Fill… Spill… Thrill…

Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson
Evangelical Lutheran Church of America

Dear colleagues in ministry,

As we approach the churchwide assembly, I am thankful for the thoughtful and respectful discussion at synod assemblies of the proposed social statement on human sexuality and the ministry policy recommendations. I am mindful, however, that we remain a church body that is not of one mind about these decisions, and that these continuing differences have raised concerns among some about whether we are headed toward a church-dividing decision.

I am writing to express my shared, heartfelt commitment to the church’s unity, and, even more, my deep confidence that this unity will not be lost. For this reason please join me in reflecting on the unity of Christ’s church that is the foundation both for our life together in the ELCA and our relationships with other Christians throughout the world.

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It was a small group that met on a particular Tuesday morning at St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Omaha.

That’s not all bad, according to Verne Sandhurst, the church’s administrative executive. Three of the group’s members had received potential job offers during the previous week.

And so it goes for St. Thomas’ job transition ministry - an ebb and flow of participants entering into small group conversations and informative workshops as they attempt to remain or reenter the workforce.

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Lisa Kramme
Director of Faith Formation
Nebraska Synod, ELCA

“We’ve helped this much,” the man with small, gold hoop earrings said, “but there’s this much to do to make things better.”

The man gestured as he spoke, holding up two index fingers about an inch apart during the first part of his statement. Along with the latter part of his statement, his arms flung open wide, away from the center of his body in exaggerated arcs to show that the tasks needing done seemed infinite.

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