Three years as bishop: the highlights

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August marked the halfway mark in my six-year term as bishop of the Rocky Mountain Synod. It feels like a good time to pause and reflect.

"Creation" mosaic by children at Zion
Lutheran Church, Salt Lake City, Utah
What are the highlights of these first three years?

  • Visiting congregations and ministries – Nothing gives me more life than seeing ministry in context and catching a glimpse of how the gospel is lived out in congregations and the ministries of the ELCA in this synod. I hope I have brought to these visits not only my desire to listen and learn, but to cast a vision of what it means to be engaged in ministry locally as part of the larger Body of Christ. It’s my hope that we will continue to grow in our capacity to be church—better together!
  • Accompanying rostered leaders – My days in the office at the Lutheran Center are focused on appointments, whether it’s interviewing rostered leaders from outside the synod who are seeking calls or talking with leaders from within our synod who are experiencing joys or challenge in their ministries or in their personal lives. These opportunities to connect one-on-one with our leaders are a gift and a blessing. I am also incredibly blessed to work with many of our rostered leaders at the time of their ordination or consecration as well as when they are leaving a current ministry or being installed into a new ministry.
  • Experiencing what it means to be church together – I have the wonderful opportunity in this call to see our life together from many different vantage points. Whether it’s listening to staff members in the Office of the Bishop share their latest experiences or working with our Synod Council to address an issue before us; whether it’s meeting new candidates for ministry or contemplating the future of the church in the Conference of Bishops; whether its visiting one of our ELCA seminaries to learn about the changing face of theological education or serving as a convocator at California Lutheran University; whether it’s attending a board meeting to discuss the expanding ministries of Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains or participating in the closing staff worship for one of our Outdoor Ministries; whether it’s visiting our companions in Madagascar or speaking to legislators about matters of hunger and poverty; whether its attending the convention of one of our full communion churches or exploring how we might share ministry in new ways—all of these give me a vision of the Spirit’s work in, with and under the very human institution of the church.  
These are just a few highlights from these last three years. In my next blog, I'll be looking to the future and sharing my thoughts on what is to come in the next three!

Yours in Faith,
Bishop Jim Gonia


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