Conference of Bishops (COB) Overview by Bishop Ray Tiemann March 1-6, 2018

Transcription

1 Conference of Bishops (COB) Overview by Bishop Ray Tiemann March 1-6, 2018 Wednesday, February 28 After travel to Chicago this morning, which was on time and in clear skies, the Synodical-Churchwide Relations Committee met from 2-6 pm. This committee is composed of one bishop from each of the nine regions and churchwide staff from the Presiding Bishop s office and the Mission Advancement unit. A report of our work can be read later in this report. After almost eighteen years of service as Bishop, this is my last Conference of Bishops (CoB) meeting. As I reflected on those years, I recognized that I have never missed one of these CoB meetings or a Bishop s Academy. It has been a blessing to be a part of this distinctive body of the ELCA all these years. Thursday, March 1 In the morning most of the regions met for candidate assignments to synods. Region 4, of which Southwestern Texas is a part, met over lunch. In this Spring Assignment, there were 118 candidates assigned, with 109 being Word and Sacrament and 9 being Word and Service. Region 4 received 6 candidates in the process and 9 others through various other processes. Our synod was happy to receive Joel Nye, who is in a call process in the Gulf Coast Conference. In the afternoon the other committees of the CoB met - Synodical and Rostered Leader Care, Academy, Bishop Formation, Roster, Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations, Global Mission Liaison, Theological and Ethical Concerns, Ministry Among People in Poverty, DM: New/Renewing Congregations, and DM: Leadership. Their reports will appear later. We later enjoyed worship in the Lutheran Center Chapel with Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton presiding. I had the honor of preaching on this occasion since Region 4 bishops will serve as chaplains for this CoB. Guests at the worship, and then fellowship later, was the Youth Core Leadership Team. The team is composed of twelve high school youth from across the ELCA who have been identified as leaders in congregations and/or synods, and who desire the opportunity to dig more deeply into their own leadership and faith formation. They exist to provide leadership development opportunities to high school youth, to plan and lead the ELCA Youth Leadership Summit, and to serve as a focus group for ELCA Churchwide Ministries as they strive to do ministry with youth more effectively. They are integrally involved with the ELCA Youth Gathering later this year. The CoB traveled to Eaglewood Resort in Itasca for the remainder of the meeting. After fellowship and a meal together, we welcomed Pedro Suarez, newly elected bishop of the Florida- Bahamas Synod, and said farewell to Ray Tiemann (Southwestern Texas) and Rick Hoyme (Northwest Synod of Wisconsin). 1

2 Friday, March 2 After breakfast, we gathered for devotions led by Bp. Brian Maas, Nebraska Synod. The theme of the CoB is To Claim and Test Our Heritage. His message was on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-26 which reminded us to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances Chris Boerger gave the ELCA Secretary s Report. He reminded each synod to be electing voting members to the 2019 Churchwide Assembly. His report last fall provided the breakdown of the number of voting members assigned to each synod. He also reminded us of the process of memorials presented to the Churchwide Assembly and that a number of constitutional amendments are considering to be brought forward, which he reviewed with us. He also noted that while the CoB is not a legislative body, we do significant decisionmaking on behalf of the church. For example, the CoB s work through the Roster Committee provides consistency and oversight of this church s rosters. He also spent time addressing some issues of confusion as we live into the two rosters Minister of Word and Sacrament and Ministers of Word and Service. In particular, he reviewed proper sources of call. With the retirement of Phil Harris as General Counsel, Tom Cunniff fills that position. The new Associate General Counsel is Aja Favors, who comes to this position from the Mission Investment Fund and the ELCA Foundation. The new ELCA online directory went live the first week of January The online directory replaces the ELCA Yearbook. All the data in the new online directory is being managed in ECIS. Updates to the data in ECIS will be reflected in the online directory in less than 24 hours once the change is reported by a synod office. Secretary Boerger thanked the CoB for its continued support and reminded them that a new Secretary will be elected at the 2019 Churchwide Assembly. The Campaign of the ELCA report was given by Pr. Ron Glusenkamp. He wanted to Inform, Inspire, and Invite us as we enter the fifth and final year of The Campaign. As of Dec. 31, 2017, the ELCA has received $144 million in cash and commitments, representing 72.7% of its $198 million goal. Additionally, we have been notified of $30 million in planned gifts toward the ministries of the Campaign. Over the next twelve months, he is asking individuals, congregations, and synods to rally and to help us drive toward the successful completion of this effort. These are the major priorities for the final year of the campaign: - Reach our $115 million goal for ELCA World Hunger. One way we can do this is by supporting and lifting up efforts like the 40 Days of Giving and the Global Farm Challenge as part of the Youth Gathering. - Invest in our future leaders through this year s annual theme of Leadership including Fund for Leaders and Youth and Young Adults. - Continue to accompany our neighbors from around the world through the Global Church priority. International Women s Day is March 8 and presents an opportunity to support the International Women Leaders initiative. - Advance congregational vitality by starting and renewing congregations, as well as enhancing ministries with those with disabilities. 2

