Grand Canyon Synod

Being in a Denominational Church

Being in a Denominational Church

Pastor’s Column for the June, 2024 newsletter

This month is our annual synod assembly again up in Mesa. I’ll be there June 14-15th to cast votes on resolutions, listen to speakers, and, this year, to vote on who will be the bishop. Our synod, called the Grand Canyon Synod, has been led for the past 6 years by Rev. Deborah Hutterer. Here first term is up and she will be running again.

Holy Communion setup at Love of Christ Lutheran Church, Mesa, AZ

A bishop here can serve two terms, and is elected by “ecclesial ballot”. Basically, everyone at the synod assembly writes a name for who they want to be bishop. It can be any pastor in good standing in the ELCA. They don’t have to live here.  If one person gets 75% or more of the vote they are elected right away. If no one has that much, it goes to a second ballot, or a third, and so on until one person is elected. (I can never remember the exact percentages needed with each round, but the crowd thins each time).

The idea behind it is to reduce the influence of campaigning and leave more room for the Holy Spirit. Some people do, of course, try to get their names out there, and having name recognition in the synod always helps. There has certainly been a tendency to elect bishops from larger urban churches because people know them, but that’s not a hard rule.

All of it will make things more interesting. Synod assemblies, once upon a time, were huge events that went most of a week. People would submit multiple resolutions, followed by loud and contentious debates. Local newspapers would send a press corps. In the 70’s it was the Viet Nam war resolutions, then nuclear war in the 80’s, then in the 90’s and early 2000’s it was same sex marriage and ordination. I remember lines of people cued up to debate pro or con changing the policies, complete with accusations, crying, anger, emotional pleas etc.

Then in 2009 the ELCA approved a social statement on sexuality, along with a policy change for ordination, that allowed same-sex marriage and ordination, and we had more than a few people leave – much as is happening now with the United Methodist Church. Since then, assemblies have been quick, with few resolutions. Part, I’m sure, is the lack of such hot-button issues. But I also suspect people got burned out with the sexuality debates, and after being so stressed with congregational conflicts and then covid battles, nobody wants to debate much.

Bishop Deborah Hutterer of the Grand Canyon Synod of the ELCA

It's all part of being a church in a denomination, which they nickname the “mainline” today. In the 1950’s most people belonged to denominational churches. Now that number has shrunk to a minority. Instead, as you can see in NW Tucson, non-denominational churches have proliferated. They have trendy names that don’t sound particularly religious and are mostly conservative-Baptist in their politics and theology. Lord of Grace is a bit of an outlier in this regard.

There are reasons for the growth-decline trends. Mainline churches have done plenty of resting on past history and getting lazy, but it’s much more than that. I believe one of the biggest drivers towards non-denominationalism is the way people function in community.

Mainline churches are set up like democracies. We have meetings where everyone gets a voice and vote, and we know we won’t always get what we want. Not everyone will like every new initiative or agree with all the items in the budget, but it’s always been assumed that we would stay with our church and  support it even if it didn’t always go our way. And we always understood that democratic process involves meetings, discussions, debates, and time investment. Changes can take time, compromises get made, actions get delayed, but that’s how it works.

Taking a vote at the 2023 Grand Canyon Synod Assembly in Oro Valley, AZ

If you look around our world, participation in organizations is declining across the board. Social groups like Masons or Moose or Elks are shrinking. Non-profits are getting fewer regular volunteers. People are simply less interested in investing the time in process or belonging to groups that require it. Instead, it’s more what we call “vote with your feet”, where if you don’t like it, you just go. You probably don’t lodge a protest or try to talk to anyone before you go; you just leave and look for somewhere else that’s more to your liking.

We do this with restaurants. If I don’t like the food, I’m not going to volunteer to be on a committee to meet weekly for several months with the restaurant owner and chef to develop a new menu, which would then be voted on by the customers. I just leave and try somewhere else. When new ownership comes, I might try it again, see if it’s changed, but I’m not spending my time to fix it.

This attitude carries over to church. Rather than invest in a democratic process to change what you might not like, people are more likely to just move somewhere else.

There is some good in this. I have known people who are so miserable in the church they’re in, constantly fighting things, being angry, blocking, complaining, when they could just go down the road and be content. If I weren’t a pastor, and moved into a new town, I would shop around a little before joining a church. If they taught fundamentalism, creationism, or complementarianism (where women submit to husbands but we say that the obedience is “complementary” to the man’s authority and therefore equal – I guess), or anti LGBTQ sermons, I wouldn’t go. If they gave my kids dirty looks in worship when they talked, I’d move on

On the other hand, it’s hard as a church leader to always stay ahead of everyone’s felt needs and opinions. You try to listen, stay in touch, know what’s going on, but you can’t read minds. It makes church members more like customers, less like family members in community. If we really love each other and care for each other, then leaving will be a last resort, not the immediate go-to. In a community, you’ll make the point of getting involved in the process because you have a commitment to the church. If you’re a customer, it’s commitment until something better comes along.

