Reflections on Global Companionship and Traveling as people of Faith
By Bishop Anne Edison-Albright
A bishops’ consultation–a gathering of bishops from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa and the bishops of their ELCA companion synods–has been something my ELCA bishop colleagues and I, our companion bishops in Southern Africa, and our global ministry staff through the ELCA have been working on together for years. I’m humbled and honored to lead our delegation as bishop of the East Central Synod of Wisconsin. The people traveling with me in our synod delegation are Pastor Erik Roth (Christus Lutheran Church, Greenville); Pastor Peter Mannoja (Tanum Forest Lutheran Church, Door County); and Dr. Beth Elness-Hanson (Wartburg Seminary.) Pastor Erik and Pastor Peter are the co-chairs of our synod companionship committee.
My first lessons in global companion ministry came from the Center for Global Education and Experience–a ministry of Augsburg University that has led the way in responsible and respectful faith-based travel. The summer before my senior year of high school, I traveled to El Salvador as part of an inter-religious task force of young leaders. Our time included travel to different parts of the country; home-stays; and education about liberation theology, the recent civil war, and the role of faith in resisting authoritarian regimes. The Center for Global Education and Experience taught us about culture shock, cultural competency and humility, and the importance of listening, bearing witness, and learning from our hosts.
When I was in college, a summer in China as a teacher through ELCA Global Mission and the Amity Foundation taught me valuable lessons in being an ambassador for the Christian faith through my hard work and care for my students. I also learned that, as an American, I’m often more comfortable giving help than I am accepting help, and that how to graciously receive help is important to learn. I also learned that my openness to trying new things and not needing to look “cool” is a real asset in global ministry! My students and hosts taught me Chinese songs, dances, and how to make dumplings: they were delighted by my efforts, mistakes, and willingness to learn and try.
After divinity school, my husband Sean and I served as ELCA missionaries for a year in Bratislava, Slovakia. My pastoral internship supervisor taught me that accompaniment isn’t just walking alongside each other on a sunny day; it’s more like climbing a very steep path together through difficult conditions, and learning to trust and help each other along the way.
I appreciate that, when traveling with the ELCA, it’s never just a “trip”- every visit with Lutherans and other faith communities in the US and around the world is an opportunity to build and deepen shared faith and relationships. Spending time with ELCA companions from the Caribbean Synod in Puerto Rico, and with the people of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land in Israel and Palestine, have been some of the most formative experiences of my time as bishop. When we come together as the body of Christ across distances and differences, it broadens our vision of the church and the people and places God loves.
Please keep our delegation in prayer: as we travel, meet our partners in ministry in ELCSA and the Western Diocese, worship and pray together, and learn about and from each other. Pray for our hosts, especially Bishop Mogorosi and the people of the Western Diocese. Pray for ELCSA as they celebrate 50 years of being church together in this way: for all that has been, and all that is to come.
