A statement from the presiding bishop regarding a listening panel

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Listening Panel regarding Bishop Megan Rohrer

March 8, 2022

"Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life." 

I am appointing a listening panel of three people to review the interactions of Bishop Megan Rohrer with Misión Latina Luterana, particularly on December 12, the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and to make recommendations to me. The panel will not revisit the decisions of the Sierra Pacific Synod regarding former pastor Nelson Rabell-González. This process will be similar to the process that was used in the South-Central Synod of Wisconsin in 2019. Bishop Rohrer has been invited to suggest one of the three members of the panel, which will reflect the diversity of our church.

Once the panel has been appointed, I anticipate their listening process and recommendations will be completed within 30 days. When I have received their recommendations, I will prayerfully consider them and my next steps; I am not presuming to know the outcome before the panel does its work.

I urge you to hold all who are involved or concerned with these matters, including this church, in your prayers.

In Christ,

The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Read the Spanish translation.

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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with nearly 3.3 million members in more than 8,900 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.

For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
773-380-2877
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org