Dear Church,
With sadness I bring youthe news that Presiding Bishop Emeritus Herbert W. Chilstrom died at home earlythis morning. His wife, Pastor Corinne Chilstrom; his son, Chris Holt; andfamily were with him.
Bishop Chilstrom was thefirst presiding bishop of the ELCA. Many of you knew him in those early dayswhen the ELCA was just getting started – there was no furniture at the LutheranCenter, files were in boxes, phones were on the floor, and the skeleton staffworked on card tables and folding chairs. He was once told by a corporate executivesitting next to him on a plane that this was no way to start a corporation andit would never work. Thirty-three years later we are still here, entrusted withthe ministry of the gospel and serving the neighbor.
I can’t imagine theuncertainty and chaos of those first months, but all I know we were filled withhope for this new church the Spirit had brought into being. And I know thatBishop Chilstrom served out of the conviction that it was God’s will to raiseup an ELCA witness to the gospel, and with God, all things are possible.
I remember BishopChilstrom saying once that his mother told him: “Herb, you might be the onlyBible some people read.” It was her way of telling him, and his way of tellingus, that we are living witnesses to the grace of God.
Bishop Chilstrom chose“Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart!” (ELW, 873) to be the sending hymn at his funeral.Verse five announces:
At last the march shall end;
The wearied ones shall rest;
The pilgrims find their home at last,
Jerusalem the blest.
Rejoice! Give thanks and sing!
Through tears, but in thesure and certain hope of the resurrection, we rejoice.
Peace,
The Rev.Elizabeth A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
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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
