Bishop-Emeritus Strobel's letter of thanks to the synod and his letter to Bishop Mwakabana, the new bishop of the South Central Diocese, Lutheran Church in Tanzania.

Bishop Strobel's
Letter of
Thanks to the Synod
PDF Version

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Please accept from Doris and me our sincere thanks for the “memory book” we received during the appreciation event held for us at the Synod Assembly at the end of May. It really works! As we read the scores of contributions, we indeed did remember the people, the congregations and institutions with and for whom we worked during the twelve years of my ministry as synod bishop. We are delighted to report that most of those memories are happy ones: overwhelmingly, it has been our pleasure to serve the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod as bishop and spouse. The memory book reminds us of the relationships, projects, travels, encounters and partnerships in ministry we have been honored to share with you.

Just a few weeks before I was elected synod bishop in 1996, my family and I were driving to Sunday worship at Trinity, Reading, where I was the pastor. I wondered out loud what it must be like to worship with a different congregation every Sunday morning. Looking back, this innocent question was something of a premonition, for this is precisely what I have been doing for the past twelve years! And in those years, I have been blessed and enriched to have experienced first-hand what the Holy Spirit is up to in the 292 congregations and institutions of our synod, as well as in the ELCA and in our four companion synods abroad. In this unique way, Doris and I have enjoyed in our faith journeys God’s answer to St. Paul’s prayer in Third Chapter of Ephesians:

I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

So, while we are truly grateful for the memory-book you gave us, we are far more thankful for the memories it enshrines. But, listen! Listen! God is calling Doris and me and the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod together with your Bishop-elect, Sam Zeiser. God is calling us to those ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. We join with you in praying that God will give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that God’s hand is leading us and God’s love is supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

I remain

Your servant in Christ,

David R. Strobel, Bishop

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Bishop Strobel's Letter to the New Bishop in Our Companion Synod in Tanzania

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The Rev. Hance A. O. Mwakabana was consecrated as the new bishop of the South Central Diocese, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, on May 25, 2008. Bishop Strobel sent the following letter to Bishop Mwakabana on behalf of our synod:

Dear Bishop Mwakabana,

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

On behalf of your sisters and brothers in Christ in the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, it is my privilege and pleasure to extend our warmest greetings and sincere congratulations on the occasion of your consecration as Bishop of the South Central Diocese. Please know that you and your family, your staff and the entire Diocese will be in our prayers as the Holy Spirit guides all of you into the next chapter of your life together in ministry and mission for Jesus’ sake.

As the South Central Diocese celebrates your consecration, our Synod will be electing my successor at its Assembly, May 29-31, 2008. My second and final term as bishop ends on July 31st; the newly elected bishop’s term will begin on August 1st. When our delegation of pastors and youth visit the Diocese next month, they will bring you news of our Assembly and information about the bishop-elect.

The establishment and growth our companion synod relationship has been and will remain one of the most satisfying accomplishments of my service as bishop. Our synod has been richly blessed through our companionship with the South Central Diocese; friendships have been created and nurtured; prayers have been and will continue to be offered for each other; our accompaniment will be woven ever more deeply into the fabric of our life together as diocese and synod, companions in Christ our Lord.

With my prayer that you will be richly blessed in your important ministry, I remain

Your servant in Christ,
 

David R. Strobel, Bishop

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