September 19, 2024

Dear North Carolina Synod,

In my September Bishop's Reflection, I shared my observations about anxiety and polarization. In such a time as this, how do we in communities of faith—in our Lutheran congregations—engage one another amid the anxiety and division evoked by an election season? Do we ignore it? Make it off-limits?

These are difficult conversations. We know that everyone we meet is a precious child of God, and this should shape how we engage. We know, but we forget. That’s sin—it’s human nature. We make assumptions; we jump to conclusions. We dismiss. We label. We divide ourselves up and let resentment grow. It goes on and on.

This fall, I invite us to consider how to go about Loving your Neighbor in Anxious Times. This series will kick off with an NC Synod Town Hall on Tuesday, October 1, at 7:00 p.m. We will discuss some of the challenges we all face and explore the value of group covenants: written commitments to treat each other with love. 

I will share my experience using covenants. We all know that our neighbor is God’s precious child, but we also know that our passion, no matter how imagined or righteous, inevitably gets the best of us.

Covenants, if we take them seriously, help us to remind each other of who we are and to hold each other accountable when we forget. No two of those covenants are the same, but I’ll share one here as an example—one that I have seen used effectively to help people of all different walks of life engage one another in volatile times.

In my September reflection, you will find the nine-point covenant that I commit to as a current member of the ELCA Task Force on Gender Justice & Women’s Empowerment. Covenants from across the synod will be collected. If you are using a covenant in your congregation with your council or committees, you are invited to add it to this shared folder so that it too can serve as a resource to the whole synod.

I look forward to seeing you at the town hall on October 1, which will be moderated by Deacon Dr. Mindy Makant. If you have questions that you would hope I address during our time, you can submit them here:

You are encouraged to invite your congregation to join this town hall as folks from across the synod come together to remind ourselves of what we all know is critically important, namely, being respectful and just plain nice to people. Or as Jesus might say, “love one another.” Not agree, love. You know it. Let’s do it.

Walking with you,

The Rev. Dr. Timothy M. Smith

Bishop, NC Synod

Tuesday, October 1

7:00 p.m.

Moderated by Deacon Dr. Mindy Makant.

Join others across the synod to foster understanding and compassion in your community.

Submit questions in advance and participate in this timely conversation. 

Note:

This town hall will be streamed to YouTube, but you are encouraged to register as a Zoom participant to comment and ask questions live.

Questions?

Contact Pastor Michael Dickson at 704-680-9553 or mdickson@nclutheran.org.

This series comes to you as a collaboration between the NC Synod Vitality Team, Social Justice & Advocacy Ministries, LDR Carolinas, and Bishop Smith.