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