Dear Ones,

Stirred Up in the Spirit was the theme of the Grand Canyon Synod Assembly this past Friday and Saturday, where over 250 ELCA Lutherans gathered at Love of Christ Lutheran Church in Mesa. There were two wonderful worship services with glorious hymn singing, inspired preaching and stories of generosity, courage and achievement. The scripture theme for the assembly was:

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”  

Hebrews 10:24-25 

A Bible study on the text was entitled “Provoking to Love and Grow” where we shared in our table groups about the word ‘provoke’ and where it was used in the Bible. We talked about how we reacted to the different translations of the Greek word found in other translations like, “encourage” (NASB), “spur on” (NIV), “spark” (CEB) or “help one another” (Good News). Using our new understanding, we talked about what it looks like to be provoked to love and growth and what that might mean for our own congregations and the ministries there.

One of the things that really jumped out for me in this text was the second phrase, “not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing…” I wonder if the Hebrews the letter was written for were having some of the same issues we have, did they have a breakout of some illness that kept them apart, and later it was difficult to get everyone to gather again as a community? I suspect it was more likely that the persecution by the Romans was making it harder to gather, but the author of Hebrews said they should “encourage one another” toward love and good deeds (and meeting together).

A second workshop was presented by Rev. Carol Breimeier was titled, “How to Have a Spiritual Conversation Without Being a Jerk!”  Pr. Glenn Zimbelman was so inspired by the presentation that he talked to Pastor Carol and she is going to share her PowerPoint slides and he will do a presentation on the topic at Emmanuel! Look for more information in coming Friday newsletters.

There was an election for a new Synod secretary, youth representative for the Synod Council, and affirmation of newly selected conference representatives to the synod council. Please note that there is an opening for a representative from our conference, the High Country here in northern Arizona. The council continues to do hybrid meetings, so if you have an interest, you don’t have to travel to Phoenix for the quarterly meetings, you can attend via Zoom. Please let me know if you would like more information, this can be an interesting and informative position and allows you to follow closely the workings of the Grand Canyon Synod and the national church.

There was a single resolution brought before the assembly. It was brought forward by Simon’s Project leaders, including our very own Gene Fougner, from across the synod that gather monthly to discuss celebrating diversity in our synod. Here is a link for the whole resolution as it’s kind of long to include here. The resolution, entitled "A Call to Honor Diversity in Every Congregation," passed unanimously.

The Churchwide representative at the assembly was the Rev. Louise Johnson, Executive for Administration for the ELCA. She preached at closing worship and offered an overview of what is happening at churchwide and talked about how our mission support is used and thanked our synod for our generosity. The Rev. Roberto Trejo Haager, Pastor President of the Mexican Lutheran Church (Iglesia Luterana Mexicana, ILM) was a guest at the assembly and he shared what is happening with the 11 Lutheran churches in Mexico.

If you have a chance to attend a Synod Assembly in the future, I would strongly encourage you to jump at the opportunity! There is something very special about being in a gathering of Lutherans, singing and praising God together! Every year Emmanuel elects 2 representatives as voting members to the assembly during our annual meeting at the end of January.

Friday night sunset by Laurie Plourde Sturdy, such amazing colors!

The Peace of Christ, 

Pr. Tricia

Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Prescott Valley, AZ

Emmanuel Lutheran Church

7763 E. Long Look Dr.

Prescott Valley, AZ 86314

PH (928) 772-4135

FX (928) 759-3541



website: emmanuellutheranpv.org

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