Bishop’s Blogs

By Bishop Jen Nagel

The song that’s been tumbling through my head these last few days is called “Crowded Table” by The Highwomen. “I want a house with a crowded table, and a place by the fire for everyone.”

The Minnesota State Fair closed its 12-day run last night, and my state fair memories for 2024 are from the crowded tables of the Salem Lutheran Church Dining Hall. A week ago Monday, a few of us from the synod staff volunteered at the Salem Dining Hall at Cosgrove and Randall. Over the fair’s run, 150-some volunteers pitch in working at the counter, waiting tables, flipping pancakes and making the meatballs, washing dishes, driving the van, making ice cream sundaes (yes, with lingonberry sauce and ginger cookies), sweeping the floors, and cracking the eggs that – shells and all – baptize the grounds of the much-loved Swedish Egg Coffee.

This is the 75th Anniversary year for Salem’s dining hall, one of just two remaining church dining halls at the fair. (Back in 1903 there were 89; read more fun facts here).

WHAT DID I enjoy the most? A few things:

The intergenerational mix of volunteers: Teenagers were waiting tables; Jim Zieba who knows the secrets of the egg coffee (and for whom we all quickly learned to make way when he came through with a hot pot) was sharing his gift; many of us were doing things that we’d never/rarely done before with all the feels that come along. On that Monday we included crews from Trinity Lutheran Church in Long Lake, Redeemer Lutheran Church on Glenwood in north Minneapolis, Salem, and a handful of current and previous synod staff or spouses. Thank God for Salem’s Brenda Blackhawk and Rachel Carmichael who keep the whole thing running. Working side by side across the lines of age and church and race is a great way to get to know one another.

Bishop Jen Nagel welcomes people to crowded tables at the Salem Dining Hall.

“We shared a trust that there is enough and that community is possible.”

The hospitality. As our motley team assembled shortly after sunrise, I was assigned to be the host. I took my spot by door, welcoming guests, directing groups to tables, making space for those with wheelchairs and scooters, and chatting with the folks in the line. I heard confessions about people’s church attendance, curiosities about the ELCA/church/coffee/God (in approximately that order); yearnings for community; and a bounty of stories, memories, and hopes. And, I met a lot of people, including some of you from our synod, and those from other synods. A big shout out to Pastor Nick Franco and St. John Lutheran Church in Zimmerman; it was great to meet you at the fair!

And, finally, crowded tables. There were times in the lull of the morning when the tables weren’t full and those who appreciated some space quietly recharged for the next foray. More often the tables were crowded and the benches were full. We shared a communion of sorts, shoulder to shoulder, friends and strangers at our side, conversations, and a trust that there is enough and that community is possible.

As we move into the fall with all the new beginnings and plenty of uncertainty, I’m savoring the crowded table and a place of God’s welcome with room for everyone.

By Bishop Jen Nagel 

This summer our family spent a week at Holden Village, deep in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State. One evening as we gathered for worship the lights were turned down and large sand-filled boxes and bowls with flickering candles centered our focus. During the service, we were invited to come forward to kneel around the cross, lighting candles and praying. I love these Prayer Around the Cross services with their stunningly simple music, their quiet beauty, and the movement of the community.

Every so often it wasn’t just a few people coming forward or returning to their seats, but a rush of a dozen or more gathering from every direction. You see, the worship leaders had been clear: while many come forward individually to kneel or stand in prayer, when someone comes to one of the corner stations, that is a sign that they seek others to gather close and to pray for them, to pray with them. And that’s exactly what others did: they came close in prayer, perhaps laying a hand on a shoulder, embodying solidarity, showing up. I find this act of showing up incredibly moving to experience and to witness. Really, what else in this life can we do for each other, if not show up?

“Jesus took on flesh and showed up, and we share this calling to show up.”

People often ask about my vision for Minneapolis Area Synod. Over these next months and years, I trust that this vision will arise from the gifts and the needs around us and the clarifying of the Holy Spirit. This means that much of my ministry in these early days as your bishop will be showing up and listening – showing up and listening to leaders, showing up and listening to congregations, showing up and listening to the wider community and our partners.

