SUNDAY, JULY 27, 2025
My 2 hours and 15 minutes flight from Houston to Phoenix left at 10:15 am Sunday and arrived at 10:38 due to the two-hour time change.
I’ve been to Tucson, but this is my first time in Phoenix. I was first fascinated by the lack of grass. When I stepped off the shuttle, I understood why.
Bishops, Bishops-elect, Vice Presidents, and ELCA Church Council began with a service of Holy Communion at 1:00. We met in joint session at 2:30, then in our groups separately at 3:45, followed by dinner.
I was honored to meet (below center) Bishop-elect Imad Haddad of Jerusalem (The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land). He is pictured with Pastors Khader El Yateem (left) and Gabi Aelabouni (right). Bishop Haddad will be in Galveston in August. I asked him about a gathering to meet folks from our synod and he agreed! More to come.
At 7:30 bishops met to bid farewell to a few bishops.
MONDAY, JULY 28, 2025
On Monday, voting members and visitors began to arrive.
The calm before the storm:
Protesters from an ultra-right wing church gathered with messages of hate for a denomination that ordains women and LGBTQIA pastors. Such hatred puzzles me. A counter protest invited Lutherans to pledge $$ to Reconciling Works for every hour the protest continued. They raised $4,000.
Our LGBTQIA bishops:
Eight of us walked to Jersey Mike’s for lunch. us Gulf Coast folks sat outside in 107° temps. The dry heat really does make a difference. In the shade and with a breeze it was quite nice. Later the temp rose to 112°.
We began with Opening Eucharist at 2:30. Bishops and VPs processed. Here are the Region 4 (Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Nebrask) bishops and bishops-elect.
Report on the 4th Ballot for Presiding Bishop:
The Rev. Albert Starr presided.
After a video we received the Results of the 3rd Ballot for Secretary.
Bishop Eaton preached.
At dinner, Robert Rivera, our Synod VP and I attended the multicultural dinner, at which Pastor Khader El Yateem was the keynote speaker.
Plenary 1 began at 6:30 pm. Bishop Debra Hutterer welcomed us all to the Grand Canyon Synod.
Bishop Eaton is stepping down after 12 years as Presiding Bishop. We are grateful for her service. The elections of our next Presiding Bishop and our next ELCA Secretary are among the many important tasks of this assembly. We had our first ballot for Presiding Bishop.
Plenary 1 concluded around 9:30 pm.
TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2025
I began the day with a walk to the grocery with Central States Bishop Susan Candea and North Texas Vice President Don Heller, grateful that the temperature had not reached 90° yet.
At 9:00 we prayed Morning Prayer. I had the privilege of sitting with Bishop-elect Tracey and Rocky Mountain Synod DEM Chris Davis and his daughter Celia, below, who is celebrating her 16th birthday today!
Each CWA we are seated next to our domestic partner synod, The Minneapolis Area Synod. Below, I got to hang out with Clarence Smith.
Gulf Coast Synod voting members, below, L-R:
- Mike Williams, Peace, College Station
- Jasmin Fiscal, St. James Houston
- Pastor Ele Clay, Augustana Houston
- Brenda Bastone, Christ the King, Kenner
- Pastor Tracey Breashears Schultz, Bishop-elect
- Robert Rivera, Synod Vice President
- Michael Rinehart, Bishop
- Pastor Chon Pugh, Memorial First, Texas City
- Aaron Guerrero, Kinsmen Houston, Synod Attorney
Plenary 2 began at 10:15 am with the results of yesterday’s first ballot for Presiding Bishop.
The Social Statement on Faith and Civic Life was presented by Phyllis Johnson, PhD, current candidate for ordained ministry, and Co-Chair of the Faith and Civic Life Social Statement Task Force.
We heard from our ELCA universities and seminaries. We heard about the Repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery. Below are the presidents of our seminaries.
ELCA VP Imran Siddiqui spoke and gave the ELCA Church Council.
We recognized separately incorporated ministries.
I learned that Pacific Northwest folks have different snacks than we do.
Lunch gave us time to visit with presidents and staff of our ELCA universities and seminaries.
During the lunch break a local animal shelter brought in puppies. The stress level of many plummeted as people cuddled petted.
It was so good to see ELCA missionary Ann Landjgi, and Micah, who I had not seen in many years. Pictured here with Grand Canyon Synod Bishop Deb Hutterer:
Bishop Class of 2018:
Plenary 3 began at 2:00. 40 or so people (including me) removed their names from consideration for the position of presiding bishop, leaving us with 30-some. Due to troubles with voting tech, we were not able to take ballot 2 just yet, so we moved to the treasurer’s report and approved a 2026-2028 budget.
