Messages from Bishop Gary
Wollersheim
January 2012
2012 Marks the 25th Anniversary of the ELCA and the Northern Illinois Synod
December 2011
Christmas: Actions Speak Louder than Words
November 2011
Keeping the Church Safe
September 2011
Day Full of Grace
Reflections on September 11
August 2011
Sabbatical Report
May 2011
God's Work. Our Hands.
April 2011
Easter Message
March 2011
Division or Reconciliation
January 2011
Looking Forward to a New Call: Grandpa
November 2010
Reflections On The Economy
October 2010
Thank You for Your Care and Compassion
September 2010
Discipleship and the Faith Practices
June 2010
Thank You! I Look Forward to God's Future!
May 2010
Life Saving Station
April 2010
Easter Message
March 2010
This Church
February 2010
Financial Update
Faith Practices
What Does This Mean? (pdf 1.9MB)
a brochure containing ten discussion points about the decisions made at the Churchwide Assembly in August 2009
January 2010
A Prayer of Hope
December 2009
Our Mission: Pointing To Jesus
November 2009
Looking Forward to Looking Forward
October 2009
Possible Shortfall in Mission Support
September 2009
 Five Affirmations about the Churchwide Assembly Decisions
(pdf bulletin insert)
August 2009
What’s Next After the Churchwide Assembly Decisions?
What Will You Do, if You Disagree with the Churchwide Assembly’s Decisions? (pdf bulletin insert)
July 2009
One Body
June 2009
Thanks for the Terrific Synod Assembly
Counting Our Blessings
May 2009
Coping With The Flu
Ideas for Ministry in Difficult Economic Times
April 2009
Reflections about Synod Finances
March 2009
Who Decides?
January 2009
An open letter to rostered leaders, congregational presidents & treasurers
January 20, 2009
November 2008
Prayers for Our Country and Our Life Together
In God We Trust
September 2008
Creator and Owner
Gathered to be
more than we can be separately
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Gathered to be
more than we can be separately
The
Northern Illinois Synod is made up of Congregations,
Individuals, and Agencies and Institutions of the Church -
gathered together to be more than we can be separately.
The synod is the connective tissue in
the body of Christ, providing a means for congregations to live
together, to be joined to the whole body, to draw from the whole
body and to be yoked to other parts of the body. That includes
to each other; to the national, global, and ecumenical church; and
to the arms of the church’s ministry in its agencies and
institutions.
We are a large
and diverse synod covering the 22 counties in Northern Illinois.
We come from the different traditions that flowed together to form
the ELCA. Among us are large and small congregations in urban,
suburban and rural areas. We are liberal and conservative and
everything in between. Some congregations in the synod are
working very hard to implement the Evangelism Strategy of the
Church, others are shaped by working for social justice; still
others seek to address the needs of members and the community by
providing an array of educational and social programs. Some
strive to do all of the above and more.
But in all of
our diversity, we are one in our Lutheran theology of grace as we
gather around the Word and the Sacraments. We have much to
offer the whole church in how we are church in Northern Illinois,
connected in both our commonalities and differences, one in Christ
and called by God to Make Christ Known.
I give God thanks for our partnership in the Gospel.
In Christ,
Bishop Gary Wollersheim
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