ELCA Assignment

Although this post is arriving a little late, I wanted to give an update on my assignment process. On the February 22nd the students at Luther gathered for evening prayer and were handed envelopes that contained our regional assignment. Bishops, church leaders and representatives of the seminaries had met the previous days to look over paperwork and assign candidates for ordination to the various regions of the ELCA. That night we received word that we were headed to Region 7. Region 7 of the ELCA is the geographic Northeast, and is made up of the following synods: New England, Upstate New York (our home synod) Metro New York, New Jersey, Northeastern Pennsylvania, Southeastern Pennsylvania. We were informed of the unique process of region 7 to meet with the candidates in person and then to assign synods. So, on March 18th I flew with a group of students from Luther to Allentown, Pennsylvania to met with bishops and staff and receive our synod assignments.
We met at the Lutheran Center, the headquarters of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod. The day began with the Eucharist, and we moved on to meetings and introductions. The bishops introduced themselves, spoke briefly about their synods, and met to figure out the schedule for meetings. I had a chance to met with bishops and discuss my paperwork, my hope for ministry and the opportunities that were available.  At the end of the day, I was informed that I had been assigned to the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod. I was glad I had been able to see a little bit of the synod, to meet the bishop and some of the synod staff. The whole process of meeting with the synod I will be working in was reassuring, and I'm excited to move on to the next step, to finish up at Luther and to move closer to ordination.