ELCA Department for Communication, News & Information
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HEADLINES FOR ELCA NEWS RELEASE ISSUE #28, November 22,
1995
-- ELCA BISHOPS CONCERNED ABOUT ECUMENISM
-- FINANCES PLEASE LUTHERAN COUNCIL
November 22, 1995
ELCA BISHOPS CONCERNED ABOUT ECUMENISM
95-28-87-AH
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America affirmed the church's commitment to
ecumenism and compiled a list of "concerns" related to proposals
involving the Episcopal and Reformed churches. They expressed
support for the planned mutual lifting of 16th
century condemnations with the Roman Catholic Church.
The 65 synodical bishops, meeting here Nov. 14-19, presented their
concerns to the Rev. H. George Anderson, bishop of the ELCA.
Anderson serves as chief ecumenical officer of the church.
Nine concerns are directed to the ELCA itself, others are related to
the Episcopal-Lutheran and the Lutheran-Reformed agreements. The
ELCA is scheduled to vote in 1997 on entering into "full communion" with
the Episcopal Church and three churches of the Reformed tradition: the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Reformed Church in America, and United
Church of Christ.
The bishops' overarching question was "Does the adoption of the
proposals serve the mission of the Church?" Next the bishops asked
about the possible need for a written statement on the principle of
justification for use in ecumenical dialogue. They expressed concern
about the impact of the agreements on Lutheran identity and the
correlation "between faith and practice."
The characteristics of "full communion" defined in the ELCA Statement
on Ecumenism should be reviewed, the bishops said. At issue is the
ELCA's acceptance of pastors who do not subscribe to the Augsburg
Confession. Striving for language consistent with the ELCA's Statement
on Ecumenism, the bishops proposed that in defining full communion the
term "availability of ordained
ministers" be used rather than the proposed "interchangeability" of
clergy.
Issues related to full communion with the Episcopal Church included
how the Episcopal principle of bishops retaining their office for life will
affect the ELCA's election process, and how to reconcile the three-fold
ministry of the Episcopal Church that calls for ordained pastors, deacons
and bishops with the Lutheran concept of one office of ordained
ministry.
The Episcopal-Lutheran coordinating committee is asked to give
attention to the three-fold ministry issue, ways the decisions of the ELCA
Study of Ministry can be integrated into the agreement, and how the
Porvoo agreement among Lutheran and Anglican churches in Northern
Europe and Scandinavia fits in.
The bishops' concerns related to full communion with the Reformed
churches started with their "desire to vote separately on each of the
three" relationships, followed by a specific concern about the
congregational nature of the United Church of Christ and its effect on
that church's decision making.
The bishops asked about the role of the Leuenberg Agreement among
Lutheran and Reformed churches in Europe. Do the three Reformed
churches in the United States have "full communion" with each other,
and how is that defined? What is the deadline for final formulations of
these resolutions?
The Rev. Karen Bloomquist, Division for Church in Society (DCS),
reported from the ELCA's Task Force on Economic Life on progress
toward a social statement. Bloomquist said, "It appears this is a topic
about which a wide spectrum of ELCA members have deep and abiding
concerns, expressing desire for more attention to these issues from a
faith perspective."
While Bloomquist outlined a plan for drafting and producing a
document on economic life that would be offered to the ELCA's 1997
Churchwide Assembly, several bishops urged a longer time line. Later in
the bishops' meeting, DCS staff announced that they will recommend to
the DCS board that the time line be extended to 1999.
The Rev. James E. Bennett, bishop of the Southwestern Texas
Synod, spoke of the "good that comes from the struggle." He advised,
"Give it more time. There is no need to rush toward 1997." The Rev.
Paul W. Egertson, Southern California (West) Synod, agreed, citing the
ecumenism proposals and study of sacramental practices that will face
ELCA voting members in 1997.
The Rev. James E. Sudbrock, Metropolitan New York Synod, appealed
for another way, if not a social statement, for the church to "help us
understand that what happens to the poor happens to all of us. We are
all affected by what is happening to our society, and the church is
responsible for creating community."
Anderson told the conference he would come to its March 1996
meeting prepared to discuss a churchwide assembly action regarding "a
caring welcome for gay and lesbian persons."
The Rev. Charles H. Maahs, bishop of the Central States Synod
(Shawnee Mission, Kans.) was elected chairman of the Conference of
Bishops for four years; the Rev. Peter Rogness of the Greater
Milwaukee Synod will be the vice-chair.
##########
November 22, 1995
FINANCES PLEASE LUTHERAN COUNCIL
95-28-98-FI
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Church Council members of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America had a new experience at their Nov. 17-20
meeting here. "For one of the first times ever we were able to celebrate
the report from the budget and finance committee," said Kathy J. Magnus
of Denver, ELCA vice president and Church Council chair.
Between Feb. 1 and Sept. 30 churchwide operations experienced
increased revenues and decreased expenses, compared to the same
period in 1994. "Receipts for the eight-month period totaled $47,217,000
compared with $46,095,000 in 1994, an increase of $1,122,000 or 2.4
percent," said the finance report.
Cutting expenses resulted in a $1 million balance for the period rather
than the $1 million deficit experienced in 1994. "That's a very different
result than what we've had to work with over these last eight years,"
said Magnus.
"Entering into this new responsibility has been an adventure of prayer
and discovery," said Bishop H. George Anderson in his first report to the
Church Council. The prayer stems from the overwhelming feeling of
inadequacy in the face of duties that extend beyond any one person's
capabilities, he said. "At the
same time, there are many expressions of support and promises of
prayer, which make the tasks into opportunities of grace."
