by Bishop Bill Gohl Praise is due to you, O God…You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with richness. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy. – Psalm 65.1, 11-13 I married into a pilgrim family. My wife’s father’s family are descendants of the Mayflower’s John and Priscilla Alden family. I have been reminded, more than once, that the menu for that first Thanksgiving was not turkey and pumpkin pie. They ate pheasant and venison. The pilgrims didn’t have forks, but used spoons; and more than likely, they ate mostly with their hands. They didn’t have much sugar, so sweets and deserts were scarce. So, you can forget the pumpkin pie, when the Pierce-Gohl family gathers for Thanksgiving dinner, we have steamed pudding for dessert – just like the pilgrims did. Nevertheless, that first pilgrim and Native people’s thanksgiving meal left us with an enduring tradition: a gathering around a table and returning thanks to God.
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by Bishop Bill GohlThink of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. – I Corinthians 4.1-2 Seventeen years ago, on November 11, I received the church’s gift of ordination. I was 26, recently graduated from our seminary in Gettysburg. I had interviewed for my first call in two synods and had been received by the people of Peace, Glen Burnie (their ninth candidate, no less!). On November 11, like clockwork, I received two cards from special friends and flowers from my parents. A small remembrance of a moment that defined my life in quite unexpected ways.
by Bishop Bill GohlThey served their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons; they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood. – Psalm 106:36-38 Another heartbreaking shooting. The martyred at Pulse still on our minds, those slaughtered in Las Vegas not yet all buried, and now violence cast into the sanctuary of First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Our salty tears are bitter in our mouths as we struggle to pray, even as those in public authority are quick to invoke prayer as a cover for their ongoing inaction.
by Bishop Bill Gohl
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." – 2 Corinthians 5:17-18
Though many of us celebrated on Sunday, Reformation Day is actually today – October 31. As part of our ELCA's observances, there is a symposium and closing worship for the Reformation 500 Commemoration today at Reformation Lutheran Church, Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. As a part of the symposium, pairs of ELCA Bishops and ecumenical partners will present about different aspects of how the church is still being reformed, still being made new. My contribution will be to address Racism and Racial Justice with my local AME Zion counterpart, Bishop W. Darin Moore of the Mid-Atlantic AME Zion Episcopal District. We have five minutes(!) each, with which to set the stage for a conversation.
by Bishop Bill GohlThe Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? – Psalm 27:1 Sign in front of Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church, New York City, where my friend the Rev. Chris Mietlowski is pastor. The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
#MeToo is a social media movement that cuts a significant hole in the culture of silence. Unlike so many things that trend on social media that pass quickly from one day to the next as the series of natural disasters, gun violence, political posturing and news – both real and "fake" – bear down on us; the #MeToo movement has staying power. #MeToo has been more than viral, it has exposed sexual harassment and sexual assault as being as inevitable for women and femmes as the common cold. by Bishop Bill GohlFor by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God – Ephesians 2:8 This weekend, our synod's Youth + Family Ministry will gather for its first large group event of the program year: FreeRide. Middle school students and their adult leaders will gather from across Delaware and Maryland at the NorthBay Retreat Center in North East, Maryland under the year-long Reformation 500 emphasis, Reform School.
by Bishop Bill GohlI enjoy giving you a glimpse, in a very abbreviated way, of the work of the Conference of Bishops which caused me to be away from our synod for almost a week! These are just highlights from the notes of our COB scribe, Bishop Ray Tiemann of the Southwestern Texas Synod.
by Bishop Bill Gohl"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." - 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 I grieve with you the loss of life as a result of gun violence in Las Vegas. Every person wounded or killed is a precious child of God. I grieve with you the ways that violence threatens and destroys life. I am mindful with you that brokenness and sin are not somehow outside of us; great evil has surely been gestated within the Body of Christ, too.
by Cindy VanVliet, Associate for CommunityJesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22:37-40
"I didn’t really solicit people for the team; God planted the LEAD idea in people's hearts and lives and is guiding us through this time after our first [Learning] Seminar. We can't wait to see what God's plans are for us at Saint Ben's." -Pastor David Schafer of Saint Benjamin’s Lutheran Church in Westminster. by Synod Vice President John AugerClick through the slideshow below for more than 140 photos from Bishop Gohl's first year in office! It is hard to believe that it has been a year since Bishop Gohl – Bill – has become our Bishop. The time has certainly flown as have worked together doing God's work in our synod.
To be honest, I was concerned that we had a new Bishop. I was one year into my role as Vice President, still trying to figure out who is who and which end is up and we have a Bishop's election and a new Bishop to work with. I was truly apprehensive that the work that had been gaining momentum – Vision 2018 implementation, synod restructuring, leadership development, the Forward in Faith capital campaign and our overall response to helping our rostered and lay leaders respond to our changing culture, was going to take one or two steps backwards as our new Bishop came up to speed and began to impart his input into our efforts. I have been through many of these transitions in my years in the church and business worlds. It is just the way it is. What I truly underestimated, and have been truly amazed at, is that working with Bill has resulted in a significant acceleration of our efforts. He hit the ground running the first day; we connected immediately as he made it clear that we would lead our synod together on the course that we had already aligned on. His actions have backed up those words! We have traveled countless miles together as we have made two "round trips" of our conferences to connect with our rostered ministers, we have planned and consulted with each other face-to-face, by email, or by text nearly daily as we model the shared leadership behavior that is truly servant leadership in action. His faithful, wise, strong, compassionate, empowering leadership has been an inspiration to me and many others in our synod over the past year. He lives his faith, at times at personal risk (as in Charlottesville), as he shows us the way that our love for Jesus should be lived out daily. I truly consider Bill to be a close friend, my leadership partner, and an outstanding example of how we should live out our faith. I believe the Holy Spirit will continue to guide and direct us as we move forward into our challenging and sometime scary world. It gives me great comfort knowing that Bill is on the journey beside me and the rest of our synod. Congratulations on a great first year, Bill! |
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