A Test of Our Character

From the Bishop

A Test of Our Character

I write this on the morning of November 6th following the results of our national election. I write it to the people of the Pacifica Synod and the wider Church of Jesus. 

Grace and peace to you!

What the election results tell us is that we are a purple country. Furthermore, our denomination is a purple church. Our information silos and the algorithms that feed them made us believe that most people think like we do. Progressives think that the church or nation is progressive, and conservatives do the same. We have greatly underestimated the political diversity of our neighbors. Both conservative and liberal subgroups have been led to believe that the country overwhelmingly holds the same values dear. That is not the case.

The emotions that we are feeling are also diverse. Some of us are deeply saddened. Others are angry. Still others are excited and joyful. While many are confused and fearful. 

I offer us two important things to do in these coming days.

First, feel your feelings.
Whatever you are feeling needs to be experienced and not dismissed. Before we rush off to decide what we are going to do next, please take time to feel what you are actually feeling. Where is it in your body? Can you locate it? Invite the Spirit to attend to it. If you are grieving this is especially true as grief has its own timeline and won’t be hurried.

Second: Go to church this coming Sunday 

The second thing I invite us to do will reveal the character of our faith communities. Go to church this coming Sunday and share communion with your siblings in Christ. Know that we don’t all hold the same opinions or feel the same emotions, but we share in one bread, one cup, one God. Isolating, blaming, expelling or shaming are not part of the welcome to the table that Jesus offers us all. It may not yet be time for healing words between people who have opposing political views, but there is an opportunity to lean into the inclusive universal love of God when we come to the Lord’s table. Touch the baptismal water as you enter the sanctuary. Remember the promise of God’s steadfast love and know that it is for you.

“This is exactly the time when the church needs to show up as the church.”

— Bishop David Nagler, Pacifica Synod ELCA

We proclaim God’s unconditional love, and we take care of one another in spite of all that divides us. Know that I am praying for all of us. May God give us strength, love, and grace.

Peace, Bishop Dave

Interview with a young poet from Rafah in Gaza

Home//Radio//Here & Now

What a Rafah poet wants you to know about his city

09:31

February 16, 2024

A picture taken from Rafah shows smoke billowing during Israeli bombardment over Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Feb. 11, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group. (Said Khatib/AFP via Getty Images)

Here & Now's Scott Tong speaks with Mohammed Abu Lebda, a poet and translator from Rafah.

This segment aired on February 16, 2024.

Statement on Israel-Hamas

  From Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, ELCA

 "My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?

Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?"

—Psalm 22:1

Dear church,

As Lutherans, we are accustomed to holding tension between two truths. Thus the ELCA denounces the egregious acts of Hamas, acts that have led to unspeakable loss of life and hope. At the same time the ELCA denounces the indiscriminate retaliation of Israel against the Palestinian people, both Christian and Muslim.

For the past week we have borne witness to the horrors of the escalating crisis between Israel and Hamas. We also watch a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza as Israel blocks food, water, fuel and medical supplies and as airstrikes continue to cause unbearable civilian casualties ahead of a just-announced ground assault. We see Israelis and families around the world in the agonizing wait for word about the fate of loved ones killed or taken hostage by Hamas. We are in anguish, grieving and praying for all people who are living in trauma, fear and uncertainty.

Among us are Palestinian Lutherans who are fearful for their families, their communities and their homeland. In our communities we have Jewish and Muslim neighbors, who are also facing the horrors of this crisis and its impact on their loved ones.

It is difficult to find words that suffice in the complexity of this moment, and in the web of relationships that bind us together, as church, with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land and our interreligious partners. Yet God has called us to be a people who stand with others amid suffering.

We must also call a thing a thing. The power exerted against all Palestinian people — through the occupation, the expansion of settlements and the escalating violence — must be called out as a root cause of what we are witnessing. We are committed to our long-standing accompaniment of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land.

The God who liberates us calls us to be a liberating witness. May it be so.

In Christ,
The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Things you can do:

• Find updated resources and statements from the ELCA here.

• Join our partner Churches for Middle East Peace for prayer every Wednesday from 12:30 to 1 p.m. Eastern time. Register here.

• Call your lawmakers today through the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and urge them to take action to de-escalate the conflict and uphold unrestricted humanitarian aid to Gaza. Find your member of Congress at GovTrack.

• Support Lutheran Disaster Response here.

Did you come as yourself today?

The video that follows is titled: MASKS. We all like to make a good impression, but when it comes to God and the church, honesty is the best policy.

This is the 2011 Easter video of www.centralchristian.com. with thanks!

Watching a mustard seed grow

In today’s Gospel text (Mark 4:26-34), Jesus tells us about the mustard seed and how it grows into a bush that all the birds can find shade in. How is God calling us to grow - that we would be the ones who help others find their support, their “shade” - their place of refuge? We can compare it to the Ezekiel text - also finding birds who have their place to sit in the shade - which comes after a time of extreme difficulty but eventually turns into a promised blessing. We have also been through difficult times - but God will send times of blessing - and strengthen us to be a blessing to others! God’s peace - Pastor Andreas+

Watch the video to see the mustard seed’s growth happen in time lapse!

A few reasons why people don't come to church...

Our Gospel text in Mark 3 - really just the beginning of the Gospel, has Jesus already in hot water with the community, the religious authorities, and even his own family. Why? What brought on the opposition so quickly? Jesus is offering a new way to be the gathered community, a new way of saying you are welcome here. It is all about hospitality.

I found this YouTube on David Lose’ s blog [In the Meantime…] from a few years back - it was put out by a congregation that wanted to share its invitation to all people. I wonder if we could make it ours. Maybe you want to share this with others in the weeks ahead? Let me know what responses you get!

Pastor Andreas+