Title: ELCA's Initiatives Lay Future Foundations
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

April 28, 1997

ELCA'S INITIATIVES LAY FUTURE FOUNDATIONS
97-14-047-AH

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding
bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is
fine tuning a set of seven "Initiatives for a New Century" he
plans to bring to the ELCA's Churchwide Assembly in Philadelphia
this August. The ELCA Church Council looked at the initiatives
when they met here April 3-7.
     Anderson told the council, "We have been listening to the
church, now we are ready to ask `What next?'" He said the
10-year-old ELCA is "not at full maturity" and will benefit from
planning.
     "This council can lay the foundation for more faithful,
fruitful next millennium," Anderson said.
     "The work crews are ready in the ELCA, the resources are
coming. Now the blueprint is needed to build a sturdy support
for the next generation," Anderson said. "We can't imagine the
edifice, but we can build the foundation," he said.
     Almost every person in a leadership role in the ELCA has had
a look at the initiatives and an opportunity to comment. The
result, said Anderson, is "broad support, particularly in
congregations and synods."
     Anderson presented six initiatives to the Church Council and
added another at the council's suggestion. The seven are
entitled: Deepen Our Worship Life, Teach the Faith, Witness to
God's Action in the World, Strengthen One Another in Mission,
Help the Children, Connect with Youth and Young Adults, and
Develop Leaders for the Next Century.
     "Witness to God's action in the world" was added based on
the council's concern for outreach, a global witness and the
relationship of the church to the world.
     "The next step is to put legs under them," Anderson said,
"some specifics to carry the initiatives forward." With input
from the council and the ELCA's synodical assemblies, Anderson
hopes to add a series of `we will' statements to each
overarching initiative statement.
     At the council meeting, each initiative was followed by a
series of proposed "we will" statements such as, "We will
stimulate creativity in music and the visual arts..." and "We
will call on the experience of our ethnic communities to broaden
vision and outreach." Under "Help the Children" the statements
include "We will aid children at risk from racism, hunger,
violence and poverty..." and "We will encourage congregations to
be child-friendly..."
     One hope is that the initiatives will "enhance the church's
sense of accomplishment, of what is achievable," Anderson said.
"I hope they will catch our people's imagination, that people say
look at them and say, `Yes.'"
     Anderson told the council, "We are also continuing to
explore how these specific initiatives interface with other
churchwide emphases being placed before this summer's assembly.
He said the ELCA will need to determine their relationship to
other plans such as the proposed Urban Initiative, the
Multicultural Mission Strategy and the American Indian/Alaska
Native Strategic Plan.

For information contact:
Ann Hafften, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html