Friends in Christ,
I got four votes on Friday! Which made me smile and panic at the same time. The four votes were for the Bishop of our Western North Dakota Synod, and they came on ballot #1, which was cast in the early part of our special one-day “Synod Meeting” this past Friday, a meeting that replaced the originally-scheduled 2020 Synod Assembly set for June, which, because of concerns regarding COVID-19, had been suspended.
Delegate Karen Olson (thanks, Allen, for bringing the yummy cherries to snack on) and I sat in my office for 10 (!) hours that day, staring at our laptops and my desk-top computer screen, while other delegate Kim Kittelson worked from home and checked in with us from time-to-time. It was an exhausting but exhilarating day, especially because it took the casting of six ballots before we had a new bishop. Good news is, now, from this point onward, neither Karen nor Kim will probably ever complain that my worship services go too long.
It was also an historic day, given the fact that the Special Meeting had shifted from an in-person assembly to an “on-line only” assembly, complete with the requisite glitches and goblins that are inevitable with technology; thankfully, those glitches and goblins didn’t detract too much from the crucial matters-at-hand. It took a while, but we finally got there. Hey, if Moses and the Israelites spent 40 long years wandering in the wilderness before they got to the Promised Land, a 9-hour Special Meeting awash with the Holy Spirit’s creative winds—and one tiny little severe thunderstorm watch--is practically nothing by comparison. And we had cherries!
So yes, I got four votes on that initial ballot (which I contribute either to Russian cyber-meddling or my parents paying their church’s delegates to vote for me), and then quickly scrambled to take my name out of contention because—delicate little man that I am—lugging that HUMONGOUS bishop’s pectoral cross around my neck to meetings would have been comical and potentially tragic (doinking myself on the face with it and causing a fracture).
Our new WND Bishop, then? My friend Pastor Craig Schweitzer, currently serving as Lead Pastor at our Synod’s largest church (in terms of membership), Good Shepherd Lutheran of Bismarck. Craig was kept on his toes in a very tight race by two of my other good friends, both women, either of whom could have made the meeting historic in another way: by becoming the first woman pastor in our Synod to be elected Bishop. I’m happy Craig was elected, but I was equally as excited at the possibility that we were heading towards electing a female bishop for the very first time. Plus, those two woman, Lisa Ahlness, and Desiree’ Uhrich, are just wonderful.
So, who is this Pastor Craig guy? Here are 10 things I culled from Craig’s “Biographical Information Form” that each of the nominees for bishop had to fill out, as well as a couple other tidbits of my own. I thought this may be a bit helpful for all of you as we now make this spirit-breathed transition of leadership in the next four weeks. And it also will help make Craig feel less like a stranger when you have to call him some day and say, “Bishop Craig, I’m sorry to bug you, but can we talk about Pastor Phil and his LONG sermons?”
Ten Tidbits about Pastor-and Soon-to-be-Bishop, Craig Schweitzer
1. Hometown: Bismarck (yay, mine too!)
2. Early Christian formation: Roman Catholicism (Craig still has a passion for the Benedictine
contemplative tradition).
3. Barber: Travis (my dad goes to the same barber). Craig is known for his donations to “brave the shave” and currently
is blessed with an abundance of hair (even more than our governor).
4. Age: 50
5. Theological education: “TEEM” Program Graduate, Luther Seminary/Pacific Lutheran
Seminary.
6. Other earned degrees:
-Master of Science in Strategic Leadership, University of Mary.
-BS in Music Education, University of Mary (Craig is a fantastic musician and has played
his guitar in the “house band” at most ELCA Churchwide Assemblies since 2001).
7. Best quote from Synod Special Meeting: “God’s got this!”
8. Size of current congregation: Just under 4,000 baptized members.
9. Most pressing challenge to tackle as Bishop in next 6 years (the length of his term): What
the Holy Spirit will call the church to be, post-COVID-19.
10: Cool pre-pastor job: Owned a guitar studio and taught music at Bismarck State College.
