“God’s work. Our hands. We are transformed by faith to go into the world and make a difference. To bring hope to those who question, ‘where’s the faith?’ To show God’s love in our words and deeds. To be reminders of God’s healing presence in our broken world.”

“For example, the isolation and chaos of the pandemic taught us we could adapt and share God’s love in community with on-line worship. We learned to show love for ourselves and others by wearing a mask and getting vaccinated. As our world has become more racially and ethnically diverse, we have had to learn to love a neighbor who we have had limited contact with in our lives. We know that poverty, homelessness, mental illness, and other challenges are facing so many people today. As people of faith, we found there is a need for us to accompany them as they try to cope with the struggles in their lives,” said Davenport.

We continue to live amid the ongoing struggles of Covid, climate change, mass shootings, Racism, sexism, ageism, widening wealth gaps, and war and unrest in Ukraine, South Sudan and France.

Davenport reflected upon the words of President John F. Kennedy, Jr., who  in his inaugural speech challenged every American to work for the common good when he said: “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”

She also lifted up the words of Amanda Gorman and her poem, Hymn for the Hurting, which she wrote after the mass shooting at the Uvalde and a subsequent shooting.

“Beloved, in the hurts of the world, we are renewed in God’s Word and transformed by love to serve in faith,” said Davenport.

“This is God’s will, that we share in the faith and transform together as community,“ she added.

She pointed out that through the Synod’s Ministry Link website the question was asked: “How Are You Serving Your Community? How is your congregation being transformed to serve?” Congregations responded, and several examples were shared with the Assembly:

• Reformation, Media, and their emphasis on a culture of generosity and stewardship.
• Trinity, Lansdale, for their focus on the sharing of time and talents by volunteering to assist elementary school students whose grades suffered during the pandemic.
• New Hanover Lutheran Church, Gilbertsville, and how they are addressing food scarcity in their neighborhood through their Garden of Hope and feeding ministry.
• Emmanuel, Souderton, and their ministry through Meleny’s House and their ministry to survivors of human trafficking.
• Nuevo Creacion, In the Nicetown-Tioga section of Philadelphia, and their creation of a Spiritual Pharmacy to deal with the effects of homelessness and the opioid crisis

“God’s work. Our hands. We are transformed by faith to go into the world and make a difference. To bring hope to those who question, ‘where’s the faith?’ To show God’s love in our words and deeds. To be reminders of God’s healing presence in our broken world,” said Davenport.

The Welcome Church lifts up the gifts of people experiencing homelessness or in poverty, Beverlin said. “On a very basic church level, the transformation has been that you don’t need to be inside a building to worship God,” Pastor Violet Little said in a video interview. The community “strips everything else away and puts us smack in the face of grace every single day.”

The Well’s shelter community “explores the impact that authentic, healthy relationships can have for people who are unhoused,” Beverlin said, quoting The Well’s leader, Pastor Schaunel Steinnagel. Pastors Little and Steinnagel were also instrumental in establishing the ELCA’s Homeless and Justice Network.

Kairos, led by Pastor Bob Fisher, serves with Welcome Church and The Well, providing worship leadership, coffee hour, and meeting needs of Well residents and community members moving to permanent housing. “This is a beautiful example of the body of Christ thinking creatively about stewardship, and loving and caring for one another,” Beverlin said.

Churchwide also helps support four strategic ministries that engage underserved or marginalized communities: Atonement, Fishtown; St. Michael’s, Kensington; Grace, Broomall, and Mediator, Philadelphia.

“There’s no community too small to make an impact,” says Grace’s Pastor, Kayla Sadowy. “We are a tiny worshipping community but we have already established ourselves as the place to go to get well” by starting grief support groups, opening a counseling center and other wellness activities.

The ELCA also provides more than three million dollars in seminarian support through the Fund For Leaders. Ian Clements, a member of Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion in Philadelphia, is one of the current recipients. He is studying at United Lutheran Seminary. “He wants to be a leader who shows that this denomination is committed to listening and learning,” Beverlin said.

Another recipient is Rodger Randolph III, a federal chaplain candidate assigned to SEPA. He will deploy to Djbouti next year after ordination.

“This is not a surprise,” Tang said. “We have known this for a long time, but now we have numbers to back it up.”

The team’s next task is to strategize ways to move forward toward raising compensation. It will also look at building and maintenance issues in the city as well as professional development for these leaders.

“The ELCA is looking to us for this information, because our resolution (on this topic) went to Churchwide (Assembly),” Bishop Davenport said in thanking the team for its work. She also noted that the numbers will change with the synod’s recently released compensation update.

More than $3,000 was raised from the assembly worship offering to support the work of the team. It is not too late for you to make an offering. Use the QR code below to make a secure online donation, or send a check to the synod office referencing the Urban Ministry Team.

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