ELCA NEWS SERVICE November 20, 2003 ELCA Council Revises CSR Process, Acts On Other Matters O3-212-FI/JB CHARLOTTE, N.C. (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) adopted a revised governance process for the church's work in corporate social responsibility (CSR). It also acted on proposals for a "Race Relations Sunday," synodical requests for a new commission, a tax exemption case involving a Jerusalem hospital and campus ministry policies. The council also heard an update on the ELCA Studies on Sexuality and declined to hold a summer meeting in 2004. 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. The board of the ELCA Division for Church in Society (DCS) offered the council a governance proposal for the church's work in corporate social responsibility. Through an advisory committee, DCS counsels various institutions of the church and shareholders about the social records of corporations in which they hold stock. Meetings in which ELCA governing bodies would decide the church's reaction to such records often lagged behind the annual cycle of corporate meetings. The council approved the new governance process, which gives editorial responsibility to the board's advisory committee and approval authority to the DCS executive director. The DCS board identifies the broad range of issues to be addressed, and the council approves issue papers "with boundaries for voting proxies and filing resolutions." In a related action the council approved five issue papers: "Global Warming and Climate Change" and "Environmental Topics" based on the ELCA social statement on the environment; "International Access to Pharmaceuticals" based on the ELCA social statement on health and health care; and "Sustainability" and "Domestic Access to Capital" based on the ELCA social statement on economic life. Race Relations Sunday The steering committee of the ELCA Commission for Multicultural Ministries asked the Church Council to urge all 65 synods and 10,721 congregations to observe a Race Relations Sunday each year, beginning in 2004, with prayer, reflection and study on a Sunday of their choosing. The committee's resolution noted that 2003 is the 10th anniversary of the ELCA's social statement on racism -- "Freed in Christ: Race, Ethnicity and Culture." The council voted to ask the synods "to encourage all congregations to consider the timely importance of addressing race relations as they develop their annual program emphases." It also pointed to resources recommended by the commission and the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service "on the topics of race relations, racism, xenophobia, discrimination and hate crimes." Commission for Gay and Lesbian People In 2000, the ELCA Northeastern Ohio Synod asked the 2001 Churchwide Assembly to establish a "Commission for Sexual Minorities," and the ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod asked for a "Commission for Gays and Lesbians." The matter was referred to the Church Council, which voted to delay its response, anticipating a proposal to restructure the churchwide organization. At the November 2003 meeting, the council directed that the synod requests be considered "as part of the Churchwide Strategic Planning Process currently under way." It also asked "that the strategic design proposal when adopted be the response of this council." Support for Middle East Lutherans, Augusta Victoria Hospital The council adopted a resolution to address a tax exemption case involving Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem. Augusta Victoria is operated by the Lutheran World Federation. Its exemption from a State of Israel employer's tax has been challenged successfully by the government in an Israeli court, threatening the hospital's services to refugees. The council action "acknowledged the commitment of this church [ELCA] to provide support, encouragement and advocacy to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (and Palestine) in its ongoing efforts to maintain the tax exemption," and it requested DCS to continue its advocacy work through the Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs (LOGA), the ELCA's federal public policy office in Washington, D.C. The council was responding to a similar resolution from the ELCA North Carolina Synod, which called on LOGA to develop new strategies to address this situation. Ghassan "Gus" Khoury, council member, Mt. Prospect, Ill., who asked the council to support the resolution, said the hospital serves Palestinians. "This is more than supporting a hospital," he said. "August Victoria gives life to people [and hope] that there [will be] a just resolution to this issue. It is very important that we voice an opinion on this." Campus Ministry Policies Adopted The council adopted a set of "Campus Ministry Policies and Procedures," and asked for a report on their implementation from the ELCA director for campus ministry and the ELCA Division for Higher Education and Schools (DHES) at its November 2004 meeting. The policies were sent to the council for approval by the DHES board. The new policies "seek to clarify ways in which the work of the churchwide organization, area campus ministry agencies and campus ministry agencies is coordinated to advance the mission of campus ministry," according to information sent to the council. "Minority Report" Possible for Sexuality Studies, Says Council Member The council discussed the timeline for a task force to report recommendations of the ELCA Studies on Sexuality to the church. The Rev. James M. Childs Jr., ELCA director for studies on sexuality, said the task force agreed to a series of reporting dates regarding the studies and recommendations. In 2004 the task force has three meetings planned, including some time with the ELCA Conference of Bishops in October. It will report its progress to the DCS and ELCA Division for Ministry boards and the Church Council. The task force will compile responses to "Journey Together Faithfully: Part Two" during the coming year and plans to distribute a final draft of its report beginning in January 2005, Childs said. Recommendations in the report will be acted on by the 2005 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. In 2004 the task force will also work on a draft of a social statement on human sexuality for the 2007 Churchwide Assembly. In a brief report to the council, Judy Biffle, Houston, council member and council representative to the studies, said the council must be prepared when the task force recommendations become public, and she suggested the possibility of a second report. "It is my feeling there is a potential that, for whatever recommendations there are, there could be a 'minority report,'" she said. "If that is the case, then what does the council do with that?" Council members asked several questions about the process of how boards, the council and the assembly will handle the recommendations, and whether the report can be amended. They also asked questions about what margin -- a two-thirds majority or simple majority -- is required for adoption of report recommendations. The Rev. Lowell G. Almen, ELCA secretary, said he cannot say now what margin is required because the answer relates to the type of recommendations and what they might require. Summer Meeting Canceled for 2004 To reduce spending in 2004, the council decided to cancel plans for a July meeting. In 2000 the council began a practice of holding a non-legislative meeting every other year -- during years in which there is no churchwide assembly -- to discuss important issues facing the church. In its action, the council affirmed the value of previous mid-summer meetings but called off next summer's meeting "as an expression of the Church Council's stewardship in view of the necessary reductions in churchwide expenditures." For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/news