So, there you go. A brief glimpse into the talented person the Holy Spirit has raised up to be our next Bishop of the Western North Dakota Synod. Transitions are often tenuous, anxious times (especially during a pandemic!), but, as Pastor Craig tells us, God’s got this. Keep reminding us of that, brother Craig; we are going to need that encouragement.
Prayers to Pastor Craig now as he prepares to say an emotional goodbye to the specific pastoral role he has held with his dear people at Good Shepherd, and then as he prepares to say an emotional hello come September 1st to assuming the larger role of being the pastor to all of us! Goodness, that doesn’t sound at all daunting, does it?!?!?! But, not only has God “called the equipped” in the person of Pastor Craig, God will also “equip the called” as Craig steps into this new—and rather gigantic--role. Blessings, my friend. Yes, God’s got this, and yes, we trust that you’ve got us.
Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn’t lob a beautiful bouquet of thanks in the direction of our dutiful, devoted, and determined Western North Dakota Synod Staff and our Interim Bishop Dave, as their steady, sturdy leadership has kept the ship of this Synod afloat in the midst of the stormy seas of the pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, a vitriolic presidential race, and a veritable litany of other challenges as well, including the recent marathon tech-only Special Meeting. 2020 has already seemed like 50 years wrapped into one for me, so I can’t imagine what it must feel like for them. And we still have 5 months yet to go! Thank you all! You all deserve a medal. Or maybe new laptops all the way across the board. Or a bucket of those cherries for each of you. Allen, let’s see what we can do.
So, yes, in case you have forgotten, I got four votes. And for three deliciously-scary seconds, I thought about staying in the race. Until I remembered that heavy pectoral cross. And then, as I saw all the very gifted candidates whom God was placing before us. And so, I smiled. Whatever direction this goes, we will be in good hands. I’m very glad I withdrew my name, but I’m also very grateful and humbled that four very kind people typed “Phil Leer” into their zoom chat room on their laptops, even if all of them might have been members of the KGB.
Peace in Christ,
Pastor Phil “Four Vote” Leer
(As posted in August 2020 Newsletter)
I got four votes on Friday! Which made me smile and panic at the same time. The four votes were for the Bishop of our Western North Dakota Synod, and they came on ballot #1, which was cast in the early part of our special one-day “Synod Meeting” this past Friday, a meeting that replaced the originally-scheduled 2020 Synod Assembly set for June, which, because of concerns regarding COVID-19, had been suspended.
Delegate Karen Olson (thanks, Allen, for bringing the yummy cherries to snack on) and I sat in my office for 10 (!) hours that day, staring at our laptops and my desk-top computer screen, while other delegate Kim Kittelson worked from home and checked in with us from time-to-time. It was an exhausting but exhilarating day, especially because it took the casting of six ballots before we had a new bishop. Good news is, now, from this point onward, neither Karen nor Kim will probably ever complain that my worship services go too long.
It was also an historic day, given the fact that the Special Meeting had shifted from an in-person assembly to an “on-line only” assembly, complete with the requisite glitches and goblins that are inevitable with technology; thankfully, those glitches and goblins didn’t detract too much from the crucial matters-at-hand. It took a while, but we finally got there. Hey, if Moses and the Israelites spent 40 long years wandering in the wilderness before they got to the Promised Land, a 9-hour Special Meeting awash with the Holy Spirit’s creative winds—and one tiny little severe thunderstorm watch--is practically nothing by comparison. And we had cherries!
So yes, I got four votes on that initial ballot (which I contribute either to Russian cyber-meddling or my parents paying their church’s delegates to vote for me), and then quickly scrambled to take my name out of contention because—delicate little man that I am—lugging that HUMONGOUS bishop’s pectoral cross around my neck to meetings would have been comical and potentially tragic (doinking myself on the face with it and causing a fracture).
