray that we will be able to translate this into more actions by the church.
MEF Grants Update
The Mission Endowment Fund of NT-NL granted $80,000 in 2019 to underfunded or start up ministries in our Synod. The Board is now receiving applications for 2020. Do you have a service, educational or outreach ministry in mind that is not currently funded? If so, you are invited to review the guidelines and complete the application found at https://www.ntnl.org/ministries/mef/. Grants will be awarded in February 2020. Contact Linda Ness, mef@ntnl.org with questions. Grant requests for 2020 must be received by October 31.
This is the story of one of the ministries funded in 2019:
2019 MEF Grant Recipient: NT-NL Fund for Youth Leaders
NT-NL offers multiple opportunities for young people in the Synod to learn leadership skills. Most frequently, these opportunities are hosted by Briarwood Leadership Center, which encompasses 60 acres of heavily wooded land, much of which is unspoiled, virgin growth. It can comfortably serve 160 guests in a wide variety of housing units. The developed areas of the center include two large activity fields, several miles of hiking trails, and 27 buildings. It is a paradise for city bound youth!
Commemoration of the Fall of the Berlin Wall
Preparing for November 9, 2019: 30th Anniversary of the Commemoration of the Fall of the Berlin Wall
From Bishop Gronberg:
Many of us may remember or have heard the stories of the dramatic fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. For most in the West the sudden collapse of the communist regime in East Germany seemed abrupt and surprising. But in fact it was of course the result of years of resistance and in fact prayer. Many Lutherans do not even know the role their church played in the fall of the wall. Beginning in 1982 groups had gathered at St. Nicholas Church (where Bach was once music director) in Leipzig to pray for peaceful revolution. They gathered on mondays in a time when gatherings of more than a few people were suspicious to the Stasi secret police. They gathered and prayed for human rights and an end of the barrier between East and West Germany. By 1988 larger and larger groups were gathering to pray for peace and human rights. By September of 1989 these groups were growing bolder and by October 9th became a movement. Monday, September 9, 1989, seventy thousand people gathered against fear and oppression and faced the armed security forces chanting “We are the people”. This bold stand, that began in prayer groups on Mondays in a Lutheran Church helped lead to the events a month later when the Berlin Wall fell on November 9th.
As we remember the courageous people of Leipzig and all those who resist we encourage our communities to consider how barriers and walls continue to separate us. Some of these walls are more obvious than others. As your bishop I have seen the walls of separation in the Holy Land that keep our Lutheran Palestinian sisters and brothers from one another and from their historic lands. I have stood at the border wall between Texas and Mexico and heard and prayed over the refugees seeking due process. But closer to home I also know there are walls within our own cities and towns. Separation between rural and urban and suburban communities. Interstate highways that cut communities off from one another often on economic or racial boundaries. Public school boundary lines drawn strategically to include some and exclude others. Separation based on race, class, sexuality, gender, religion, partisan politics, all are realities in our lives. Yet we have a God who calls us to overcome boundaries, to break down walls.
Here you will find an array of resources (look for the Breaking Down Walls Toolkit) that we hope will assist your community of faith in remembering those who have helped bring down walls in the past and those seeking just and peaceful ways to bring down the barriers in our midst today. Included as part of these resources is a special liturgy that I hope you’ll use in your own candlelight vigil or service of remembrance this fall. The liturgy is patterned after the weekly prayer services that were held at St. Nicholas Church in Leipzig, Germany, during the Cold War. It is indeed right that we remember those who gathered in a Lutheran church, calling on the breaking down of barriers.
This is important for us as NT-NL as this year we are focusing on breaking down barriers of separation between us. Our Leadership Convocation this week will be focused on learning how being actively anti-racist can help us break barriers and work for the wholeness of our church. We have made investments through our Mission Endowment Fund’s generosity to ensure our Latinx and other historically marginalized groups can participate in camping and retreating ministries at Briarwood. We are actively working to cross generational barriers by highlighting the work and prioritizing youth and young adults. In April 2020 our assembly will be held at Paul Quinn College, the oldest HBCU (Historically Black College and University) in Texas. A college started because of the barrier of legal segregation and also a college in South Dallas, a community historically marginalized.
As we give thanks for the brave people of Leipzig thirty years ago we remember how Christ breaks down the walls of division between us through the waters of baptism. His death and resurrection are to bring new life and hope not just for some but for the entire cosmos (John 3:16). As Christ’s disciples we are invited into relationship with God and one another and called to break down the barriers, physical and otherwise, that separate us from one another. To cross borders and break down walls. To be a people of hope, to be #InMissionTogether.
Featured Resources for October
The ELCA offers a number of resources for Congregational Based Organizing — items such as “Building Bridges, Building Power,” “Good for Soul, Good for Whole,” “Hope at Work,” and more!
