From the Bishop's Convocation

Pastors and other church leaders convened Jan. 24 and 25 at the Seabeck Conference Center for this annual Bishop’s Convocation, a chance to pray, study and have fellowship. The featured speaker was the Rev. Dr. Terence Fretheim, professor of the Old Testament at Luther Seminary. Bishop Robert D. Hofstad delivered his Bishop’s Report and preached.


Fretheim: Church is walking in the wilderness
The church is wandering in the wilderness, Fretheim told pastors, much like the Israelites who wandered through the desert from Egypt to the Promised Land. Once central, church often today is on the margin. As such, it is in a period of re-examining unchanging and narrow interpretations of biblical law, and asking whether wider interpretations can take into account a quickly changing world, according to Fretheim.
Wandering in the wilderness is a time of change. The Israelites evolved from a mentality of enslavement to one of liberation in the wilderness. “Ongoing revision of law emerges in the journey of the wilderness,” he said.


Hofstad: Smaller synod must focus on pastoral care
Bishop Hofstad had numbers to illustrate that the synod, which stretches from south of Seattle to the Oregon border, and from the Cascades to the ocean, has shrunk.
In 1996, 114 congregations supported a synod budget of 1.25 million. Congregations have closed or merged, thanks to the recession, and some have left over the sexuality vote. Today, 92 congregations support a synod budget of $960,000, and two more congregations may leave soon. Funding for synod’s Living Stones Prison Congregation in Shelton is in jeopardy.
A smaller synod has sharpened its focus on “pastoral care,” which must remain strong, he said.
“I believe the future of synod work will be pastoral care, specifically preventative care,” the bishop said, adding it’s needed the most now. That means assisting pastors to avert crisis before it starts, helping them when they are underpaid, and standing with them in the toughest of times. Some congregations have stepped forth with added funds to help.