Judi Dixon and Lynn Zeltman were elected as voting members to the New England Synod. We can say that it was an interesting experience! Thank you for allowing us to represent OSLC.
The assembly was held June 6 to June 8, at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA. This year’s theme was Journey Forward, and the primary task was to elect a new bishop for our synod. Bishop James Hazelwood has served as our bishop for two six-year terms and he is retiring. He plans on doing some teaching part-time, and will be leaving for a sabbatical of six months in Europe. He will be riding his bicycle most of the time!
For the first time, the election process was conducted electronically, with ballots being emailed to registered representatives. This is still a work in progress, but I am sure that it took a great deal to get the prior paper ballot system working efficiently and things will get better each time there are new elections. Altogether there were five ballots for the position of bishop with over 420 votes being cast during each ballot. In the interim, there were hymns and prayers and opportunities for socializing and Bishop Hazelwood shared some very good jokes.
Pastor Kyle was preidentified as a candidate in the first ballot. It was very clear that there were just a few candidates with a great deal of support from the assembly. In particular, The Rev. Sara Anderson, an Associate to the Bishop, and The Rev. Nathan Pipho, Pastor of Trinity Lutheran in Worcester, Massachusetts, consistently received many votes. Ultimately, The Rev. Nathan Pipho (pronounced pee-poh, as in Home Depot) was elected bishop with a final vote of 261 to 164. He will take office on August 1, 2024 and the details of his installation are still being worked out, but it will be helped at Trinity Lutheran Church in Worcester, MA.
Additional elections were held to fill positions on the Synod Discipline Committee (4 members), the Churchwide Assembly (9 members) , and the Synod Council (16 members). Pastor Kyle was re-elected as Secretary to the Synod. The 2025 Synod budget was also approved.
We had a chance to get together with our fellow representatives from New Hampshire on Friday evening for dinner.
There were a lot of tables in the hallway for different organizations. We had a favorite: a jigsaw puzzle that we helped put together at the Camp Calumet booth, which had the bonus of what seemed to be a never-ending supply of homemade fudge.
The Synod Assembly ended on Saturday morning with workshops and choir practice, followed by an address by Bishop -Elect Nathan Pipho and a festival Eucharist.
God bless.
Lynn Zeltman and Judi Dixon
Links to the recordings:
Thursday https://vimeo.com/event/4312912/5ee8e19b36
Our Savior Lutheran Church and Campus Ministry 