Bishop’s Blogs

By Bishop Ann Svennungsen

Last week I was privileged to travel to the encampment at Standing Rock Reservation with Pastor Marlene Whiterabbit Helgemo, an ELCA pastor serving All Nations Church in Minneapolis. People from around the world are there, prayerfully hoping to prevent the Dakota Access Pipeline’s (DAPL) construction beneath the Missouri River. It is hard to convey in words the depth and richness of that experience. Still, I will try.

Let me begin with a caveat: We Lutherans are nothing if not realists about human causes. We are the first to say that there are no perfect persons; we are all simultaneously saint and sinner. Likewise, there is no perfect group of people; there is no perfect movement of people. The gathering at Standing Rock is not without that ambiguity.

Still, there was something profound and distinctive about what I experienced during my four day visit to Standing Rock.

FROM THE BEGINNING, the elders leading this movement have been clear about the vision that guides them; they are firm in their belief that their only chance of success is to engage the work “peacefully and prayerfully.” Both are required. The encampment begins each sunrise in prayer down by the river, ends in prayer around the camp fire, and continues in prayer throughout the day.

Though tensions have risen recently, my experience while at Standing Rock was that the protests were disciplined and focused in nonviolent action. Oh, nonviolent protest does not mean refraining from misdemeanor activity such as trespassing on the land DAPL needs. Nor does it mean resisting arrest for such activity. These are the actions akin to those of Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi.

There are moments that seem to call to us in hope that
our visible stand will work for good.

The gathering at Standing Rock is also distinctive because it addresses a remarkable convergence of vital concerns: justice for Native Americans, clean water, climate change and a sustainable energy future, the militarization of police.

• Many scholars and theologians argue that there is no greater challenge facing our world than the threat of climate change. The ELCA Social Statement “Caring for Creation” calls us to act
  “interdependently and in solidarity with creation,” and in so doing “we do justice. We serve and keep the earth, trusting its bounty can be sufficient for all, and sustainable.”
• The ELCA’s commitment to justice for Native Americans is strong, affirmed at the August assembly when we voted “to acknowledge and repent from our church’s complicity in the evils of colonialism in the Americas, which continue to harm tribal governments and individual tribal members.” Standing with the 100 tribes represented at Standing Rock gives ELCA members an opportunity to “acknowledge and repent.”
• The 2013 ELCA social statement on Criminal Justice expresses grave concern about “a movement toward more militarized policing,” noting that “although special circumstances of extraordinary threat sometimes may justify the use of military-like tactics and equipment, those circumstances should not be treated as the norm and run counter to proven community-based methods.”

In my visit to Standing Rock I was overwhelmed by the prayerfulness, humility, discipline, and peacefulness of the people gathered there. No, it’s not perfect. And, real people will be deeply affected economically if the pipeline does not go through. Still, there are moments that seem to call to us in hope that our visible stand will work for good. These collective actions can inform our own sacrifices for the healing of God’s world – spending time in prayer, using fewer fossil fuels, sharing money to support others, becoming more and more aware of the many moments each day that God might be calling us to work for good.
Luther spoke with a clear voice about our call to love the neighbor. We also believe that seeking justice is what love means in the public square. At Standing Rock, we vividly sensed this call – to love threatened Native communities, to love future generations, to love all creatures. May this be a moment when we humbly engage in self-examination, repentance, and new resolve to use our lives, our power, our resources not for selfish gain or against the rights of others, but in service to the neighbor.

By Bishop Ann Svennungsen

How do we speak faithfully of God – the creator of all things, the author of life, the giver of love beyond our wildest dreams?

Throughout history we have tried to bear witness to the mystery of God – the Holy One beyond all comprehension. Anselm is credited with defining theology as “faith seeking understanding.” And, though we see through a glass dimly, we still try to give words to the great mystery who is God.

However, until recently, the theology of the church has been almost exclusively articulated by men. Few of the liturgies, theological writings, and structures of the church have been shaped by women.

One of the most thoughtful church leaders to name and examine what this means is Dr. Elizabeth Johnson, a faithful Christian, a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph, a professor at Fordham (a Jesuit University), and the author of numerous books.

Many ELCA pastors first became acquainted with Johnson in seminary while reading her ground-breaking She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse.

Dr. Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ

IN JUST THREE WEEKS, Elizabeth Johnson will be with us for the Joint Minneapolis-Saint Paul Area Synods’ Ministerium, a time when rostered leaders gather together to be fed theologically and spiritually. Her presence is no small thing. It is an incredible opportunity. Just today, one of our hospital chaplains asked if chaplains from other denominations could attend. Without doubt, Johnson is recognized as one of the most eminent theologians of our day.

Having just published The Strength of Her Witness: Jesus Christ in the Voices of Global Women, she will be in the Twin Cities for a presentation at St. Catherine University’s O’Shaughnessy Auditorium on Friday night, October 28. We are grateful she is able to be with us the day before.

Johnson speaks about theology not just from the safe, ivory tower of academia. A theologian of the church, she has borne the scrutiny of the Roman Catholic Church in which she is a faithful member.

Throughout history we have tried to bear witness to the mystery of God – the Holy One beyond all comprehension.

In 2011, the Committee on Doctrine of the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ Conference severely criticized Johnson’s 2007 book Quest for the Living God, for not being in accordance with official Catholic teaching. The book explores understandings of God in conversation with contemporary liberation, feminist, Black, Hispanic, and ecological theologies. Though Johnson was not publicly censored by the committee, she was never given opportunity to enter into dialogue with them, something that she deeply desired.