3 Judith Roberts, Linda Bobbitt, and Ken Inskeep then led the CoB in conversation concerning the implementation of the following continuing resolutions, particularly 5.01.B16: 5.01.A16. This church commits itself to ethnic and racial diversity. Each expression of this church shall annually assess its ethnic and racial diversity when compared to the demographic data of its community or territory. The churchwide organization will work with synods as they assist congregations to reach out to persons of color or whose primary language is other than English B16. Each synod shall submit its goal and strategies to the appropriate churchwide unit or office and shall annually submit a report on progress toward its goals to the Church Council. The CoB broke into three sections for conversations around Why and what do we need to do? How can we accomplish this; good ideas to share? We have a plan and are ready to go! A report will be given from our responses to the Church Council in April. At noon we broke for lunch and a time of siesta, resuming at 2 p.m. Over lunch, the Synodical and Rostered Leader Care Committee met and the Domestic Mission staff met with selected bishops. Linda Bobbitt (Project Manager of the Congregational Vitality Project) and Bps. Guy Erwin and Mark Narum led conversation on a definition of Congregation Vitality. Linda shared some key learnings about congregations through her study: 1. Highest scores = more spiritual growth, less conflict, more active faith. 2. The most vital congregations may be any size and shape. (Small Less Vital) 3. Vitality is not directly connected to numeric growth (many vital congrs. aren t growing) 4. Vitality is not related to the location of a congregation. (Rural= Urban = Suburban) 5. More vital More sustainable. (New ministries are most vital and least sustainable) 6. Relational domains of God, each other, and world were statistically sound for lay people. Pastors often saw things differently. 7. Annual Reports: Less than 20% congregations consider themselves highly vital. She also shared some learnings for synods: 1. Synod strategies are be transformative if they are thoroughly engaged. 2. Use 3 Great Listenings: Listening to God, Listening to one another, Listening to neighbors. 3. Do experimenting. 4. Take time for reflection. 5. Congregations with relational barriers aren t able to fully engage and therefore aren t transformed until those barriers are removed. So what are the next steps? 1. Live into this new age and transition from a regulatory culture to a learning/sharing relational culture. 2. Broaden the conversation about what it means to be a vital church & hold it lightly. 3. Continue building trust across the ELCA. 4. Engage intentional listening/experimenting/reflecting practices in all expressions. a. Listen to/learn from + equip/empower lay and rostered people in all expressions. b. Create more learning communities among practitioners within and across each expression. c. Share lessons learned across the church in ways that can be used. 3

