June 13th and 14th was the 33rd Synod Assembly for the Southwest Washington Synod of the ELCA. 

I've been to 19 assemblies in six different synods, and I can honestly say that this was one of the smoothest and best-run assemblies I've attended. Even more importantly than that, there was a real sense of collaboration and camaraderie among the people who attended. It is a delight to be together with other people who share our faith and values. I also want to thank Jen and Randy Legler, who attended alongside Robyn and I as delegates from our congregation.

The headline activity for this year's assembly was the election of a new bishop. Our outgoing bishop, Richard Jaech, is retiring after serving as for 12 years, and as a pastor for 50 years. The synod's gratitude and appreciation of his ministry were palpable.

The ELCA has a well-established practice for the selection of a synod bishop. This process is surrounded in prayer and discernment and is overseen by a neutral party from the ELCA Churchwide office. This year, several candidates for bishop self-identified and prepared biographies for synod delegates to review in advance of the assembly. However, the first round of balloting is always open, and anyone who is a pastor in good standing in the ELCA is eligible for nomination. During this first round my name was put forward, as were the names of about 15 other candidates. At this point, candidates have a chance to withdraw from consideration, and many did. I chose not to for two (somewhat contradictory) reasons: 1. I learned during the call process that brought Robyn and I to serve at Messiah that the Spirit sometimes has plans that are beyond my personal vision and it is best to be open to what the Spirit may bring; and, 2. I thought that there was very little chance that I'd advance far in the process. As you've heard me say many times, I'm very happy in my call to Messiah and I have no desire to leave. Much to my surprise, only seven candidates allowed their names to move forward to the second round of voting. According to the ELCA's process, the top seven vote getters in the second round advance to the third round, and have a chance to address the assembly. So, by default, all seven of us candidates who didn't withdraw after the first round of voting automatically advanced to the third. The top three vote getters in the third round advanced to the fourth round, and I wasn't among them.

As I sat in the green room with the other candidates, I was genuinely impressed by the people assembled in that room. I would have been happy to see any of them selected as our synod's next bishop (except for me of course - I don't want to leave Messiah). As each round of voting progressed the delegates paused for discernment, song, and prayer. Ultimately, Pastor Keith Marshall, from Hope Lutheran Church in Enumclaw, WA, was selected as our next bishop. When information about his installation service is made available, we will be certain to publicize it.

Peace,

Pastor David