A Beginning History of the Synod
| June 26-28, 1987 | Constituting Convention. Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pa. Morris Zumbrun elected first bishop of the new synod. |  |
| Jan. 1, 1988 | Synod came into being by virtue of merger on that date of American Lutheran Church, Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, and Lutheran Church in America. Originally assigned the name “Maryland Synod.” Headquarters: The Synod House, 7604 York Rd., Towson, Md. | |
| Jan. 15-17, 1988 | Constituting convention of the Fellowship of Lutheran Young People. Ocean City, Md. First president: Joel Frederick, St. James Church (Rockdale), Baltimore. | |
| 5 March 1988 | Rev. Morris B. Zumbrun installed as first bishop. Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, Baltimore. Installed with Zumbrun: Rev. Andrea Hagen Diegel, Rev. Robert M. Holum and Rev. K. Roy Nilsen, assistants to the bishop ; Thomas Goedeke, synod vice president; Rev. John Houck, secretary; and Bruce Boeker, treasurer. | |
| June 3-5, 1988 | First convention of Maryland Synodical Women’s Organization of Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Western Maryland College, Westminster, Md. First president: Angeline Haines, Grace Church, Lutherville, Md. |  |
| June 17-18, 1988 | First Synod Assembly. Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pa. Theme: “That We All Be One.” è Among assembly actions: the 480 voting members overwhelmingly opted to petition the ELCA to change the name from the originally assigned “Maryland Synod” to “Delaware-Maryland Synod.” Such a change would promote a stronger geographic identity for the synod churchwide and the new name would represent a step toward a more inclusive ministry. Budget adopted for 1989: slightly more than $3 million, of which $1,593,802 was shared with the ELCA. | |
| 1989 | Through the ELCA Companion Synod program, the synod was linked with the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Tampere Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. | |
| Feb. 19, 1989 | “The Network,” newsletter of the Delaware-Maryland Synod, which started as a supplement to The Lutheran magazine, began publishing and distributing locally in bulk to all congregations. | |
| Apr. 29, 1989 | Constituting convention of the synod chapter of Lutheran Men in Mission. Second English Church, Baltimore. First president: George Kelser, Glen Church, Glen Burnie, Md. Budget: $16,800, | |
| June 15-17, 1989 | 2nd Synod Assembly. Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pa. Theme: “Servants of Christ and Stewards of Grace.” Theological presenter: Rev. Frank Seilhamer. Guest musician: Composer David Cherwien. Budget for 1990: $2.8 million. An assembly first: voting members and guests joined together in a liturgical choir to lead worship. | |
| August 1989 | ELCA Churchwide Assembly officially changed name to Delaware-Maryland Synod. | |
| Fall 1989 | Rev. Edward Heim became the first full-time director of the Lutheran Office on Public Policy in Maryland. The office serves Delaware-Maryland Synod and Metropolitan Washington DC Synod. | |
| June 15-17, 1990 | 3rd Synod Assembly. Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pa. Theme: “Mission90: What Does It Mean To Be a Christian?” Theme speaker: Rev. Darold Beekmann, president, Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. 20th anniversary of ordination of women celebrated. | |
| August 1990 | Lutheran Office on Public Policy in Delaware established. Theda Blackwelder appointed first part-time director. Housing, child care and health care were major issues on the office’s advocacy agenda. | |
| August 1990 | Lutheran Office on Public Policy in Delaware established. Theda Blackwelder appointed first part-time director. Housing, child care and health care were major issues on the office’s advocacy agenda. | |
| January 1991 | All synod mailings were collected into a monthly packet called “Visions” for distribution to rostered leaders. Previously, everything was sent separately by different groups within the synod, resulting in overflowing mailboxes for rostered leaders and wasted time, effort and postage by the synod. | |
| Spring 1991 | "The Vineyard," resource center of the Delaware-Maryland Synod, opened for business on the upper level of Synod House. | |
| June 20-22, 1991 | 4th Synod Assembly. Loyola College, Baltimore. Theme: “Calling and Caring.” Keynote speaker: Dr. John Savage. Rev. George Paul Mocko elected to a four-year term as bishop. |  |
| Synod Assembly adopted mission statement for synod.
Preamble: We are the people of God called by the Holy Spirit to be the Church. All power in the Church belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ, its head. All actions of this synod are to be carried out under his rule and authority.
Statement: The mission of the Delaware-Maryland Synod is to initiate, nurture, and celebrate partnerships in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These partnerships, in their totality, will express, reflect and embrace a balance of proclamation, education, service, fellowship, worship, and advocacy for justice and the environment. |
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| July 1991 | In response to Synod Assembly budget actions, Synod Council mandated reduction in force, resulting in loss of one assistant to the bishop and reshuffling of duties within remaining staff. Previously, each assistant had complete responsibility for a specific group of conferences. Revised work plan called for assistants to be deployed across the entire territory according to need. | |
| Sept. 7, 1991 | Rev. George Paul Mocko installed as second bishop of the Delaware-Maryland Synod ELCA at Cathedral of Mary Our Queen. After a brief power failure early in the day, all went smoothly for the 1,500 worshipers and ecumenical guests. | |
| November 1991 | Synod began commitment to AIDS ministry with two-day training session for newly recruited volunteers for education task force to serve congregations. | |
| Spring 1992 | In conjunction with the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, the synod began “Ayudame,” a 24-hour Hispanic telephone helpline ministry, with the expectation that it would lead to a new ministry start. (The project was eventually abandoned due to lack of target population.) | |
| June 14, 1992 | Representatives from the synod Fellowship of Lutheran Young People were featured on the CBS show, “Touched with Fire.” The half-hour documentary centered on youth volunteerism. |