ELCA NEWS SERVICE November 1, 2004 ELCA Board Approves Education Study, GMO Resolution, Issue Papers 04-206-FI CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Church in Society (DCS) authorized the printing and distribution of a study document on education, approved a draft policy resolution on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and commended three issue papers on corporate social responsibility. Board members toured four social ministry organizations and received reports during their meeting here Oct. 21-23. The DCS board authorized the printing and distribution of "Our Calling in Education: A Lutheran Study." In 2003 the board appointed the 16-member task force that prepared the study document. It charged the task force with developing a proposed social statement that will "present a Lutheran vision of education for our time." "As an academic at a church-related school, I know portions of that (study) will be very helpful to our church-related colleges and universities as we talk about what it means to be the church in higher education," said the Rev. James B. Martin- Schramm, DCS board chair and associate professor of religion, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa. Noting that the ELCA is involved in every aspect of private education and in the campus ministries of public schools, Martin- Schramm said, "This study document will really help members of our church think in a deeper level and theological level about what we are engaged in with regard to education." Our Calling in Education will be available in print and at http://www.elca.org/socialstatements/education/ on the ELCA Web site in early 2005. ELCA members are to study the document and return their comments on the study to the task force by Oct. 1, 2005. The task force plans to prepare a first draft of the proposed social statement for distribution at the beginning of 2006. After a comment period on the first draft, the task force will issue a final draft in early 2007 for possible consideration by the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in August 2007. The churchwide assembly is the church's chief legislative authority. The DCS board approved the social policy resolution "Genetically Modified Organisms in the Food Supply" and recommended that the ELCA Church Council adopt it at its Nov. 11-15 meeting here. The council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as the legislative authority of the church between biennial churchwide assemblies. GMOs are plants and non-human animals that have been manipulated at the genetic level by biotechnology. Martin- Schramm said the ELCA's advocacy efforts at the federal and state levels can use the guidance of the social policy resolution, especially as ethicists discuss the place of GMOs in the human food chain. "The fact is that genetically modified organisms are a significant element in modern agricultural production, and this church needs to be ahead of the curve on that so we can better engage in advocacy efforts about that," Martin-Schramm said. "I think we have crafted a document that will do that." The DCS board recommended that the ELCA Church Council approve three issue papers on corporate social responsibility: "Domestic Access to Capital," "Domestic Access to Health Care" and "Extractive Industries." Through an advisory committee, DCS counsels various institutions of the church and shareholders about the social records of corporations in which they hold stock. Issue papers provide boundaries for voting proxies and filing shareholder resolutions. The DCS board discussed two draft proposals -- one to redesign the churchwide organization and the other to revamp the church's governance. Martin-Schramm said the board forwarded "constructive and helpful advice" to the council as it considers both proposals. In 2003 the council asked the DCS board to review the "Policies and Procedures of the ELCA for Addressing Social Concerns" and provide the council with possible recommendations in November 2004. The DCS board decided to recommend the church "postpone making changes in 'Policies and Procedures of the ELCA for Addressing Social Concerns' until after the 2005 churchwide assembly's anticipated action on the governance structure of the churchwide organization." Martin-Schramm said one of the most important parts of the meeting did not involve a vote but was a board development session that divided the board members into four groups, each touring a different Lutheran social ministry organization in the Chicago area: + Advocate Health Care, Oak Brook, Ill. + Bethel New Life, Inc., Chicago + Lutheran Home and Services, Arlington Heights, Ill. + Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, Des Plaines "Part of our job as the board of the Division for Church in Society is to be aware of how our church, in all of its expressions, is engaged as the church in society," Martin-Schramm said. "My colleagues were very impressed with the professionalism of all of those endeavors and impressed by the number of people who are served by our church through those institutions," he said. "It's always encouraging to see where we are actively engaged in providing high quality ministry." The DCS board also received a report on the ELCA Studies on Sexuality. DCS and the ELCA Division for Ministry oversee the work of a task force preparing a report and recommendations related to homosexuality for the 2005 Churchwide Assembly. The report and recommendations will become public January 13. The Rev. James M. Childs Jr., director of the ELCA Studies on Sexuality, will move into an advisory role and return to teaching at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio, early next year. The task force will continue on a new phase of its work, to develop a social statement on human sexuality for consideration by the 2007 Churchwide Assembly. The Rev. Kaari M. Reierson and Roger A. Willer, both with DCS, will provide staff support for the task force's work. -- -- -- The home page of the Division for Church in Society is at http://www.elca.org/dcs/ on the ELCA Web site. For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/news