ELCA NEWS SERVICE August 13, 2003 ELCA Secretary Addresses Assembly, Emphasizes Anniversaries 03-CWA-20-JAC* (ELCA) -- The Rev. Lowell G. Almen, secretary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), addressed voting members at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly, emphasizing the importance of anniversaries within congregational life. The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the ELCA, is meeting here Aug. 11-17 at the Midwest Airlines Center. There are about 2,100 people participating, including 1,031 ELCA voting members. The theme for the biennial assembly is "Making Christ Known: For the Healing of the World." "They can serve as reminders of our continuity in the faith from generation to generation," Almen said. "Anniversaries also can widen our vision for current mission needs and opportunities," he said. "God continues to call us as a church." "Moreover, anniversaries, as reminders of God's grace, can foster in us renewed awareness of the commission to pass on the faith to those who will come after us," Almen said. During his address, Almen spoke about Zion Lutheran Church, Hollidaysburg, Pa., which is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year. Almen told of the Rev. Frederick Hass, a pastor who traveled throughout Pennsylvania baptizing children, performing marriages and conducting memorial services in the early 1800s. Almen spoke about the difficulties the Zion Lutheran congregation faced. "The congregation was not without its problems and controversies," he said. "Indeed, the story of this congregation -- like so many others -- reflects, at times, tensions over worship patterns and theological trends." Moving through the history of the congregation in his report, Almen said pastors left the Zion Lutheran congregation, funds were tight and, during the Civil War, the congregation was touched by sorrow. "The life and work of this congregation continued," Almen said. He said that the people of the church have continued to worship and move forward, even through trial. "From the doorways of Zion Lutheran Church, people here have reached their arms around the world for the sake of the gospel," Almen said. During his report, Almen also spoke of other congregations with anniversaries this year. He said there are only four ELCA congregations that have been in existence 300 years or longer. He said these include Zion Lutheran Church, Athens, N.Y., 300 years; First Lutheran Church, Albany, N.Y., 354 years; Frederick Lutheran Church, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, 337 years; and New Hanover Lutheran Church, New Hanover, Pa., 303 years. He said about half of the ELCA congregations are less than a century old: 2,744 are 51 to 100 years old; 2,112 are 26 to 50 years old; 815 are one to 25 years old; and 121 are in the process of becoming new congregations. Almen said that congregations identify their contextual settings in this way: 30 percent or 3,062 ELCA congregations are in the rural countryside; 20 percent or 2,059 are in towns of 10,000 or fewer people; 1 percent or 1,317 congregations are in small cities of 10,000 to 50,000 people; 20 percent or 2,084 congregations in cities of 50,000 or more people; and 17 percent or 1,725 congregations are in suburban locations. "Regardless of the setting or situation, each congregation shares a common bond and profound mutual commitment as part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America," he said. ELCA congregations are bonded together, Almen said. "We are united, even amid the diversity of the histories, settings and styles of more than 10,000 congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America," he said. Almen also addressed the six basic purposes of the ELCA. Those six purposes are: to proclaim God's saving gospel, to carry out Christ's great commission, to worship God, to nurture members in the word of God for their calling in daily life, to serve in response to God's love in meeting human needs, and to manifest the unity given to the people of God. It is important in the mission of the church to be guided by biblical and confessional commitments of the church. It is also important to recognize "that mission efforts must be shaped by both local needs and global awareness, by both individual witness and corporate endeavor, and by both distinctly Lutheran emphases and growing ecumenical cooperation," said Almen. Almen ended his address by reminding voting members of the time for reflection that anniversaries allow. "Indeed, such anniversaries can serve as reminders of our continuity in the faith from generation to generation," he said. "They can prompt us to give thanks for the faithful witness of our forebears." "Happy anniversary, Zion Lutheran Church and to all other congregations marking important milestones this year," Almen said. "Happy anniversary to the whole Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Yes, happy anniversary to all." At the assembly, participants will celebrate the 15th anniversary of the ELCA. -- -- -- Information about the ELCA assembly can be found at http://www.elca.org/assembly/03 on the Web. *Jessica A. Crane is completing her bachelor of arts degree at Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn. She is an intern this summer for ELCA News and Media Production. For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/news