Breath in the Spirit- the first day of the Assembly

As the 11th Assembly of the ELCA began, we worshiped. It was an awesome worship, the music was great and the Spirit was present! The Bishop encouraged us to "breathe deep" God's Spirit and reminded us that we are sent to bear witness of the crucified and risen Christ- reminded us that it is "God's Work, Our Hands"... and so the assembly began.

The Bishop is engaging, professional and humorous. He shows great warmth and compassion... he is a very good leader... just my observations.

Did you know that 20 years ago at the 1st ELCA Assembly, the Today Show broadcast from it's midst?

The first evening's order of business was that adoption of the rules of the assembly. Two major topics dominated the evening:

• The limiting of speaking from 3 min to 2 min... passed, noting it was prejudicial to pastors
• The effort to require a 2/3rd vote on the Ministerial Practice policy... it failed

I am struck by the presence of the Holy Spirit and the very purposeful effort to include the Spirit in our discussions.