Nebraska Synod ELCA

We have many parts in one body, but the parts don’t all have the same function.
In the same way, though there are many of us, we are one body in Christ, and individually we belong to each other.
—Romans 12.4-5 (Common English Bible)—

Beloved in Christ,

During the children’s time on a recent Sunday visit to a Nebraska Synod congregation, I asked a question: “What do you think of when you hear the word ‘church’?” After some answers from the kids, I spent some time teaching those kids how the church is more than just their local congregation. I reminded them that they’re part of the Nebraska Synod, and also the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. I told them about our ties to the Lutheran World Federation, and that even though we don’t all think exactly the same about what “church” means, we’re also linked to billions of people around the world and throughout history who’ve thought of themselves as Christians of various confessions, ideas, and organizations. We are connected, in many, many, many ways. God is cultivating love through those connections we share as the Nebraska Synod.

One of the most awe-inspiring aspects of our work as your synod office is being in a position to see how these Nebraska Synod connections are actively and passionately cultivating love in God’s world. Local congregations like the one I visited recently are finding ways to share food and resources that are crucially needed throughout the state. In a few short weeks, quilts sewn together by thousands of hands across the state will be gathered and sent around the world, embracing their recipients with God’s love expressed through fabric and thread. Mission Field Nebraska ministries are cultivating love through connections in the work of Followers of Christ Prison Ministry, Iglesia Luterana San Andres, Nile Lutheran Chapel, the Lakota Lutheran Center and Chapel, and more.

It’s not just here in Nebraska that these connections are happening, either. This summer, 16,000 youth from across the country connected with each other and with the community of New Orleans at this year’s ELCA Youth Gathering, sharing experiences that will change lives and build stronger networks across the Nebraska Synod and the entire ELCA for years to come. Serving arm agencies connected to the Nebraska Synod are cultivating love across the United States and the world. We are also connected through companion synod relationships. We’ve been connected to the people of Tanzania for over 100 years; thousands of lives have been changed on both continents through our ongoing partnership with the Northern Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania. Our relationship with the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina and Uruguay is more recently established, but it is one which will continue to be developed in years to come.

All of these connections are a reflection of countless individual relationships that create a network in which God is cultivating love through you, an impact that is far greater than the sum of its individual parts. You are a connection through which God is cultivating love, but that love doesn’t start with you. Do you know what those kids said when I asked them that question about church? The first answer was “Jesus,” and the second answer was “the cross.” Those kids get it. They know it isn’t the building, or even the people by themselves that connect us – it’s Jesus. It reminded me of an invitation I heard to communion years ago: “Come, receive what you are: the Body of Christ. Become what you are: the Body of Christ.” Jesus connects us through the cross, and that connection is the gift that makes us one with each other. God is cultivating love through your connections, making you part of the gift that is the body of Christ in the Nebraska Synod. May your eyes be opened to see that connecting love cultivated all around you this month, and thank you.

Yours in Christ,

Bishop Scott