We heard from a couple of our visiting bishops, Bishop Guadalupe Cortéz from El Salvador and Bishop Hilja Ndatala-Eenyofi Nghaangulwa.
After a lot of tech difficulties, they moved voting from our iPads to the voting machines and we took the 2nd ballot for Presiding Bishop.
Edits to Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust were presented. Committee members included those who voted for the HSGT in 2009 and those who voted against it. They seem to have had a good experience together in this work. Most are edits bringing the language up to date, with no changes to the substance of the statement. For example, edits acknowledge legal marriage that didn’t exist in 2009. No edits were made to the portion of the document regarding bound conscience.
We heard a report from the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church, along with their 13 recommendations. We also heard a report about the ELCA Church Council’s response to the report.
We heard a report about ELCA finances from Treasurer Lori Fedyk and Pastor Wyvetta Bullock.
We heard a report from the Memorials Committee and considered A3: Indian Boarding School Remembrance, submitted by 22 synods. Memorials can be found here. Here are the implementing resolutions:
To receive with gratitude the memorials on “Indian Boarding School Remembrance” from Alaska Synod, Montana Synod, Sierra Pacific Synod, Southwest California Synod, Pacifica Synod, Western North Dakota Synod, Northeastern Minnesota Synod, Saint Paul Area Synod, Metropolitan Chicago Synod, Northern Illinois Synod, Central-Southern Illinois Synod, Western Iowa Synod, Northeastern Iowa Synod, Northern Great
Lakes Synod, Northwest Synod of Wisconsin, East-Central Synod of Wisconsin, Greater Milwaukee Synod, South-Central Synod of Wisconsin, Southeast Michigan Synod, North/West Lower Michigan Synod, Metropolitan Washington DC Synod, and the Florida-Bahamas Synod;
To address the legacies of this church’s role in Indian boarding schools through the following actions:
- Encourage and equip all congregations, synods, and ministries affiliated with or related to the ELCA to observe the National Day of Remembrance for Indian Boarding Schools annually on or near
September 30th; - Urge Augsburg Fortress and the Service and Justice unit, in consultation with other appropriate churchwide organization home areas, to create adult and children/youth educational programs and materials concerning Christian and Lutheran roles in Indian boarding schools to broaden and deepen awareness at congregations, synods, and ministries affiliated with or related to the ELCA; and to consistently publish articles in all of this church’s publications;
- Provide on-going recognition of and support for the growing network of lay people and rostered ministers volunteering their time in the work of the ELCA Truth-Seeking and Truth-Telling Initiative on Indian Boarding Schools (see http://www.elca.org/IndianBoardingSchools) to locate all known records related to the ELCA’s predecessor bodies’ involvement with Indian boarding and day schools and to educate others about Indian boarding schools;
- Encourage ministries affiliated with or related to the ELCA to commit to learning the truth of their involvement with Indian boarding schools, in partnership with the ELCA Truth-Seeking and TruthTelling Initiative and to responsibly create paths to healing and repair;
- Organize and care for all information in the ELCA’s possession that was recorded about Indian boarding and day schools and the students who attended them, forcibly or otherwise; carry out this
work in partnership with the ELCA Truth-Seeking and Truth-Telling Initiative and the ELCA Archives; recognize that this information belongs to and is a source of healing for student survivors,
their descendants, communities, and Tribal Nations; and ensure that the records and research are made accessible to Indian boarding school survivors and their families in a responsible manner; and - Direct the churchwide organization to identify the revenue source(s) to sufficiently support research and organizing efforts, and to sufficiently support digitization and labeling of all Indian boarding school records in the ELCA Archives.
Following this, the first Common Ballot was introduced. With over 100 positions for ELCA Church Council and various boards on which to vote, I am grateful that electronic voting can happen at any time in the next 18 hours. We have until tomorrow at noon to finish voting.
The results from the 2nd ballot for Presiding Bishop were announced. 791 votes were cast:
According to the Election of the Presiding Bishop process, the seven receiving the most votes move forward:
1 Current Amy 150
2 Strickland Kevin 149
3 Curry Yehiel 132
4 Bartholomew Tracie 66
5 Gohl Bill 55
6 Schweitzer Craig 44
6 Shannon Angela 44
We will hear from them tomorrow. Ballots 1 and 2 required 3/4 of the votes for election. The next ballot, Ballot 3 requires 2/3 of the votes to elect.
We were in recess by 6:00 p.m, for dinner and a powwow.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 30, 2025
Plenary 4 began at 9:15 am.
