Home again.  So just one more reflection after several hours of driving and reflecting.

This morning's worship at the assembly was also the official closing of the gathering.  As usual, worship at an assembly with over a thousand Lutherans singing their lungs out brought tears to my eyes.

So, one last reflection.

The Churchwide Assembly is really an assembly of every baptized member of the ELCA.  Within that assembly, a little over a thousand folks get to vote.  Those thousand pray, discern, search their hearts, listen to God's word, open themselves to the winds of the spirit, and at the appropriate time sit in front of a hand held voting machine where the push "1" for yes or "2" for no.  Often, pushing that button included the fear and trembling of knowing that you were one of the few making a decision for the whole body of the church.  Not at all easy.

The assembly is not a gathered group of individuals voting and speaking their own perceptions.  These are people whom synods have asked to be the voice of Christ as they hear the Lord through word, sacrament, and prayer.  In the end, no matter how the vote counts might show us divided, we are one.  Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12: Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body.

I feel that I have been part of a historic event.  Honestly, this assembly was not as fun as the other two I attended.  But just as honestly, I believe this assembly did the kind of work that will have ramifications that are very real for congregations and all members of the ELCA and for the entire Church of Christ.  People will look back upon this 2009 Churchwide Assembly and say, "That's when it happened."

For right now, we will live together with our differences, differences that both sides of the homosexuality issue feel bound to by scripture and reason.  But living together with differences may be what we Lutherans do best.  For despite that which would rend us, the cross of Christ unites us.

Again, thanks to those of you who kept up with me here.  I hope you will excuse any typos and misspellings along the way.

Pastor B.

We finished our work today.  We packed a lot into this afternoon's plenary session and finished the agenda.  So, we have a worship service tomorrow, and then we get to go home.

Today we received greeting from the president of the Missouri Synod.  His presentation was stiff and parental.  He more or less lectured us and bawled us out.  But, true to form, Bishop Hanson responded with love, concern, and openness.

Then the executive secretary of Lutheran World Federation greeted us.  His warm and inspiring speech really drew us all together.  Bishop Hanson greeted him with a warm, heartfelt hug.

We made a couple of changes in constitutions and approved a study on justice for women.  We also approved an initiative regarding Israel and Palestine.

Bishop Hanson closed the final plenary with words of healing and hope.  He reminded us that no matter how we may differ, we come together at the foot pf the cross.

Thanks for reading my blogs.  I hope they were helpful in revealing a few things about the assembly that don't make it into the news.  Have a good summer.

Pastor B.

As you no doubt know by know, a very long day of debate and struggle yesterday ended in the decision to find ways to roster (i.e. ordain) persons in publicly accountable life-long same-gender relationships.  The debate was pain-filled, civil yet passionate, and very hard for everyone.

The fall out is now to come.  Systems have been in place for years that will allow churches to basicially make a new church body.  For many, this action will be the excuse they have been looking for to end their relationship with the ELCA.  Others will stay under the umbrella but not support it.

What we did yesterday is make history.  The value of that history making action will be written in the years to come.  Will this lead to the end of the church body we love so much?  Or will this be the beginning of a church dedicated to fully incorporating all believers into the life of the church?  I don't know.  I do think that when Martin Luther uttered is famous "sin boldly" statement, he was speaking of events just like this.  I think he was talking about being a church with the courage to change even when God's will may not be crystal clear (is it ever crystal clear?).

The day ended with a concert by Peter Mayer, the lead guitarist for Warren Buffett.  The benefit concert raised money for the church's initiatives to fight HIV/AIDS and Malaria.  What a great evening it was.

Today will be an easier agenda, but the feeling in the assembly hall will be tiredness and concern.  Thank you for your prayers and keep them coming.  BTW, during long debates we stop every 20 minutes for prayer.  We pray before every significant vote.  We worship with communion everyday.  We have a Bible study everyday.  We pray in small groups.  We sing hymns all the time.

