When I was young, my parents would take us back to the old family farm for Thanksgiving.
We’d meet relatives we rarely saw otherwise and hear tales of times past. We’d eat way too much. We’d stay up late, talking.
My adolescent self would chafe at rules created before I was born. I’d get upset at the fact that the women cooked and cleaned up after the meal, while the men watched football. The women talked in the kitchen, and the men talked as they watched television.
Sometimes the talk was serious: what to do about the relative who was declining into dementia, or the prices of various necessities. At other times, the conversation turned to joy. And always, we were surrounded by stories of who we were and what had made our family that way.
In many ways, the old family reunion reminds me of the ELCA’s churchwide assemblies.
Some people get upset because of the legislative aspect of the Churchwide Assembly; people are especially prone to get upset if they don’t agree with legislation that the assembly passes.
Some people don’t understand why we need an assembly to speak for the whole ELCA. Some people reject the worldliness of some of the resolutions.
Some people get upset at the cost of a Churchwide Assembly, and it can be hard to argue that point. This year the assembly is being held in Orlando, Fla., August 15-19, and it costs a great deal to transport everyone there.
Even with a special discount, the housing will be expensive for all those people. Add to that the cost of food and all the incidentals.
If you’re like me, you have an inner 19-year-old who says, “Boy, we could feed a lot of poor people with all the money that we spend on the Churchwide Assembly.”
Is the assembly important?
So, why do it?
If we believe in a national body that has a somewhat unified identity, then it’s important to come together to celebrate that identity.
Still, you might argue that we could do so in cheaper ways. Maybe it would be better to just send the bishops from each synod. Maybe we could do something electronically. Maybe we could meet every five years instead of every two.
Psychologists, however, will tell us that there’s something of value in a face-to-face meeting. It’s much harder to demonize those who disagree with you if you’re staring right at them. It’s easier to have an honest conversation.
There’s value in being together where participants can pray and participate in Bible study. The whole Churchwide Assembly will celebrate the Eucharist every day. As Lutherans, we can understand the importance of that opportunity.
And then there’s the value of being together, communing together, seeing and hearing our diversity. There’s the value in all that the participants will learn about what the ELCA, both at the local level and the national and global levels, is doing.
Support for the leadership
Hopefully our leadership will be affirmed by meeting together as one body. I cannot imagine how lonely it must be for those at the top of the ELCA.
As an individual Lutheran, I have the luxury of saying, “Well, I’m not responsible for this. I’m not in charge of that.” I hope that Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson, and others who serve in high places, feel a sense of love and appreciation as this church gathers.
I hope that they have moments when they say, “Ah, yes, this is why we do what we do. I remember now.” I hope that the leadership leaves Orlando feeling affirmed, rejuvenated and strengthened for the tasks to come.
I hope that for all of us, actually, even those of us who won’t be in Orlando. As people gather for the 2011 Churchwide Assembly, let’s resolve to pray for them. We know that they’ll be praying for us. And we know that great things happen when Christians invite the Spirit to come.
Kristin Berkey-Abbott is a lifelong Lutheran, a college teacher and department head. She has taught a variety of English and creative writing classes for the last 20 years.
I agree that the cost is high but the cost of not meeting is so much higher...we need the gathering to strengthen our love and hope in Christ as a body of Christ.
It's hard for me to think of the Churchwide Assembly as a family reunion when only a little more than 1,000 of the 4,500,000 ELCA Lutherans will be present. It is especially hard when we consider that the decisions these voting members make will be binding on everyone else. That's not how I recall family reunions finctioning.
It's VERY much like a family reunion...this is the first year that I've not attended since the 90's. I'm very sad that I can't go...there are many people that I will miss seeing...and it soooo strengthens our love and hope in Christ...our connectedness is very important...perhaps in a rather subjective way. Thanks to the ELCA!!
How large is your family Chemnitz? My mother has 12 siblings, and family gatherings always involve a few people making decisions that are binding on everyone else. To be sure, everyone has the opportunity to provide input and give feedback during the organization process, but it invariably gets run by only a couple people. Even when things are not organized in advance, a few people step in and make the necessary decisions.
I think it is worthwhile exploring other means of organizing the church, but I don't think there is a good solution. I like Catholic and Presbyterian models for church organization even less than our method.
I've never been to a Churchwide Assembly, but I recently attended the Triennial Gathering of the Women of the ELCA in Spokane. Of all the women there, I knew very few personally; however, we all had something in common - we were Women of the ELCA. It was good to feel that connectedness on a much broader level and to celebrate the work of the Women of the ELCA as a national unit. I'm sure it's the same at a Churchwide Assembly.
Peter: There may be one aspect of one of your models that you may have overlooked: It works.
Chemnitz: I think you should just ignore that No Swimming sign on the bank of the River. A refreshing dip would do you good. You may be able to see a little more real fruit from your brief counseling sessions.
If your family has, 4,500 members and 1 shows up, is that a reunion? That's the same ratio as the CWA!
Peter: I guess if you want to let your aunts and uncles tell you how to live your life, spend your money, who to marry, etc., that's up to you .... or, actually, I guess you're saying that's up to them! Whatever. The ELCA CWA isn't deciding what toppings go on the pizza or what channel to watch.
Bev: I've been to CWAs and, other than some great fellowship with the Solid Rock Lutherans, it felt nothing like a family reunion to me. But then maybe I'm the odd-colored sheep of the family.
John: I don't understand. Are you saying submitting to ELCA norms will make my Word and sacrament ministry more effective? Is that in the scriptures or in the confessions?
Mary: I usually say, "Thanks to GOD."
Chemnitz: No, that is not what I meant. You once used the word Bosporus. That was my reference.
Chemnitz,
There's ~633,000 people for each member of Congress, so we're doing a bit better than our national family. The other interesting thing is that if I go far enough up the tree, there are 4.5 million living people with whom I'm related. I only know 100 or so, and don't get much further than 3rd cousins. Yet that hundred gathering is a family reunion. Even 50-75 is a gathering.
By and large the decisions made are choice of pizza toppings kind of decisions. Things like how the ELCA is going to be run, where we will focus our money, these are all left-hand decisions.
John,
What do you mean by 'works'? I'm not sure how much one can ascribe directly to the model vs the Holy Spirit. For instance, the Spirit's raining in Africa and yet do they even have the same number of ordained ministers per parishoner as we do (forgetting for a moment differences in churchly organization)? AC7 certainly suggests a multiplicity of churchly organization being possible.