My name is Michael Cumings, and I've been elected a Voting Member of the 2011 ELCA Churchwide Assembly from the Crow River Conference of the Southwest MN Synod. Up front I want to make clear that unless it's otherwise made clear, all the opinions expressed in the main posts are my own, and not necessarily those of any congregation, church body or organization.
Being "on my own" is in fact part of the job, and in fact part of why I've started this blog. A "Voting Member" is not a delegate or representative, and is not expected to reflect the interests of any constituency within the ELCA. Nevertheless, the CWA is the "highest legislative authority" in the ELCA, and there will be a lot of business to decide. At about the 1 minute mark of this orientation video, VMs are asked to "study carefully and reflect prayerfully" on agenda items and items in the Pre-Assembly report. I have seen one of those Reports from a previous assembly, and it was in a binder at least 5 inches thick, filled to above capacity. I imagine it would be pretty easy to give up and be a rubber stamp for the good people who'd spent time drafting these documents, or alternatively to dismiss their efforts based on how they are presented at assembly rather than the substance of the documents.
To make sure that I consider the substance of the issues in question, it struck me that the best way was to be publicly accountable for this preparation: to discuss these issues in a public way and ask for input. It bears repeating at this point that I'm not going to CWA to represent the consensus or majority on any of these issues, and I wish to add that I may not even disclose how I intend to vote in my discussions here. But I would like to know before going to the Assembly that 1) I've considered what I need to consider, and 2) I haven't completely missed the point in these considerations.
After a meeting with the other VMs in the Synod this week, I mentioned to my wife that I was intending to start this blog, framing it in a concern for not wanting to be manipulated at the assembly. Her response was "so you want to be manipulated beforehand?" It was a good comeback, and I had to admit that being manipulated per se is not my fear. Knowing that church gatherings can be heady times, my fear is that I will be unprepared, and led in the moment to an outcome which I wouldn't have come to had I fulfilled my charge to study and reflect.
I won't limit myself to discussions of documents at the assembly this year, but that will be the main focus. The plan is to have at least one update a week, and I'll set Friday as my arbitrary deadline there. To be notified of updates when they happen, subscribe! And of course, I'm eager to hear your comments on anything I put up here (I reserve the right to moderate, hopefully that won't be necessary apart from the inevitable blog spam).