I sit between Pr. Steve Kotke from Dodgeville and Mary DeYoung the synod secretary.  It has been good to get to know them better.  They have often been my prayer partners.  I also have to tell you what a marvelous, fair, even tempered presider Bishop Mark Hanson is.  I don't know anyone who isn't amazed by his ability to deftly wind us through the maze of procedures while still assuring that all sides are heard and that humor is not lost.

Pastor B.

Another rainy morning in Minneapolis.  There is a promise of sunshine by this afternoon.

Last night Susan and I sat at dinner with the Navy/Marine chaplain I may have mentioned a few blogs ago.  He had many stories of the places he has served.  The stories ran the gamut from funny to touching.  What a great and meaningful career he has had.  Our assembly supplied meal was a catered pot luck.  That may not be an oxymoron, but it certainly qualifies as a misnomer.  Potato salad, tater-tot hotdish, celery and carrot sticks, beans, etc.  Believe, it came nowhere close to the quality and taste of a real Lutheran pot luck.

Today we will take on the issue of ordaining non-cleibate homosexuals.  There will be passionate speeches on both sides of the equation.  I would wager that the resolution will pass, however.

The big unknown for all of this, of course, is the reaction of various congregations.  There is already in place several quasi official groups waiting for the push to become separate denominations.  Or, it could be that many congregations who are unhappy with the results of this assembly will choose to stay in the ELCA but not support it - a fact that is already happening.

One of the words that has been thrown around a lot over the last few days is "capacity."  It is often used as we would have previously used the word "potential."  There's lots of talk about what the church has the capacity to do to change the world for the better and to be the hands of God in the world.  It's a good word to take home to congregations.

I must admit that my rear end is getting a little tired.  The chairs are not very comfortable.  If I ever attend one of these again, I'm bringing my lounge chair.

Pastor B.

There's a certain sense of exhaustion in the assembly hall today.  We are all getting tired, and it appears that this evening's agenda will go at least an hour and a half longer than originally planned.  We are way behind schedule.

This morning we began with breakfast around assigned tables.  We talked together about the proposed changes in rules regarding ordained ministry.  In essence, we will be deciding if the ELCA should ordain individuals who are living in publicly accountable life-long same-gender monogamous relationships.  My table was pretty much evenly split on the issue, and we had a very caring, frank discussion.

It's raining and cool here in Minneapolis.  From the 23rd floor of the Hilton I can see the low hanging clouds moving in from the northwest.  Soon I will not be able to see anything through the fog.

I forgot to mention this morning that we met some friends last night, and they took us to a Malaysian restaurant not far from here.  They were missionaries in Malaysia many years ago, so they know good ethnic food when the taste it.   This place is at the top of their list.  The multi-ethnicity of Minneapolis is amazing.  I still remember it as a conglomeration of Swedes and Norwegians with a few Danes and Germans mixed it.  Not today.  You can find people from almost every country here, and they have a restaurant to prove it.

Keep praying for me and the assembly.  We are desperately trying to discern the will of God.

Pastor B.

I'm still here.  Sorry I didn't get a chance to blog here yesterday, but it was a long and continuous day.  I left the hotel room at 7:30 a.m. and didn't get back until 10:00 at night.

The day brought two newsworthy events.  In the early afternoon, right after we had all returned from lunch, a tornado suddenly set down in Minneapolis.  The funnel cloud hit part of the convention center, although we never knew it in the huge hall in which we meet.  Central Lutheran Church which is across the street from the convention center had its steeple damaged.  Other parts of the city also received damage, and no one was badly hurt.

The other big news came from the assembly.  Yesterday we took up the social statement on human sexuality.  There were many amendment attempts, but few real changes in the document as proposed.  The statement outlines the way this church applies the biblical statutes and understandings of sexuality.  I urge you to read it all.  The controversial part of the statement allows that same gender sexual activity, when practiced in a publicly accountable life-long monogamous relationship, fits into God's plan for human life.  The statement required a two-thirds majority and passed by exactly that.  When the voting results flashed on the screen, the percentage registered at 66.67%.  Every vote certainly does count.

