ELCA NEWS SERVICE September 29, 2003 ELCA Education Board Recommends Rethinking 'Future Design' 03-176-FI CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Higher Education and Schools (DHES) made three recommendations in response to a proposal from the ELCA Office of the Presiding Bishop to restructure the churchwide organization by February 2004. The board spent much of its meeting here Sept. 19-20 in hearing reports on the proposal, discussing it and drafting a response. The DHES board recommended that the process for reorganizing be given more time, that decisions regarding schools and outdoor ministries be reconsidered and that certain principles of the redesign be rethought -- that alliances could replace some current programs, that some churchwide office responsibilities could be assumed in other parts of the church and that boards could be replaced by churchwide consultations. One reason the board gave for wanting to extend the planning process was to allow for "a clearer articulation of a Lutheran vision of education." It also said the proposal gives greater consistency to youth ministries but needed "to build upon the unique contribution of our early childhood centers and schools to the strategic goals of evangelism, multicultural ministries and leadership development." The board voted to transmit its recommendations to the ELCA Church Council. It also asked permission for the DHES board chair, Rod Schofield, Colorado Springs, Colo., to present the recommendations in person at the council's next meeting, Nov. 14- 16 in Charlotte, N.C. On Sept. 15 the ELCA Office of the Presiding Bishop unveiled the "future design" proposal, which the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the ELCA, will present to the ELCA Church Council in November. Under the proposal, the ELCA's six divisions would become five departments and constitutional amendments would be developed to eliminate existing boards of divisions. The full restructuring proposal was sent in an e-mail message to ELCA staff here and across the United States and the Caribbean. Individuals whose positions were directly mentioned in the proposal were contacted privately before the e-mail was sent. The proposal is to eliminate the positions of executive directors for three current ELCA divisions: Division for Congregational Ministries, Division for Higher Education and Schools, and Division for Outreach. Under the proposal, a Department for Youth, Education and Lay Leadership would assume some other functions of the Division for Congregational Ministries as well as many responsibilities of the current Division for Higher Education and Schools. The ELCA churchwide structure will relate to its congregations' early childhood centers, and elementary and secondary schools, through grants to the Evangelical Lutheran Education Association, according to the proposal. The DHES board discussed the past successes of forming alliances to enhance some programs, but challenged the idea that alliances could replace similar programs. The proposal is that the churchwide organization's services to outdoor ministries, now housed in the Division for Congregational Ministries, would phase out by 2005, with the recommendation that work begin on forming an alliance of Lutheran outdoor ministries. Instead of the Church Council having a set group of elected board and committee members to consult, the proposal is for the council to host consultations of representatives from each of the ELCA's 65 synods and from appropriate churchwide entities to address a specific and timely topic. The ELCA is governed by a biennial churchwide assembly. Between assemblies, the ELCA Church Council acts on the assembly's behalf as the church's board of directors. Hanson will present the proposal to the ELCA Church Council in November along with recommendations received from boards and committees, including the ELCA Conference of Bishops, which will meet here Oct. 2-7. The council can accept, modify or reject the proposal. If the Church Council approves a new churchwide structure, implementation would begin Nov. 17. Staff holding positions to be eliminated would be notified according to the personnel policies of the church. Hiring processes for new staff positions would begin Dec. 1. The new design would go into effect Feb. 1, the first day of the ELCA's 2004 fiscal year. A merger of three Lutheran churches formed the ELCA in 1988. The churchwide organization underwent a restructuring in 1991, when DHES assumed most of the functions of a previous Division for Education. In other actions, the DHES board recommended that the Church Council adopt "Campus Ministry Policies and Procedures" and that the council grant ELCA School Affiliation status to Hope Lutheran School, Gastonia, N.C. -- -- -- The "Proposal for the Future Design of the Churchwide Organization" is available at http://www.elca.org/planning on the ELCA Web site. The Division for Higher Education and Schools has a home page at http://www.elca.org/dhes on the ELCA Web site. EDITORS: A story related to the development of the "Campus Ministry Policies and Procedures" is available at http://www.elca.org/Scriptlib/CO/ELCA_News/encArticleList.asp?a=2 478&p=9 on the ELCA Web site. For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/news