OUR STRENGTH AS a synod – our power as Christ’s community – is grounded in relationship and our willingness to show up with and for one another, and with our neighbors. Jesus took on flesh and showed up, and we share this calling to show up. Sometimes this means showing up for big synod-wide gatherings (think synod assembly or the installation on September 21). And just as much this means showing up day by day closer to home:

• Showing up to worship
• Showing up to celebrate an ordination or installation
• Showing up to give thanks at an anniversary or in a time of transition or farewell
• Showing up to grieve or console in the face of a loss
• Showing up to learn and grow, play and change together
• Showing up to uplift in prayer and care, … because we don’t walk alone
• Showing up in vigil and solidarity, together witnessing to pain, violence, and injustice in the neighborhoods and beyond
• Showing up around the table and at the block party, sharing bread and time
• Showing up at the Minnesota State Capitol or your local city council meeting to engage the broken systems of immigration or housing or the climate crisis
• Showing up to pool our resources and address a need or mend a relationship
• Showing up with our messy, vulnerable God-blessed selves; trusting that we are enough, that God’s grace holds us, and God works through us

Beloved Church, it’s tempting to assume we must “have it all together” before our vision becomes clear, before we can show up, before God can use us. I need to consciously resist this temptation, perhaps you do too; it’s so strong.

“What else in this life can we do for each other, if not show up?”

Remember the dimly lit prayer service and the flickering candles? When someone knelt to pray, people showed up in an inspiring and timely solidarity. I want to be that kind of synod where we show up for one another and for our neighbors in body and in spirit, side by side, Christ’s people together, … because God always shows up first. Thanks be to God.

By Bishop Ann Svennungsen

What an extraordinary joy it was to represent the Minneapolis Area Synod at the ELCA Youth Gathering, last week! Long before the event began, our synod was deeply engaged in the preparations.

We were privileged to provide funding for the bus that brought 45 youth of color from our synod to the gathering. At the Multicultural Youth Leadership Event (MYLE), youth from the whole church were led and inspired by seven leaders of color from our synod – including the leader of the entire event, Dr. Kelly Sherman Conroy (the first ELCA indigenous leader to earn a PhD in Theology).

“We are all one in Christ Jesus, and we are all called to name the evil of racism and work to dismantle it.”

If you had asked me 12 years ago what sort of leadership role and youth involvement the Minneapolis Area Synod might have at the 2024 MYLE gathering, I could not have imagined what I saw last week.

But, I believe, the Spirit has been at work in our synod:

• • Nine leaders of color ordained as pastors or deacons
  • Thirty pastors or deacons of color currently serving in synod ministries
  • Fifteen years with Rev. Kelly Chatman serving as Advisor to the Bishop for Emerging Leaders
  • A congregational gift of $285,000 providing educational debt relief to leaders of color
  • Felecia Boone serving as Synod Vice President
  • Cheryl Chatman representing our synod on the ELCA Church Council
  • A full-time synod position of congregational organizing focused solely on racial justice – a position that has been filled since 2017
  • A $1.25 million Lilly Endowment award to the synod to accompany our multi-cultural congregations in family faith formation

Our church – and our country – has a long, long way to go in addressing systemic racism. For Christians, the journey begins at baptism. As Paul writes in Galatians: “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”

WE CHRISTIANS WILL spend our entire existence living into this calling to dismantle racism and all that separates and oppresses others.

We are called to take intentional steps – leaning into this baptismal reality. Some days it will be one step forward, two steps back. Many days, we will feel uncomfortable. But the calling is clear: We are all one in Christ Jesus, and we are all called to name the evil of racism and work to dismantle it.

It has been one of the greatest privileges of my life to be a part of such a diverse, multicultural community as the Minneapolis Area Synod. Thank you for allowing me to attend the Multicultural Youth Leadership Event as one of the last acts as your Bishop.

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + +

And, speaking of giving thanks, …

Words cannot contain the profound gratitude I feel for the privilege of serving as your bishop.

I have felt deeply called to this work; and it has been a calling I have truly loved.

Thank you for the privilege of being partner with 137 congregations working together so “all might experience gracious invitation into life-giving Christian community and live in just and healthy neighborhoods.”

Thank you for the chance to serve with extraordinary leaders: pastors, deacons, elected congregational leaders, elected synod leaders, deans, and synod committee members.

“Thank you for your prayers, your words of encouragement and affirmation, your supportive presence.”

I am deeply indebted to our remarkable synod staff. This has truly been a leadership team; we work hard together. I can’t say enough about the gifts, faith, collegiality, complementarity, work ethic, and incredibly good humor that the staff brings to this work – and to our community called the synod.

I especially want to thank you for your prayers, your words of encouragement and affirmation, your supportive presence – in person, on zoom, through emails, and written notes.

