Lutheran Bishop Preaches at Pearl River Church

Bishop Robert Alan Rimbo of the Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ECLA) ,visited and preached three sermons at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, in Pearl River. The Bishop praised the leadership of the congregation and thanked them for their faithful witness. Good Shepherd is one of nearly 200 congregations within the New York Metropolitan Synod, headed by the Bishop. During this weekend he and members of his senior staff visited different congregations among the 40 located in the seven counties north of New York City. Rev. John Havrilla, Pastor of Good Shepherd, welcomed the Bishop to his congregation.

The Metropolitan New York Synod covers all five boroughs of New York City, all of Long Island, and seven counties including Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, Westchester. The Synod's parishes are greatly diverse, from rural outposts to inner-city storefront churches, with a good dose of suburban mid-sized congregations as well. Our location blesses us with great ethnic diversity; parishoners can worship in over a dozen languages, including Spanish, Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin, Norwegian, German, and American Sign Language.

Bishop Rimbo was formerly the pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in New York City, and immediately prior to that, bishop of the Southeast Michigan Synod, ELCA. He has served the church in a variety of ways: pastorates in Michigan, New York and New Jersey; assistant to the bishop in the Southeast Michigan Synod; director of music in several parishes; and executive assistant to the project director for the Lutheran Book of Worship . He has worked as chaplain, editor, advisor, and coordinator for many boards and projects relating to worship and parish ministry. He has influenced and guided social services, health, and music through board memberships with Lutheran Services New York Alliance, Lutheran Health Care (Brooklyn) and the national Lutheran Music Program. He is also a member of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians and of the North American Academy of Liturgy.

Bishop Rimbo has given major addresses at the Institute of Liturgical Studies at Valparaiso University, the Pastoral Liturgy Institute of Notre Dame University, the Leadership Conference of Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and at various meetings of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians. He has published essays, sermons, and numerous articles about worship and is the author of Why Worship Matters. He was an editorial team member for the Renewing Worship project of the ELCA, which published Evangelical Lutheran Worship . He represents the ELCA on the ecumenical Consultation on Common Texts.