On Sunday, November 30, ELCIC National Bishop Larry Kochendorfer hosted ‘Conversations Across the Church’ — an online opportunity to gather for an hour of worship, reflections, and a time of question and answer with the new national bishop.
Pictured above: Geoff, Tricia and Olivia Hoeppner (Ascension, Edmonton) tune in from the garage.
Grounded in the ELCIC’s vision to be a church Living out God’s grace and unconditional love, the gathering marked the beginning of what is hoped will become a regular series of events connecting members from across the church.
The webinar opened with a message from Bishop Kochendorfer and the lighting of a candle. Reflecting on the gospel reading of Matthew 24:36-44 for the First Sunday of Advent, Kochendorfer’s devotion lifted up his farming background using a combine analogy (stop, shut off the engine, look, listen and wait) to invite the church to approach the season of Advent as a time of attentive waiting, watching, and listening.
Officers of the church and several members of NCC participated with readings and reflections on how the ELCIC’s new tagline, ‘Living out God’s grace & unconditional love’ are seen in everyday life across Canada.
“For me, it is through my interactions with individuals who are currently in preparation for rostered ministry within our ELCIC,” shared NCC treasurer, Stephen Holmes. “For most of the candidates, this is a second career decision. They are leaving behind jobs and careers and maybe even in some cases are disrupting family lives. They do this well aware of the current challenges that we face as a church… The way that these candidates are prepared for ventures that they cannot see the ending by paths yet untrodden, by perils yet unknown. For me that is living out God’s grace and unconditional love.”
ELCIC vice-chair Bruce Cook spoke of local wintertime outreach programs: holiday hampers, the warm woolies program, cookie tins, Christmas hampers and the journey to Bethlehem, while secretary Linda Grainger shared about Waterloo Lutheran Seminary’s singing community, Inshallah, where spirituality accompanies global song, story and community engagement as multi-faith and cultural diversity is explored through music.
“Living out God’s grace and unconditional love invites us to be outward focused, calls us to be a diverse and inclusive community that celebrates all and upholds life-giving relationships,” Kochendorfer shared. “I invite you to keep your eyes open and your ears tuned for where you see this being lived out in your own context.”
The second half of the gathering, led by Cook, featured a time of question-and-answer with Kochendorfer. As part of the registration for the event, participants were invited to share a question they might have for the national bishop.
Of the 295 registrations, more than 140 questions were submitted, with the main themes focusing on how the first three months have been for the bishop, his vision for the church in the next five-to-10 years, questions about ministry in our current context of declining membership, benevolence, and shortage of rostered leaders, how the bishop would encourage and broaden partnerships, as well as prioritize inclusion and representation, and finally many questions including care and concern for the new national bishop, asking how might the church pray for him in this new call.
“What gives me hope at this point in time is a desire for greater collaboration from across our church, every expression of our church as it currently exists, a desire for greater transparency and a desire for greater communication together,” Bishop Kochendorfer shared, indicating that all submitted questions, whether addressed directly or not, “will shape our work in many, many ways in the weeks and months to come.”
The event closed with a responsive prayer led by several members of NCC along with thanks and appreciation from Bishop Kochendorfer for all who were able to participate and gather.
The next ‘Conversations Across the Church’ event will take place on Sunday, February 22 – the First Sunday of Lent, with a focus on work of the ‘Facing Today – Dreaming for the Future’ steering committee. Details on timing and registration will be made available in the coming weeks.
