ELCA Members Talk Together About Difficult Issues

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) plan to talk together about difficult issues. Elements of good faith-based conversations on controversial matters in today's society will be featured in a new resource to be published by the ELCA Division for Church in Society (DCS) in June.
The contents of the resource were developed by leaders of "Witness to God's Action in the World: Moral Deliberation and Community Renewal," one of seven ELCA "Initiatives to Prepare for a New Century." Leaders addressing this Initiative held a consultation last fall in Orlando, Fla., to work on the resource, which will contain an annotated listing of organizations that help congregations or religious groups talk about difficult issues.
"A church that always agrees on everything would probably be a church with only one number," said the Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the ELCA.
"Since the time of the New Testament, the followers of Jesus have held a variety of views on how faith should be lived in daily life. Martin Luther suffered excommunication in the 16th century because the church of his day did not want to hear 'novel' views," Anderson said.
"As Lutherans, we need to learn how to listen to each other when we disagree, because human minds can never presume to know exactly what God thinks," said Anderson.
The consultation featured presentations on methodologies in moral deliberation and plenary discussions. Team leaders of the Initiative plan to sponsor training events on moral deliberation for congregations and synods of the ELCA in 2000.
"A significant thing we learned in Orlando is that there is general agreement among the groups present about what makes moral conversation work well," said the Rev. Ronald W. Duty, ELCA assistant director for studies, DCS.
"There is also a significant level of consensus about what we do not yet know how to do well and about what challenges are for all groups working in this area," Duty said. "That means that I am quite confident about what we learned in Orlando, and this learning will be reflected in the resource that people can use with some confidence."
In its first social statement, "The Church in Society: A Lutheran Perspective," the ELCA committed itself to foster moral deliberation on social questions, to seek to "be a community where open, passionate and respectful deliberation on challenging and controversial issues of contemporary society is expected and encouraged," and to "engage those of diverse perspectives, classes, genders, ages, races and cultures in the deliberation process so that each of our limited horizons might be expanded and the witness of the body of Christ in the world enhanced."
A focus of the ELCA Initiative on moral deliberation is to "help bring diverse people together to openly and respectfully deliberate and provide leadership that enhances the witness of the body of Christ in the world."
In 1997 the ELCA Churchwide Assembly selected seven Initiatives -- significant areas of ministry for the 21st century. From that the ELCA has begun planning for new ways to deepen worship life, teach the faith, witness to God's action in the world through moral deliberation and community renewal, strengthen one another in mission, provide a safe place for children, connect with youth and young adults, and provide leadership development.
Leadership teams were formed early last year to provide overall guidance for the work of congregations, synods and churchwide organizations. Team leaders help provide an overall picture of how the church may be different as a result of the Initiatives.
**Kimberly J. Groninga is director of communication for the ELCA's Southeastern Iowa Synod.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html