When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ John 21:15
Tabgha, Sea of Galilee
This com
ing Saturday the South Carolina Synod (https://scsynod.com/) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (https://www.elca.org/) will be meeting for our Annual Assembly – online. Like many other Synods, there are 65, we will also be electing a new Bishop, as our SC Synod Bishop Herman Yoos is retiring following twelve years of faithful service. Although there will be many other important ministries discussed, this will garner the most attention and demand the most time.
Having an election online involves logistics, legalities and the great unknown of how the Spirit will move in this new way. Logistically, this is the third or fourth plan for this year’s assembly. Many thanks to Assistant to the Bishop Pastor Ginny Aebischer for her and her team’s reworking of these plans in light of the ever changing landscape of the pandemic. Legally, since congregations and synods are recognized by the state as 501(c)(3) tax exempt organizations we are called to abide by their provisions for what constitutes a valid election. That box has been checked. So the main, and most important step ahead of us, is discerning who God is calling to serve. So please have University Lutheran’s voting members (John Dreher, Marion Fisher, Cheryl Ingram Smith, Pastor Josh and me) in your prayers as we participate in this election process. Please keep in prayer those whom God and the people in the Synod will lift up as candidates to serve in this capacity. And if you’d like, this Saturday you can tune in periodically to follow how the election is evolving https://scsynod.com/assembly/
God’s peace & hope,
Pastor Jon