Nebraska Synod ELCA

by Linda Timmons, President/CEO – Mosaic

As a member of the ELCA living in the Nebraska Synod, I enjoy reading about and watching all of the ways that people serve the church.  Remember that old Sunday School song—I am the Church, You are the Church, We are the Church Together?  Being “the church” together has offered me many unique opportunities to serve, including my service to Mosaic for more than 40 years. This past spring, a new opportunity presented itself when I was offered the opportunity to  serve on the ELCA’s Commission for a Reformed Lutheran Church (CRLC).  I am honored to serve as the Commission’s representative for Region 4A and, more specifically, the Nebraska Synod while also lifting up the important role that social ministry organizations have for the future of our church.

The origin of this Commission stems from a memorial which was passed at the 2022 Churchwide Assembly.  This memorial directs the ELCA ”to establish a Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church comprised of leaders of diverse representation from all three expressions that, working in consultation with the Conference of Bishops and the Church Council, shall reconsider the statements of purpose for each of the expressions of this church, the principles of its organizational structure, and all matters pertaining thereunto, being particularly attentive to our shared commitment to dismantle racism, and will present its findings and recommendations to the 2025 Churchwide Assembly in preparation for a possible reconstituting convention to be called under the rules for a special meeting of the Churchwide Assembly.”

The 35 members appointed to serve on the commission represent a balance of the competencies required to complete the work and include various constituencies and multiple perspectives within the ELCA.  Our first in-person meeting was in July 2023, and we have been working to understand the origins of the memorial and learn about the work other commissions and groups are doing to explore the future of the Church.  Soon, members of the Commission will begin holding listening sessions across the Church and use that information to dig into deeper issues related to the Constitution, statements of purpose, and organizational structure.

It is remarkable to think that it has been 35 years since the merger of three church bodies to form the ELCA in 1988.  I am excited about the possibilities that exist for the ELCA and the many ways we can be church together.  The work of the Commission is important, and we are grateful for the prayers of support coming from across the ELCA as we envision the future that God has in mind for us.