4 5. Continue exploring the so that (What is God doing now and how are we part of it?) How are these things related: congregational vitality, spiritual development, people s images of God, and how we live out our faith in the world? We also had conversations around a definition of vital congregations that grew out of the Domestic Mission unit: Communities of Jesus where there are life-changing relationships with God, one another, and the world. The CoB offered wordsmithing to the definition. After a break, Greg Villalon led us in a conversation on revisions to the new draft of the Vision and Expectations document. It was then time for Bishops Announcements for the whole group, followed by a CoB session only for Bishops Concerns. We broke for fellowship and a dinner together. Later that evening, we said farewell to Claire Burkat (Southeastern Pennsylvania), Felipe Lozada- Montañez (Caribbean Synod), and Mary Froiland (South-Central Synod of Wisconsin). Saturday, March 3 Bp. Mike Rinehart, TX-LA Gulf Coast Synod, is chaplain for the day. For opening devotions we had a guest pastor, Patrick Keen, retired from New Orleans. He led worship with flair and inspiration. Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton gave her report concerning a variety of topics, including updates on the Theological Education Advisory Council; issues with the Lutheran Church in the Holy Land and Palestine and their new bishop; the importance of strong, Biblical preaching and solid, Lutheran worship; and the question, How do we balance our catholicity as church together and the individual creativity necessary to meet unique ministry situations. She closed her report by sharing her openness for re-election at the 2019 Churchwide Assembly and received a standing ovation. As Executive for Synodical Relations, Pr. Walter May gave his report. He noted some upcoming staff changes that are in process before he leaves for knee replacement surgery after the CoB meeting. There will be 11 bishop elections this year, with at least 6 newly elected bishops. There will also be a Vice Presidents Gathering at the churchwide offices in the fall of 2018, and they are looking at a Bishops Assistants and Associates Gathering early in Upcoming CoB meetings are Sept 27-Oct 2, 2018, Lutheran Center; 2019 Academy January 2-7, location TBD; Feb 28-Mar 5, 2019, Eaglewood; Sept 26-Oct 1, 2019, Lutheran Center; 2020 Academy, Jan 1-6, location TBD; March 5-10, 2020, Eaglewood; Oct 1-6, 2020, Lutheran Center. He also referenced Pr. Eric Wester s report on ELCA Federal Chaplaincy. Military chaplaincy has focused on two Strategic Aims. One of them is attracting the next generation of chaplains. The second strategic aim is more closely connecting our chaplaincy ministries with congregations, synods, ELCA Churchwide colleagues, agencies and institutions. This is important because the United States has 1,430,000 men and women in uniform. Of that number more than 1 million are in the decade between ages of 18 and 27. Eighty-three percent, or more than 1.1 million, do not retire but serve for a brief period of time and reenter 4

5 civil society. For those seeking young adult ministry, federal chaplaincy especially military chaplaincy gets a pastor engaged with young adults. Looking ahead to the Fall 2018, the 100th anniversary of the Armistice ending World War I will be remembered. It was at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month that hostilities ceased in the war to end all wars. Those aspirations have never been fully realized, but for a time the carnage ceased. This will be the third year for Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton to invite the entire ELCA to prayer and action in support of military members, veterans, and their families. In 2017, Bishop Eaton provided words of appreciation and a prayer. Here s the link to Bishop Eaton s Veterans Day message: Victoria Flood, as Director for Mission Support, and Bp. Jim Ahrens gave the report. Bp. Ahrens shared a positive report of a 3% increase in the fiscal year in the La Crosse Area Synod. This came about not with one or two congregations gifts but because 2/3 of the congregations increased their giving; World Hunger and other special giving increased; and every congregation gave unrestricted mission support gifts, with no zeros in that column. Victoria shared the experiences of several symposiums with synods. She mentioned some challenges about how the whole process of mission support giving sometimes defies conventional wisdom concerning giving. First, it is a unified budget of undesignated giving which is not used as much in other circles these days. Second, people like to give to specific areas as designated giving. How do we address these changes in people s giving? After a break, we heard the Report of the Treasurer by our newly appointed Treasurer, Lori Fedyk. Total revenue was $65.887M with $3.060M from restricted funds totaling $68,947M. Total expenses were $66.190M, with a positive variance of $2.757M. Synodical Mission Support Giving is predicted with 44 synods showing an increase. Mission Support represents 64.4% of budget. World Hunger giving totaled $21.433M. Lutheran Disaster giving totaled $22.5M for Hurricane Response, Undesignated, and South Sudan Relief. She thanked the synods for these gifts to our ministry together. We then entered the first part of a Conversation with Seminary Leaders. All presidents were present except for United Lutheran Seminary. Also, there was a recognition of the retirement of Jonathan Strandjord, Director for Seminaries, and we were introduced to the new person in that role, Javier Goitia, who has the wider portfolio of Program Director/Seminaries and Lay Schools. We held conversation about what barriers keep us from identifying and training new leaders. The responses will be condensed for our continued conversation tomorrow. After lunch and a time of rest and renewal, we reconvened at 2 pm in Executive Session led by Bp. Mark Narum to discuss the proposed Word and Service Entrance Rite. The Church Council will review this document in April and release their recommendations for 2019 Churchwide Assembly action. The CoB then re-entered open session to discuss the Bishops Relational Agreement: What is its role in our life together today? A group will work on it and bring it back for further discussion at the October CoB meeting. 5

