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What is God calling the CSS to do to further God’s kingdom?

How is God calling the Central States Synod (CSS) to minister in the coming years?

What gifts will our Bishop need to help us fulfill that ministry?

Let’s figure that out together, recognizing that all our work begins and ends in God’s love and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. To guide our prayerful consideration of these questions, we’ll offer a series of monthly devotions beginning April 2024 through the 2025 Synod Assembly. Additional information about how congregations or individuals can respond to these questions will be provided as the process moves forward.

​The Discernment Team’s Purpose

In early 2024, anticipating the Bishop Election at the 2025 Central States Synod Assembly, the Synod Council established a Discernment Team to:

  • design and carry out a process to invite the Central States Synod into a time of discernment concerning the needs, hopes and realities of our life together as the body of Christ in the Central States; and

  • design and carry out a process for congregations and voting members to learn consistent biographical information about those discerning a call to be considered as bishop, who agree to share that information.

 

The Team’s Work and Schedule

To that end, the Team began publishing monthly devotions in April 2024.  That series, which recognizes our need for the Spirit’s guidance, will continue through the 2025 Synod Assembly.  The Team also developed questions designed to guide Synod conversations that identify our common understandings about the Synod’s ministries, values, challenges, and needs. The resulting profile reflects the collective discernment of over 250 clergy and lay members, who shared their thoughts on the mission, challenges, and opportunities that lie ahead for the Synod and its congregations. The profile is made available to enable rostered ministers, in turn, to discern whether they are open to the call of serving as the Synod’s next Bishop.​​

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Ministry Site Profile of the Central States Synod

The Team’s timeline is:

  • June 2024 - August 2024: 

    • Voting members at the Assembly participate in table conversations using the discernment questions.

    • Individuals, congregations, and regional groups respond to the discernment questions individually or through collaborative discussions online.

  • August 2024 - December 2024:

    • The Team collates the responses along with statistical data provided by Synod Staff to develop a description of the Synod and its future calling.

    • The Team develops a set of common biographical questions for use by those who discern they are open to being called to serve as the next Bishop, and develops a process to collect the completed forms.

  • January 2025 - March 2025:  

    • Rostered ministers review the Synod description and, if they discern an openness to being called as the next Bishop, complete and submit the biographical form. 

  • June 2025:

    • Nominations may be made at the 2025 Synod Assembly through the ecclesiastical ballot process.

    • Bishop election.                                                                                      

 

The Team’s Members

  • Cathy Hohl - Lutheran Church of the Atonement, Florissant, MO | Team Facilitator

  • Rev. Merle Brockhoff – Retired

  • Rev. David Frerichs – St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church, Columbia, MO

  • Andrea Keesee – Disciples of the Plains, Phillipsburg, KS

  • Rev. Kim Knowle-Zeller – St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Cole Camp, MO

  • Bill Lang – Emanuel Lutheran Church, Hutchinson, KS

  • Nancy Nagel – Vice-President, Central States Synod, Peace Lutheran Church, Washington, MO

  • Debbie Schroeder-Saulnier – Living Lord Lutheran Church, Lake St. Louis, MO

Frequently Asked Questions . . .

How are Bishops selected and elected? The election of a Bishop is held in each Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America every six (6) years. Each Synod is free to develop its own process for discerning leadership and determining who will be nominated, but the actual nomination takes place via an Ecclesiastical Ballot on the first day of the Assembly. For the Central States Synod, that Assembly will be June 2025.

What is an “Ecclesiastical Ballot?” In an Ecclesiastical Ballot, the first ballot is the nominating ballot, and any ELCA Rostered Minister of Word and Sacrament can be nominated and have their name entered into consideration. From that point on, successive ballots are held through a prescribed process. Each ballot taken, prayerfully and with discussion between, narrows the field to the person who “it seems good to the Holy Spirit and to us” (Acts 15) shall be the next Bishop.

If the first ballot at the assembly is supposed to be the nominating ballot, why are we having pre-nomination discussions? We know that the Holy Spirit will be at work throughout the bishop election process. The pre-nomination discussions are the work we need to do in advance of the actual election to be of one mind with the Holy Spirit and to develop a better understanding of who we are, and who God is calling us to be. Holding these discussions in advance will accomplish three important things. 1) We are helping frame the question that we all have to consider, which is, “What kind of leadership skills will be needed for the next Bishop and the next six years?” 2)Recognizing the rapid change in the church and its context, what is it that we agree we will have to navigate together? 3)Finally, having considered those issues, what gifts will our next Bishop need to help us all do that?

So, are we basically pre-nominating people for Bishop at these gatherings? No, the actual nomination will be the first ballot at the Assembly in 2025.

How will potential candidates for Bishop be identified? Those open to considering a call to serve as our next Bishop will make that known by completing a biographical information form (which will be developed by year-end 2024). This biographical information will be shared across the synod prior to synod Assembly through various synod media sources. Individuals may also be nominated during the first ballot at the Assembly without having notified anyone in advance.

What will the information gathered at meetings and work groups be used for? The Discernment Team will review the information gathered and, based on that, will draft a profile of the Synod. That profile will describe areas of consensus and where we might differ when describing the Synod’s future mission. (The profile will also include certain statistical information about the Synod.) After sharing the profile with the Synod Council, it will be published for member congregations to view. It will also be available to those who are considering whether they are open to a call to serve as our next Bishop.

How do I participate in a discussion group as part of the Discernment process? You may RSVP below for the remaining discussion group.

Can I provide comments even if I cannot attend a discussion group? Yes. Individuals can submit comments on-line by selecting the “Click here” button below. The deadline for comments is August 31, 2024.

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