Bishop Anne Shares Installation Sermon

Bishop Anne Edison-Albright preached at Zion Lutheran Church at the Installation of the Rev. Jason Poole-Xiong on Saturday, January 24, 2026. Preaching on John 20:19-23, Bishp Anne reflects on the call of the church through the lens of Christ and a lutheran understanding of grace. The sermon was preached only a few hours after VA ICU Nurse, 37 Year Old, Alex Pretti, was killed by federal agents in Minneapolis. In her sermon she shares,

"Across the country and close to home, people are in hiding. Some are undocumented, some have had their refugee status taken away, some are US citizens being targeted, harassed and detained because they aren’t white. We’ve heard that this is all necessary because some people are here illegally, and that makes them criminals, and criminals deserve whatever happens to them. That kind of logic has justified acts of great cruelty and violence throughout human history, and it’s not compatible with a theology of grace.

Today, federal agents killed a man in Minnesota. You may hear debates about whether or not he deserved it. Again, the question of “deserving” is antithetical to a theology of grace. Jesus teaches that people who are undeserving–the prodigal son, the late-day hires in the vineyard–will inherit the kingdom of God.

Like generations of faithful people who came before us, we are called to be the church in difficult times. Being the church means being rooted in Christ: the one who was born, lived, was arrested, was killed, and rose again so that the whole world might have God’s peace and grace and abundant life– even in our times of greatest fear, conflict and grief.

This is not an easy time. But it is an important time to be the church."

You can listen to the whole sermon below.