ELCA NEWS SERVICE

March 16, 2004

ELCA Ministry Board Discusses Vision, Future Work
04-042-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA) Division for Ministry did not have many
items on which to vote when it met here March 12-14, so its
members took the opportunity to engage in detailed discussions of
issues surrounding the division's current and future work, said
the board's chair, the Rev. Robert J. Karli, First English
Lutheran Church, Austin, Texas.
     The board affirmed a vision statement for the division that
it adopted provisionally in October.  The division based its
statement on the ELCA's strategic directions, which the church's
chief legislative authority, its churchwide assembly, approved in
August.
     Building on its vision statement, the board organized itself
into three committees, in addition to its executive committee:
invitation and discernment, theological education, and servant
leadership.  Karli called the new committee structure "more
efficient" and said the work of the division's staff was
reorganized into those three areas.
     Board members entered into small-group discussions at two
points in their meeting -- once to discuss the ELCA's process to
restructure its churchwide organization and once to talk about
the church's studies on human sexuality that the division is
conducting with the ELCA Division for Church in Society.
     On restructuring, comments from the small groups were
submitted in writing to those working on possible models for a
new churchwide structure, Karli said.  "It's safe to say there
was a strong feeling that there is a need for some
restructuring," he said, adding that it is equally important to
strengthen ties between the churchwide structure and the other
expressions of the church.
     "Overall I think these small groups said that what we do is
pretty critical and foundational to the life of the ELCA and
probably cannot be parceled out to other divisions," Karli said.
The work of the division must be done by a single churchwide
unit, he said.
     Churchwide assemblies are held every other year; the next
assembly will be Aug. 8-14, 2005, in Orlando, Fla.  The 2001
assembly mandated a study in preparation for decisions the 2005
assembly is to make regarding the blessing of committed same-
gender relationships and the ministries of people in such
relationships.  In addition, the study is to develop a proposed
social statement on human sexuality for the assembly to consider
in 2007.
     Current ELCA policy expects ministers to refrain from all
sexual relations outside marriage.  The church has no official
policy on blessing same-gender relationships.  The ELCA
Conference of Bishops, an advisory body of the church, stated it
does not approve of such ceremonies.
     The Rev. James M. Childs Jr., director for the ELCA studies
on sexuality, reported to the board on the progress of the study
process.  A task force helped develop two study guides and is
collecting responses to that material from across the church.  It
plans to use those responses to draft a report and
recommendations to the 2005 churchwide assembly.
     In small groups, Division for Ministry board members
considered several questions related to the study and to
circumstances surrounding the decisions the church plans to make
in 2005.  The questions included:  "On what basis do we maintain
the unity of the church?  At what costs?"
     "There was not an attempt to reach a consensus," Karli said.
Summarizing what he had heard from board members, he said that
"the unity of the church is a very important thing and yet the
unity of the church is not absolutely the essential thing."
     "We recognize that we may not agree on everything and that
maintaining total unity may not be a possibility," Karli said.
He said an overarching question was: "How do we within the ELCA
manage to disagree respectfully with one another and still remain
within the ELCA?"
     When introducing Childs' report to the board, the Rev.
Stanley N. Olson, executive director of the Division for
Ministry, said a published commentary on a Texas court case
concluded by calling for Childs' resignation as director of the
studies.
     Olson expressed his appreciation for Childs' work with the
task force and across the church.  "Childs has received some
personal attacks and has handled them with grace," he said.  The
call for Childs' resignation is "a complete 'non sequitur' for
me," he said.
     "I want to express my absolute and complete confidence in
Jim," Olson said.  Speaking on behalf of the Rev. Rebecca S.
Larson, executive director of the Division for Church in Society,
ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson and himself, Olson said he
wanted and expected Childs to continue his work as director of
the studies.
     Later, Karli said, "As board chair, I have complete
confidence in Jim continuing in his role."  He added that he was
certain that Childs has the complete support of the division's
board.
     After the meeting adjourned, board members took part in a
two-day anti-racism training session.

Honoring SELECT Founder
     The division's board and staff honored the work of the Rev.
Norman E. Wegmeyer, who retired Feb. 29 as director of SELECT, a
continuing theological education program of the ELCA.  SELECT
provides videotapes and related readings to assist small group
discussions for clergy and lay leaders.  It is based at Trinity
Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio, one of the eight ELCA
seminaries.
     Wegmeyer started SELECT in 1984 with the purpose of
supporting basic continuing education for professional leaders in
the church.  Initial offerings included continuing biblical,
confessional and historical study, and work with preaching,
worship, evangelism, stewardship and youth ministry.
     "Think about where we were in the early 1980s:  the church
was just discovering and exploring the uses of this thing called
the VCR.  Norm helped us develop the creative vision of using
this new technology to engage in theological education," said the
Rev. Richard J. Bruesehoff, director for leadership support, ELCA
Division for Ministry.
     "During these past 20 years he has kept the focus of SELECT
on theological education as something communities of people do
together, and he has helped us sharpen the vision of using SELECT
to make theological education accessible and affordable to those
who are often on the edges of the church because of where they
live or the ethnic community of which they are a member,"
Bruesehoff said.
     Karli said it was important for the church to recognize
Wegmeyer's ministry and how it has evolved over the past 20
years.  He noted that many individuals, congregations and clergy
of the ELCA know SELECT and have used the educational videotape
ministry for their continuing education.
-- -- --
     The Division for Ministry has a home page at
http://www.elca.org/dm/ on the ELCA Web site.  Information about
SELECT is at http://www.elca.org/dm/select on that site.

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