I am thrilled to welcome such a giant of contemporary theology into our community on October 27 for our Joint Ministerium, titled “Elizabeth Johnson and the Voices of Global Women: Belonging Fully in the Body of Christ.” I hope all rostered leaders in the synod will consider joining me that day, as well as sharing what they heard with their congregations.

When I tell my colleague bishops about our plan for the synod to host “God in your Mercy, Hear our Prayer: An Election Year Worship Service,” they have two immediate responses: “What a great idea. What an impossible task.” The consensus is that, yes, we should pray for elections and governmental leaders AND, no, it won’t be easy to lead such corporate prayer without appearing biased or partisan.

But that is our goal. The Bible calls us to pray for our leaders. (From 1 Timothy 2:1-2: First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for rulers and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. And from Jeremiah 29:7: Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.)

I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for rulers and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

Martin Luther, in his Small Catechism, reminds us that we pray for the governing authorities whenever we pray “Give us this day our daily bread.” In the Large Catechism, Luther writes that it is God at work in civic rulers as they provide, protect, and preserve (in the “Explanation of the Fourth Commandment”).

Additionally, in his commentary on Psalm 82, Luther suggests that preachers are called to help hold civic authorities accountable and “upbraidsprinces who will not allow

[anyone] to rebuke their wickedness and self-will.”

WE ARE A CHURCH at prayer. In the coming weeks, we pray especially for our civic life. In a final word from Luther: “After the Gospel or the ministry, there is on earth no better jewel, no greater treasure, nor richer alms, no fairer endowment, no finer possession than a ruler who makes and preserves just laws. … It is not God’s will that [rulers] … seek only honor, power, luxury, selfish profit, and self-will. God would have them full of great, innumerable, unspeakable good works.”

We hope you might join us on Thursday, September 8, 7:00 p.m., at Central Lutheran Church – for a time of prayer, word, song, silence, and community.

This blog post is an excerpt from the “charge to action” shared by Bishop Ann Svennungsen at the “Service of Prayer and Lament Honoring the Life of Philando Castile” held on July 9, 2016, at the Chapel of the Incarnation at Luther Seminary in St. Paul. Philando Castile was killed during a traffic stop at a corner barely a mile from the seminary. This worship service and procession was sponsored by Augsburg College, Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, Luther Seminary, the Saint Paul Area Synod, and the Minneapolis Area Synod. More than 200 of the 400-plus worshipers participated in the procession.

And so we prepare now to walk – together – marching to the place where Philando Castile was killed.

We walk as part of a long line of the faithful crying out for justice. We walk with the Israelites – led by God’s pillar of fire – marching in an Exodus from oppression to freedom. We walk with the children of Soweto and the women of London. We march with our brothers and sisters in Selma, Birmingham, and Washington, D.C.

We march because our society is all too willing to close its eyes to injustice and oppression.

So, we march to make the invisible visible. Some may think that white privilege isn’t real, that systemic racism doesn’t infect our whole society. But we know that privilege and racism are real. And we are here, ready to walk, to visibly affirm that these real issues must be addressed.

But, we also walk as a visible sign of repentance. As the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. put it, “We … repent in this generation not merely for the hateful actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.” We march because we will be silent no longer.

We walk in repentance, in humility. We set out – weeping with those who grieve and calling the powerful to account.

At the 2016 Minneapolis Area Synod Assembly, voting members decided to ask every congregation to write a racial justice mission statement, to talk openly about racism, to acknowledge that we in the church can be catalysts for change.

Maybe, as we walk today, we can think about our own individual mission statements for racial justice. What will I do? How will I hold myself accountable? We are fighting structural evil. We need structures of accountability; we need one another to call us to courageous engagement.

So we join hands today to walk – a sign of our repentance, our solidarity, and our commitment. We walk today to accompany all who grieve so deeply and to advocate for real change: for employment and a living wage, for educational success for all children, for affordable housing, for equitable and transparent criminal justice systems.

We walk because we are called to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.

We walk, even while knowing this is just one step in our long march toward justice.

So let us walk – joined together – following Jesus who journeyed even through death to resurrection.

Although I have a Norwegian surname, I come from a long line of both German and Scandinavian Lutherans. I am grateful for the faith my ancestors brought when they immigrated to the United States.

Now I live in Minnesota, a land that is a bastion of Lutheran strength. But things are changing. Yes, some churches are growing, but more congregations are shrinking. Sanctuaries once filled with a thousand worshipers are now happy with 100.

People wonder if they will have the resources to keep the doors open. When I asked one church what they thought God was calling them to do and be in the next five years, an older woman said, “I just hope our church is around long enough to have my funeral.”

This is not a new reality for many in other countries, especially Europe. But, in Minneapolis, many are nostalgic for the good old days and wonder why we can’t just bring them back – those days when the cultural supports for the church were strong.

And yet, in a profound way, this is an opportune moment for American Lutheranism – a time to reflect on our true identity, our true mission. Without cultural supports or cultural expectations, we can look more carefully at what God is calling us to be and do. We can ask: What might it mean that people believe in Jesus and belong to faith communities not because it’s supported by culture, but in spite of culture’s indifference or even discouragement? What new thing is God doing in our time?

This is God’s church and God is alive, calling us in new ways, to new ministry and service. So, what is our identity and mission in this new time? Are we called to save an institution? A denomination? A specific congregation?

Or, are we called to share the good news of Jesus Christ? To form life-giving communities of faith? To join with God in seeking justice and shalom throughout the world?

We can’t just ask what we can do better to attract people (not that that is wrong), but we must ask how we meet people where they are. Not how are we going to get folks to come to us, but how do we go where people are, entering the neighborhoods and communities we share.

These are exciting times, if we can but see it.

I rejoice to see a new apostolic age. The Spirit of Christ is awakening the church for the sake of the Gospel.