6 After a CoB session only for Bishops Concerns, we broke for three Interest Groups (Synodically Authorized Ministry, Ecumenical Relationships, and Chairing Your First Assembly). We then enjoyed fellowship and dinner and a free evening. Sunday, March 4 We began with Sunday worship. Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton was our preacher, and CoB Chair, Bp. Bill Gafkjen, was presider. The offering was designated for ELCA Campaign: Youth and Young Adults, collecting $2,635. Bp. Mike Girlinghouse, Arkansas- Oklahoma Synod, is designated chaplain for the day. After worship, we began our morning session with the Report of the Vice President by Bill Horne. His report highlighted major actions approved at the last meeting in November 2017 and what the Church Council will likely discuss and act on at its upcoming April 5-8, 2018 meeting. Last November, the Church Council took the following actions: a) Elected Lori Fedyk as the new ELCA Treasurer; b) Approved the process to transfer activities of the ELCA Foundation to the Endowment Fund of the ELCA; c) Directed the Theological Education Advisory Council (TEAC) to define a single seminary governance structure; d) Requested the Churchwide Organization staff to prepare a plan for the process by which where the needed most dollars in the Campaign for the ELCA will be allotted; e) Allocated additional members to the 2019 Churchwide Assembly; and f) Primer on the AMMPARO strategy. For the upcoming April meeting, the list is long: a) Churchwide Organization Annual Report; b) Appointment of Ad Hoc Task Force for Governance Policy Manual; c) Word and Service Entrance Rite Discernment Group Report; d) Draft of Inter-Religious Policy Statement; e) Identifying benchmarks and guidelines for Mission Support Synod-Specific Goals; f) Mission Support Pilot Experiment-Conference of Bishops recommendations from 2017 meeting; g) Always Being Made New: Campaign for the ELCA Update; h) Women in Justice: One in Christ Social Statement Hearing; i) TEAC Update; and j) Gender Identity Discussion. He also made some brief comments about the ELCA Inter-Religious Task Force and his observations from attending the annual meetings of the Lutheran Educational Conference of North America (LECNA) and the Network of the ELCA Colleges and Universities (NECU) this past January. Regarding the ELCA Inter-Religious Task Force, the draft policy statement has received comment from a variety of our ecumenical and interfaith partners and can be read at Relations/Draft-Policy-Statement. The Executive Committee of the Church Council will discuss the draft, and it will be introduced to the Church Council at the April 2018 meeting. He also attended the annual Board of Directors of NECU and the pan-lutheran group known as the LECNA. The meeting includes LCMS and ELCA college and university presidents. The NECU members wanted to strengthen its connection with the ELCA around its Lutheran origins, ongoing identity, and shared mission as part of the ELCA. The NECU Board of Directors endorsed a Lutheran Identity Statement Rooted and Open as an expression of the common calling and shared values of the NECU and commended the document for further study by its members. We also heard reflections from two guests from the ELCA Church Council who are attending the CoB meeting Cynthia Gustafson and Maren Hulden. 6

