INDIANAPOLIS (ELCA) -- The 2001 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Churchwide Assembly opened with a service of Holy Communion. The Rev. H. George Anderson, ELCA presiding bishop, presided over the Eucharist, and the Rev. Susan R. Briehl, Spokane, Wash., delivered the sermon.
The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the ELCA, is meeting here, Aug. 8-14 at the Indiana Convention Center. There are more than 2,000 people participating, including, 1,040 ELCA voting members. The theme for the biennial assembly is "Making Christ Known: Sharing Faith in a New Century."
"We are clay," said Briehl. "God bending low, lovingly shaped the clay, creating a person. As it was in the beginning, so it is now, we are clay vessels, formed by the Potter and filled with the quickening breath of God," she said.
Briehl spoke of a time when she took up the craft of pottery. "The first time I sat at a potter's wheel, my imagination danced with the lovely things I would create," she said. "All was going well until a little wobble appeared," she said. After Briehl's creation collapsed, someone told her to make a new ball and "firmly center the clay," she said.
"This is our story, yours and mine. We know from the biblical witness, from the unfolding of human history, and the saga of our own lives: we are not well-centered," said Briehl.
Briehl reminded the assembly that the evidence of un-centered lives is everywhere. "The little wobble at the lip of our lives widens into sadly misshapen relationships. Households turn in upon themselves, ignoring the needs of their neighbors. Communities completely collapse where gifts are not shared for the common good," Briehl said.
Briehl said the biblical prophet Jeremiah reminds people that "when we no longer serve as vessels of God's blessing in the world, the One who fashioned us for good, also has the power to re-form us, to re- fashion our communities of faith, or to begin again," she said.
God becomes clay for our sake, said Briehl. God enters "our misshapen communities, our self-centered hearts, our poverty and death, Jesus makes a home among us."
Briehl reminded the assembly that the "Spirit calls us back to the center, back to the waters of baptism, in which we were buried with Christ Jesus and raised with him to a new life. This day, the Spirit declares us beloved of God, whole and holy, clean and worthy in Christ Jesus." --
Information about assembly actions will be at http://www.elca.org/assembly/01 on the ELCA's Web site. Recorded updates during the assembly are available by calling 773/380-2477.
*Michelle T. Mills is a senior at Bradley University, Peoria, Ill. This
summer she is an intern with ELCA News & Information.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
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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 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 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
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
