ELCA NEWS SERVICE
April 23, 2007
ELCA Council Commends Report on Justice for Women
07-070-MRC
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) recommended that the 2007 ELCA
Churchwide Assembly commend the content of a report on justice
for women for study, reflection and response throughout the
church.
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 April 14-16.
Assemblies are held every other year; the next is here Aug. 6-11.
The ELCA's "Plan for Mission" places the responsibility and
accountability for gender justice throughout the whole churchwide
organization, and "we are together working hard to accomplish
living out this important commitment," Mary Streufert, director
for justice for women, ELCA Church in Society, reported to the
council.
Streufert said a great deal of her time is spent meeting
with leaders at the churchwide organization. "Together we are
engaged in a constant and evolving conversation about how gender
justice relates to and permeates all of the work we do," she
said.
Streufert also serves as chair of the ELCA Alliance for
Justice for Women, which exists to "fuse the work of justice for
women into the respective work of each unit and section of the
churchwide organization."
Citing examples of ways in which the churchwide organization
is already working on justice for women, Streufert said ELCA
"Global Mission has made a commitment to women's rights that cuts
across all programs, by which 50 percent of international
scholarships are given to women. In (ELCA) Vocation and
Education, a new position of consultant for misconduct prevention
has responsibility for clergy misconduct prevention."
"As called for by the 2005 Churchwide Assembly, the 2007
Churchwide Assembly will be receiving a report which details the
extensive work that is being done throughout the churchwide
organization to achieve this church's commitment to gender
justice," said Streufert.
ELCA Church in Society "is mandated to work to enable this
church to realize full participation for women, to create equal
opportunities for women of all cultures, to foster partnerships
between men and women, to assist this church to address sexism,
and to advocate justice for women in this church and society,"
Streufert told the council.
A possible key priority for the justice for women program is
to call for an ELCA social statement on gender justice, Streufert
said. "This reflects the profound recognition that the primary
response of this church to gender justice is a theological one,"
she said.
Adopted by ELCA churchwide assemblies, social statements are
social policy documents that address significant social issues.
"This church must be able to name sexism as a sin. In other
words, gender justice is a church issue, not a women's issue.
Therefore, important questions for this church to contemplate are
how do our church beliefs and practices serve either as a
hindrance or as a benefit to justice for women in church and
society, and how do our social policies and practices function
either as a hindrance or as a benefit to justice for women in
church and society," said Streufert.
In concluding her report, Streufert shared objectives of an
ELCA "invitation to action for justice for women." The
invitation includes a working definition of justice for women,
objectives -- which are to educate, advocate and lead -- and a
plan for how the objectives are to be addressed. Such plans will
be particular to each body of people who engage in gender
justice, she said.
"The justice for women program of ELCA Church in Society
challenges and works with the ELCA in all of its expressions to
eradicate sexism in this church and to promote gender justice in
society at large," she said, adding that "every member of the
ELCA is called to address the scandalous realities of sexism and
other forms of oppression."
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
