An estimated 500 Lutherans are expected to flock to Allentown June 17 and 18.

The occasion is the 2016 Synod Assembly of Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to be held in PPL Center, Seventh and Hamilton streets, Allentown.

It’s the 29th annual Assembly of the Northeastern Synod, which encompasses 14 counties in Pennsylvania, from the Delaware River to Sullivan County and the Lehigh Valley and Reading area to the New York state border.

“This is the first time we’ve met in Allentown in many years because of getting the right-sized facility,” says The Rev. Dr. Samuel R. Zeiser, Northeastern Synod Bishop.

While Muhlenberg College Memorial Hall has the capacity for an Assembly, it isn’t air-conditioned. Happening concurrently at Muhlenberg College is the Lutheran Youth Fellowship Assembly, June 17-19.

Each synod congregation may elect two voting members to the Assembly, totaling the approximate 500 Lutherans registered to attend. The Assembly is expected to discuss and vote on several resolutions, review reports, elect officers, hear speakers, hold workshops, acknowledge retirees and anniversaries, and conduct workship services and Holy Communion.

“Some of the ministries that we carry out as a synod will be reported on by the ministry teams,” Zeiser says.

The Assembly is open to the public, with seating at PPL Center for visitors who may sign in on-site. Hours are 8 a.m.-9 p.m. June 17 and 8 a.m.-1 p.m. June 18.

Keynote Speaker is The Rev. Dr. Cheryl M. Peterson, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, Trinity Lutheran Theological Seminary, Columbus, Ohio. She speaks Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.

“We bring people in from other parts of the church so that we don’t become focused just on Lutheranism in Northeastern Pennsylvania,” says Zeiser.

The Northeastern Synod offices are at the Lutheran Center in Northeastern Pennsylvania, 2354 Grove Road, between Airport and Schoenersville Roads, near Lehigh Valley International Airport, Hanover Township, Lehigh County.

The Northeast Synod, formed in 1969, has 278 congregations, nine Mission Districts, and more than 152,000 Lutherans. The Northeastern Synod is one of seven in Region 7, which encompasses the Northeast United States.

The Northeastern Synod is one of 65 Synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, largest Lutheran denomination in the U.S. with 3.75 million members. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, headquartered in Chicago, Ill., is a separate organization from The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, second largest Lutheran denomination in the U.S. with 2.1 million members.

“Every synod does this,” notes Zeiser of the annual Northeastern Synod Assembly, the eighth he’s presiding over, having been elected bishop in 2008.

Of the history of the Lutheran Assembly, Zeiser says, “This goes back to the time of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, really, in the 1700s.” Muhlenberg (1711- 1787), a German Lutheran pastor and missionary in North America, is regarded as patriarch of the Lutheran Church in the U.S.

The first Lutheran Assemby, known as The Ministerium of Pennsylvania and Adjacent States, was held in 1748 in Philadelphia. Regarding the history of the annual Assembly, Zeiser says:

“Largely, it was accountability among the churches and the pastors. The congregations would support the work of the church beyond the congregations. This was a way that reports could be made to congregations and pastors about the ways the moneys they had sent to wider ministries could be accounted for.

“There were other reasons that had to do with approving candidates for ministry and then also it gave the opportunity to develop new ministries and congregations. Some of the new ministries were the Good Shepherd Home, the Lutheran Home at Topton and Muhlenberg College.”

The Committee on Reference and Counsel helps the Assembly with resolutions brought forward for consideration. Among the five resolutions this year are Care of Creation and Human Trafficking. “There will be discussion on each of the resolutions. They may be amended or adopted as presented,” says Zeiser.

A resolution received from the Creation Care Task Force Members of the Northeastern Synod is Divestment from Fossil Fuels. It states: “climate change is a direct threat to both God’s creation and God’s people. The church should be a leader in all efforts to preserve and protect creation.”

Urges the resolution: ”by Dec. 31, 2016, the ELCA begin divestment of all fossil fuel investments held in the ELCA Endowment Fund.”

Other actions, states the resolution, include: “Cease any new investments in fossil fuel companies, ensure that all fossil fuel holdings are removed within five years and seek to reinvest any resulting monies in clean and sustainable energy investments.”

The resolution encourages congregations and individual members “to prayerfully consider their own divestment from fossil fuels, and consider re-investment in sustainable and clean energy.”

Votes on Assembly resolutions sometimes generate headlines. In 2009, the Northeastern Synod considered a resolution that stated an ordained minister called to pastor a church could be in a same-gender relationship. “There was a lot of controversy over that issue,” says Zeiser. “I think it would be fair to say that the Synod Assembly voted with an openness on the issues. But there were those who were opposed.” A majority favored the resolution. Now that same-sex marriage is legal, “It’s over,” Zeiser says of the controversy.

Of the overarching view of the Synod’s mission, Zeiser says:

“Part of what we’re doing with the three-year theme, ‘Unleashed for Reformation 2017,” which marks the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, is that we want to create a spirit that is consistent with the Reformation, that is freed by the Gospel to serve God’s people and all of God’s creation.

“Historically, in Northeastern Pennsylvania, Lutheranism has been associated with people of German background. We need to go beyond that in the 21 century. That is our biggest challenge.”

The Assembly includes “God’s Playground,” a gathering of activities and events among Synod congregations on display at PPL Center. Assembly attendees may attend city attractions, including the Liberty Bell Museum, Allentown Art Museum of the Lehigh Valley and America On Wheels Museum. There will be a noon June 17 concert, St. John’s Lutheran Evangelical Church, 37 S. Fifth St., Allentown, and an evening meal June 17, St. Paul’s Lutheran Evangelical Church, 38 S. Eighth St., Allentown.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has a fundraising appeal continuing through 2018. “We’re providing additional support to some of our most dynamic ministries across the church,” Zeiser says. “This year, the support focuses on ELCA World Hunger Appeal. In light of that, two members of our synod have proposed a challenge to the rest of our synod. If they can raise $15,000 by the end of the Assembly, they will match that $15,000.”

A Lutheran bishop’s primary responsibility is for the ministry of Word and Sacrament in the synod and its congregations. Also, the bishop provides pastoral care and leadership for the synod, its congregations and its leaders (pastors, associates in ministry, deaconesses and diaconal ministers), oversees and administers the work of the synod and is as ecumenical officer for the synod.

Zeiser is in his second six-year term, which ends in 2020. The Coaldale, Schuylkill County, native graduated from Albright College, received Master of Divinity and Master of Sacred Theology degrees from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Drew University. Prior ro becoming bishop, he was pastor of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, Allentown. Zeiser and his wife Linda are the parents of an adult daughter.

Zeiser says among the most gratifying aspects of his role is the interaction with churches in the synod:

“Having the opportunity to visit a different congregation just about every Sunday, either participating in the worship service, installing a pastor or ordaining a pastor, is the greatest joy of my service as a bishop.

“Every congregation has a personality of its own. And all of them are striving to do the best ministry they can in their locations.

“I get to hear the excitement in their voice and see the spirit in their eyes.”

Information, Assembly schedule: nepasynod.org

Paul Willistein is a member of St. John’s Lutheran Evangelical Church, Allentown, where he is church council president and an Arts at St. John’s committee member.