Unity in the midst of diversity theme of Bible study event

SILVERDALE - Unity in the midst of diversity was the theme of the Women of the ELCA Bible Study Event held Aug. 21 at Silverdale Lutheran Church.
Almost 200 women from the Southwestern Washington and Northwest Washington synods of the ELCA turned out to hear the Revs. D. Jensen and Linda Seyenkulo lay the groundwork for those who will take part in the Lutheran Women Today magazine Bible study for 2010 and 2011.
Pastor Jensen Seyenkulo called on the passage from Amos 3:3, which asks, “Can any two walk together except they be agreed?”
“Our responses is come and see,” he told the listening crowd.
“There are a lot of things we disagree on in the church, but we can still walk together,” he said.
Jensen Seyenkulo is director for rostered and authorized ministries in the ELCA’s churchwide Vocation and Education unit and is originally from Liberia. Wife Linda is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church of Park Forest, Ill. The couple met in seminary in Minnesota, and lived in Liberia before war forced them out of the country.
Jensen Seyenkulo also spoke of the ELCA’s Book of Faith initiative, to better acquaint followers with the written word of God. Some people new to the faith desire “milk” from the scripture, similar to a brand-new infant, he explained. Learning more, they eventually transition to the “solid food” of scripture, he said.
Linda Seyenkulo urged participants, in studying the Bible with others, not to keep exclusively to groups of like-minded people who agree on all aspects of the faith. She urged them to get to know others they may disagree with on some issues, to foster “cross-fertilization of thinking.”
“In the body of Christ, we believe there is room for differences,” she said.
To order the materials for the Lutheran Woman Today nine-month Bible study titled, “The People of God: Unity nthe Midst of Diversity,” call Augsburg Fortress at (800) 328-4648.