Dave and Juli Coombs were elected to serve as voting members to the New England Synod held May 30-31, 2025, in Worcester, Massachusetts. We thank them for serving and for preparing the report below.
Juli and I are pleased to provide this report of the 2025 ELCA Synod Assembly.
On Friday, May 30 and Saturday, May 31, 2025 we participated in the New England Synod Assembly along with Pastor Kyle. We considered it an honor and a privilege to represent our wonderful congregation at this inspirational gathering of nearly five hundred New England Lutherans.
After registering on Friday morning, we attended a workshop entitled Antiracism Collaborative Board Storysharing: Choosing to Love as Christ Loves Us. Workshop hosts Jeanette Harris and Sue Carey used selected stories from Sue’s book More Than Merely Eyes Can See. They delved into the “lived experiences of marginalized neighbors.” A copy of the book was autographed and dedicated to OSLC; it will be presented to our church library once we have both read it.
An inspirational opening Plenary session kicked off through worship that focused on invoking the Spirit among us. A keynote address from Bishop Leila Ortiz, of Washington, DC, delivered a message entitled “Christ, the living water” followed. The Synod treasurer reported a largely favorable financial scenario; he introduced a 2025 Annual Funds Appeal to support Synod work and programs. One statistic to share is that we are part of a New England Lutheran community of 17,000.
Throughout the weekend, we heard talks from and visited booths presented by several Lutheran partners from throughout our region.
Two resolutions were presented and received favorable votes from the assembly:
- One resolution requires our presiding Bishop to address letters to the US President, President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House calling for the US to take action to support the recognition of Palestine as a legitimate state in the United Nations.
- The other resolution encourages Lutheran leaders to more definitively engage in legal issues as they feel compelled.
We attended a second workshop entitled Baptism in Muddy Waters, led by Bishop Ortiz. “Through Scripture, Lutheran theology, and contemplative practice,” we discovered how “baptismal identity thrives not in pristine certainty but in the rich, life-giving turbulence where divine grace and human experience converge.” Her use of estuaries as an analogy of this concept was clever and descriptive.
Friday evening, we enjoyed a Mediterranean dinner during which Pastor Kyle introduced us to a dozen fellow New Hampshire Lutherans.
Friday evening culminated in worship at Trinity Lutheran Church in Worcester, MA. This experience featured a sermon by Bishop Pipho with a central message of “no-till faith,” a concept whereby we grow in faith by though reliance of the rich soil of faith that has developed within us. The ordination of a new pastor followed. A festive Eucharist concluded worship. Tremendous inspiration was felt throughout the service. We felt particularly moved by singing hymns with 480 fellow New England Lutherans; some songs traditional, others unique to us.
Bishop’s “no-till faith” message directed us to be out in our community sharing with individuals that “God loves them.” Not so much as an overt effort to recruit them to our church, but to plant the seed to grow within each individual that might lead them to experience the love of God that might lead them to a faith journey.
The New England Synod’s website contains video of the plenary sessions.
Faithfully reported,
Juli and Dave Coombs
Synod Assembly Links
Recording Link for Bishop Eaton’s Assembly Message
Text of Bishop Pipho’s Friday Night Sermon
Text of Bishop Pipho’s Saturday Morning Report
Recording of Friday Night Plenary Session
Recording of Friday Night Worship
Recoding of Saturday Plenary Session and Closing Worship
Our Savior Lutheran Church and Campus Ministry 