2004 Synod Assembly: "Called Into God's Marvelous Light"

Live update added 11:45 a.m., Friday, April 23, 2004

Opening Worship Sets the Stage for a Faith-Filled Assembly

"It all starts with God, and we live our lives in response. That could take us just about anywhere."

With those words, Bishop Harold Usgaard proclaimed the theme of both the opening worship service and of the 2004 Synod Assembly: "Called into God's Marvelous Light."

For the second year, Presentation Hall provided a dedicated space which greatly enhanced the worship experience. The band Dakota Road led an uplifting service. Kevin Hamor, of First Lutheran Church in Ellendale, said, "It got us fired up and focused for the work of the assembly."

Similarly, the Rev. Mark Dumke of Faith Lutheran Church in Winona said, "I really liked the rendition of 'Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee.'"

Sandra Olson of First Lutheran Church in Glenville found the music "inspiring." The bishop repeatedly stressed how God's call extends to all God's people. Noting the examples of the prophet Jeremiah, the Apostle Paul, and the disciple Matthew, Bishop Usgaard affirmed, "There is no one who cannot be used by God."

Drawing on Weber's "Salty Christians," Usgaard asserted that ours is not a church that competes with the world, or one that gets a piece of the worldly pie. Rather, ours is a church in the world, moving in and out. "It's not where we are, but who we are," he said. Then he added, "It's not about a job or making a living; it's about making a difference."

Usgaard also suggested, "If we haven't heard God's call, perhaps we are not very good listeners."

"God's calling. That's where it begins," said Usgaard. Quoting I Peter 2:9, he set the tone for the work of the assembly that will be lived out in the synod: "But you are a chosen race, a holy priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." As an assembly of God's people in the Southeastern Minnesota Synod of the ELCA, "that could take us just about anywhere."

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