ELCA NEWS SERVICE

November 14, 2005

Lutheran Leaders Focus on Joint Ministries, Theological Discussions
05-216-JB

     BALTIMORE (ELCA) -- Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA) and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
(LCMS) focused on joint ministries in international relief and
development, welfare of refugees and human services here at their
semiannual meeting.  They also discussed an upcoming round of
dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church.
     In the second of this year's annual meetings of the
"Committee on Lutheran Cooperation," leaders of the two
denominations discussed their common interests and concerns Oct.
28 here at the Lutheran Center at Christ Church.
     A significant portion of the four-hour meeting was devoted
to discussion with leaders of three pan-Lutheran agencies:
Lutheran World Relief (LWR), an overseas relief and development
agency; Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), which
with the ELCA, LCMS and Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church,
deals with issues of immigration and refugees; and Lutheran
Services in America (LSA), an umbrella organization through which
a large network of Lutheran social service agencies relate to
each other and to the world.  All three agencies are based here.
     A strong "biblical and reformation heritage" is what
motivates Lutherans to be engaged in social service, such as
resettlement of refugees and immigration matters, said Ralston H.
Deffenbaugh Jr., LIRS president.  He noted that the agency's
roots were in service to Lutherans displaced as a result of World
War II.  In the 1950s the agency expanded its work worldwide, he
said.  Currently LIRS is concerned with comprehensive immigration
reform and the impact of the Sept. 11 terror attacks on refugees
and migrants seeking asylum in the United States, Deffenbaugh
said.  More than half of the refugees LIRS resettles are Muslim,
he added.
     About 1 in 50 U.S. citizens is served by LSA-related
agencies. Lutheran agencies are "grass-roots expressions of
faith," said Jill A. Schumann, LSA president.  "The agencies
provide such an opportunity for witness," she said.   Among its
current activities, LSA is helping to facilitate the response of
social ministry organizations to the needs of people displaced by
Gulf Coast hurricanes.  Early next year it will conduct an online
auction, "Trading Graces," to raise funds for social ministry
work and awareness.
     LWR provides a "place of interaction between the church and
public sphere," said Kathryn F. Wolford, LWR president.  "We do
ask the church to go into places that ... may be uncomfortable
for the church," she said.  In 2005 LWR has worked in the wake of
the Dec. 26, 2005, tsunami in southern Asia, addressed
humanitarian concerns in African nations such as Niger and Sudan,
and more recently has provided service following the severe
earthquake that struck Asia on Oct. 8, most notably in Pakistan.
     The Rev. Gerald B. Kieschnick, LCMS president, said the
conversation about the joint ministries was "most intriguing,"
and noted that LCMS members don't normally talk about joint
service and advocacy.
     "I am absolutely convinced that Lutheran theology has the
potential to impact the world in a huge way," he said.  "I also
grieve that internal struggles of our church bodies weaken us."
     Kieschnick added that there is reason to rejoice that
Lutherans can seize opportunities to do meaningful work in the
world together, and he said he yearns for greater involvement on
the part of people in the pews to do hands-on ministry.
     The Lutheran agencies are key to helping the United States
understand what kind of nation it will be in serving others in
the world, said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop.
"We cannot let internal issues divide us when it comes to
providing food and housing.  Only in our collective capacity can
we take on the massive responsibility of ending hunger in the
world," he said.
     The greatest challenge the Lutheran agencies have is to
"help us understand your work in our own local context" Hanson
told the agency leaders.

LCMS to join in new round of Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue
     The Rev. Samuel H. Nafzger, executive director, LCMS
Commission on Theology and Church Relations, thanked the ELCA for
working to include two LCMS participants in a new round of
Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue to begin in December.  Nafzger
raised the possibility with the ELCA of including LCMS
participants when the committee met this past April in Chicago.
     The 11th round of the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue in
the United States is expected to take up the topic "Hope for
Eternal Life," said the Rev. Randall R. Lee, executive, ELCA
Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations.
     Hanson reported that he was to meet Pope Benedict XVI at the
Vatican on Nov. 7.  One item Hanson said he discussed with staff
is how Lutherans and Roman Catholics will observe the 500th
anniversary of the Reformation in 2017.  An idea suggested by
Vatican leaders is that there be a two-year observance from 2015
to 2017, Hanson said.  Hanson also told the LCMS leaders that he
hoped they could participate in such an observance.

Denominational updates
     + The LCMS placed 180 seminarians in congregations and
ministries this year, but enrollments at seminaries in Fort Wayne
and St. Louis are down, Kieschnick said.
     + LCMS congregations in the Southern District have been
connected with congregations in other districts for ongoing
support in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Kieschnick
said.  Partners, including LCMS World Relief, are providing
resources and are "trying to keep those folks (in hurricane-
affected areas) whole, which is no small challenge," Kieschnick
said.  The LCMS Southern District office has been moved from New
Orleans to Baton Rouge, and district staff is working to recover
from serious personal losses, he said.
     + Kieschnick said the LCMS is trying to raise $100 million
in a fund-raising campaign, "Fan Into Flame," aimed at
supplementing synod ministries at the local, national and
international level.  It is also trying to raise $400 million for
the Concordia higher education system; about $120 million has
been raised so far, Kieschnick said.
     + Carlos Pena, ELCA vice president, highlighted some
decisions made at the 2005 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Orlando,
including implementation of a Middle East strategy, adoption of
plans for new worship resources, adoption of two ethnic-specific
ministry strategies, and decisions on matters related to
homosexuality.
     The ELCA has expressed relief and gratitude for the
decisions made at the assembly, Hanson said, summarizing some of
the comments he's heard since the assembly ended.  "The majority
think we did the work we were called to do," Hanson said.
     A task force that worked on the ELCA sexuality proposals
will have some new members and new leadership as it moves into a
new phase of its work -- drafting a possible social statement on
sexuality due to be considered at the 2009 Churchwide Assembly,
he said.
     + Both churches reported receiving considerable financial
gifts from members in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
More than $10 million was given to the LCMS, said Ronald Schultz,
administrative officer, LCMS board of directors.  The ELCA
received more than $14 million, said the Rev. Charles S. Miller,
ELCA executive for administration and executive assistant to the
ELCA presiding bishop.  Both Schultz and Miller reported each
church's financial status to be good.
     CLC participants from the ELCA were: the Rev. Lowell G.
Almen, ELCA secretary; Hanson; the Rev. Randall R. Lee,
executive, ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations; the
Rev. Charles S. Miller, ELCA executive for administration and
executive assistant to the presiding bishop; Carlos Pena, ELCA
vice president, Galveston, Texas; the Rev. E. Roy Riley Jr.,
bishop, ELCA New Jersey Synod, and chair, ELCA Conference of
Bishops, Hamilton Square, N.J.  Almen, Hanson, Lee and Miller are
from Chicago.
     CLC participants the LCMS were: the Rev. William R.
Diekelman, LCMS first vice president; the Rev. Raymond L.
Hartwig, LCMS secretary; the Rev. C. William Hoesman, chair, LCMS
Council of Presidents and president of the LCMS Michigan
District, Ann Arbor, Mich.; the Rev. Gerald B. Kieschnick, LCMS
president; Dr. Samuel H. Nafzger, executive director, LCMS
Commission on Theology and Church Relations; Ronald P. Schultz,
LCMS chief administrative officer. Diekelman, Hartwig,
Kieschnick, Nafzger  and Schultz are from St. Louis.
     The committee's next meeting will be April 7, 2006, in
Chicago.

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