The Big "C" Church

Mak Sanders (right) at the Lutheran World Federation 2023 Assembly with ELCA Presiding Bishop Eaton (left) and a fellow student.

Mak Sanders has deep roots in Northeast Ohio. Multiple generations of his family have attended Lord of Life, Chagrin Falls, where he was baptized and confirmed. When Mak was in high school, he began discerning a call to ministry, which eventually led him to try something outside of his comfort zone. He enrolled at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkley, California.

Now in the third year of his Master of Divinity program, Mak’s friend shared an opportunity to take a cross-ELCA seminary course that included visiting the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) 2023 Assembly in Kraków, Poland. “Initially, this felt like an opportunity for adventure and an excuse to go to Europe.” Mak said, “We’ll go to Poland and talk church things. Most importantly, though, this assembly will orient me to what it means to be part of the bigger “C” church, which is so much bigger than me and my congregation, my synod, and even the national church.”

While in Krakow, Mak attended the general sessions and panels. One panel included two former LWF presidents, two former general secretaries of the LWF, the ELCA’s delegation, and representatives of the Service and Justice initiative. Mak was especially struck by LWF's work with Justice and Reconciliation, including supporting migrants and displaced people. While some conversations don’t happen in this assembly, recognizing the many differences in global Lutheran churches, Mak found much of the impact of LWF is around what it means to be Lutheran and what it means to be church together. “What I do… impacts not just my community, but there are ripples through the entire LWF communion. My place is not just my place alone, but also in tandem with so many other churches and communities and leaders and pastors and people – who are, in different ways, committed to the same work that I am.” Mak knows it’s an idea he can’t fully articulate or grasp, even now.

Back in Berkley, Mak is still processing his experience. While he continues to form the words for what it all means in his future ministry, he does know that he better appreciates the “little ways that being (the local) church can be an impact for the Church and the world.” Mak is grateful for the ways he saw his home congregation in Ohio be a champion of this same justice work.
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Congregations in the Northeastern Ohio Synod are raising up discerning leaders like Mak for our local and big “C” church work. As a part of this synod, your mission support helps us accompany our seminarians throughout their candidacy process and support their experiential learning opportunities, including making the global church accessible. Thank you for recognizing the importance of our shared ministry.