Discipline Committee Nominees

Sense of God's Call:

Skills/Experiences: George worked in Personnel in the U.S. Army for over 20 years and was a State Farm Agent for over 20 years. He has a good understanding of H.R. field and can relate to circumstances that require wisdom, good judgment and adjudication.

Service Activities:

Sense of God's Call: I was a consultant to Trinity Lutheran Seminary for troubled students. I was also a consultation to three Lutheran Bishops on troubled clergy. I was interviewed at the ELCA headquarters to lead the ELCA social statement study on Human Sexuality in early 2000. I came in second to Dr. James Childs who was selected to lead this national ELCA study.

Skills/Experiences: 37 years of private practice as a licensed Psychotherapist in Ohio. 10 years of graduate teaching including The Ohio State University. 6 years of full time teaching in Behavioral Science in the Family Medicine Residency program at Aultman Hospital in Canton Ohio. I also held faculty positions at the Northeast College of Medicine and the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. I completed a one year Fellowship at NEOUCOM inTeaching Academic Medicine. I am an Emeritus Member of the Society for Teaching Family Medicine.

Service Activities: I was a member of the first Latino Lutheran Church in Canton, Ohio in the Northeast Ohio Synod. In retirement I was a volunteer at Pathways Hospice In-Patient Hospital where I was a companion to patients who were in the last days of their life who had no family to be with them as they were dying.

Sense of God's Call: The Committee on Discipline (rostered + lay) handles formal disciplinary matters under Chapter 20 of the ELCA Constitution and Bylaws. In the Holden Evening Prayer service, we invite and proclaim God's "gentle justice". This seems to be an appropriate description of how we trust God through many paradoxes, including law/gospel, saint/sinner, broken/restored by grace. God desires us to be in relationship with God, and with one another. Any time we value intentional community with others, there's likely to be tension or times of conflict. And God's word of grace has the power to heal even the most broken relationships. My sense of call to serve on the Committee on Discipline includes trusting in the healing power of God's grace and a sense of the practice of restorative justice. The Church needs dedicated, faithful servants who can self-differentiate, actively listen for understanding, and have the experience and ability to grow in faith and relationship with one another, even through conflict. My sense of God's call includes God's unconditional grace and, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, while incorporating Matthew 7:1-5. Thank you.

Skills/Experiences: I have served on the Rocky Mountain Synod Campus Ministry Committee, the New Beginnings Worshipping steering committee, and as a conference dean. I have served as Senior Pastor at First Ev. Lutheran Church in Longmont, since April 2017. In addition, I have served in congregational Council leadership for 25 years, and on three occasions, this included the observation or implementation of the discipline process.

Service Activities: In addition to the synod committee leadership, I have served at Synod Assemblies in communion preparation and serving, and I have served on the Board of the Seniors' Resource Center in Denver, and currently serve on the board of the Outreach United Resource Center (The OUR Center) in Longmont, Colorado.