Anderson said ELCA documents contain no clear provision for
long-range planning, and he has spent time trying to devise a way for the
Church Council to incorporate thoughts about the future in its regular
work. "Planning can get us ahead of mistakes, and it can help us lead."
Anderson said he has six years "in which to help this church be a
vital force in God's mission to the world." We need to lead, he said. "We
need to show the way, to lift up the great causes that can stimulate our
people the way foreign missions, orphanages and colleges once did, and
the way hunger and disaster relief have done in our day."
The 37-member council re-elected Richard L. McAuliffe to his second
term as ELCA treasurer and the Rev. Robert N. Bacher as ELCA
executive for administration. Anderson announced to the council that
Lita Brusick Johnson will continue as executive assistant to the bishop of
the ELCA.
In August the ELCA Churchwide Assembly elected Anderson bishop,
and re-elected Magnus as ELCA vice president and the Rev. Lowell G.
Almen as ELCA secretary for six-year terms.
The council elected seven of its members to serve as its executive
committee with the bishop, vice president, secretary and treasurer:
Lorraine (Lorrie) G. Bergquist, Issaquah, Wash.; Terry L. Bowes,
Longmont, Colo.; William H. Engelbrecht, Waverly, Iowa; Carlos Pea,
Galveston, Texas; the Rev. Nelson T. Strobert, Gettysburg, Pa.; Deborah
S. Yandala, Akron, Ohio; and the Rev. Steven M. Youngdahl, Austin,
Texas.
Council members surrounded the ELCA's former Bishop Herbert W.
Chilstrom as he installed Anderson as the second bishop of the church
on Saturday, Nov. 18, in the chancel of Rockefeller Chapel in Chicago. "It
was a day of celebration right in the middle of a heavy council agenda,"
said Magnus. About 1,500 ELCA members and ecumenical guests
attended the worship service.
The council discussed in some form, on each day of its meeting, how
to express the concerns of the ELCA as two of its 11,000 congregations
face removal, said Magnus.
First United and St. Francis Lutheran Churches in San Francisco
were suspended in 1990 for calling pastors who were not approved for
ordination in the ELCA. They were not approved because they did not
accept the church's expectation that "ordained ministers who are
homosexual in their self-understanding are expected to abstain from
homosexual sexual relationships."
Under rules of discipline the congregations will be removed from the
rolls of the ELCA on Dec. 31, 1995.
The San Francisco congregations are part of the ELCA's Sierra
Pacific Synod. The congregations of that synod met in assembly last
spring and asked the Rev. Robert W. Mattheis, bishop of the Sierra
Pacific Synod, and the synod council "to explore creative ways to
maintain a strong bond of fellowship with these congregations.'"
The synod council developed several steps to satisfy the assembly's
resolve, which included asking Mattheis "to write a prayer petition for the
two congregations which might be commended to all congregations of
the synod for use on December 31, 1995."
The ELCA Church Council amended and adopted a resolution offered
by the Rev. Nadine F. Lehr, Gettysburg, Pa., to "affirm the Sierra Pacific
Synod Council, Bishop Robert Mattheis, and St. Francis and United
Lutheran congregations for keeping open opportunities for
communication and pastoral concern during this
difficult time with the hope that eventual reunion will be possible." The
resolution also asked "all members of the ELCA to follow this example
with prayer for St. Francis and United Lutheran churches on December
31, 1995."
Lehr's original proposal included establishing a process to involve
expressions of the church beyond the synod in developing "structural
and programmatic means for maintaining the bond of fellowship"
between the ELCA and the two San Francisco congregations. The
council voted 20-12 to delete those provisions. Many Lutherans
thought the council had the authority to change or suspend the rules of
discipline for these congregations, said Magnus. After debate and
closer reading of the ELCA Constitution, the council determined that it did
not have that authority and decided instead to "support the Sierra Pacific
Synod in its work to affirm and support these congregations," she said.
An attempt to suspend the rules came from the Rev. Susan L. Engh,
Minneapolis. She wanted the council to ask the ELCA Division for
Ministry to review the church's expectations regarding the sexual
conduct of its ordained ministers.
Engh explained that she "acted out of a sense of urgency, facing the
imminent removal of the two congregations in San Francisco -- trying
somehow to stop that -- because it will be our loss." She said, "Actually
I have no real hope of any change in this policy in the next ten years."
Engh later removed her motion to suspend the rules. She added that
change would best be accomplished through study of Scriptures and the
Lutheran confessions, rather than through parliamentary procedures.
The council concurred with a recommendation that current language
and administrative practice of the ELCA's medical plan related to abortion
continue unchanged. That advice came from a work group appointed to
review implications of the ELCA's Social Statement on Abortion and
medical-plan administration.
The Board of Pensions trustees proposed in May that availability of
payment for abortions be restricted. The council acknowledged that
"abortion ought to be an option only of last resort because of the basic
moral presumption of preserving and protecting life" and underscored
"the complex difficulties involved in moral decision-making."
An education component of the council's action asks the ELCA
Division for Church in Society to include concerns related to abortion in a
proposed study on ethics "to assist ELCA medical plan members ... in
moral deliberation on such concerns."
The ELCA Conference of Bishops, meeting here Nov. 14-19, also
agreed with the work group, stressing that this action "should not
broaden the limited abortion approach" of the social statement.
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