Let me pause for this moment of personal accounting: I am something I have never been before. I'm a swing voter.
I will vote for the person--male or female, gay or straight, conservative or liberal, vegetarian or carnivore--who supports what I think ought to be the direction and priorities of the synod. To get my vote:
Be a one-termer. One of the things we need to do, in my humble opinion, is institute term limits. (Here's an earlier post on the subject.) With all due respect to our current bishop, Allan Bjornberg, eighteen years is too long. I pretty sure he himself would say so.
We've been lucky. Bishop Allan has been a fine bishop. He's been in so long, however, that I have a difficult time even imagining a new one. It's like when I was in the 5th grade, and, after JFK won in 1960, they took down President Eisenhower's picture at school. It wasn't right.
More frequent changes leads to more fresh starts. What if a new pastor to the synod got on the wrong side of the synod office at the beginning of a long term? That's quite a while to be in the wilderness.
Plus, if we had two long-serving bishops in a row, that would mean that we would go forty years with only two of them. Surely the Rocky Mountain synod has enough talent that it can generate more than two bishops over forty years.
Secondly, move the synod office out of Cherry Creek. OK, so it's not quite Cherry Creek. To get to Cherry Creek from the synod office, you have to pass by the Denver Country Club, where, incidentally, John Elway and Denver's old money entertained Peyton Manning on his recent visit.
Still, even if it's (just) past the plutocrat neighborhood, it's still expensive, costing the synod over $100,000 each year. Surely we could find a less expensive arrangement.
Some synod offices--Greater Milwaukee, Northwest Washington--have their offices in churches. This has multiple advantages, not the least being cost. (Put in a hot tub and the synod could move to All Saints! Closer to the airport!)
It would also provide some other advantages as well. The synod would have access to sacred space during the week. Conference room would also likely be available. I'm sure that well-intended Christians could negotiate the inevitable space utilization issues.
Ten years ago or so, Metro Chicago moved out of its expensive and dank digs on Michigan Avenue, bought a small old brewery, remodeled the place, and moved in--True Lutherans! That has to have been a less expensive long-term arrangement than the one they were in.
In fact, we should consider not having an office at all. What with laptops, smart phones, and iPads, communication should be less an issue than it has ever been. For meetings, we have about 40-some possible venues. We once had deployed staff. Maybe we should think about that again. Hey, it'd save $100,000!
With an extra $100,000, we could beef up our public witness on behalf of the poor. We've been in "cut-back mode" for years, but one place we should maintain, and, if possible, enhance, is social ministry. Budget cuts or no, the Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministry (LOGM) and other social justice ministries should continue. To paraphrase Bonhoeffer, it we're not helping others, what good are we?
In addition, not only does LOGM perform an invaluable service for our constituents, and for us, it also does so on behalf of the entire mainline protestant community in Colorado. LOGM works closely with the Colorado Council of Churches, and, along with other organizations, has a sizeable impact.
That's it. I'm a swing voter. I'll vote for the candidate--flat-earther or round-earther, tea party or occupy--who supports this agenda.
Image: Lamb Crozier, the Louvre
Amen Brother Petty!
Posted by: Kristi Beebe | April 20, 2012 at 11:36 PM