Memorials committee began with D4: Stand for Palestine and End to Occupation of Palestine. The committee received the memorials from 10 synods with gratitude and recommended for Assembly Action:
To encourage ELCA members, congregations, synods, and appropriate churchwide units to advocate for human rights, justice, and peace for all Palestinians and Israelis and support policies that bring an end to the occupation [added by the assembly: “of Gaza and the West Bank, while maintaining the right and sovereignty of the State of Israel to exist,”] and promote a just and peaceful resolution of the conflict;
To reaffirm our deep commitment to justice, peace, and the sanctity of every human life, and join the call of the World Council of Churches for an immediate end to the mass killing in Gaza. With grief and moral
urgency, we recognize the profound human toll of the violence and displacement against Palestinian civilians, which constitutes a crisis of international conscience. As we lament this unfolding tragedy, we acknowledge a
distinction between our Jewish siblings and the policies of the present government of Israel. We reaffirm our unwavering opposition to antisemitism and Islamophobia in all their forms;
To direct the Office of the Presiding Bishop, in consultation with the Witness in Society Advocacy Team, to write to the President and Vice President of the United States, the Secretary of State, and the majority and minority leaders of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives calling on the U.S. government:
- to recognize and work to end the genocide against the Palestinian people, to halt military assistance to Israel used to devastate Gaza, and to investigate the use of U.S. military aid to Israel to ensure compliance with U.S. and international human rights law;
- to redouble its efforts to end human rights violations in Gaza and the West Bank, focusing on the most
egregious and ongoing violations, including: indiscriminate and disproportionate bombing of Gaza
resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of children, women and men; deprivation of adequate access to drinking water, food, medical care, and electricity; destruction of buildings—including hospitals, places of worship, homes, and schools—and the destruction of electricity, sewage and water infrastructure essential for survival; and, the detention of hostages and political prisoners; - to recognize Palestine as a sovereign state, and support Palestine’s full membership in the United Nations, and
- to reject proposals to remove Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank, to address the catastrophic living conditions that could force Palestinians to leave, and to work to end the rampant settler violence
and vandalism against Palestinians in the West Bank; - To encourage prayerful response to the ongoing devastation in Gaza and the West Bank and encourage individuals, congregations, and synods of the ELCA to pray for Palestinians and Israelis, Jews, Christians and Muslims, who work to create a future of justice, equality, reconciliation, and peace for all, including our siblings of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), Augusta Victoria Hospital
operated by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), and the World Council of Churches/Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (WCC/EAPPI) who offer comfort, support, accountability, and relief, and - To reaffirm the ELCA’s commitment to amplifying the voices of ELCA partners in Palestine and Israel and their language of justice for their own people; and the urgency and importance of the advocacy, awareness building, and accompaniment work of the ELCA through the Office of the Presiding Bishop, the MENA
(Middle East and North Africa) Desk, the Sumud initiative, and the Witness in Society (WiS) public policy team.
The conversation ran long and was tabled until this evening.
Bishop candidates spoke. Because one of them could not be physically present, they all decided to appear on Zoom for equity.
At 10:40 we cast the 3rd ballot for Presiding Bishop. The results were:
Bishops Curry, Strickland, and Bartholomew will move forward. They will each answer questions this afternoon.
Holy Eucharist is at 11:00 am.
Lunch 12:15-2:00. Bishops met with seminary presidents. Below is President Guy Irwin, United Seminary, speaking on behalf of the presidents. The seminaries have adapted remarkably over the years. They asked bishops what they needed from the seminaries.
Plenary 5, 2:00-5:00 pm began with a theological presentation in the theme “For the Life of the World,” by The Rev. Dr. Chad Rimmer, Rector and Dean of Lutheran Southern Theological Seminary. Rimmer equated chaos theory with holy Wisdom. The universe is sustained by the interdependent ecology of the Trinity.
Prior to the 4th Ballot for Presiding Bishop, a Forum with the three candidates for Presiding Bishop was held. The candidates were provided with the three questions in advance:
- Give an example of how would you implement the vision of the ELCA with respect to the DEIA audit, the strategy toward authentic diversity, or God’s Love Made Real.
- How would you encourage faithful, equitable, and inclusive leadership in this church among both lay and rostered leaders?
- As this church moves into a rapidly changing future, how will you assemble and lead a team to steward the people and resources of the Churchwide Organization into the future.
Results of Ballot 4 for Presiding Bishop:
Ballot 5 for Presiding Bishop. Prior to the ballot, the two final candidates shared a Scripture passage and how it informed their leadership.
