Bishop Lohrmann preached during the opening worship service.

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Voting members at 2005 Assembly of the Northwestern Ohio Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) passed three resolutions as part of its annual business meeting this weekend at Bowling Green State University.

The Synod Assembly is the highest legislative authority for the synod. It provides an opportunity to worship, review the ministry of the synod and authorizes the plan to fund the mission for the future.

The voting members, which includes pastors and lay persons, passed the resolution to send a recommendation to the 2005 Churchwide Assembly in Orlando to vote to establish a policy that this Church will not offer blessings of same-gender unions and to affirm the current vision and expectations of the ELCA, that all rostered leaders are to be faithful in marriage and chaste outside of marriage whether they see themselves as heterosexual or gay or lesbian. The resolution was passed by a vote of 315-143, with 23 abstentions. The ELCA Churchwide Assembly will be held Aug. 8-14.

The two other resolutions approved were:

• To encourage member congregations to consider Augsburg Fortress whenever purchasing faith formation, worship and church resources; and
  
  
• To instruct the Synod Council to consider the starting date of a newly-elected Bishop in the future from two months to four months after being elected.

Bishop Marcus Lohrmann introduced the synod’s purpose statement and guiding principles for the next five years in his report to the assembly. The purpose statement reads:

Marked with the cross of Christ forever, we who belong to the congregations, agencies, and ministries of this synod, together, will witness to God’s creative and redeeming Word to all the world.

The guiding principles are:

• Jesus Christ is Lord.
• The cross is at the heart of the Lutheran understanding of the Gospel and will be the center of our life and work together as a synod.
• All those who are baptized into Christ have a part in God’s mission to the world.
• Participation in God’s mission requires effective, faithful, and Christ-centered lay and clergy leadership.
• Blessed by the Holy Spirit, God has given us the gifts we need to be the Church in mission.
• We best embody Christ when we work together.

Pastor Dave Daubert, who is with the ELCA Division for Outreach and serves as Executive for Renewal of Congregations and worked with synod council and staff this past year, presented the process of developing the purpose statement, guiding principles and five-year goals for the synod. After a small group discussion, the assembly prioritized the following:

Starting Point For Five-Year Goals

• Christ Centered
  • Encourage Bible Study, e.g. Crossways, in our congregations
• Lay Leaders Equipped for Mission
  • Every congregation has a lifelong learning program
• Engaged in Mission
  • Every congregation will be involved in at least one social ministry issue, e.g. food pantry, anti-racism training, health care advocacy, etc.

Other Highlights of the Assembly:

Ken Medema provided uplifting music to the assembly.

+ Four members of the synod gave Shining Witness testimonies on how God is working in their lives.

+ Worship led by Ken Medema with the sermon presented by Pastor Marco Kinyau of the Dodoma Diocese in Tanzania.

+ Music and prayers provided throughout the entire assembly by Ken Medema.

The Northwestern Ohio Synod has 186 congregations and more than 107,000 baptized members throughout northwest Ohio.

Small groups discussed the synod's five-year goals.

Pr. Chrysanne Timm (Olivet, Sylvania) reading a resolution from the podium.