ELCA NEWS SERVICE
April 18, 2007
ELCA Council Commends Report on Multicultural Strategies
07-060-FI
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In 1987 the constituting convention of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) adopted the goal
"that within 10 years of its establishment its membership shall
include at least 10 percent people of color and/or primarily
language other than English." The ELCA Church Council received a
report on the church's continuing work to achieve that goal and
commended the report "for study, reflection and response."
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.
In 1987 the ELCA began with about 2 percent of its members
identified as "African American, American Indian and Alaska
Native, Asian or Hispanic." In 1997 about 2.13 percent of the
ELCA's members were "African American, Black, American Indian and
Alaska Native, Arab and Middle Eastern, Asian and Latino people,"
the report said.
The "Multicultural Ministry Strategy Report" of ELCA
Multicultural Ministries noted that as of December 2005 slightly
more than 3 percent of the ELCA's members were people of color or
whose primary language is other than English, while that can
describe about 33 percent of the U.S. population.
The Rev. Sherman G. Hicks, executive director, ELCA
Multicultural Ministries, reviewed that history in his report to
the council. "It's important that we not lose sight of the 10
percent goal but that we look at some of the other things that
are happening beside membership," he said.
All program units of the ELCA have been involved in work
around five multicultural ministry strategies, Hicks said,
pointing out that a recent restructuring of the churchwide
organization made Multicultural Ministry one of the program
units.
The report outlined progress on the African Descent Ministry
Strategy, the American Indian and Alaska Native Strategic Plan,
the Arab and Middle Eastern Ministry Strategy, the Asian and
Pacific Islander Ministry Strategy and the Latino Ministry
Strategy.
"Several units have called or hired staff in areas that
relate directly to issues that are identified in the strategies,"
the report said. "This is a very hopeful sign as each of the
program units takes on a more direct responsibility for the
implementation of the strategies."
Despite the goals, strategies and efforts of the church,
"the ELCA has made very modest progress in becoming a more
multicultural church," the report said. "Without a significant
change in the commitment and practices of all the expressions of
the ELCA, this church will continue to go without the gifts of
people of color or whose primary language is other than English,"
it said.
Changes in the churchwide organization "show a renewed
desire for results and give hope that in the future more
significant accomplishments toward becoming a more inclusive
church can be reported," the report concluded.
The Church Council agreed to transmit the report to the
ELCA's 2007 Churchwide Assembly, and it thanked ELCA
Multicultural Ministries and an interunit staff team on ethnic
ministry strategies.
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Information about Multicultural Ministries is at
http://www.ELCA.org/multicultural/ on the ELCA Web site.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