I am thrilled that the synod elected Pastor Jen Nagel as its next Bishop. She brings such incredible gifts of faith, vision, wisdom, and compassion. She and I have spent quality time together during the transition period before her term begins on August 1. You have called a remakable leader and I will be first in line to cheer her on and hold her in prayer.

Finally, thank you for entrusting me with this role. It has been an honor to be your bishop. You will continue in my prayers – prayers filled with gratitude and love.

With heartfelt love for you,
Bishop Ann

By Bishop Ann Svennungsen

As I prepare for my final days as your bishop, I want to share a few thoughts about the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. As much as ever, I love the ELCA. I believe its distinctive witness is critical, especially today, when so many in America seek to use the word “Christian” to mean lots different things – and to advocate for lots of different causes.

Our clarity about the gospel – about God’s initiative, God’s radical forgiveness in Jesus Christ – is vital. So is our clear witness about the freedom of the Christian to love the neighbor, to think critically and thoughtfully, and to courageously engage the public square for the sake of justice. To paraphrase Luther, our understanding of God’s grace frees us “to act boldly and trust God more boldly still.”

In a time when such strong winds blow in our country, when some are flying the banner of Christian nationalism, Luther’s confessional witness about the distinction between law and gospel is as crucial as ever.

“In a time when such strong winds blow in our country, when some are flying the banner of Christian nationalism, Luther’s confessional witness about the distinction between law and gospel is as crucial as ever.”

I believe we – members of the Minneapolis Area Synod, the largest synod in the ELCA – are called to be faithful and discerning stewards of this clay jar we call the ELCA. It’s as important as ever. Yes, we are a clay jar, … broken in many ways, systems of exclusion and privilege continue to have a hold on us.

Still, I believe our clarity about the Gospel of God’s radical forgiveness in Jesus Christ sets us free to do the good, hard, hopeful work of building beloved community for the sake of the world. And, I pray that our synod’s 137 ELCA congregations will be courageous and faithful stewards of this treasure of the Gospel.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Bishop Ann Svennungsen’s final day in the Office of the Bishop will be July 31.

By Bishop Ann Svennungsen

The signs were weight loss, shortness of breath, a cough. Given the symptoms, my husband, Bill, met with his doctor. She prescribed a battery of tests – looking for causes. Through a chest x-ray, a cat scan, and a biopsy, new signs were found: a 12- by 13-centimeter mass, malignant cells, a cancer called seminoma.

Then a whole new set of signs began to appear: getting in to see a Mayo oncologist whose research specialty is seminomas; being referred to a local oncologist who studied at Indiana where the standard seminoma chemotherapy was developed; receiving meals from the congregation we’d just joined – from loving people we’d never met.

Signs of cancer are interwoven with signs of hope; signs of weakness interwoven with signs of strength (in Bill’s own body, in the power of medicines, in the wisdom of healthcare providers).

WHAT AMAZES ME is how consistently we yearned for visible, touchable, even embodied conveyers of the news we received. We looked for tangible signs. Yes, there’s “MyChart,” Mayo.org, NIH, and thousands of unhelpful websites. Yet, even with access to all that information, you wait to hear the real story from a real person – someone who looks you in the eye, stands by your side, and gives you a sign.

Bishop Ann and Bill stand on each side of Archbishop Musa Filibus

These feelings remind me of the life of faith. The Sacrament of Holy Communion is a bodily, physical, and corporal experience. It engages every one of our five senses: sight, taste, touch, hearing, smell.

“I find it amazing that the Sacrament of Holy Communion engages every one of our five senses: sight, taste, touch, hearing, smell.”

This is God at work – in the incarnation of Jesus; in the bread, wine, and water; in the community gathered, in the sharing of the peace; and in the hotdish.

This is God showing up. And in the journey our family faces now (two hospitalizations so far and chemotherapy through at least June 30), we feel gratitude beyond measure for all the creative ways we can see, hear, touch, smell, and taste the signs of God’s love.

Thank you for being the Body of Christ to one another – and to us.

By Bishop Ann Svennungsen

Ten days ago in Demsa, Nigeria, I joined eleven bishops for the laying on of hands, ordaining 72 new pastors to serve in the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (LCCN). It was a profound experience, made moreso by the 50,000 worshipers gathering with us in this outdoor setting.

An ancient tradition, the ordination rite was part of the final worship service of the 99th Annual LCCN Convention on February 25.

“The concept of vocation is one of the most powerful ways we bridge the gap between faith and daily life.”

Classrooms under construction for Lutheran University Nigeria

At the same time, using something unheard of in ancient times, an online campaign was launched, sending emails to 100,000 LCCN members, inviting each to contribute at least 2,000 Naira to advance the construction of the new Lutheran University of Nigeria.

