Dear Clergy, 

 

Discerning our next bishop is an important spiritual practice for our churches and voting members at our September Synod Assembly. To help us do this well we have created a Discernment Guide that we are using at the conference assemblies. You can access it here: https://www.spselca.net/discernmentandconversationguide

 

This Guide in conjunction with the General Responsibilities of the Bishop 

https://www.spselca.net/callresponsibilities will help you navigate the responsibilities of the Office of Bishop. Feel free to use it with your councils and congregations if you desire. 

 

Even more importantly is the opportunity for each of us as clergy to prayerfully consider how we will respond if our name is included in the 1st ecclesial ballot. Bishop Claire Burkat and the Bishop Election Committee are asking you as ministers of Word and Sacrament, to enter into prayerful discernment and thoughtful conversations with those whom you trust. 

 

Read through the materials developed by the Bishop Election team and ponder the many considerations necessary for a call such as this, even as you stay open to where the Spirit might be leading. While thinking, praying, and privately conversing we wanted to share with you a video we had made sharing wisdom from 8 ELCA bishops across the country. We asked them to answer one question: ”What do you wish you knew before you were elected Bishop that you know now?” As you contemplate your openness to the role of bishop we invite you to listen to their wisdom in the video above.

 

Thank you for being open to the work of the Spirit in our Synod, Congregations, and your life. We are grateful.