May 2019

The Spirit Continues to Speak to the Church

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. (John 14:26)

On the night before Jesus was killed, he gave his disciples a new commandment, “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another” and then promised them the gift of the Spirit to teach and guide them as they lived out their faith and wrestled with how to obey this new commandment in a world where power and profits are often prioritized over love and justice. On Sunday, June 9, we celebrate Pentecost and the gift of the Holy Spirit to the church. Luke describes the first outpouring of the Spirit in the Book of Acts and tells us that it occurred on the Jewish festival of Pentecost; fifty days after the Passover and therefore the Christian church celebrates Pentecost fifty days after Easter. (Acts 2:1-21) Since then the Spirit continues to come to the church and it is something we pray for and understand to happen in Baptism.

          On May 11, Walter Rau, Suzanne Bruce and I attended the Assembly of the Sierra Pacific Synod in Lodi, California. Several pages of this newsletter are devoted to details of the business that was transacted at these proceedings. On the agenda were three resolutions regarding the proposed social statement, Faith, Sexism, and Justice: A Lutheran Call to Action, which is currently being developed and will be brought before the 2019 churchwide assembly of the ELCA for consideration in August. It was exciting to see the process of developing a social statement in action. It was exciting to the see the Spirit working through the voices of those at the assembly who were offering critique and amendments to the proposed statement. 

          In the ELCA, we believe that the Spirit speaks through and to the church through the prayerful study, discussions and deliberations of pastors, deacons, and lay members in community to offer guidance in living as Christians in our time and our context. That is why our local congregations are managed by a council, why we have Synod and churchwide councils and why we gather at council meetings, Synod wide and church wide assemblies. When it comes to social issues, the ELCA has a process for studying various social issues that looks to the Spirit to speak in a similar way. It then provides its understanding of these issues in documents called social statements. From the ELCA website:
 
ELCA social statements are teaching and policy documents that provide broad frameworks to assist us in thinking about and discussing social issues in the context of faith and life. They are meant to help communities and individuals with moral formation, discernment and thoughtful engagement with current social issues as we participate in God’s work in the world. Social statements also set policy for the ELCA and guide its advocacy and work as a publicly engaged church.

          Much more than just a set of rules or conclusions, the statements contain the reflections on the complex considerations involved in the issues they address. They reference scripture, past church teaching, scientific findings and current social conditions. Most importantly, they reflect our tradition’s understanding of grace, neighbor-love and the conscience of the individual believer. The arguments laid out in the social statements can therefore be useful in our own discernment on  these topics. “In their use as teaching documents, their authority is persuasive not coercive.”

         The ELCA’s social statements “result from an extensive process of participation and deliberation and are adopted by a two-thirds vote of an ELCA churchwide assembly.” They are years in the making, include input gathered from all expressions of the church, from laity and rostered ministers and from subject matter experts, and their development and adoption follow a documented and formal process. The proposed social statement concerning women and justice now being considered for adoption was begun in 2012. 

          Currently there are 12 Social Statements that have been adopted by the ELCA addressing a broad range of topics including Caring for Creation; the Death Penalty; and Race, Ethnicity, and Culture. And there is one on Abortion - a serious, deeply personal, and highly controversial topic that is currently in the headlines. I call this one to your attention as our society once again wrestles with this issue and offer it to you as a resource for you to use as you think about this topic in light of the recent public debate. Please know that Pastor Dawn and I are available to offer support to anyone who is suffering as a result of this debate for whatever reason. 

Each generation of Christians is called to wrestle with how to live faithfully with love, compassion and justice in their own time and context. The issues we face today are complex and often seem overwhelming but Jesus has not left us on our own. We have been given the Spirit and the Word to guide us, grace to comfort us, a community to support us and help us discern, and a Savior who loves us until the end of time. 
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)   
                                                                            

In Christ’s love, 
Pastor Sue


For general information about Social Statements, links to all approved social statements, and a link to the Policies and Procedures for addressing Social Concerns, go to the ELCA Social Statements website

For the text of the proposed social statement on Faith, Sexism, and Justice: A Lutheran Call to Action

For information regarding the resolutions that were ratified at the 2019 Sierra Pacific Synod Assembly

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