ELCA NEWS SERVICE

March 19, 2008  

ELCA Bishops Learn About Christian Zionism, Discuss Other Matters
08-033-JB

     SAN MATEO, Calif. (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America (ELCA) has something vital to say about Christian
Zionism, said the Rev. Robert O. Smith, director, Europe/Middle
East Continental Desk, ELCA Global Mission.  Smith spoke March 8
to the ELCA Conference of Bishops.
     The Conference of Bishops is an advisory body of the church,
consisting of the ELCA's 65 synod bishops, presiding bishop and
secretary.  The conference met here March 6-11.
     Smith's presentation was part of the conference's
preparation for a 2009 visit to Israel and the West Bank. The
bishops' Middle East visit is part of the ELCA's "Strategy for
Engagement of Israel and Palestine," which calls for learning
about the situation there, building relationships and advocating
for a just peace in the region.
     Christian Zionism is a "politically mobilized strand of
Christian fundamentalism" committed to preserving Jewish control
over all of historic Palestine, Smith said. The movement places
the State of Israel, and often the United States, "at the center
of God's purposes for the end of the age," he told the bishops.
Biblical references in the books of Joel and Genesis are used to
justify the movement's claims, Smith said.
     Christian Zionism "anticipates the destruction of all
persons not adhering to its ideology," Smith said. "It is not a
vision of hope. It is a vision of injustice."
     Smith argued that Christian Zionism is dehumanizing to
Palestinians and Jews.  He also reminded the conference that a
2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly action called for increased
engagement with conservative Christians, and a clearer and more
forceful expression of Lutheran theology in the public debate on
such matters.
     When the ELCA engages Jewish-Christian relations, the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Christian Zionism, "we must
remember our call to a ministry of reconciliation -- one that
fosters reconciliation between neighbors whom we are called to
serve and love," Smith said.
     "We are not called to be political pundits just to argue one
point to win the point.  That is not our call. Instead, we are
called to be peace builders, and that means the task to which we
are called is far more difficult.  We are called to engage our
friends on all sides of this conflict, and there are more than
two sides to this conflict."
     Lutherans must speak to Christian Zionism in an authentic,
distinctive way but not in a "triumphalistic" way, Smith said.
     In January 2009 conference members, accompanied by some
staff, will visit the Middle East for their annual academy. A few
synod bishops and the presiding bishop will begin Jan. 3-5 with a
visit Jordan.  They will be joined by other conference members
Jan. 5-14 for visits to Israeli and Palestinian government
officials, and Middle East church leaders, as well as support for
the leaders and members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Jordan and the Holy Land.
     The conference also heard about and discussed other matters:
     + Christina Jackson-Skelton, ELCA treasurer, reported that
2007 was a year of positive financial results for the churchwide
organization.  Current operating revenue was $83.3 million, up
$300,000 from 2006, she wrote in her report. Expenses were up
$1.2 million to $80.8 million for 2007.  Mission support funds
from congregations through synods were $66.1 million, up $500,000
from 2006, the second consecutive year mission-support funds
increased, Jackson-Skelton wrote.  Total operating income was up
for the fourth consecutive year, she reported, adding that
contributions to the general ELCA World Hunger Appeal for 2007
were $21.3 million, a new high.
     + The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, said he
hoped that the ELCA won't be silent about immigration, as the
presidential candidates seem to be. "We have wonderful statements
on immigration, and they need to frame our conversation and our
contribution," he said.
     Hanson also said the ELCA's expression of regret for
statements about Anabaptists has had "a profound impact on the
Mennonite community as a gesture of repentance" that has opened
conversations between the ELCA and the Mennonites. In 2006 the
ELCA Church Council rejected past statements attributed to early
Lutheran church reformers and expressed "its deep and abiding
sorrow and regret for the persecution and suffering visited upon
the Anabaptists during the religious disputes of the past."
     + A new ELCA Web site will be online April 28, said Kristi
S. Bangert, executive director, ELCA Communication Services. The
current ELCA Web site logs about 36,000 individual visits per day
and 192,000 page views per day, she said.
     + Fourteen regional conferences are planned to discuss care
for military personnel returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, said
the Rev. Darrell D. Morton, assistant to the ELCA presiding
bishop for federal chaplaincy ministries.  He said there are 82
active-duty military chaplains, compared to about 115 four years
ago.  Morton attributed the drop in chaplains to retirements,
adding that "the need is no less, and we need these young
pastors."
     + Augsburg Fortress, the Minneapolis-based ELCA publishing
ministry, posted a $2.5 million profit for 2007, said Beth A.
Lewis, president and chief executive officer.  A significant
factor is sales of Evangelical Lutheran Worship, an ELCA worship
resource introduced in 2006.  About 960,000 copies of the pew
edition have been sold, she said.  The publisher is planning to
put income for 2006 and 2007 into the publishing ministry, Lewis
said.
     + Testing will begin soon for an ELCA Mobility Database
Project, said the Rev. Stanley J. Meyer, project director.
Meyer, who serves as assistant to the bishop, ELCA Northern Texas-
Northern Louisiana Synod, Dallas, said the online database will
be a tool and resource that synods can use as they pursue their
call-process work. Forms and a Web site are expected to be
approved and functional by November 2008, he said.


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