We are Church together
For the third week of Lent, Bishop Anne Edison-Albright reflects on what it means to be “Church together.”
This fall, the Rev. Elizabeth Eaton will conclude her second term as Presiding Bishop of the ELCA, and we will elect our next presiding bishop at the ELCA churchwide assembly in July. Bishop Eaton was first elected on August 14, 2013–I was watching online from home, on bedrest and preparing for my daughter Sally’s birth a week later. The theme of the churchwide assembly that year was “Always Being Made New”--I created a recurring calendar event for August 14 as “Always Being Made New Day.” I was excited to see what our new presiding bishop would add to our understanding of who we are, and who we’re called to be, as Lutheran Christians.
Early in her first term, Presiding Bishop Eaton identified four emphases for the ELCA:
We are Church.
We are Lutheran.
We are Church Together.
We are Church for the Sake of the World.
I’ve always leaned into those last two, in part because of the particular way all four come together in my mind. To understand how we’re church as ELCA Lutherans, it helps to know that we understand Christ’s Church as not being solely an individual-focused endeavor. That doesn’t mean I don’t experience faith in a personal way, or that you aren’t important to God as a unique, beloved individual. That’s true. And that’s not where the story ends, or where the call to be Church is complete. If I’m freed by God’s grace, liberated from sin and death and all the anxiety that comes with that, that gratitude for grace is going to turn me and my faith outwards, towards my neighbors. That joyful response to receiving God’s unconditional love is going to give me energy and motivation to work with my neighbors to make this life better for all creation. How are we Church, as ELCA Lutherans? We’re church together, and we’re church for the sake of the world.
We are Church Together.
“Church together” is a beautiful, concise way to express how the reality of interdependence–in human society and more broadly in all creation–applies to Christian communities of faith. It is written into our denomination’s constitutions and our polity: a church with three interdependent expressions (congregations, synods, churchwide.) It guides the ecumenical and interreligious relationships that are central to our identity and mission. Rooted in the biblical image of the Body of Christ, our lived theology is shaped by mutual ministry and care as parts–for the wellbeing and integrity of the whole body–and as a whole for each equally precious and important part.
Read:
1 Corinthians 12; Romans 12; Ephesians 4
Key verse: “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it” (1 Cor 12:26)
Listen:
I need you to survive by Hezekiah Walker (radio edit)
Ask:
What’s your first memory of learning about the church as “the Body of Christ”? What’s your first memory of experiencing church as the Body of Christ? What does it mean to you today?
Give some examples from your own experience–especially in your congregation–of how the ELCA lives out Christ’s call to be the Church by being “Church Together.” What are your hopes for the “church together” emphasis and identity of the ELCA?
Listen to the Gospel anthem, “I need you to survive.” What parts of the song connect with you? When this song is sung in worship, it’s often accompanied by an invitation to look directly at people around you and sing the song to them. If you’ve experienced that, reflect on your experience. If you haven’t, imagine what that might feel like for you.
Pray:
Gracious and loving God: in Christ, you make us one Body. Show us ourselves and all creation as you made us and see us: interconnected; fantastically diverse; precious, important and gifted; never alone in suffering or in rejoicing; bearing your image. Keep calling and challenging us in new ways to be Church Together. Send your Spirit to guide how we are living out your call, and reveal the ways you are always making us new. In Jesus’ name we pray: Amen.