Report on the 5th Ballot for Presiding Bishop:
Report of ELCA Secretary Sue Rothmeyer
The assembly expressed its love and appreciation for Deacon Rothmeyer’s many years of ministry, 30 at the Churchwide Organization and 6 as ELCA Secretary. Secretary Rothmeyer has viewed the Office of the Secretary as the servant arm of this church.
4:45 — First Ballot for ELCA Secretary
The election process for Secretary is similar to the election for the Presiding Bishop. Today we take the first ballot, the nominating ballot, It will be reported tonight. Those who wish to remove their names must do so by 12:15 pm tomorrow, Thursday, July 31.
Greeting from Navy Chaplain Christina Mauntel, stationed at Pearl Harbor
Dinner – 5:15-6:00 pm.
Plenary 6 – 7:00-8:30 pm.
Greetings from Bishop-elect Imad Haddad, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL). Bishop-elect Haddad spoke of the number of Christians leaving the Holy Land, due to the bulldozing of their homes and closing of their businesses. Christian families, many of whom have lived here since the days of Jesus, now make up less than 1% of the population. Redeemer Lutheran in Jerusalem, Christmas Lutheran in Bethlehem and other churches are tirelessly proclaiming the gospel of peace in the face of the occupation, checkpoints, and discrimination. He spoke of the death of 60,000 Palestinians in Gaza, 20,000 of whom are children. He spoke of the systemic starvation of those who are still there.
Greetings from Bishop Susan Johnson, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. Bishop Johnson acknowledged the current difficult and painful relationship between Canada and the U.S., but said nothing between our Lutheran churches has changed. She is also stepping down. She hopes that Bishop-elect Larry Kochendorfer and Bishop-elect Yehiel Curry will have the kind of relationship she and Bishop Eaton have had.
Following this, we approved the 2026-2028 Budget.
We reengaged the conversation around Memorial D4. There were too many amendments for me to keep up. I will post the amended motion later.
Results from the first ballot for Secretary were announced. Over 100 people were nominated. Here is the first page:
The Rev. Vivian Dávila, Bishop of the Caribbean Synod, closed the plenary in prayer.
9:00 – Prayer Vigil Walk, Peace Park (AMMPARO)
THURSDAY, JULY 31, 2025
9:00 am – Morning Prayer
Oh my, Vashti Murphy McKenzie brought the Word at Morning Prayer!
Prophetic imagination a la Walter Brueggemann. ” Isaiah. Wars cease. Hungry fed. They got money for wars but can’t feed the poor.” When was the last time you heard Tupac quoted in a sermon?
10:30 am – Plenary 7
The Presiding Bishop’s report led the docket.
Great appreciation was expressed for Bishop Eaton’s 12 years as Presiding Bishop.
Over the last year, I found it amusing to hear the wild rumors and see the bizarre social media posts on all the horrific, earth-shattering changes that were going to be made to the constitution at this assembly. Some folks will be disappointed at how ordinary it all is.
Sumud Lunch – At lunch we gathered to pray for peace and justice in Israel and Palestine. Khader El Yateem, Gabi Aelabouni, Bishop-elect Amad Haddad, Bishop Laurie Larson-Caesar, Maddi Froiland, and Khader Khalilia spoke and prayed.
Bishop-elect Haddad lives in Beit Sahour. His mother lives in Beit Jala. He has to pass through two checkpoints to visit her. These are not checkpoints to go into Israel; they are simply to move within Palestine. People have multiple checkpoints between home, work, school, and church. Children pass through checkpoints to get to school. He has members who are incarcerated without charges. Entire neighborhoods have had their water turned off, in hopes they will leave. Some have had their homes bulldozed.
In Gaza, children are starving and dying of disease. Housing is gone. Civilian neighborhoods have been indiscriminately bombed. 90% of the infrastructure is gone. The Israeli government is blockading humanitarian aid from getting in. Read: The Lethal Risk of Seeking Food in Gaza.
Nevertheless, they are steadfast. They build schools, churches, and hospitals. They pray for peace and maintain hope for tomorrow.
During lunch, our bishop-elect got a photo together with Bishop-elect Curry.
Plenary 8 began at 2:00
2nd Ballot for Secretary – 75 people removed their names from the ballot, leaving 29.
Ecumenical and Inter-religious Recognitions followed at 2:15. Rabbi Rick Jacobs spoke, the President of the Union for Reform Judaism, the largest Jewish denomination in the U.S. He was grateful for our Statement to the Jewish people and our standing together in times of grief. He also said Reform Judaism has long been against the occupation and the proliferation of settlements. They are tireless in working for peace and justice for both Palestinians and Israelis. He affirmed that it is possible to be a strong supporter of the State of Israel and also an advocate for the Israeli people. He did, however, lament the lack of balance in the discussion yesterday. “I fear the resolution will embolden extremists.” He would have liked to have heard more compassion for the victims of October 7. 1200 lives lost. 250 hostages. Hundreds of sexual assaults.