Today will be a little calmer.  We will begin the discussion of changing ministry rules to reflect the new understandings of the social statement.  However, since these changes only require a majority vote, I don't expect there will be as much drama involved.

Yesterday's funniest moment:  On the big screens in the hall the spoken word is captioned.  It's usually about two seconds behind the speaker.  Anyway, ELCA vice president Carlos Pena took over the presiding role to give Bishop Hanson a break.  He opened with words in Spanish and the captioner obviously did not know that language.  Whatever came up on the screen was gibberish and we all laughed a little.  Then the captioner, whom you never see or hear from, typed for us all to see, "Sorry, the captioner is a little slow."  The entire hall broke into laughs and applause.  And it gave time for a Spanish speaking captioner to take over the task.

Okay, thanks for keeping up.  I'll try to get a few more words to you yet today.

Pastor B.

After meeting some friends for lunch today, I headed back to the assembly for the afternoon plenary session. Today is filled with reports.  However, we did break into a "quasi committee of the whole" in order to allow an easier discussion of the various sides in the sexuality debate.  The agenda ran long this morning, so we continued with the committee of the whole session for about 20 minutes this afternoon.

We also adopted a wonderful project that will see the ELCA team up with the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, Lutheran World Relief, and the United Nations to fight malaria in Africa.  Malaria is a disease that can be eradicated.  We can win. I'm sure we will be hearing more about this initiative as we move into the future. What a great extension of God's heart of love into places where this mosquito borne disease kills thousands.

As the afternoon session began I received a voice message from my son-in-law in Salt Lake City.  He wanted to be the first to tell me that Brett Favre had signed with the Vikings.  I can't wait for the local sports reports tonight.

Pastor B.

Last night's opening session went well beyond 10:00 p.m.  The first floor fight of the assembly occurred over the adoption of assembly rules.  We all knew it was coming. 

Bishop Hanson preached at our opening worship yesterday afternoon.  His sermon reminded us that our unity is in Christ and not in statements (or assembly rules, I might add).  I think he hit the mark, and the "fight" last night was very much a well developed debate over the issue of whether changes in ministry standards around the ordination of homosexual persons should require a two-thirds majority or a simple majority. We ended up with simple. All in all, it was the way sessions of decision making should work.  Although it might be nice to get done a little earlier. 

Many of the downtown Minneapolis streets are torn up.  There's some major infrastructure repair going on here.

This morning's session appears to be a little lighter, and we should adjourn for lunch on time.  I hope so.  Susan and I are meeting some friends for lunch.

Today I should have a little time to peruse the displays and bookstore, too.

BTW, there are 1,043 voting members of this assembly.  It is an honor and a privilege to be here.

Pastor B.

Susan and I are on the way to the ELCA Churchwide Assembly.  Looks like we might hit a little rain on the drive, but it should be uneventful.

The assembly itself will be anything but uneventful.  News media have quickly picked up the ball as the assebly will face a hot button social issue of our time.  The assembly will vote on a social statement on human sexuality which will put light on a new way of understanding homosexuality.  You can read the statement and accompanying documents at Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust.

The statement leads to some additional possible actions regarding ministry and the ordination of persons in publically accountable lifelong monogomous same gender relationships.

There is also a vote on declaring full communion partnership with the United Methodist Church.  Fifty years ago this would have been THE big issue for the assembly.  I doubt that it will be such a major decision this week.

I've been honored by our synod to be voting member of this churchwide assembly.  This is the third time I've had the opportunity to serve the church in this capacity.

Anyway, if I can get hooked up to a computer from our hotel room (the Hilton in downtown Minneapolis in case you want to send flowers), I'll try to put something here everyday.

Please keep the church high up on your prayer concerns this week.

Pastor B.