7 We then entered the second part of a Conversation with Seminary Leaders. They brought a list of the Barriers to Raising Up Leaders that were broken down into seven areas: Recruitment of Leaders, Finances, Candidacy, Disciple & Formation, Cultural Factors, and Perceptions & Expectations. We self-identified a specific area and talked about developing an action plan to address the concern. The goal is to determine what we can do, in that specific area, to help us identify and encourage leaders. Before lunch, the CoB said farewell to Beth Lewis, President and CEO of 1517 Media (Augsburg Fortress), who is retiring. She has served for 16 years in that role. Tomorrow we will meet the new President and CEO, Tim Blevins. Chaplain Girlinghouse closed us with prayer as we broke for lunch, with the Church Council Liaison Bishops meeting over lunch. The afternoon and evening were free for rest, relaxation, and fellowship. Monday, March 5 Bp. Roger Gustafson, Central States Synod, was chaplain for the day and led us in devotions centered on 1 Corinthians 3: The devotions closed with prayers for those bishops who will be entering re-election processes at their assemblies. The CoB then held conversation on a letter written by Bp. Bill Gohl entitled In Solidarity with Our Children and Youth. The intent is to address the issue of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, and to offer our support, partnership, and prayers for the March for Our Lives, its satellite city events, and our children and youth. Instead of a letter from the Conference of Bishops, it was decided that it will be available for use individually in synods by the 59 bishops who signed it. We heard the report of the Academy Committee by Bp. Larry Wohlrabe. The 2019 Academy which will take place at the Marriott Plaza Hotel in San Antonio, Texas, on January 2-7, The theme is Caring For Our Common Home, the subtitle of Pope Francis s encyclical, Laudatus Si, on environmental stewardship. Presenters will be Dr. Larry Rasmussen (Union NYC emeritus) and Dr. Cynthia Moe-Lobeda (Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and Church Divinity School of the Pacific). They are two of the co-authors of a book to be published in May, 2018, Bible and Ethics in the Christian Life: A New Conversation. Also, the CoB decided that 1) starting with the 2019 Academy, the CoB will move from the current pattern of holding annual Academies to a new pattern of offering an Academy everyother year; and 2) starting with the autumn 2019 CoB meeting, times of theological presentation and theological reflection will be incorporated into each CoB meeting. Bp. Mike Girlinghouse offered the committee report on Bishop Formation. They reviewed the list of 2018 elections, noting the six synods that will be electing new bishops, the five synods that will have re-election processes, and then assigned mentor bishops for those who will be newly elected. They also confirmed and reviewed the Bishop Formation events scheduled for July and September

8 The Roster Committee report was presented by Bp. Mary Froiland. The CoB approved specific roster status for rostered ministers related to Extensions for On Leave from Call, Non- Stipendiary Calls, and Exceptions to the Three-Year Congregational Service Bylaw. The report of the committee for Theological and Ethical Concerns was presented by Bp. Jon Anderson. Mary Streufert updated the process on the Women and Justice: One in Christ Social Statement that will be considered at the 2019 Churchwide Assembly and the 50th anniversary of women s ordination to be celebrated in October, They also had conversation on a proposed revision of policies and procedures for addressing social concerns, corporate screens for corporate responsibility (human rights), theology of conversation on congregational vitality, and deeper theological conversation in a systemic pattern. Bp. John Roth reported on the Synodical and Rostered Leader Care Committee, who oversees both the Good Samaritan Fund and the Shared Risk Fund. The Good Samaritan Fund is funded by income from bequests and by contributions from synods, congregations, and individuals. The total value of all funds (endowment, restricted, unrestricted) is $733,719. FY 2017 inflow to the Good Samaritan Fund was $40,623; FY 2017 grants (i.e. distributions to needs) totaled $72,290. As you can see, the committee responded to requests well beyond our inflow. The Good Samaritan Fund began FY 2017 with immediately available funds of $52,941; immediately available funds at the beginning of FY 2018 were $21,273. The Shared Risk Fund was established by the ELCA Conference of Bishops as a method to permit synods to provide themselves with substantial protection against the costs of disciplinary proceedings against pastors and congregations. There was no expense from the Shared Risk Fund over the past year and the current balance seems sufficient for the present, so the committee is not requesting contributions from synods at this time. Bp. Brian Maas reported from the committee for DM: Leadership, who understand themselves to be an advisory committee to the CoB, reviewing and deliberating matters related to leadership (identifying, developing, candidating, calling) across this church with the staff of Domestic Mission. In this meeting they addressed the assignment process and the current Assignment Process Guide; the progress of the Word and Service Roster implementation and topics related to Word and Service; introduction to a new Theological Formation position and vision, Seminaries and Lay Schools, now held by Javier Goitia; a conversation/revision on Form D in use in the Candidacy process and its importance; and edits to the Rostered Minister Profile to provide more clarity. The DM: New/Renewing Congregations committee was presented by Bp. Mark Narum. This committee serves as a liaison between the CoB and the Congregational Centers for Mission and DEM Relationships teams within the Domestic Mission Unit. They heard a progress report on ELCA Comprehensive Mission Support Strategy by Rev. Sandy Chrostowski, Director DEM Relations, and Victoria Flood, Director of Mission Support. They also heard about restructuring within the Domestic Mission Unit. They have formed a Congregational Vitality Team. Ruben Duran will be leading this team. 8

