DENVER (ELCA) When ELCA Secretary, the Rev. Lowell G. Almen finished delivering his report to the ELCA Churchwide Assembly, voting members rose to their feet in applause. Almen's topic: the church body's archives.
The archives? "Only Lowell Almen could give a report on church records and get a standing ovation," commented one observer in the assembly hall. Even Presiding Bishop, the Rev. H. George Anderson quipped that he used to give secretary's reports "and they never did that for me."
The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the ELCA, is meeting here Aug. 16-22 at the Colorado Convention Center. There are more than 2,500 people participating, including 1,039 ELCA voting members. The theme for the biennial assembly is "Making Christ Known: Hope for a New Century."
Almen has been secretary of the ELCA since the church body's founding in 1987. Among his duties is preserving the records of the church.
He invoked Miriam's song in the animated film, "The Prince of Egypt," especially the refrain: "There can be miracles / When you believe. Though hope is frail / It's hard to kill ...."
Within the archives, said Almen, "we really discover a warehouse of miracles. Or at least the record of those miracles." He cited, for example, the decision of the ELCA's predecessor bodies in 1974 to establish the Hunger Appeal, which has raised some $200 million in its 25-year history.
"They stepped forward in pursuit of new miracles. And because they dared to be guided by God's Spirit, what happened?" Almen asked. "What happened? Fewer people go to bed hungry now than in 1974."
At the same time, Almen acknowledged, not everything in the archives speaks so well of the church.
"The record of the past was not always or invariably a shiny one," he said. "Sometimes the archival materials reveal other things less than noble things. For we can find some evidence here and there of pettiness, or shortsightedness or selfishness, of instances of vindictiveness or cowardice in the face of opportunity. We find a few terrible examples of the propagation of lies and of vicious characterizations of people with whom individuals disagreed."
After assembly members viewed a video about the archives, Almen returned. In terms no more specific than his allusions to the more-seamy = side of Lutheran history, he challenged the assembly as strains of Miriam's song played in the background: "There are miracles to be seen when we believe," he said. "There are possibilities for faithful witness in a new century, possibilities greater than perhaps our forebears ever dared to dream.
"Will we listen?" Almen asked. "Will we learn? Will we venture forth? Will we go forth with courage? Will we journey with marvelous hope into a new century?
"God is calling," the secretary said. "There are mountains yet to be moved."
And the assembly rose to its feet.
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For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
