ELCA NEWS SERVICE
March 10, 2006
ELCA Presiding Bishop Reviews Churchwide, Global Joys, Concerns
06-035-JB
LAKE GENEVA, Wis. (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson,
presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA) and president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF),
reviewed a variety of joys and concerns in his March 4 report
here to the ELCA Conference of Bishops. He offered several
observations about what is happening throughout the ELCA, the
reorganization of the ELCA churchwide organization, concerns
about the current political situation in Israel and the West
Bank, and his experiences at the recent World Council of Churches
Assembly in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
The ELCA Conference of Bishops is an advisory body of the
church, consisting of the ELCA's 65 synod bishops, presiding
bishop and secretary. It met here March 2-7.
Hanson is leader of the 4.9 million-member ELCA, based in
Chicago, and the 66-million member LWF, a global communion of
Lutheran churches based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Hanson reported his activities in each of five "spheres" of
his work as presiding bishop.
+ Synods and congregations: Hanson said the theme of this
work is "a gospel-centered, mission-minded church tending to a
diverse and changing context."
"The reality of that topic consumes most of my time," Hanson
said. He asked the bishops to think about what it means to be a
"contextual church in a Lutheran key" and what it means to be
evangelical."
"I think we are culturally shy about that word
(evangelical), and we don't claim it," he said.
The 65 ELCA synods usually meet annually in assembly. This
year Hanson's synod assembly video presentation will focus on
each of the words in "Evangelical Lutheran Church in America," a
condensed version of his report to the 2005 Churchwide Assembly
in Orlando, Fla. "It has been fun to talk about this in
congregations," he added.
+ Institutions and agencies: A theme of this work is
"stewarding our ecology of our interdependence," Hanson said.
Hanson was a keynote speaker at the "Connecting Institutions"
conference in Florida that highlighted relationships between the
church and Lutheran institutions and agencies.
A deepening interdependence of the church with Lutheran
institutions and agencies "is the biggest change I have seen in
my time as presiding bishop," Hanson said.
+ Churchwide organization: The churchwide staff is both
"gifted and focused," Hanson said. In recent years, he said, the
staff has been distracted by the ELCA Studies on Sexuality, a
downturn in income to the organization, layoffs, restructuring
and the "unknowns" that come with reorganizing.
"We are now on the other side of that. We are now claiming
the gifts of this wonderful staff, and we are focused on the
mission," Hanson said.
"The greatest challenge we face now is: What are we not
going to do so we can be focused? I need your help to determine
what we're going to disengage from," he told the conference.
+ Public arena: Hanson said the theme of this area of his
work is "possibilities and ambiguities." The ELCA has much work
to do in the area of moral deliberation, he said.
"We are still a long way from determining how a congregation
can be a place of moral deliberation," Hanson said. The ELCA has
for too long bought into the idea that a normal congregation is
one that is "tension-free," he said. Hanson said it can be
healthy for a congregation to discuss issues that may result in
disagreements, and it must learn to deal with such issues in a
constructive way.
+ Ecumenical and global church relationships: "This is a
high-stakes time" in the Middle East, Hanson said, noting the
"complexity" of the Hamas victory in the Palestinian elections
and the upcoming Israeli elections. Hanson quoted the Rev. Munib
A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan
and the Holy Land, who said the future of Christianity in the
Middle East is at stake, the presiding bishop said.
In the region "we need to continue to be engaged in a
humanitarian way," Hanson said.
In addition the future of Augusta Victoria Hospital in East
Jerusalem is important to the future of the region, Hanson said.
The hospital, operated by the LWF, is part of a court case in
which the Israeli government is seeking payment of employer's
taxes. The hospital has been exempt from the tax since 1967.
Hanson said the case is now scheduled to be heard by an appeals
court in May. This week several Lutheran partners, including the
ELCA, were represented at a consultation on the hospital
situation in Geneva.
Hanson offered some comments on the WCC assembly from which
he returned last week. Highlights were a presentation by the
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams on "Christian Identity
and Religious Pluralism," small group Bible studies and
conversations on current and emerging ecumenical and global
issues, Hanson said. Disappointments were "the unwillingness of
this significant gathering of Christian churches to engage fully
what the rise of Islam in its varied expressions means for us and
this world" and "woeful silence" on HIV/AIDS, suffering and
conflicts in the world, he said.
Hanson led the conference through discussions on the
situation in the ELCA Grand Canyon Synod, where Michael Neils
resigned as bishop last month because of misconduct. The Rev.
Alton Zenker, former bishop of the ELCA Central-Southern Illinois
Synod, is serving as interim bishop. Several local meetings have
been set with synod pastors to discuss concerns and the election
process for a new bishop, Zenker reported. The election will
take place at the synod's assembly May 24-26, and Zenker will
remain as interim bishop until Aug. 1. Installation of the new
bishop is scheduled for Aug. 20.
Zenker expressed the synod's appreciation to the churchwide
staff for its help during the transition and to conference
members for their expressions of support.
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
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