ELCA NEWS SERVICE May 27, 2004 ELCA Task Force on Education Organizes Study Materials 04-110-FI CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A task force developing a social statement on "a Lutheran vision of education for our time" for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) continued work on a draft study document and discussed the content of such supporting materials as the church's Web site. The ELCA Task Force on Education also met with specialists in children's education when it met here May 21-23. The 16-member task force of the ELCA Division for Church in Society worked on sections of a document designed to help the church's 10,721 congregations study basic principles and values of education. The task force plans to publish the study document before the end of 2004. "The challenge of the meeting was to define the scope and content of the study document further," said Dr. Paul J. Dovre, interim president, Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn., and task force co-chair. "We had some excellent material to work with, and this served as a useful springboard for our discussion. A number of helpful suggestions emerged regarding the structure, tone and content of the study as well as a work plan for the coming months," Dovre said. "We reviewed the early draft materials with an awareness of the breadth of our connections in education," said Christi Lines, principal, St. Paul's Lutheran School, Waverly, Iowa, and task force co-chair. "We were challenged to continue to focus the study to stimulate discussion and response from the church in a coherent, substantive way for a variety of audiences," she said. The Rev. Jerome Berryman, an Episcopal priest and director of the Center for the Theology of Childhood, Houston, Texas, presented "Children and Mature Spirituality." He spoke with the task force about education equipping children to become adults with childlike faith. Dr. Denise E. Shiver, educational psychologist, Houston, Texas, presented "Faith and Education: Some Thoughts." She said faith education for children must build interpersonal relationships; parents must be involved, and it must be fun. Dr. Beth Venzke, associate professor of psychology, Concordia University, River Forest, Ill., presented "Educating All Children." She said the way children are taught and the people who teach them can determine if racism will continue or be dismantled in the United States. The task force engaged Berryman, Shiver and Venzke in a panel discussion. The 2001 Churchwide Assembly of the ELCA called for the development of a social statement on education. DCS is responsible for conducting studies and developing the church's social statements for consideration by a churchwide assembly. The DCS board defined the four purposes of the possible social statement: + present a Lutheran vision of education for our time; + address issues of education and schooling for children and young people in our society, with attention to purpose and quality, equity and access for all, responsibilities, and religion's role in public schooling; + set forth an understanding of our church's own educational institutions (preschool, primary and secondary schools, and colleges and universities); and + consider our church's ministries in relation to public schools and universities and the vocation of Christians involved in education in different roles. The task force will develop three documents for the church: study materials for use in 2005, the first draft of a proposed social statement in 2006 and the proposed social statement on education for the ELCA Churchwide Assembly to consider in 2007. The next meeting of the task force will be here Sept. 10-12. -- -- -- Information about the work of the task force is at http://www.elca.org/dcs/studies/education/ on the ELCA Web site. For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/news