This is such a difficult issue. There have been so many atrocities. Sadly, the rabbi didn’t even mention the death of 60,000 Palestinians, most of whom were women and children.
Dr. Muhamad Elsanousi brought greetings from the American Muslim Community.
Father Denis Madden, on Zoom, spoke on behalf of the Roman Catholic community.
The Rev. Vashti McKenzie spoke on behalf of the National Council of Churches.
Father Nicolas Kazarian from the Greek Orthodox Archiocese brought greetings on behalf of Archbishop Elpidophoris. He reminded us of the foundational unity declared in the Nicene Creed and in baptism. He expressed gratitude for the ELCA.
Lutheran World Federation – A global communion of 154 member churches. The Rev. Christine Sandmael of the (Lutheran) Church of Norway brought greetings. Our churches share not only history, but also a confrontation of the issues facing our time: poverty, the lingering realities of colonialism, Justice for indigenous communities, ecojustice and so on.
Anna Burghardt, Lutheran World Federation General Secretary exhorted us to hold firm in our proclamation of the gospel. She expressed thanks to us and to Bishop Eaton. She prayed for the Holy Spirit’s guidance for Bishop-elect Curry.
Reception of the Common Statement on the Filioque
The LWF and the Orthodox Church arrived at a Common Statement on Faith and the Holy Trinity in 2006. A footnote was added to LBW allowing for the omission of the Filioque. Now we have a 2024 Common Statement on the Filioque, saying it is no longer church-dividing. We considered a proposed action.
The Conference of Bishops Report was given by Bishop Yehiel Curry, Chair of the Conference of Bishops.
After a short break, we had to take Ballot 2 for Secretary again, due to a problem.
Constitutional Amendments, continued, starting with Motion C. What followed was a lot of editing by a committee of 800. Arguing about when to end debate on the amendment to the amendment… sigh.
The results of Ballot 2 for ELCA Secretary were announced. Tomorrow we will hear from the seven candidates with the most votes.
6:00 – Our Synod’s voting members enjoyed dinner together at Mancuso’s. In addition to our VMs were Bishop Elect Tracey Breashears Schultz, Gulf Coast friend Rozella White, Danny (who came with Chon) and Eduardo (who came with Jasmín).
FRIDAY, AUGUST 1, 2025
Friday morning breakfast at Press Coffee with Bishop Amy Current (and we saw Pastor Kari Niedermeier and Bishop Tessa Moon Lieseth). Amy is an evangelist for Press Coffee.
9:00 am Plenary 9 began with speeches from the seven candidates for ELCA Secretary.
We then entertained amendments and subsequently passed from the Social Statement on Faith and Civic Life.
We had a robust debate about Motion D, raising the percentage of youth and young adults from 10% to 20% at Churchwide Assembly, ELCA Church Council, and churchwide boards and committees.
Debate was suspended for the 3rd Ballot for Secretary.
After a video, the Results for the 3rd Ballot for Secretary were announced.
The three who received the most votes will answer questions after lunch.
At lunch our group took a picture and the bishops (and bishops-elect) who happen to be women took a picture.
Our group:
Bishops who happen to be women:
4th Ballot for Secretary
5th Ballot for Secretary
Following the election of the ELCA Secretary, we took up the Consideration of Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust V. Human Sexuality: Recommended, Proposed Edited Gift and Trust Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust (2009) recommended, proposed
edited statement, p. 2
And then Report: Reference and Counsel Committee IX: Report of the Reference and Counsel Committee
Evening Prayer was a service of repentance for the sins of patriarchy.
The evening was a banquet honoring Secretary Rothmeyer and Bishop Eaton.
Bishop Matthew Riegel served as toastmaster for the banquet.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 2, 2025
9 am Holy Communion – What a festive closing Eucharist. Many thanks to Deacon John Weit and the Worship Team.
Plenary 11
Unfortunately, United cancelled our direct flight home and rebooked us on an earlier, connecting flight through Denver, so Tracey and I had to miss plenary 11. I am following it and will post f few things below, followed by some links to the last few. Churchwide Assemblies.
And the next Churchwide Assembly will be in…
Former Churchwide Assemblies
2022 Churchwide Assembly (Columbus)
2019 Churchwide Assembly (Milwaukee)
