By Pr. Craig Pederson

It’s Monday afternoon, and the last thing I thought I’d be doing right now is writing a blog entry. I expected to be packing and preparing for my family’s Spring Break vacation that was to start tomorrow. Our destination: Los Angeles and San Francisco for 10 days of fun in the sun. Yay!

You can probably see where this is going. After much consternation and conversation, we decided to cancel our vacation because of concerns about the coronavirus. The possibility of a major outbreak while we were there, along with the risk of Lisa and our kids being exposed to the virus and possibly not being allowed to return to school for two weeks when we return (Lisa works at their school), were simply too much. And, my synod office colleagues probably wouldn’t be thrilled with a coronavirus carrier in their midst either.

So I’m back in the office today and have a relatively open calendar for the next week and a half. Our family has talked about substituting a shorter getaway locally, … and the unexpected gift of this additional free time means, of course, that we can do more projects around the house. Yay again!

Not wanting to miss an opportunity, our trusty Communications Director Bob Hulteen said, “Hey, we have an opening on the blog schedule this week. Do you want to write something?” “Uhm, … sure!” was my ultimate response.

Actually, this affords me the opportunity to share a story that has been on my mind in recent weeks, another story involving the unexpected gift of being in a situation far different than was anticipated.

 

OUR REDEEMER OROMO Evangelical Church (OROEC) is a vibrant congregation in the South Minneapolis Conference of our synod.  While vibrant, they have also lived in a state of conflict and anxiety for the past 2 ½ years.

A bit of background: OROEC experienced a split in 2012 after debating the implications for their church following the ELCA’s 2009 vote to ordain LGBTQ pastors living in committed relationships. Many of OROEC’s members were affiliated with the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus in Ethiopia before coming to the United States. Mekane Yesus has a conservative biblical and theological understanding of LGBTQ issues. While they were grateful for the ELCA’s hospitality and support of establishing OROEC here, some OROEC members could not align themselves with the ELCA’s inclusive stance. Those members ultimately left OROEC and started a new church.

“As you can see, one of the inspiring characteristics of OROEC is their confident, faithful reliance on the will of God to lead them.”

To the surprise of many OROEC leaders and long-time members, this issue came back up again in 2017. The causes and motivations for the recurrence of this issue are complex and not pertinent here, but I will say that this time around the schism threatened to break the congregation.

OROEC spent over two years in conversation, prayer, Bible study, and discernment about how they might retain their ELCA identity, respect the different views of their members, and remain in relationship with local Oromo churches from other denominations who disagreed with them on this issue. Bishop Ann and I met several times with both sides of what came to be known as the “Stay-ELCA” and “Exit-ELCA” factions, but the schism was deeply embedded and reconciliation was elusive.

Members of the Exit-ELCA group achieved a majority on the Church Council in 2019. They initiated the constitutional process to leave the ELCA last summer, and they organized both active and inactive members to be eligible for a congregational vote that was scheduled for September. The outcome seemed to be a foregone conclusion.

“Our Redeemer Oromo Evangelical Church spent over two years in conversation, prayer, Bible study, and discernment about how they might retain their ELCA identity, respect the different views of their members, and remain in relationship with local Oromo churches from other denominations who disagreed with them on this issue.”

At the request of the congregation, I was present as an observer on the day of the vote. When all ballots were counted, a majority of OROEC members had voted to leave – however, the total was three votes shy of the two-thirds majority required by the constitution. In other words, the vote to leave the ELCA failed by three votes.

Here is how that day was recounted in the most recent OROEC newsletter:

What we witnessed on Sunday 22 September 2019 clearly affirmed that God is with our church, His church, and this church. We say this convinced not because Exit-ELCA Group, in spite of working on it relentlessly yet did not get the required 2/3 majority. The result was stunning for both groups. The exit-Group was definitely 100% sure that it would get what it was working for and was very relaxed and ready to celebrate the outcome. The OROECM/ELCA members did not expect the surprising result either but left the whole thing to God. In short the result was not what we all expected but rather God’s verdict for His church, we call it Devine (sic) intervention. As we watched everyone’s face, when the result was announced everyone was stunned and shocked and what had happened has not sunk in yet, for both groups in disbelief though we need to come back to our senses and accept that God’s way is different from our ways and our calculation. He was and is simply watching us from above and in control.

As you can see, one of the inspiring characteristics of OROEC is their confident, faithful reliance on the will of God to lead them. Bishop Ann and I met last week with OROEC Pastor Wondimu Sonessa and two Church Council officers. They wanted to express their gratitude for God’s guidance and for our assistance through their struggles. They were excited to tell us about the spiritual renewal that is taking place in their church, and to share their strategic plan for the future. And, they wanted to know how they can find partners for ministry and become more involved in the life of the synod after years of isolation and internal conflict.

The faithful members of OROEC are experiencing the unexpected gift of being in a place they did not imagine. If you would like to learn more about this remarkable church, please let me know – I would love to put you in touch with them! As it turns out, I have some extra time available these days.