Bishop's Page

MARCH, 2012:  "REFLECTIONS FROM THE BISHOP" NOW AVAILABLE HERE

PASTORAL LETTER FROM BISHOP KUSSEROW

Navigate to the "Bishop's Page"  to access the letter from Bishop Kusserow addressing the actions taken by our synod in assembly in June.  This letter was recently sent to pastors, rostered laypersons, and lay leaders in congregations currently without a pastor.  It is Bishop Kusserow's intention for rostered and lay leaders to also make this letter available to the members of their congregations.  (Click on the download link at the bottom of the Bishop's Page.)

March, 2012  Reflections from the Bishop

Lenten Renewal at Gettysburg Seminary

            I have just returned from a week at Gettysburg Seminary and would like to tell you about it, since it was a time of personal and spiritual reflection and renewal, very much in keeping with the themes of Lent. 

            I was there to participate in the seminary’s Bishop in Residence program.  Other bishops of our region who have done this in previous years had given me the impression that it would be a relaxing week:  I would be available for conversations with the students during meals, I might have some meetings with the faculty, and I could sit in on a class or two, but much of my time would be unscheduled.  Naturally, I took things to read.

            As it turned out, I was scheduled to attend six classes, and had teaching expectations in three of them.  I met with President Cooper-White, and with Dean Steinke, and with Dr. Waldkoenig, who is preparing a summer theology and ecology class that will be held in Western Pennsylvania.  I led worship three times, and ended up playing in the seminary brass ensemble as well.  I had an interview for the seminary’s radio program, “Seminary Explores,” was privileged to observe Associate Professor Vitalis-Hoffman’s five-year review, toured the old Schmucker dorm that is in the process of being made into a national museum, and accompanied the Middler class through the experience of internship matching interviews.  I might have left some of my reading at home!

            Perhaps you are wondering how any significant reflection and renewal could also have been stuffed into such a full schedule!  The truth is that it was nearly all reflection and renewal for me, spiritually, intellectually, physically, and relationally.  How is that possible?  Because it was nearly all outside my normal routine.

            Let me give you a concrete example.  The first evening I was there, I was reading the book of Deuteronomy from the St. John Bible, and almost without thinking I got up and went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door.  I do this at home all the time.  But that evening, in the Garden Apartment that was my residence for the week, the fridge was empty.  Completely empty.  Not a single thing in it.  In that moment, I was able to do some personal reflection that I would not have been able to do at home.

            The practice of self-denial during the season of Lent is designed to provide this kind of reflection.  I don’t think there’s any significant moral implication to doing without something during Lent.  The value of that spiritual discipline is that it can provide an empty fridge experience – a moment that draws us out of our routine to see our lives from a new perspective, and to consider what new awareness might take the place of habit.

            Here’s another example.  As I mentioned above, I was privileged to observe Professor Mark Vitalis-Hoffman’s five-year review.  You may remember that he was our keynote speaker at Synod Assembly last summer.  The review process includes faculty and board members, and the professor’s synod bishop.  I was none of these, and so I was invited to be present, but without voice or vote.  It was something of a challenge for me to sit through the conversation, without saying a word, and to be present when significant and positive actions were taken, but without voting on them.  Again, the experience was so different from my regular responsibilities that it was remarkably renewing, not least by being present to see that the Church can get along just fine without my voice or my vote to guide it!

            The liturgy of Ash Wednesday intends to create this kind of renewal.  The reminder that we are dust and to dust we shall return is an invitation to realize that the Church has a savior, and is not ultimately dependent upon our voice and our vote.  The Lenten invitation to die to sin and rise to renewal of life is an opportunity to relax our habitual grip on the controls of life, and to be refreshed in our confidence that our Lord Jesus provides all we need for life and salvation.

            As we enter into the 40 days of Lent together, I pray that you will find opportunities for reflection and renewal.  They may be an intentional part of your Lenten discipline, or they may arise out of the circumstances of life that you do not plan for.  In either case, I pray that you may be renewed in body and in spirit these 40 days, learning more and more to trust Jesus Christ your savior.  May your dying to sin lead you to the joy of his gift of life and salvation, and may your rising to renewal of life serve as a blessing to others in the community of faith and the world in which we live.

                                                                                                    With you in Christ,

                                                                                                   +Kurt