From the pastor: Electing a Bishop

Dear friends,

Later this month, the Sierra Pacific Synod meets in Oakland for its annual assembly. You will be ably represented there by Kent and Bev Suemnicht, Robbie Sellery, and myself. Chances are good that either David Baker or Bruce Lundberg (or both) will be among the retired clergy granted a vote this year (they are chosen on a rotating basis).

The most significant item on the agenda will be the election of a new bishop to succeed Bishop Mullen, who has announced his retirement. The election of a bishop is an involved process, and it always makes for an interesting assembly.

The process began this year with each of our seventeen Conferences invited to submit names of pastors they believe have the "gifts and graces" to serve in this office. Those suggested are then contacted and asked if they are willing to be considered; if so, they are asked to fill out a form giving biographical information, and also to answer a couple of questions along the lines of "how would you see yourself in this office."

There were a dozen pastors whose names were suggested this time, including my own. The others were Pastors David Beard (Trinity, Pleasanton), Paul Bodin (Emanuel, Modesto), Julius Carroll (ELCA staff in Chicago), Pat Fitzgerald (Gloria Dei, San Jose), Jim Goldsmith (Christ, Fortuna), Mark Holmerud (Incarnation, Davis), Nancy Nelson (Coastside, Half Moon Bay), Dan Senter (Our Savior’s, Lafayette), Jeff Theimann (St. Matthew, Walnut Creek), Scot Sorenson (St. John, Sacramento), and Bill Wong (synod staff). You can see that this is a pretty diverse group in terms of geography. It’s also diverse ethnically and in terms of size of congregation and years in ordained ministry. (Golly, as far as I can tell, I have more years of ordained ministry than anyone else on that list! That’s disturbing!)

It also reflects a "generational change" in the synod. Of the twelve on the list, eight received votes last time around—but four of those received only one or two votes on early ballots. Only two (Pastor Carroll and myself) were still "in the running" on the third ballot. Chances are pretty good that whoever is elected will be someone who is a relatively "new face."

At the Assembly, the first ballot is an "ecclesiastical ballot" in which people can vote for any pastor in the ELCA. Often, especially when the current bishop is retiring, there are forty or fifty pastors who receive votes on that ballot (most of them only one or two votes). Those who receive 5% or more of the votes on the third ballot have a chance to address the assembly. Eventually by the fifth ballot it gets narrowed down to two persons (unless someone is elected by the required majority earlier).

Because I believe it is important to be open to the Holy Spirit, I agreed to allow my name to be submitted. I think it highly unlikely that I would be elected, and it is not an office to which I particularly aspire; but one never knows what the Holy Spirit might have in mind.

Having gone through this process six years ago, though, I know that it can be a strenuous and grueling one. I thought it was telling last time that, within a year of the election, three of the "top five" on the fourth ballot had taken calls outside the synod—the other two being the new bishop, and me! I suspect that the emotional roller coaster of that election process had something to do with their departure.

I would ask you to be praying for our synod and for this election process—and praying particularly for the pastors who will be on the ballot, that God would give them a sense of peace as they go through what can be a very stressful experience. Pray especially, of course, that the synod would correctly discern God’s will in this very important decision.

Peace to you,

Pastor Richard O. Johnson

Classic Prayers

We bring before Thee, O Lord, the troubles and perils of peoples and nations, the sighing of prisoners and captives, the sorrows of the bereaved, the necessities of strangers, the helplessness of the weak, the despondence of the weary, the failing powers of the aged. O Lord, draw near to each; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

–Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury (1033-1109)

Liturgy Notes: Dedication of a Church Building

One of the “occasional services” in our Lutheran Book of Worship is that for the dedication of a church building. It truly is “occasional!” Most of us do not have the opportunity to be part of a building dedication more than a handful of times. What does it mean to dedicate a building?

In some ways, a building dedication is very much an odd idea for Christians. The early Christians had no buildings to call their own. They believed that the true Temple (to use the term the Jews used) was not a building at all, but the holy people whom God had called to be the church. When buildings first began to be used exclusively for Christian life, the building was understood, not as the “house of God” but as the “house of the church.”

The Old Testament had, of course, made a big deal about the Temple as a building. Even here, though, we must be sure we understand the meaning of the Temple. It wasn’t so much that God lived in the Temple. Rather the Temple was a symbol and a sign that God lived among his people. It is interesting to note that in Solomon’s so-called “prayer of dedication” of the Temple in 1 Kings 8, he concludes by blessing the people, with no reference to the building at all.

Why, then, do we dedicate a building? One common understanding is that we are “setting it apart” for a particular service or purpose. The Reformers had some questions about that, however. If it is appropriate to bless or set apart a church building, where do you stop? Do you dedicate a church kitchen? A new air conditioner? A tree? The list could be endless. All these things might, in one sense, be set apart for a particular Christian purpose.

Perhaps a better understanding is to remind ourselves that all of God’s creation is already dedicated to him. After all, he created me and all that exists! In God’s sight, there is nothing that is more holy about a church building than a flower or brook. But in dedicating some particular structure, we are in fact giving it a symbolic value. We are saying, when we dedicate a church building, that THIS SPACE is holy because it stands as a reminder to us that all space in God’s creation is holy. When we dedicate an altar, we are setting aside a table that reminds us that even our dinner tables are holy. In this sense, to dedicate an earthly creation is to proclaim that God is present through earthly things–through bread and wine, through the water of Baptism, through very human you and me. It is in these earthly ways that God has made himself known to us.

Another understanding comes through the term “blessing.” When we offer a building to God through a service of dedication, we are praying that God’s blessing will be returned to us as we make use of this building. It isn’t really the building that is “blessed”–rather it is the people of God who will be “blessed” through this building.

When we gather April 6 to dedicate our new Fellowship Center–including the meeting room, kitchen, and classrooms–we will be offering a prayer that says it all: “Most High God, whom the heavens cannot contain: We give you thanks for the gifts of those who have built this house of prayer to your glory; we praise you for the fellowship of those who by their use will make it holy; and we pray that all who seek you here may find you and be filled with your joy and peace.”