“Doing for the community, not simply for the church and the
church’s survival; rather, witnessing for the community itself.”
Attendees: Pastor Lee Brumback, Hank Jud, Melinda Jud, Pastor Carol
Kniseley, Bill Smith, Pastor Tim Waltonen.
Opening
Pastor Tim Waltonen opened with a short
talk on the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Riders, who risked their
lives in order to assert their right to travel freely. He then led us in prayer.
Order of Business
·
Conversation
with Bishop Mauney – Both Bishop Mauney and Pastor
Gunsten, who arranged the 46-minute in-depth conversation, share our grief over
the closing of Rejoice Lutheran in Chesapeake, and our concern over the status
of Pastor Mills. They are making every
attempt to find a position for Pastor Mills.
In
response to the team’s concern that efforts be made to place pastors of African
descent in parishes with diverse populations, they provided news of three
minority candidates currently involved in call processes (names withheld, of
course).
In
regard to new mission starts, the Synod leadership fully agrees that these have
to grow out of partnerships with churches in the local community. The hope is to begin development of a new strategy
for mission starts after this year’s Synod Assembly. Our team would be involved in the development
of the strategy’s “diversity piece.”
·
Pastor CeCee’s
Status – After discussion of whether the team
might be of help in brainstorming for ideas for Pastor CeCee’s future, the
consensus was that it is not our role to have an influence in this.
Note: Something
that has come up repeatedly during discussion of both bulletized items above is
the wish that there might be an African descent pastor in the Petersburg
area. While we realize that this is
easier said than done, we nonetheless consider it appropriate to express to the
Synod leadership.
·
Rejoice Closing
Celebration – Melinda Jud reported on the very
positive and moving closing event at Rejoice.
Team members believe that the life of the Rejoice congregation has
stimulated our thinking, as well as that of the Synod and the Church-wide
office. Many enlivening events (e.g., a
revival) would not have taken place, had it not been for Rejoice. As Pastor Gunsten has pointed out, former
Rejoice members will now carry seeds of faith and new life to be planted
elsewhere.
·
2020 Vision
Goals – Though approved by the Synod
Council, the recent submissions by the team to these goals have not yet been
added to the Synod web site. Pastor
Gunsten has explained that the minutes from the March 20 Synod Council meeting
only arrived at the Synod office during the week of May 16, 2011. The approved submissions are included in
these minutes. The 2020 Vision Goals
will be updated with our additions in time for this year’s Synod Assembly.
Note: Conversation
on this topic included the observation that the page introducing these goals on
the web site contains no mention of diversity.
Another observation was that the web site photos from Synod Assembly
show very little diversity. (A photo of
Pastor Gemechis Buba, the assembly speaker, is noticeably missing, for
instance. Nor is there a photo of Pastor
Mills.) While no doubt an oversight,
this seems a missed opportunity to “welcome God’s many faces.”
·
Synod Assembly -- We have submitted
a team report to be included in the voting members’ packets. Pastor Lucille Mills will moderate a
team-sponsored panel discussion on Lutheran Revival during the Saturday
lunchtime workshops. On Saturday
afternoon, Bill Smith will lead a delegation of team members in presenting a
“Memorial Acknowledging 2011 as the International Year for People of African
Descent.”
Note: Special thanks to
Bishop Mauney for alerting us to the text of this memorial, originated in the
United Nations General Assembly, and further tailored and distributed by
individuals at the Church-wide office.
·
Fredericksburg
Area Lutheran Revival, October 23, 2011 – Three
planning meetings have been held to date, with another scheduled for July 17,
2011. The event text, theme, and title (“Revive! Refresh! Rejoice!”) have been
defined, as have the teams and responsibilities.
·
Thanking and
Honoring Pastor Lee Brumback – We
thanked Pastor Lee for his service as oversight to our committee from the Synod
with a small gift of Martin Marty’s recent Biography
of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Letters and Papers from Prison. We have enjoyed being with you, Lee, and
benefitted greatly from your help and insight.
God be with you in your new synod – and best wishes to you and your
wonderful family, in Charlestown!
Action Items
·
Melinda Jud will check on the date and
time for our presentation at this year’s ministerium.
·
Team members will think of candidate
topics for the Ministerium’s small group discussions.
Next Meeting -
Sunday, July 17, 2011, Resurrection in Fredericksburg, 2:30 P.M.
Closing - Pastor Brumback
closed with prayer.