9 Also, there are other subgroups within DM: Theological Focus - Emmaus Road: Vital, Radically Relational Communities of Jesus; Damascus Road: Faith and Leadership Formed and Nurtured; and Jericho Road: Radical Compassion with the Neighbor (Good Samaritan). There are also eight teams - Congregational Vitality Ruben Duran; Domestic Hunger Strategy Team Mikka McCracken; Advocacy Team Amy Reumann; Poverty and Justice Team Joe Young; Leadership Team Gregory Villalon; Multicultural/Ethnic-Specific/Racial Justice; DEM Relationships Sandy Chrostowski; and Faith Formation Mark Burkhardt. Molly Beck Dean gave an update on the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering with the theme: This Changes Everything. The purpose of the Gathering is faith formation in teens through worship, interactive learning, Bible study, service, and fellowship. Goals include the youth being affirmed and challenged in their faith, experiencing new perspectives, pondering their vocation, bonding with their congregational group, and learning about the ELCA. There are 30,106 participants as of March 5 and 1,000 volunteers, team members, special guests and partners. Offerings include Blast Off for Books (10,000 books for Houston Independence School District), Global Farm Challenge with World Hunger, and the Sunday morning offering which will be split between TX-LA Gulf Coast Synod, Prison Congregations of America, and Global New Starts. Bishops were reminded about two dinners at the event - Orientation Dinner: Wednesday, June 27, 5pm at NRG Center and the SYMBOL Dinner: Thursday, June 28, 5pm at NRG Center. There was a Global Mission Committee report from Bp. Jim Gonia. One of our distinctions as the ELCA is our commitment to life as a glocal church body one whose web of global relationships informs and shapes our local ministry and witness. Our Global Mission unit is a critical partner is helping us to live glocally. The committee heard reports on South Sudan, with video clips from the dedication of Reconciliation Lutheran Church, Community Center and Clinic in the Upper Referendum neighborhood of Juba, South Sudan; AMMPARO, noting a growing network of welcoming and sanctuary congregations within the ELCA as well as synods that have AMMPARO or immigration task forces; YAGMs (Young Adults in Global Mission), fyi that The Director for Global Service (Pr Heidi Torgerson) will now be responsible for working directly with the YAGM Country Programs and Country Coordinators and a new position will begin to work with the YAGM discernment event and alumni (Program Director for YAGM Leadership Formation and Alumni Network); and Grantmaker Tool, this tool is intended to streamline the process for requesting and monitoring grants. In 2017, grants to companion churches (not including LWF and LWR) totaled around $13 million split almost evenly between World Hunger and Mission Support. The CoB broke for lunch with many of the Ready Benches meeting: Middle East, Immigration, International, Domestic, Care of Creation, and Justice is not Just Us. We resumed the session at 2 p.m. after a time of rest. The CoB met in Executive Session for a Legal Update from General Counsel, Thomas Cunniff, followed by an Executive Session concerning Portico Benefit Services with President and CEO, Pr. Jeff Thiemann. 9