Within a couple days, 5 million Naira was raised. In a country where the cost of food increased 35.41% from January 2023 to January 2024, such a generous response is truly amazing.

THE JUXTAPOSITION OF the two events – the ordination of 72 pastors and the generous gifts to the University – gave me pause. Both events support a Lutheran understanding of vocation, fostering the callings of all the baptized. In Luther’s time, the common understanding was that priests alone (the ordained) had a “calling from God.”

Luther challenged that – believing that God calls every one of us. All are called to love and serve the neighbor. And, in good Luther form, he gave vivid examples of callings: If your town needs a mayor, run for mayor. If it needs a school, build a school. If your baby’s diaper needs changing, change it. These are all callings from God.

I believe the concept of vocation is one of the most powerful ways we bridge the gap between faith and daily life – between Sunday and Monday. And vocation is not only about occupation. It includes our whole lives. Children, those who are retired or unemployed, all have callings. God calls us where we are, including our occupations, but not only there. Dr. Marti Stortz, asks simply: does what you are doing with your life include the word “neighbor” at the end of the sentence? That is a key to understanding vocation.

“If your town needs a mayor, run for mayor. If it needs a school, build a school. If your baby’s diaper needs changing, change it.”

And, the building of a university is a key way to support such a rich and inclusive understanding of vocation. Dr. Stan Olson has a nice “word ladder” to describe this:

Because of Christ, the World
     Because of the World, Vocation
          Because of Vocation, Education

The dream is that the Lutheran University Nigeria (LUN) will provide quality higher education for more students and do it more equitably. And, in doing so, LUN will raise up a generation of leaders to serve the complicated, interfaith, diverse country that is Nigeria.

Election season is all around us here in the United States. (Today is the Presidential Primary here in Minnesota.) We each have a vocation to participate in public life for the common good (serving the neighbor). And just like the future graduates of the Lutheran University of Nigeria, we have also been equipped by God to live out our vocation – as leaders and citizens in the complicated, interfaith, diverse country that is United States. I pray we might be faithful stewards of this calling.

By Bishop Ann Svennungsen

Grace is something you can never get but can only be given. There’s no way to earn it or deserve it or bring it about any more than you can deserve the taste of raspberries and cream or earn good looks or bring about your own birth. A good sleep is grace and so are good dreams. Most tears are grace. The smell of rain is grace. Somebody loving you is grace. Loving somebody is grace.
 — Frederick Buechner

The above might be my favorite Buechner quote. Yet, in addition to Buechner’s list, I would add another: A congregational home is grace.  A community of welcome and belonging – where grace is proclaimed, faith is nurtured, wounds are tended, dreams are encouraged, lives are transformed – that is grace.

“Congregations are filled with sinner/saints living in a changing world.”

Recently, our retired clergy gathered at the synod office. In their introductions, I asked each person to name the congregation where they belong. After each congregation was named, I felt this deep sense of awe and gratitude. Yes, this community is grace, and this community is grace. We are richly blessed.

OH, IT’S NOT EASY or simple to be a congregation. Our unity is in Christ; in other ways we are quite diverse. I recall a story that Riverside Church’s Rev. James Forbes liked to tell. Shaking his hand after services, a woman announced, “I really didn’t like the hymns today.” After a moment, Forbes replied, “That’s sort of how it is. We’re a community of diverse people. I’d say if you liked the hymns 30 percent of the time, you’re doing great.”

In addition to being diverse, congregations are filled with sinner/saints living in a changing world. Our leaders sometimes lose their way; a conflict or trauma from the congregation’s past may continue to disrupt the present; a pandemic might completely change how we do worship; a Christian Nationalist movement may make people write off Christianity all together.

No, it’s not easy to be a congregation, a community of grace and belonging. But, oh, how important it is.

“Let us pray for those elected leaders, staff, deacons, pastors who provide leadership in these diverse congregations filled with sinner/saints.”

It is Congregational Annual Meeting season throughout the synod’s communities of faith. We gather to make decisions, pass budgets, and elect new leaders. As we began the annual meeting in prayer, let us also commit to prayerfulness throughout the year: that the decisions made will bear good fruit and that God will provide wisdom and courage for the decisions we make in the year ahead. And let us pray for those elected leaders, staff, deacons, pastors who provide leadership in these diverse congregations filled with sinner/saints.

Yes, I believe a community in Christ of welcome and belonging, a congregational home, indeed is grace.