Walking Together, Though the Road Stretches Seven Time Zones - ELCUSFE XXII Synod Assembly, 18-20 Oct 2013

 ELCUSFE Bishop Otto Schaude, in his opening report to the synod, noted that such assemblies always have to deal with a certain amount of official business. Yet for this church the most crucial thing at these annual gathers is to see that we are not alone, that we are really on the road (-od) together (syn-). While we constantly feel the enormous challenges that come with our being scattered over such great distances, there is a positive side - it is completely obvious that we need and have much to learn from one another. 

  We did engage in important practical questions - from next year's budget to a small-group discussion about new mission congregations, from the blessing of lay preachers to elections for the synod council. Yet the richness of our gathering was felt less in our (nearly unanimous most of the time) voting and more in our sense of being together on the way, despite our differences in pieties, priorities and experience. 
  Below you'll find pictures from our days together - days spent in listening to reports on various ministries (for youth, for women, for men; diaconal, educational, and musical) from our 4 deaneries. I can look at the official assembly minutes if I need to remember the details of one or another of the decisions we made. But the conversations I had with brothers and sisters in faith, their concern for one another and for their neighbor, will stay with me; they convinced me, more than ever, that we are on the road together.  

Nikolai, one of the delegates of our deanery (Krasnoyarsk.)

Bishop Schaude voting with a number of delegates from
our deanery in the foreground - Pastor Dimitry from Abakan
(bottom left), Nikolai and Vasily from Tomsk (far right).

Our small group proposed a variety of priorities 

for the development of ministries in our church. 

Synod President Pastor Evgeny Filipov and 

Assistant to the Bishop in the Evangelical Lutheran

 Church of European Russia, Norbert Hintz.

At synod assembly Sister Heidi (who usually serves

  in the Omsk region) and I agreed that she 

would visit  a few of the  congregations in 

my deanery that are dealing with pastoral vacancies.

"A Prayer for the Workplace" will return 

with Vladimir to his home in the Urals.  

Andrey (above) and Evgeny (below) shared the stories 

of their faith journeysbefore being blessed as preachers

 for Magadan (Far East) and Azovo (Omsk), respectively. 

Not just the obligatory group photo, 

but the family of faith, on the way together.  

* * *
  I'll add a few words here for those of you interested in news of the synod itself.
  On the first day of the synod the schedule called for a guest speaker. While Bishop Schaude gave an interesting report in its place, we were saddened not to have had this guest with us. I would usually give his name, but in this case I've decided to be extra cautious - you see, the Central Asian country that he is living in has forbidden him to leave. Our guest not being able to come (as well as the strict limits on his actions within the country) is just one example of how difficult it is for Christians right now in that part of the world. 
  In other news - delegates to the synod assembly are selected here for 5 year terms. This year was an election year, meaning that delegates began new terms and elected a new synod council. Zoya Gentse, the lay person in charge of congregations in the Khakasia region of our deanery, was elected secretary, while Pastor Evgeny Filipov was re-elected synod president.
  As usual we discussed the budget plan for next year; while progress is slow, I see that congregations here are making progress toward the goal of doing more in terms of financial stewardship. This is a particularly important issue here, since most of the staff working throughout the church are paid through the central offices. Offerings from congregations to support ministries continue to increase.
  Based on what I heard at the synod assembly, 2014 should prove to be a very interesting year for our church: recent positive developments in building projects (e.g., in Ekaterinburg and Shelekhov) could mean new walls going up in those two places; a number of church partners plan to visit us (including church and Scout groups on the train); the Omsk congregation will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the church center with a number of events (including a conference co-organized with the state university here - "300 Years of Lutheranism in Siberia"); and we can expect further developments in educational ministries (an area in which I hope to be involved).