Welcoming a new bishop to serve in Southwest California

Assisted by Maria Paiva (Director for Evangelical Mission/

Assistant to the Bishop), Bishop-elect Guy Erwin presides

 at the Closing Eucharist of the Southwest California Synod 

Assembly as Bishop Dean Nelson looks on.

As I write this, I am sitting at the Southwest California Synod Assembly on the morning after this Synod’s election of a new bishop.  The bishop-elect is the Rev. Dr. Guy Erwin. There’s a lot of buzz this morning about his election. Pastor Erwin will be the first Native American bishop in the ELCA, a member of the Osage Nation. He is also the first openly gay and partnered pastor to be elected to serve as bishop in our church. His partner of nineteen years is Rob Flynn. Both are members of St. Matthew Lutheran Church in North Hollywood.

Bishop-elect Erwin is also a church historian and has been a faculty member of California Lutheran University since 2000, serving as the Gerhard and Olga Belgum Professor of Lutheran Confessional Theology. At the same time, he serves as interim pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Canoga Park.

Among those who have commented on Pastor Erwin’s election via Facebook or through our ELCA Conference of Bishops, some are very excited about the gifts he brings as a teacher and theologian of the church. Others are grateful that we have a new bishop who is Native American. Still others are focused on his sexual orientation:  ome are thrilled that we have a new synodical bishop who “puts a face” on the LBGTQ community within the ELCA while some have expressed concern about what his election means in a church that is still not of one mind about issues of human sexuality.

As one who attended the Assembly and witnessed the process of the election, here’s what I experienced. I should note at the outset that I didn’t know Pastor Erwin prior to coming here. All I knew is that our son, Peter, who had attended CLU as a religion major, thought he was a “really good guy.”  

I watched as the Assembly began with the usual long list of candidates in addition to the six who had been pre-identified as potential nominees, including Pastor Erwin. That number was reduced to seven, then five and finally three. As the Assembly listened to the three final candidates respond to questions and share parts of their stories, I was struck by the fact that all three were well qualified and each could serve effectively in this office. Yet there was something in Pastor Erwin that began to emerge as he spoke: his humility, his pastoral sensitivity, his thoughtfulness—and his humor—became evident not only to me but I believe to members of the Assembly as well. 

When the final vote was taken amid the Scripture readings and prayer that accompanied each round, there was no doubt in my mind that the Assembly as a whole was making its choice not on the basis of ethnicity, credentials or sexual orientation—or with an eye to making history—but based on the leading of the Spirit who was helping to identify the right person for this role in this part of the church at this time. 

I realize that the election of Pastor Erwin as bishop of the Southwest California Synod will continue to create lots of buzz and perhaps some angst within our church. I for one welcome him as a gifted and human-as-the-rest-of-us colleague in the life of our church and within the Conference of Bishops. I will continue to give thanks to the Spirit for leading our brothers and sisters in Southwest California to choose the right person for this chapter of their life and for the sake of our shared witness in the world.

Yours in Faith,

Bishop Jim Gonia