ELCA NEWS SERVICE August 17, 2003 ELCA Assembly Receives Greetings from Ecumenical Guests 03-CWA-50-JAC* MILWAUKEE (ELCA) -- During the 10th and 11th plenary sessions of the 2003 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), several denominations and other religious organizations extended their greetings to assembly voting members. 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." Among those addressing the assembly was the Rev. Robert Sawyer, president, Southern Province of the Moravian Church in America. He extended greetings from the Moravian Church and from the World Council of Churches (WCC). "This is a significant and creative time in the life of the World Council," Sawyer said. He spoke about the possible reconfiguring of the WCC and about the importance of ecumenical movements. It is evident how churches face the same issues, he said. Churches need each other to be in "vital mission together," Sawyer said. The Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, general secretary, Reformed Church in America (RCA), told the assembly that he remembered the discussions he had with the Rev. H. George Anderson, former presiding bishop of the ELCA, regarding ecumenical agreements. "He said to me, 'It makes sense to me if it will strengthen the mission of our churches,'" Granberg-Michaelson said. The Rev. Christine L. Blice-Baum, Captain, Air Force Chaplain Service Institute, Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Ala., greeted the assembly on behalf of the federal chaplains. "Thank you for your service to your God and to your country," she said. Blice-Baum said there are 400 active ELCA federal chaplains and 350 retired ELCA federal chaplains. "We deploy all over the world ... on the front lines of humanitarian effort," she said. Federal chaplains provide moral and ethical support, serve on bases, fly with medical evacuation units and provide services to Lutherans and non-Lutherans, Blice-Baum said. "Please pray for us in this ministry," she said. "Pray for our troops, those that are at home and those that are deployed." Bishop Stephen Blaire, chair, Bishop's Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, extended greetings from the Roman Catholic Church. "It is a joy to greet you on behalf of your Catholic brothers and sisters," Blaire said. Blaire spoke about the emergence of lay leaders in the Roman Catholic Church. "The challenge which we face is a challenge I hear reflected here ... to reflect the diversity that we are, that we are called to be," he said. The Roman Catholic Church is trying new ways of teaching and equipping lay leaders, Blaire said. He spoke of the importance of supporting lay leaders in their vocations and complimented the plans included in the ELCA strategic plan. Bishop Donald A. Ott, coordinator, United Methodist Church's Initiative on Children and Poverty, extended greetings to the ELCA from the United Methodist Church (UMC). Ott spoke about the ongoing formal dialogue to "further explore and discover our partnership in the gospel." Ott said there are two key pieces to identifying and nurturing church leaders. First, nurture leaders by not expecting them to do what you will not do, he said. Second, in identifying leaders, accept new leaders even if they do not fit into traditional molds. "Ask, invite, trust God to lift up leaders," Ott said. Ott also spoke of the importance of relationships between congregations in different denominations. "Let's tell each other our hearts," he said. "I give thanks to God for you and I pray for your health and your witness," Ott said. -- -- -- Information about the ELCA Churchwide 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