Every year about this time the church in Delaware and Maryland gathers for Synod Assembly. It’s an annual rhythm. Every year we begin with worship. It’s an annual ritual. There are things the church does that feel familiar to us — maybe even business-as-usual — a gathering-in like breathing. But worship at the beginning of this Synod Assembly set a different tone — not for business-as-usual but for renewal. Given the theme of Baptism, the Right Rev. Chilton Knudsen, Assistant Bishop for the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland and our preacher today, spoke of cleansing water. Water that revives. Water that sustains. Water that quite literally births new life.
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by Bishop Bill GohlI will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.” – Ezekiel 37:14 I am indebted to Bishop Larry Wohlrabe of the Northwestern Minnesota Synod, from whom I borrow much of his thinking and words for this message to the closing congregation of Sts. Stephen & James (Baltimore) on the Feast of the Holy Spirit – Pentecost, 20 May 2018. +bg
The Dakota people of the Great Plains have a saying: If you discover that the horse you’ve been riding is dead: 1. Get off; 2. Bury the dead horse; and 3. Start riding a living horse! by Bishop Bill GohlYou are witnesses of these things. - Luke 24:48 As someone with a German background on one side of the family, Ascension Day was a favorite holy day of the church year if for no other reason than its name in German: Christi Himmelfahrt! A national holiday in Germany, the Ascension of our Lord marks the 40th day of the Easter season and signals a liturgical turn from Easter towards Pentecost. The risen Lord enters into the invisible presence of God in order to be present in all times and in all places to the church and the world. And we find that same risen Lord in the places where Jesus has promised to meet us, in the Word, at the Font, in the Bread and Cup and among God's people – both those who share good news and those who long for hope.
by Bishop Bill GohlSing a new song to the Lord, who has done marvelous things... – Psalm 98:1, ELW With six bishop elections across this church over the last week, our Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Conference of Bishops changed again. I say "again" since the last year has seen the Conference take a decidedly "younger" turn – incarnated in the elections of Kristin Kuempel, Erik Gronberg, Daniel Beaudoin and myself (and Michael Rhyne before us) after a spate of retirements that included a number of our predecessors who served this church in the COB for 6, 12 and 18 years.
by Bishop Bill GohlCW: mental illness The Lord has punished me severely, but he did not give me over to death. Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. – Psalm 118:18-22 While I was on vacation last week, I sought out an opportunity to worship on Sunday in the local community. Being that I was in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, my choices were largely limited to Roman Catholic and Pentecostal congregations; since my Spanish is, at best, "rusty," I wasn’t excited about navigating a taxi to and from worship. Having decided to go to a Roman Catholic mass (I thought the liturgy would be eminently more accessible to my rusty Spanish), I sought out the front desk of the resort where we were staying – and I was all but delighted when they shared that the local priest, Father Juan Baptiste actually came to the resort and led an "ecumenical" mass in one of the resort's restaurants. Sunday at 2 p.m.; all were welcome.
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