10 Bp. Suzanne Dillahunt resumed CoB committee reports with the Synodical-Churchwide Relations committee. Wyvetta Bullock shared a report on the Churchwide Operational Plan, Jodi Slattery reported on Governance, and Walter May talked about Synodical Relations. An extensive report was given by Christina Jackson-Skelton from the Mission Advancement unit, with her full report attached to the committee minutes. We commend it to the CoB. There was a follow-up conversation with the presidents of the seminaries during the CoB about seminary visits. It was agreed that these visits are important to bishops, seminary faculty/staff, and students. It was decided to have only three bishops at each seminary visit and that Bps. Jessica Crist and Michael Rhyne and Ray Pickett, PLTS, will create a standard format for such visits. Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations committee report was given by Bp. Don Kreiss. The four heads of communions of the Anglican/Episcopal and Lutheran Churches in the US and Canada have prepared Lenten devotions on the theme, Set Free by Truth, at The draft ELCA policy statement, A Declaration of Our Inter-Religious Commitment, has been released for public review and comment until June 30. It can be located at There was also a presentation and conversation on this document later in the day. There were also reports on Reformation Day 500, Lutheran-Catholic Relations, Lutheran- Jewish Relations, Lutheran-Muslim Relations, Historic Black Church Relations, and Full Communion Partnerships. TEAC Report was given by Bp. Jessica Crist. Wartburg, Luther, and LSTC will be presenting a joint proposal to the April ELCA Church Council for recruiting, developing faith community, enhancing faculty and staff, and providing a more credible witness. They are also looking at governance and other coordination issues. There was a report from Assignments Working Group. First, it was agreed that the Spring 2019 Regional Assignment process will take place the Wednesday before the Spring meeting of the Conference of Bishops. There was discussion about shifting the date of the Fall Regional Assignment Process, with a proposal to move it into the summer months, but for 2019 it will still happen the day before the 2019 Fall CoB meeting. Second, they also spent time in conversation around how different regions of the church tally first call openings. After significant discussion, it was decided that this is one of those places we will continue to trust one another. Third, they reviewed language around when a synod bishop can be in contact with seminarians who are in the assignment process. When a seminarian seeks a restriction, it is appropriate for the Bishop of the requested synod to be in conversation with the seminarian to determine if there are possibilities for call. Otherwise, contact is not appropriate. Bp. Mark Narum brought back an update on Congregational Vitality with footnoted details of the description for congregational vitality: Communities of Jesus that nurture life changing relationships with God, one another, and the world. The CoB assented this was a good description to take to the Church Council. 10

11 Bp. Dick Graham gave an update on the Mission Support Pilot Synods. There was not time to prepare for a full report for this meeting but will do so in the fall. Look forward to a conversation at that time. After a break, the CoB held a formal hearing on the Declaration of Our Inter-Religious Commitment document led by Bp. Patricia Lull and Kathryn Lohre. Good comments were shared among the participants. As a group we encourage the whole church to be part of a review and response to this document by June 30. Again, that document can be found at After Bishops Announcements and Bishops Concerns, groups gathered for Regional Dinners. Tuesday, March 6 On this final day of the CoB, the chaplain for the day is Bishop Erik Gronberg, Northern Texas Northern Louisiana Synod. We used Morning Prayer and centered the day on Hebrews 9: Victoria Flood brought a proposal on creating Synod-Specific Mission Support Plans. First, we looked at the history of Mission Support Giving. At the beginning of the ELCA, regular (undesignated) giving shared with congregations was increasing, and yet the percentage of that regular giving that congregations shared with the wider church through Mission Support has always been decreasing. For example, %; % ; %; %; %; %. Then, we noted how the proportional comparison of Mission Support for ministries stewarded and supported by synods and for ministries stewarded and supported by the churchwide expression has shifted during the history of the ELCA: %/53.6%; %/52.5%; %/52.2%; %/50.6%; %/49.6%; %/48.1%. After responses from synod bishops, the Church Council will help determine a process for conversations to create Mission Support goals that are specifically designed for each synod. A reminder that this idea came from the Bishops Think Tank on Mission Funding back in April, Then, Patrick Nagaro provided an introduction to Grants Management System, Part II. Last fall he shared that the ELCA provides 90+ distinct grant applications and scholarships. The ELCA GrantMaker is a software program for managing these grants. This program streamlines the process and standardizes reporting while establishing a policy for grants and accountability of signatories. Benefits include instantaneous submission of applications, reduces paper, eliminates redundant data entry, conducts faster reviews, has a single source of information, etc. This became live on December 4, Currently, there are 517 active profiles in 10 areas. He walked us through the process of how to use GrantMaker. This process is in place with the goal of increasing ministry participation of the ELCA at large. This will support renewal work with synods as they revitalize congregations, provide for a measurement of pooled data, and helps eliminate paper and build relationships. 11

12 More detailed instructions are forthcoming, but they will continue to streamline the process and bring it up to industry standards. Bp. Bill Gafkjen, Chair of the CoB, provided some reflections on our meeting time together. Erik Gronberg, as our chaplain of the day, offered a sending prayer. The meeting was then adjourned. This is my last CoB, and I have been honored to serve as the Bishop of the Southwestern Texas Synod and share these notes with you. May the Lord bless our ministry together. 12