Save the Date
Check out the LEAD (Living Every Day as Disciples) Journey
October 26, 9:00am – 3:30pm
This seminar is for leaders who are tired of the status quo and want to see their congregation grow deeper in faith. To get the most out of this six-hour commitment, bring your council, staff, and key leaders. We are growing leaders with a deep, bold, consequential faith—join us!
$50 per Individual
$100 per Congregation (4 or more)
Click here for a flyer with full details.
REGISTER NOW! (Deadline: October 21)
From Bishop Gronberg:
Please consider this opportunity as the NT-NL partners with Briarwood Leadership Center and LEAD (https://waytolead.org/) to offer a training introduction to our congregations and leaders. This one day event is being subsidized in part by the DLA Leadership Endowment of NT-NL for the purpose of offering training and introduction to the possibility of congregations engaging in a longer term LEAD leadership journey.
Pastor Ernie Hinojosa of Rejoice, Coppell, is a LEAD trainer and can be a reference for any who are interested in what this program is about. Please consider attending either as an individual or with a congregational group. This is another way NT-NL and Briarwood are partnering to fulfill the vision of developing leaders for our congregations and God’s world. #NTNL #BWTX #LEAD #InMissionTogether
Recent Blog Posts
Bishop Gronberg:
(https://www.ntnl.org/first-call-pastors-accompaniment/ – published Sep. 25)
(https://www.ntnl.org/conference-of-bishops-fall-2019/ – published Sep. 27)
(https://www.ntnl.org/conference-of-bishops-fund-for-leaders-scholars/ – published Sep. 28)
(https://www.ntnl.org/murder-of-botham-jean/ – published Oct. 1)
Pastor Totzke:
(https://www.ntnl.org/first-call-pastors/ – published Oct. 3)
(https://www.ntnl.org/trinity-in-miles-tx/ – published Oct. 3)
Where in the world is?
Bishop Gronberg:
- Oct. 7-9: Engaging Anti-Racism for the Wholeness of the Church: 2019 NT-NL Leadership Convocation, Briarwood
- Oct. 11-13: Lutheran Men in Mission Fall Board Meeting
Pastor Totzke:
- Oct. 7-9: Engaging Anti-Racism for the Wholeness of the Church: 2019 NT-NL Leadership Convocation, Briarwood
- Oct. 10: Meeting with East Dallas congregation leaders, First United, Dallas
- Oct. 13: Four Mile, Mabank
Pastora Bañales:
- Oct. 7-9: Engaging Anti-Racism for the Wholeness of the Church: 2019 NT-NL Leadership Convocation, Briarwood
- Oct. 11-13: 2019 W-ELCA NT-NL SWO Retreat, Merkel
Upcoming Events
- Oct. 7-9: Engaging Anti-Racism for the Wholeness of the Church: 2019 NT-NL Leadership Convocation, Argyle, TX
- Oct. 10-11: Best Practices for Faithful 21st Century Worship and Music Leaders, Dallas, TX
- Oct. 11-13: 2019 W-ELCA NT-NL SWO Retreat, Merkel, TX
- Oct. 12: Public Witness Team monthly meeting, Arlington, TX
- Oct. 13: Festival of Church Music, Dallas, TX
- Oct. 13-16: National Council of Churches Christian Unity Gathering, Hampton, VA
- Oct. 13-18: Ministerial Flourishing: Exploring the Meaning, Means and Practices, Possum Kingdom Lake, TX
- Oct. 19: PLMA, Fall 2019, Course 2, Argyle, TX
- Oct. 19: MEF “Seeds That Change” FUNdraiser and Celebration, Arlington, TX
- Oct. 26: Introducing LEAD Journey, Argyle, TX
- Oct. 28: Upbring Golf benefiting Foster in Texas, Irving, TX
- Oct. 28-30: Region 4 Deacon Gathering, New Braunfels, TX
- Oct. 31: Deadline for MEF Grant Application
- Nov. 7-10: Via de Cristo weekend, Argyle, TX
- Nov. 8-10: “Lutheran Young Adults” / “Lutheran Single Adults” Reunion Retreat, La Grange, TX
- Nov. 9: Public Witness Team meeting, Arlington, TX
- Nov. 9: Thrivent’s Cooking for Christ fundraiser, Frisco, TX
- Nov. 10: Lutheran Campus Ministry Trivia Challenge, Argyle, TX
- Nov. 11-12: SMU | Perkins School of Theology Fall Convocation (with Rick Steves), Dallas, TX
- Nov. 12-14: Young at Heart Retreat, Argyle, TX
- Nov. 15-17: NT-NL Junior High Gathering, Carrollton, TX
- Nov. 16: PLMA, Fall 2019, Course 3, Argyle, TX
- Nov. 16: MEF Board meeting, Dallas, TX
- Nov. 16: Better Conversations, Fort Worth, TX
- Nov. 18-22: Mediation Skills Training Institute for Church Leaders, Arlington, TX
Access our full online Calendar here. Updates made regularly.
Do you have news or announcements to share? Please submit to Jason (jason@ntnl.org) for consideration for upcoming NT-NL News.