ELCA NEWS SERVICE November 18, 2003 Pena Chairs ELCA Church Council for First Time 03-206-FI CHARLOTTE, N.C. (ELCA) -- Carlos Pena, Galveston, Texas, served on the Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) from 1993 to 1999. Now, as vice president of the ELCA, he chairs the council and serves in the top elected office a lay person can hold in the ELCA. The Church Council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as the legislative authority of the church between churchwide assemblies. The council met here Nov. 13-16 at the invitation of the ELCA North Carolina Synod, and joined in a celebration of the synod's 200th anniversary Nov. 15 at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, N.C. Churchwide assemblies are held every other year; the next is Aug. 8-14, 2005, in Orlando, Fla. Pena is the ELCA's fourth vice president and the first man to serve in that office. The other officers of the church are the presiding bishop, secretary and treasurer. The council is made up of the four officers and 33 voting members, who are elected to six-year terms by churchwide assemblies. Officially, Pena became vice president of the ELCA on Nov. 1. Since his election Aug. 16 by the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Milwaukee, he was involved in a transition process to succeed Dr. Addie J. Butler, Philadelphia, who decided not to seek a second six-year term. "While September allowed me an opportunity to get my family commitments in order, it proved to be the calm before the storm," Pena reported to the council. "I started October by attending the Conference of Bishops meeting in Chicago," he said. That meeting with the ELCA's 65 synod bishops, presiding bishop and secretary was following by meetings in Seattle; Appleton, Wis.; and Dubuque, Iowa. "No matter where I travel on behalf of the ELCA, I am amazed at the core of faithful members throughout the country, all willing to work for the good of the church. I know that, no matter where I travel, even if there is discord, I will still find the tie that binds" -- Christian fellowship, Pena said. "I enjoy meeting people and talking about a great part of my life, which is the church -- the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America," Pena said in an interview after the council meeting. Chairing the meeting was "certainly a little bit different," he said. "Now that it's over with, my anxiety level is down quite a bit, but I'm excited about it." Pena said the difference he noticed between being a council member and chair was that he tried to remain neutral in the council's discussions. Instead of pressing his own opinions, he said he wanted to capture the sense of the council and make sure that everyone got the chance to participate. For Pena an important part of the council meeting was "seeing such a group of dedicated volunteers that come here from all over the country and are willing to sacrifice their time away from their families to act as the board of directors for this church, doing their jobs with such dedication and passion." Pena, 50, is president of Kleen Supply Co, Inc., Galveston, and C.M. Distributing, Houston. He is a member of First Lutheran Church, Galveston. For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/news