DENVER (ELCA)-- The 1999 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Aug. 21 asked for a variety of efforts from the church to help those in rural America suffering from the effects of the severe drought afflicting many regions of the United States.
The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the ELCA, met here Aug. 16-22 at the Colorado Convention Center. There were more than 2,500 people participating, including 1,038 ELCA voting members. The theme for the biennial assembly is "Making Christ Known: Hope for a New Century."
The drought-aid resolution, adopted by a vote of 917 to 44, asked the ELCA and various church units to allocate emergency-relief funds, to educate congregations about the need for funds, to "strengthen" drought-rel= ief policies, and to provide information about economic, social and mental-health services available to those in drought-afflicted areas.
The resolution was one of several handled by the Reference and Counsel Committee, which considers proposals submitted by assembly voting members and makes recommendations for action. Although the committee had recommended the drought-aid resolution be referred to the ELCA Divisions for Church in Society and for Congregational Ministries, the assembly voted to adopt the original resolution and added a request for the two divisions to consider a response from domestic-hunger funds and disaster funds.
The Rev. Ralph W. Dunkin, bishop of the ELCA West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod, urged the assembly not to refer the resolution. He said that portions of West Virginia are in a two-year drought. "I don't think there's time to wait," he said.
In other actions related to Reference and Counsel recommendations, the assembly:
-- affirmed an ELCA Division for Outreach goal of 100 new ministry starts each year for the next 20 years, an effort called "2000 Congregations" that will encourage established congregations to start new ministries. The action encouraged the division to find ways for smaller congregations to contribute to the effort.
-- referred to the ELCA Division for Congregational Ministries a proposed resolution "to vigorously repudiate those who advocate violence against persons or destruction of property in the name of our God or under cover of the Bible."
-- referred to the ELCA Office of the Bishop a proposal that the 2001 Churchwide Assembly focus on the current rural economic crisis in an effort to provide support for farmers, ranchers and other food-producers= .
-- in action Aug. 18, referred to the ELCA Division for Church in Society a proposal to express concern over U.S. and worldwide military spending and to call for curtailment of such spending in favor of helping the economically underprivileged people of the United States and the world.
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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.
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