ELCA Lutherans Celebrate Tenth Year With Stories and Cake

     PHILADELPHIA (ELCA) -- Participants at the biennial churchwide assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America  marked the church's tenth year with a birthday party on Saturday  evening. ELCA vice president Kathy J. Magnus of Denver, Colorado presided over a "Tenth Anniversary Banquet" with birthday cake, sparkling cider, an exhibit of childrens art and a band.
     Recalling his eight years during the formative years of the new church, Dr. Herbert Chilstrom, the ELCA's first presiding bishop, said, "I remember driving to my retirement home in Pelican Rapids, Minnesota, with warm tears streaming down my face. They flowed as I remembered wonderful colleagues in those first years, wonderful experiences, and wonderful relationships."
     He turned humorous, saying, "In retirement I've begun to making chokecherry jelly." After explaining how eating the tart raw fruit can literally "choke" one, he said, "Chokecherries remind me of those eight years I served in the ELCA bishop's office. There was at least one issue or crisis every day that you could choke on."
     Chilstrom's successor, presiding bishop, the Rev. H. George Anderson, added to the levity.  He said, "Immediately after I was elected to this position, I approached the podium [in Minneapolis] where Chilstrom was standing. I wondered why he had such a broad smile on his face. Today, with two years under my belt, I understand why he was smiling."
     In a video presentation projected on large screens the more than 1,000 diners heard from Lutheran theologian, the Rev. Martin Marty. Half chuckling, Marty said, "One of the things really worth celebrating is that the ELCA has actually held together for ten years."  He was referring to the fact that the new church    experienced a rocky ride in its first years, faced with significantly less income than had been projected, and buffeted with a divisive discussion about sexuality.
     The keynote speaker for the evening was the Rev. Walter Wangerin, Jr. -- storyteller and host of "Luther Vespers," a radio ministry of the ELCA. Wangerin wove artwork created by Lutheran Sunday school children in the Philadelphia area a tapestry of stories from his life experiences. Each crayon drawing pictured Jesus hosting a meal for six guests.
     Wangerin said, "These kids have illustrated perfectly what it means to be the church. They've shown us in great diversity -- some of us have big hair and some of us have no hair at all."
     Illustrating the challenge the ELCA faces in overcoming regional divisions, the midwesterner joked, "Some of us came here from New York. I'm not sure how they found [Philadelphia]. For most of them this place is too far west. They probably had to ask directions in New Jersey." New Yorkers laughed as heartily as any in the crowded hall.
        He closed his remarks with an evocative series of recollections about his maternal grandfather. He said, "He was like a lot of Lutherans are. I knew he loved me but he had a hard time actually saying that out loud."
     Wangerin said, "My mother always told me I was the 'spittin' image of my grandfather. It took me years after his death to discover the real meaning of that expression." The explanation came from a member of a congregation Wangerin served in Evansville, Indiana. In her thick southern accent, the speaker's parishioner told him, "You northerners don't hear the words right. We're really saying 'spirit and image.'"
     Wangerin said, "That was a moment of discovery for me. I truly was in the 'spirit and image' of my grandfather, and so are all of is in the spirit and image of Jesus Christ. And that is the way we are all becoming one body in this wonderful new church."

For information contact:

Ann Hafften, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html