Our new WND Bishop, then? My friend Pastor Craig Schweitzer, currently serving as Lead Pastor at our Synod’s largest church (in terms of membership), Good Shepherd Lutheran of Bismarck. Craig was kept on his toes in a very tight race by two of my other good friends, both women, either of whom could have made the meeting historic in another way: by becoming the first woman pastor in our Synod to be elected Bishop. I’m happy Craig was elected, but I was equally as excited at the possibility that we were heading towards electing a female bishop for the very first time. Plus, those two woman, Lisa Ahlness, and Desiree’ Uhrich, are just wonderful.
So, who is this Pastor Craig guy? Here are 10 things I culled from Craig’s “Biographical Information Form” that each of the nominees for bishop had to fill out, as well as a couple other tidbits of my own. I thought this may be a bit helpful for all of you as we now make this spirit-breathed transition of leadership in the next four weeks. And it also will help make Craig feel less like a stranger when you have to call him some day and say, “Bishop Craig, I’m sorry to bug you, but can we talk about Pastor Phil and his LONG sermons?”
Ten Tidbits about Pastor-and Soon-to-be-Bishop, Craig Schweitzer
1. Hometown: Bismarck (yay, mine too!)
2. Early Christian formation: Roman Catholicism (Craig still has a passion for the Benedictine
contemplative tradition).
3. Barber: Travis (my dad goes to the same barber). Craig is known for his donations to “brave the shave” and currently
is blessed with an abundance of hair (even more than our governor).
4. Age: 50
5. Theological education: “TEEM” Program Graduate, Luther Seminary/Pacific Lutheran
Seminary.
6. Other earned degrees:
-Master of Science in Strategic Leadership, University of Mary.
-BS in Music Education, University of Mary (Craig is a fantastic musician and has played
his guitar in the “house band” at most ELCA Churchwide Assemblies since 2001).
7. Best quote from Synod Special Meeting: “God’s got this!”
8. Size of current congregation: Just under 4,000 baptized members.
9. Most pressing challenge to tackle as Bishop in next 6 years (the length of his term): What
the Holy Spirit will call the church to be, post-COVID-19.
10: Cool pre-pastor job: Owned a guitar studio and taught music at Bismarck State College.
So, there you go. A brief glimpse into the talented person the Holy Spirit has raised up to be our next Bishop of the Western North Dakota Synod. Transitions are often tenuous, anxious times (especially during a pandemic!), but, as Pastor Craig tells us, God’s got this. Keep reminding us of that, brother Craig; we are going to need that encouragement.
Prayers to Pastor Craig now as he prepares to say an emotional goodbye to the specific pastoral role he has held with his dear people at Good Shepherd, and then as he prepares to say an emotional hello come September 1st to assuming the larger role of being the pastor to all of us! Goodness, that doesn’t sound at all daunting, does it?!?!?! But, not only has God “called the equipped” in the person of Pastor Craig, God will also “equip the called” as Craig steps into this new—and rather gigantic--role. Blessings, my friend. Yes, God’s got this, and yes, we trust that you’ve got us.
Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn’t lob a beautiful bouquet of thanks in the direction of our dutiful, devoted, and determined Western North Dakota Synod Staff and our Interim Bishop Dave, as their steady, sturdy leadership has kept the ship of this Synod afloat in the midst of the stormy seas of the pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, a vitriolic presidential race, and a veritable litany of other challenges as well, including the recent marathon tech-only Special Meeting. 2020 has already seemed like 50 years wrapped into one for me, so I can’t imagine what it must feel like for them. And we still have 5 months yet to go! Thank you all! You all deserve a medal. Or maybe new laptops all the way across the board. Or a bucket of those cherries for each of you. Allen, let’s see what we can do.
So, yes, in case you have forgotten, I got four votes. And for three deliciously-scary seconds, I thought about staying in the race. Until I remembered that heavy pectoral cross. And then, as I saw all the very gifted candidates whom God was placing before us. And so, I smiled. Whatever direction this goes, we will be in good hands. I’m very glad I withdrew my name, but I’m also very grateful and humbled that four very kind people typed “Phil Leer” into their zoom chat room on their laptops, even if all of them might have been members of the KGB.
Peace in Christ,
Pastor Phil “Four Vote” Leer
(As posted in August 2020 Newsletter)