Dear Lydians,<\/p>\n
Last night I made my way to Penn Station and jumped on the train to\u00a0Philadelphia, a pattern that will become a familiar part of my routine as I\u00a0begin completing my “Lutheran Year” at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at\u00a0Philadelphia. \u00a0Completing eight courses at a Lutheran Seminary is one of my\u00a0requirements as a candidate for ordination with the Evangelical Lutheran\u00a0Church in America (ECLA).<\/p>\n
My role as the Pastoral Minister at St. Lydia’s has been the primary\u00a0catalyst of my call to be an ordained pastor in the ELCA. \u00a0It is the process\u00a0of following the vision of St. Lydia’s, gathering around the table with our\u00a0growing congregation, and building together will all of you that has thrown\u00a0my call to ordained ministry into sharper focus. \u00a0In many ways, you have\u00a0drawn the call out of me.<\/p>\n
As I’ve entered the candidacy process with the ELCA, I’ve also been engaging\u00a0with a number of live questions about the future of St. Lydia’s. \u00a0From the\u00a0beginning, I’ve felt that it’s critical for St. Lydia’s to have formal and\u00a0informal ties to the wider church. \u00a0You can’t be a Christian alone, and\u00a0being linked to a denomination means being in relationship with the whole\u00a0Church. \u00a0I find that relationship to be fundamental to what it means to be a\u00a0church, and I’ve searched for us to find ways to be in relationship with the\u00a0wider church\u00a0while\u00a0exploring and developing our own unique identity.<\/p>\n
As we mark St. Lydia’s one year anniversary as a full time worshipping\u00a0community, I feel that our second year will offer us the time and space to\u00a0consider how we are and might be tied to the wider church. \u00a0It is my hope\u00a0that, over time, a supportive and nurturing relationship may be developed\u00a0between St. Lydia’s and the ELCA. \u00a0St. Lydia’s is already linked to the ELCA\u00a0through our relationship with Pastor Phil and Trinity Lower East Side.<\/p>\n
Creating a relationship with the Metro New York Synod means stretching our\u00a0network of relationships wider: being in linked with all the ELCA churches\u00a0in New York and their Bishop, Robert Rimbo. \u00a0Beyond that, it means being in\u00a0relationship with the National church and the global church. \u00a0The most important part of this process has to do with you: the\u00a0congregation. \u00a0Choosing to affiliate with a denomination is a big decision\u00a0that will impact how we grow and who we become as a congregation. \u00a0My job is\u00a0to give you, the congregation, an opportunity to learn about the ELCA and\u00a0denominational affiliation in general, and to discern if nurturing that\u00a0relationship is the appropriate way to go forward.<\/p>\n
During September and October, we’ll have several opportunities to reflect on\u00a0denominations together. \u00a0I’ll be preaching about the formation of Christian community and relationships throughout the Fall. \u00a0 Pastor Phil and Daniel\u00a0Simons will be guest preachers during October, preaching about what it means to be part of a denomination. \u00a0Finally, we’ll continue the discussion at our\u00a0Community Meeting on October 9. \u00a0The process of will continue into the\u00a0year, as we take all the time we need to listen to God and discern how to go\u00a0forward as a congregation. \u00a0I invite you to engage in this conversation, to ask our presiders and me\u00a0questions and engage us in discussion.<\/p>\n
A church is made of people, and I’m looking forward to hearing all of your\u00a0voices as we move forward together.<\/p>\n
-Emily<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dear Lydians, Last night I made my way to Penn Station and jumped on the train to\u00a0Philadelphia, a pattern that will become a familiar part of my routine as I\u00a0begin completing my “Lutheran Year” at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at\u00a0Philadelphia. \u00a0Completing eight courses at a Lutheran Seminary is one of my\u00a0requirements as a candidate for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[27],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stlydiasliturgy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stlydiasliturgy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stlydiasliturgy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stlydiasliturgy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stlydiasliturgy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/stlydiasliturgy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":252,"href":"https:\/\/stlydiasliturgy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249\/revisions\/252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stlydiasliturgy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stlydiasliturgy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stlydiasliturgy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}