History of the Oregon Synod, ELCA

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was finally born at its constituting convention in Columbus, Ohio, April 30-May 3, 1987. The three merging churches; Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC), the America Lutheran Church (ALC), the Lutheran Church in America (LCA), had "closing conventions" the day before, taking care of constitutional matters and saying good-bye. In the four days of the first convention of the new church delegates finalized legal details and elected the ELCA's first bishop, Herbert Chilstrom, other officers and 228 other people to various boards, councils and committees. During the fall of 1986 and until January 1, 1988 churchwide offices had to be set up, initial staff selected, 65 synods and 9 regions had to be sited and staffed. Planning groups (transition teams) were selected to work by the presiding bishops of the predecessor bodies in the Northwest. Care was given to choosing members that would provide a mix of persons from various geographical areas of the new synod, as well as a balance of women, men, clergy, and lay persons.

The Constituting Convention of the Oregon Synod, ELCA was held on June 12-14, 1987 at George Fox College in Newberg, Oregon. The minutes of the 1987 Constitution Convention set forth its purpose as follows: "It is the purpose of the Constituting Convention of the Oregon Synod, of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to bring together lay and clergy representatives from all congregations of the American Lutheran Church, the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, and The Lutheran Church in America within the territory of the Oregon Synod to establish the Oregon Synod of the ELCA; to elect a bishop; to elect officers; to elect a Synod Council; to adopt documents that will implement the establishment of the Oregon Synod to adopt constitution; bylaws and continuing resolutions that will serve as guidelines for the function and operation of the synod."

Seven months passed after the Constitution Convention of the Oregon Synod when the synod's first bishop, Bishop Paul R. Swanson, officers, council members and other leaders had been elected. During those seven months and enormous amount of work had been done to get the new synod up and running.

Installation Celebration Event
January 16, 1988 was selected as the day to worship, praise, celebrate our new beginning and officially install our bishop, assistant to the bishop, and other leaders. The event was held at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Portland.

The Pectoral Cross
It is important to note that the pectoral cross was worn for the first time by Bishop Swanson at this Celebration Event. The pectoral cross was given to the Oregon Synod by the Pacific Northwest Synod of the Lutheran Church in America. The cross is a symbol of the office to which the bishop is called and will be worn by the bishop on official occasions and conveyed by the bishop to his successor.