ELCA NEWS SERVICE January 24, 2006 ELCA Prepares First Draft of Possible Social Statement on Education 06-010-FI CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Task Force on Education of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has written the first draft of a possible social statement on education. The task force met here Jan. 20-22 to apply what it learned while producing a study document and from responses it received to the study. "The response to the study has been quite supportive and affirming," said task force co-chair Dr. Paul J. Dovre, former president, Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn. "We had a lot of help on particulars. A number of people made useful suggestions," he said. "The responses have been so very thoughtful and really address all parts of education," said task force co-chair Christi Lines, principal, St. Paul's Lutheran School, Waverly, Iowa. "People understand that this is a very broad topic." She said individual responses fit well into the "bigger picture" of education. The ELCA Churchwide Assembly in 2001 called for a social statement on education. The task force first assembled in July 2003. It produced an 82-page booklet, "Our Calling in Education: A Lutheran Study," to assist the church in its study of the issues throughout much of 2005. The task force turned its attention to the first draft of the possible social statement on education, which ELCA Church in Society plans to issue by March. "The early section of the document is the catechetical material in which we talk about the Lutheran understanding of education, drawing on our Confessions and on our traditions," Dovre said. "The cornerstone of all that is the idea of vocation," he said. The first draft presents "education in the congregation, education in public schools, education in Lutheran parochial schools, education in Lutheran colleges, education in the public sector," Dovre said. The document has a rhythm to it, he said, giving "an affirmation of the church being engaged and involved and supportive; a statement about what we expect of education in each of these venues; and then the role and place and expectation of the church." "I hope that the people in congregations study it, read it, respond to it and attend hearings," Lines said, adding that she would like to receive "a broad base of responses" to the first draft during 2006. Dovre said he expected responses to the first draft to be more concrete and specific than responses to the study. The first draft should draw a "more systematic effort" from people who are invested in all aspects of education, he said. The task force will receive responses to the first draft through Oct. 15. It will develop a final version of its proposed social statement by early 2007 for consideration by the ELCA Churchwide Assembly here August 6-12, 2007. The ELCA has 4.9 million members in 10,585 congregations, which are organized into 65 synods. Many of the synods plan to host hearings during 2006 as an opportunity for Lutherans to discuss the first draft and help shape the proposed social statement. At least one representative of the task force is to attend each hearing. -- -- -- Information about the social statement on education is at http://www.ELCA.org/socialstatements/education/ on the ELCA Web site. An audio report on this story is available in MP3 format for streaming: http://media.ELCA.org/ramgen/audionews/060124.mp3 or for download: http://media.ELCA.org/audionews/060124.mp3 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