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Report from 2025 Synod Assembly
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
Bishop Eaton Issues Statement on Travel Ban
June 5, 2025
“When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the native-born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” —Leviticus 19:33-34
Dear church,
Yesterday the Trump administration announced a travel ban to the United States from 12 countries, several of which are majority-Muslim countries. The ban is scheduled to take effect on Monday, June 9, and will suspend issuing of immigrant visas that can lead to permanent residency for those from Afghanistan, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. This proclamation will also impose visa restrictions on another seven countries, including Cuba and Venezuela in the Americas.
As Lutherans, we should be concerned by these actions. Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, God has set us free from ourselves to serve our neighbor. This expanded policy separates families from loved ones already here. Further, it prevents people — especially those escaping perilous or life-threatening situations in several of these nations — from coming to safety in the U.S. It does not enhance our safety or reflect our vocation as Christians.
Our church has a strong history of hospitality for refugees and immigrants. After World War II, when 1 out of every 6 Lutherans in the world was a refugee or displaced person, Lutherans resettled some 57,000 refugees in the United States (ELCA social message “Immigration”). Today, with more than 60 million displaced people in the world, we continue God’s work of welcoming refugees through advocacy and our vital partnership with Global Refuge. Through AMMPARO, the ELCA welcomes and accompanies asylum-seekers and refugees already in our country from many of these same countries.
The ELCA also has companion Lutheran churches in many of the countries affected by the ban, churches that, like us, are members of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). (In several instances, our church has developed strong partnerships with these churches over many decades.) Accompaniment of these ELCA partners requires our solidarity with and advocacy for them.
Because many of these nations are majority-Muslim and predominately Black and Brown communities, the expanded policy will have the impact of racial and religious discrimination. Over the past several years, the targeting of Muslims has had a direct and negative impact on our interfaith partners, who are harmed by not only the policy but also the rhetoric surrounding it. Together with other Christians and Jews, we are standing with Muslims through the Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign, embodying our commitment to opposing “all forms of religious bigotry, violence, discrimination, and persecution and [to standing] in solidarity with those who experience them, whether they are Christian or of another religion or worldview” (“A Declaration of Inter-Religious Commitment: A Policy Statement of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America”).
The travel ban offends our values of mutual respect for all God’s children, each created in God’s image. Furthermore, this ban contradicts our church’s and our nation’s commitments to be a place of welcome and safety for others.
The ELCA social statement For Peace in God’s World reminds us that “the church is a disturbing presence when it refuses to be silent and instead speaks the truth.” On this policy, we, as Lutherans, cannot be silent. The history of our church, the life-giving relationships we share with other Lutherans worldwide, and our commitments to and with interreligious partners are the basis not only for our concern but also for our continued accompaniment, advocacy and action.
In peace,
The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Scent of Easter, A Message from Elizabeth Eaton, Presiding Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
In her Easter message, Bishop Eaton recalls the story of Mary anointing Jesus’ feet with a powerful, pungent substance used to offset the stench of death. But the substance also signified royalty. Eaton says we discover the promise of Easter in Mary’s act. “Instead of removing the stench of death, the substance anointed a royal king. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, the usual cycle of life and death has been disrupted forever. Jesus’ death and resurrection promises new life and brings us new life.”
Nourish Our Future – An Invitation from Paul Manganiello
On Sunday, March 2, 2025, Paul Manganiello spoke during worship and invited participation in this year’s Bread for the World Offering of Letters. It’s easy – click here to participate!
Our annual Bread for the World’s Offering (BFW) of Letters, is entitled “Nourish our Future.”
This is BFW’s 50th Anniversary; it was founded by a Lutheran Pastor in NYC in 1974. It so happens, that it is also the 50th Anniversary of the Federal anti-hunger program, the Supplemental Nutritional Program for Women, Infants and Children, better known as WIC.
I was very disturbed by a recent post made by Vice President JD Vance. Vance who converted to Catholicism in 2019, legitimized the current Trump Executive Orders pertaining to migrants, and attacking the federal agency of USAID, through invoking the medieval Catholic concept of “Ordo Amoris,” or “order of love.” He suggested that Catholics must give priority to non-immigrants, “you love your family; and then you love your neighbor; and then you love your community; and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country,” Vance, then went on to say… “And then, after that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world.”
Pope Francis firmly rejected Vance’s interpretation of “Ordo Amoris,” and suggested that true interpretation can be found in the story of the Good Samaritan, saying that “Ordo Amoris must be promoted, by meditating constantly on the parable of the Good Samaritan, that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.” This morning’s Offering of Letters will focus on showing our concern for the welfare of all of God’s creation.
We need to constantly check our moral compass…Jesus. Jesus fortunately freed us from the Jewish law and “simplified” how we are to act. When asked, which commandment was the greatest. He responded, “Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.” There was no hierarchy presented.
This year’s Offering of Letters, we will be advocating nationally for the WIC program; and internationally, the global nutrition programs.
I promise, these are the only statistics I will cite. Unfortunately, 1/5 American’s children are at risk for food insecurity. Most WIC recipients live in poverty; as an example, a family of three, in 2024, would earn an annual income of $25,820. Can you imagine trying to make do on $26,000/year?
We know a lot of what WIC has accomplished. WIC provides participating pregnant women prenatal health care; improving the dietary intake of pregnant and postpartum women. WIC has been shown to improve breastfeeding rates; reduce the rates of low birthweight infants, premature births, as well as stillbirths and infant mortality. WIC improves the growth of nutritionally at-risk infants and children; boosts children’s intellectual development and helps them get ready to start school. WIC’s nutrition education has been shown to increase the consumption of healthy foods. These measures are truly Pro-Life.
In 2022, Congress passed the Global Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment Act (GMPTA) with strong bipartisan support. This act makes existing U.S. global nutrition programs more effective and supports countries in their efforts to prevent and treat child and maternal malnutrition. BFW and its members were instrumental in both the development and passage of this legislation.
In 2023, USAID’s nutrition programs reached nearly 40 million women and children globally providing critical nutrition interventions. By robustly funding these global nutrition programs, we can reach more women and children with evidence-based, highly effective treatment that saves lives and provides a brighter future for children and their families. For every $1 invested in nutrition, it results in up to $35 in economic returns. Better nutrition for children and women will enable countries to improve the health of their populations, send more children to school, and strengthen their economies.
There may be individuals here today who are undocumented and others who are documented non-citizens, but I believe that most of us here today are individuals who were born in this country, and there are individuals amongst us who have gone through the arduous naturalization process.
For those of us who are natural-born citizens, we have been given an incredible gift, totally undeserved, the gift of citizenship, and what we do with that gift can be incredibly impactful. It doesn’t matter your political party affiliation, if you are not voting or periodically contacting your legislators, those are lost opportunities to be God’s hand in this suffering world.
Today, every day we need to speak out: speak out against injustice; speak out against hate; speak out against fear. We need to speak in favor of making sure that everyone, to the best of our ability, is clothed, housed, educated, is safe from violence and abuse, and for today’s discussion, all are fed.
We can do this in the comfort of our home, you don’t need to demonstrate in Washington DC; being an American citizen we should not fear to cast a ballot, write, or call our legislators. In fact, they encourage us to do so. It is comforting for them to know that you “have their backs”!!
This year’s Offering of Letters will again be virtual. Info on how to participate is here. We also ask you to contact us if you will be participating, since we will bring to the altar, the following Sunday, an envelope with the number of individuals who participated.
Thank you!!
Click here to participate in this year’s Bread for World Offering of Letters!
Our Savior Lutheran Church and Campus Ministry 
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