Pastor's Message - May/June 2009
Signs of Hope In June I fly to Vancouver for the ELCIC
National convention. The focus for the convention is “In Mission
for Others: Signs of Hope”. The Convention logo is comprised of  two
key visual elements – the dove and the olive branch. Both
symbolize signs of peace, hope and of the presence of the Holy Spirit. This
will be my first time at a national convention and I am unsure of
what differences there might be compared to the two Synodical
Conventions I attended. One thing I will hope for, is that we do
not get bogged down dealing with matters of sexuality and the
church. It is not that I do not want our church to deal with
these issues, but rather to I am looking to this convention to focus on
other issues – dare I say – that are more pressing. For example,
I have questions about our church’s prophetic voice in an age that
seems to be defined by greed and a relentless need to grow our
economy/profit margins/capital at all costs. I was listening
recently to the Rev. Karl Sigurbjornsson, the bishop of Iceland, who
leads the state-sponsored Lutheran church, who says he worries about
how the prospect of financial suffering will affect a society that
''was led to believe that it was unlimited growth forever.''
Bishop Sigurbjornsson was also asking why the church did not speak out
against society’s need to see growth is the ultimate goal. Now
that we have witnessed major failures with the world’s financial
systems and now that we can see cracks in that elusive “confidence”
that the analysts talk about, what will come next? Is the path to
economic recovery just a path to repeat the same ways and same
values? Is there hope in something else – a different way? In
Vancouver I will be looking for signs of that hope. Looking to
connect with like minded Christian leaders who might help the church
regain some of its prophetic voice. That would be a voice that
speaks to a desire to share our resources, a voice that keeps in mind
those who have less than we do, and a voice that puts the needs of
others as high, if not higher than our own needs. I will
ask you to pray for myself and the other delegates at our National
Church Convention (June 25th 28th) – pray that not only will the
delegates find signs of hope, but also that we may return to our
communities and be signs of hope. Here’s hoping and praying. Peace and grace to you Pastor Steve
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