ELCA Churchwide Assembly: Mr. David Swartling Elected Secretary of the Church

Here are some highlights from Mr. Swartling's address to the assembly upon being elected Secretary of the ELCA, the first layperson to hold this powerful position:

I’ve spent time this week reflecting on this book [the Bible] and I’m encouraged by knowing that there are a lot of people in this book who “changed direction in their lives, some of them very late in life.”

And I’m remembering that, after all, “the world was changed by someone who started life as a carpenter.”

“I want to be your colleague in the gospel, your partner in prayer, a faithful leader for you and for the congregations and for the synods and for the churchwide organization.”

I was waiting for someone to ask me about my favorite story in the Bible. I want to talk about the first miracle from book of John, where Jesus turns water into wine: “Jesus acted at an unexpected time and he took something ordinary and turned it into something extraordinary.”

It is my prayer that “my life can turn into something extraordinary for you.”

Then he reached out to people, watching via the web, who are in ministry on the ground:

“The Office of the Secretary is about service.”

“I want to tell all of you that I will be your faithful servant.”

“These hands are for God’s work,” he said. “God’s work, our hands.”