But I wouldn’t change being in a denomination for the alternative. Yes, I’m biased, but I have seen what happens to churches that leave the ELCA and go independent. They usually do fine for the first few years, then, when the pastor retires or leaves, they struggle to find someone new. Then, there’s an exodus of people who don’t like the new pastor, and the place is dead in a generation. They struggle to outlive the founding pastor’s personality. Mainline churches have more resilience this way.

I also like having a bit of a buffer on things with the synod office. You can’t just fire a pastor with a council vote (I like that, of course). You can’t just sell land. You can’t just leave the denomination (without a lengthy process). You can’t just do a lot of things. There’s a process to keep the most extreme actions from being done quickly, and force people to take time to debate and discuss it. Things done in the heat of the moment are rarely done wisely.

So we will see how this synod assembly goes. I am the designated photographer, so I get to get up from the table and walk around to take pictures. (You can see my photos from 2023 here). I will be more excited at some speakers than others. I will enjoy catching up with colleagues, and hearing some news, and know that I’m a part of something bigger than just one church, and that we can do a lot of these things we do better when we live in community. I will enjoy watching the balloting process for a new (returning?) bishop. I will also surely get frustrated at some opinions voiced, some statements made, some things other churches are doing that I disagree with. But I am a part of a community, we are a part of a community, and we don’t walk out on each other without really taking time to turn over stones first.

Peace,

Pastor Lars

Letter from Bishop Deborah Hutterer - May 12

In-person worship in a time of unknowns

Bishop’s Letter: May 12, 2020 


Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

We all want to go back to in-person worship. We also want to be safe. We want our neighbors to be safe. Many have asked me when we can gather for in-person worship. Last week I strongly urged each of you to continue your online worship and presence. I have seen many examples, and what people in our synod are doing is superb. I also encouraged no in-person worship until June 1, 2020 at the earliest.

As I talk with Bishops across the ELCA, our local ecumenical colleagues (Disciples of Christ, UCC, Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopal), and with GCS pastors, perhaps there is a better question than on what date can we gather. We need to ask ourselves, under what known conditions is it safe to open our buildings?

In a time of so many unknowns with so much at risk, I feel it would be ill-advised to project yet another date. As we decide when to proceed, I suggest we wait for the CDC guideline of a “downward trajectory of documented cases within a 14-day period.”

It is important to be aware of that this CDC guideline of downward trajectory, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/organizations/, has not yet been met in Nevada or Arizona. According to each state’s health department, from April 15-30, the statistics are alarming.
• In Nevada, confirmed cases rose from 3,321 to 5,594, the number of deaths from 137 to 276.
• In Arizona, confirmed cases rose from 3,962 to 9,305, the number of deaths from 142 to 395.
• To date, Utah has been relatively stable with 5317 cases and 50 deaths.

It may be months before we see a decline in cases. For public health, this is a good thing, as it means we have flattened the curve and kept our medical community from being overwhelmed. The best science says cases will stop growing when we reach a herd immunity of 60-70% of the population either through infection or vaccination.


When we do reopen, we need to be aware that there may be a resurgence of cases, especially in the fall. With cases no longer on a downward trajectory, we would again need to cease in-person gathering.

I encourage you to watch Dr. Michael Osterholm’s conversation with Bishop Ann Svennungsen of the Minneapolis Area Synod. You may have seen Dr. Osterholm and his rational and accurate pandemic forecasts on many news outlets. Not only is Osterholm an infectious disease epidemiologist and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, he is a plain-spoken ELCA member who cares deeply for the church.

“Sobering” is the most common word used to describe Dr. Osterholm’s advice to be ready for months of uncertainty. View at www.facebook.com/mplssynod/videos/619998971928161/

Considerations for when and in what form to gather is based on Christian moral sensibility. Lutherans have always operated on the basis of faith and reason. God has given us hearts to receive faith and heads to think through decisions—especially when they impact other individuals and communities. At a minimum, this means complying with health and safety guidelines and recommendations. Compliance with the bare minimum, though, may not be enough. We want to do all we can as we love our neighbors as ourselves to keep everyone safe and healthy.

As a medical professional said, “This is happening in COVID-19 time.” As much as we want to plan things on our time, we cannot control COVID-19. As we use our heads to discern facts and information, we use our hearts to trust that Christ is leading and guiding us. And, God’s own Spirit gives us peace to calm our fears, and hope to sustain our future.

In the coming weeks, the Office of the Bishop will be sharing many resources to help you be ready for the joyous day when we will gather again in person for worship. Next week, Presiding Bishop Eaton will share resources for gathering in person and I will forward them to you as well. Until then, we continue to worship and love and pray in new ways.

O God, where hearts are fearful and constricted, grant courage and hope.
Where anxiety is infectious and widening, grant peace and reassurance.
Where impossibilities close every door and window, grant imagination and resistance.
Where distrust twists our thinking, grant healing and illumination.
Where spirits are daunted and weakened, grant soaring wings and strengthened dreams.
All these things we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. (ELW 76)

Christ is risen. Christ is risen, indeed. Alleluia.


The Rev. Deborah K. Hutterer
Bishop
Grand Canyon Synod of the ELCA