Vice President Barbara Carl Annual Report: 2023

Barbara B. Carl, Vice President, Grand Canyon Synod

May 22, 2023

The role of the synod Vice President is established in the Constitution and Bylaws of the Grand Canyon Synod.  The Vice President must be a layperson, is elected to serve a four-year term, and shall not receive a salary for the performance of the duties of the office.  The Synod Assembly elected me to a four-year term in 2021, and my term began on September 1, 2021.

Synod Council

One of the primary functions of the synod Vice President is to chair the Synod Council.  The Synod Council is the board of directors of the synod, and serves as the synod’s interim legislative authority between meetings of the Synod Assembly.  It has been my privilege to chair the Synod Council, and its Executive Committee since 2021.  

During the past year the Synod Council has continued to focus on the primary goals of the synod’s strategic plan – to communicate Jesus, connect people, create possibilities.

The Synod Council began its term in September with an in-person retreat.  Each member had been asked to complete an Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) prior to the meeting.  As a result of the IDI, the group became more aware of how cultural issues may impact our work.  The Synod Council committed to being more aware of diversity and inclusion, so that our actions can better communicate Jesus in a diverse world.

Since the last Synod Assembly, the Synod Council also spent time reexamining how our core values and align with the synod’s Mission Plan. In several meetings we met in small groups to discuss how we can use our resources to better reflect our stated mission and values.

In addition, the Synod Council has dealt with issues of pastoral changes, retirements, congregations selling buildings, congregations closing and general business of the synod.

The Synod Council also worked with ways to connect people. Each of our Zoom meetings has an opportunity to discuss issues in small breakout groups, and those sessions keep us better connected.  Further, each Synod Council member has another Synod Council member as a prayer partner, with whom we can be connected throughout the term.

We connected people by providing a series of five spring conferences throughout the various areas of the synod. In those sessions about 250 participants discussed what worries them about the church and its future, and how those worries can be turned into positive action.  This enabled people from across the synod to become connected through discussing their common concerns and in sharing their successes.  

And it has been a year when the Synod Council worked to create possibilities.  The Synod Council created the Mission & Ministry Task Force.  This task force created a plan to steward the funds received by the synod following the sale of the building of the now-closed Celebration Lutheran Church. It has been exciting to see the progress of the new ministry starts that have been made possible, and to hear the progress of the existing ministries that are being strengthened and enriched.  

The Synod Council also has the joy to approve grants to congregations in to support a variety of important and innovative congregational ministries.  This synod has been blessed abundantly, and this enables support for the variety of possibilities that continually emerge.

Churchwide Assembly 

Another constitutional role for the synod Vice President is to participate in the Churchwide Assembly as an ex officio member.

The 2022 Churchwide Assembly was held in August of 2022, in Columbus, Ohio. Bishop Deborah Hutterer and I were joined by nine voting members that had been elected by the Grand Canyon Synod at the 2021 Synod Assembly. We gathered with hundreds of others from across the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  The Churchwide Assembly worshipped together, engaged in Bible study, elected a new Vice President of the ELCA, and wrestled with issues facing the church in today’s world.  

The Churchwide Assembly passed a number of resolutions concerning a variety of issues that face the church.  This included a resolution to form a Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church.  This commission will soon begin work to determine what, if any,changes in ELCA structure may be necessary as we go forward as church in our changing times.

At the close of the Churchwide Assembly, we received the news that the next Churchwide Assembly will be held on the territory of the Grand Canyon Synod, in Phoenix, in August of 2025.  

Church Together

The church supports those serving as synod vice presidents by opportunities to be church together. Vice presidents across the ELCA have differing contexts in which to do our work, but we can engage in sharing our experiences and our ideas.  At the Churchwide Assembly, there were designated meetings for synod vice presidents to connect and learn from one another.  There are regular Zoom meetings for the vice presidents of all of the synods of the ELCA, and I participate as often as possible.

It also has been valuable for me to meet by Zoom on a monthly basis with the vice presidents from the five synods in our region.  In Region 2, the Grand Canyon Synod is connected with the Sierra Pacific, Southwest California, Pacifica, and Rocky Mountain Synods.  Because of our relatedness as synods, these meetings with these vice presidents are particularly helpful.

Thank you for your support and your prayers for the work that you have entrusted to me. 

Barbara B. Carl
Vice President, Grand Canyon Synod

Grand Canyon Synod, NewsBrian Flatgard2023 Assembly Reports, Synod CouncilComment