“Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow” 

On Saturday, June 6th, many gathered from around our synod along with invited guests for the 39th Annual Assembly of the Upper Susquehanna Synod.  The theme of “Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow”  rang true throughout the day from the voices lifted in song, the words of hope preached, and across the space in fellowship and companionship on this journey of faith. 

 

The message of the day given by Pastor Jim Vitale, Associate Director for Camp Mount Luther, urged us to consider the vices of anger and envy.  He pointed out the ways that these two vices draw us away from God and one another.  He directed us to look to Psalm 37 for our hope, “wait for the Lord” (vs. 37), because it is only God that can save us.  My favorite thing he had to say was, “what we once were is passing away and what we are becoming has not yet been revealed.”  And therefore we wait on the Lord.  We don’t remain passive, but we pay attention, listening closely for God.  To do this we have to clear away the noise of all the other voices of the world that don’t serve us.  He spoke of dying and resurrection taking time, and that the only faithful thing for us to do is let go of our anger and our envy and wait for the Lord. 

This message was so important to hear in our morning worship as if one had read the various reports like I had prior to coming to the assembly, they were filled with some dispairing facts: too few pastors, many dying/closing congregations, a synod whose finances will run out by 2030, and a budget report with yet another large deficit.  Yet as we gathered the mood was not solemn, but Spirit filled.  The conversations were about ministry, mission, and fellowship.  What I saw was faithful, dedicated, and loving people willing to be present and rely on God’s great faithfulness. 

The afternoon brought a continued message of strength and hope from our keynote speaker, Rev. Amy E. Reuman, Sr. Director for Witness in Society, ELCA.  Amy spoke of strength as coming from God to us not as an end, but as a means for it to then be shared to the world through us.  She said this type of strength multiplies when given away and does not diminish.  Holding hope she claimed is not a denial or escape from our suffering, but instead hope is holding on for something else and the strength to endure.  Even in hope, our eyes remain wide open to the suffering, for hope sees the truth of it, but it looks beyond the suffering onto something greater.  Just like when we look at the cross, seeing beyond the suffering and toward the resurrection. 

All of this left me with a renewed strength and hope for the church I so dearly love.  The church that is in dire need of renewal and resurrection.  But we know from scripture that before that can happen, there must be some degree of death first.  And so we wait, we wait for the Lord.  As we know that it is only God that can save us, from our own self destructive ways, from a society that says the church is irrelevant, and from our own egos that tell us we can save the church ourselves.  And while we wait, we listen intently, we allow hope to let us see with our eyes wide open, and we continue to serve God and neighbor!    

May God whose faithfulness is great, grant us all strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow! 

Blessings,

Pastor Karla