ELCA NEWS SERVICE October 22, 2003 ELCA Presiding Bishop Withdraws Restructure Plan, Prepares for Cuts 03-191-JB CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Because of "broad, often intense critique," the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), changed course Oct. 18 and withdrew a proposed restructuring plan for the ELCA churchwide organization. Now leaders of the churchwide organization, including the ELCA Church Council, must address a projected $2.8 million decline in income for 2004. In an Oct. 20 e-mail message to churchwide employees, Hanson said he will ask the council, which will meet Nov. 13-16 in Charlotte, N.C., to create a process and timetable to develop a new design proposal for the churchwide organization. The constitutional implications of any new proposal could be considered by the 2005 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. The church council is the ELCA's board of directors, and serves as the interim legislative authority between churchwide assemblies, the church's chief legislative authority. The next assembly will be held in August 2005 in Orlando, Fla. Hanson announced his decision to withdraw the current redesign proposal -- made public Sept. 15 -- during a series of meetings with churchwide boards and steering committees Oct. 17- 19. Since Sept. 15 the presiding bishop and his staff have asked people throughout the church to comment on the proposal. The 2003 ELCA Churchwide Assembly affirmed an "ELCA Plan for Mission" on which the redesign proposal was based, and it authorized the Office of the Presiding Bishop to align the churchwide structure, staffing and budget with the plan. In his message to churchwide staff, Hanson said it had become clear to him that a number of concerns related to the proposal and the restructuring process needed "immediate attention." One significant criticism of the proposal was that the process was not inclusive or participatory enough, Hanson said. Hanson had planned to present the restructuring plan -- or a modified version of it -- to the ELCA Church Council next month. The plan not only would have resulted in a new churchwide organization design, but would have addressed a projected $2.8 million income decline for 2004. He also had planned to prepare a second budget proposal that would address only the needed reductions for 2004 and not change the churchwide structure. It would have been up to the council to determine which direction it wanted to proceed, if any. Next month, the council will now be asked to address budget reductions for 2004 and to develop a process toward restructuring. "The difficult decisions for such reductions will be made on the basis of the Plan for Mission and will be formulated by unit executives in consultation with each other and the Office of the Presiding Bishop," Hanson said in his message to staff. Key components of the Plan for Mission are five strategic directions or priorities for the church, adopted by the council in April: support congregations; grow in evangelical outreach; be a public church; extend global, ecumenical and interfaith relationships; and support professional leaders. The directions, plus a mission and vision statement and commitments for implementation were developed as a result of a nearly two-year listening process in which staff sought comments on the church's mission from members throughout the church. The churchwide organization "will continue to focus on aligning our budget around our mission while also making necessary reductions in spending," Hanson said. Hanson met Oct. 22 with churchwide staff to discuss his decision on the restructuring plan and what must now be done to address the decline in the income projection for 2004. If enacted, the former restructuring proposal would have eliminated 41 of about 500 staff positions and created 18 new staff positions under a new structure. The ELCA would have retained three offices; its six divisions would have become five departments; the work of its two commissions was to be deployed to several strategic areas in the organization; its current six departments were to become service units of the offices, and several new service units would have been created. The proposal also phased out the existing boards of divisions, steering committees of commissions and advisory committees of departments. It asked the ELCA Church Council to develop amendments to the ELCA Constitution, eliminating boards and steering committees, for presentation to the 2005 Churchwide Assembly. For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/news