ELCA NEWS SERVICE

November 19, 2003

ELCA Council Learns Presiding Bishop to Visit National Leaders Dec. 2
03-210-JB

     CHARLOTTE, N.C. (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding
bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), will
be among the leaders of an  ecumenical and interfaith group in
meetings Dec. 2 with members of Congress in Washington, D.C.  The
religious leaders will voice their "desire for a more active role
by the U.S. government in seeking peace in the Middle East,"
Hanson told the ELCA Church Council.
     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.
     In his report to the council, Hanson said the meetings in
Washington will include Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders.
The group plans to present a statement of "common convictions" to
elected national leaders about the Middle East, he said. A news
conference with Hanson, who will be a lead spokesperson, and
other religious leaders is planned for Dec. 2.
     The meetings are being organized through "Walk the Road to
Peace," a new national, multi-faith campaign organized to support
the Road Map to Peace in the Middle East. Walk the Road to Peace
was "initiated by American Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders
united to support peace and security for Israelis and
Palestinians," according to the program's Web site.
     Among those coordinating the meetings is the Lutheran Office
for Governmental Affairs, the ELCA's federal public policy office
in Washington, D.C.
     Hanson also reported on two days of meetings involving
leadership of the ELCA and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
(LCMS) in Baltimore.  The first part of the meeting, Nov. 11,
involved the presentation of papers on two subjects.
     ELCA leaders asked LCMS leaders to explain why the 2001 LCMS
general convention affirmed a statement made by the late Rev.
A.L. Barry, LCMS president.  The convention said the LCMS could
not consider the ELCA "to be an orthodox Lutheran church body."
     LCMS leaders asked ELCA leaders to explain how the ELCA
could enter into full communion relationships with Episcopal,
Moravian and Reformed churches, Hanson said.
     The Rev. Timothy J. Wengert, professor of Reformation
history, Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, prepared
and presented the ELCA's paper.  The Rev. Raymond L. Hartwig,
LCMS secretary, prepared and presented the LCMS' paper.
     LCMS leaders expressed some surprise "that we take so
seriously our [Lutheran] confessions in entering into our full
communion agreements," Hanson said. "They also seemed surprised
that we took seriously the resolution declaring us non-orthodox."
     Leaders of both churches will continue their conversations
at a meeting in St. Louis in April, Hanson said.  He
characterized the conversations as "respectful, thoughtful,
theological discussions."
     On Nov. 12, leaders of both churches met again to exchange
information about current happenings in each church and met with
leaders of cooperative ELCA and LCMS ministries such as Lutheran
World Relief, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, Lutheran
Disaster Response and Lutheran Services in America, which are
based in Baltimore.
     "I feel very strongly about our cooperative efforts," Hanson
said.  In December a study will be presented to LCMS leadership
in St. Louis about cooperative ministries, and an ELCA
representative has been invited to address the group, Hanson
said.
     Hanson also addressed a number of other topics of interest:
     + The ELCA, through its Department for Ecumenical Affairs,
will enter into a formal theological dialogue with
representatives of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
     + The Rev. Randall R. Lee, director of the ELCA Department
for Ecumenical Affairs and assistant to the presiding bishop, was
elected to a four-year term as a vice president at large of the
National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. (NCC), at a
recent NCC convention in Jackson, Miss.
     + Hanson completed visits with all 65 ELCA synods at the end
of October.  The presiding bishop began making personal visits
with leaders and members in each ELCA synod shortly after he
became presiding bishop in November 2001.  Hanson said it was
"wonderful to spend two years out in 65 synods."  The church, he
said, remains "deeply concerned" about the 2005 Churchwide
Assembly at which decisions will be made about the possibility of
ordaining people who are gay and lesbian and in committed
homosexual relationships, and the possibility of developing a
policy on blessings of same-gender relationships.
     + He urged council members "to pray for my colleagues" in
the churchwide organization.  Staff is experiencing budget
reductions that impact jobs and programs, and faces a
reorganization of the churchwide structure in the coming year.
Hanson announced that the Rev. Mark R. Moller-Gunderson,
coordinator for mission support and executive director, ELCA
Division for Congregational Ministries, will be leaving the
churchwide staff.  Moller-Gunderson has accepted a call to serve
on the staff at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Lake Geneva, Wis.
-- -- --
Information about "Walk the Road to Peace" can be found at
http://www.walktheroadtopeace.org/about.htm on the Web.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news