Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

St. Paul reminds us:  “Let love be genuine…Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.  Live in harmony with one another.” [Romans 12: 9a,15,16a]

The 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America daily gathered around the Lord’s Table for worship and Holy Communion. I commend the voting members from our Florida-Bahamas Synod who served with grace and dedication, giving considered attention to the business at hand each day. In addition to our 18 elected voting members, we had over 25 visitors at the assembly from our synod.

We are grateful for your prayers and for the interest that you have shared before, during and following the assembly.

Throughout the week, we learned of the vastness of our mission and our ministry as the people of God, both at home and in distant lands. During our time together, the assembly:

• Adopted an HIV/AIDS Strategy and strengthened our commitment to working in partnership with Lutheran World Relief and the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod in the Lutheran Malaria Initiative;
• Overwhelmingly voted to approve a full-communion agreement with the United Methodist Church, which opens doors to significant ministry opportunities throughout our synod;
• Approved the social statement “Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust” and the Recommendations on Ministry Policies;
• Passed a resolution seeking comprehensive immigration reform in our country. As one of the bishops who serve on the Presiding Bishop’s “Ready Bench” for the ministry of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, I am deeply appreciative of the adoption, and I know firsthand what a significant role we play in helping others recognize and address the burdens of our neighbors who are new arrivals to this country;
• Voted to strengthen our commitment to involving young people in the life of the ELCA by working toward increasing their representation to 10% of the total of assembly Voting Members. As you may recall, our synod was one of the first to take significant steps toward this inclusion by adding an additional Voting Member position for each congregation specifically designated for a youth or young adult;
• Re-elected Mr. Carlos Peña from Texas as Vice President of the ELCA; and,
• Rejoiced in worship, Bible study, and fellowship.

This Churchwide Assembly played deeply upon our hearts and our faith as decisions were made that filled some with great joy and others with sadness. The processes of adopting the Social Statement and the Recommendations on Ministry Policies were reflective of our own synod assembly several months ago as Voting Members at the national expression were certainly not of one mind or heart on these matters. It will continue to be important for each of us to lift one another up in prayer as we live into these decisions.

In the debate and the decision to find ways to allow congregations that desire to do so to “recognize, support and hold publicly accountable lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships,” and in the decision to “find a way for people in such relationships to serve as rostered leaders of this church,” the themes of loving one's neighbor and bearing one another's burdens were often cited by those sharing their thoughts and feelings. I encourage you to reflect upon the words shared by Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson following these votes.  You can find his words in both video and written format on the ELCA Assembly website (http://www.elca.org/assembly).

The months ahead will bring shape and focus to the particular implementation of the decisions made by the assembly, especially those related to sexuality and ministry policies. It is important to know that the process of congregations extending calls to rostered leaders will be fundamentally the same as is the present practice:  Congregations finally determine whom to call as their pastor or lay rostered leader in a process guided by the Holy Spirit.

I commit myself, and my staff, to walking with you and our congregations as we continue to place our focus upon being about God’s mission in the communities where God as called us to serve. I look forward to opportunities to listen more carefully to your concerns and your reflections on the actions of our Churchwide Assembly. What you think and feel is important to me. I want to be attentive to your joys and your sorrows. I look forward to being with our rostered leaders at the Conference on Ministry in September and with others around the synod in my travels.

Please receive this blessing with which we closed our time together in Minneapolis: “The God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus.  The God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  May the God of all grace bless you now and forever.  Amen.”

In Christ and His Love,

The Reverend Edward R. Benoway

Bishop, Florida-Bahamas Synod, ELCA