Women of the ELCA Sets Goals for the Future

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Four primary goals or "end statements" Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will lift up in the years 2002-2005 are families, leadership, spirituality and stewardship. The executive board for Women of the ELCA, the women's organization of the church, selected the end statements at its meeting here Oct. 21-24.
For each triennium -- the three-year period between Women of the ELCA's triennial conventions -- the executive board selects end statements that lift up the primary values of the organization in connection with the triennial theme.
"End statements are really goals," said Linda Chinnia, president for Women of the ELCA. In selecting end statements, the executive board "looks at the situation of the world and what women are experiencing," she said. Chinnia, a member of Holy Comforter Lutheran Church, Baltimore, was elected president at the Fourth Triennial Convention of Women of the ELCA July 8-11, 1999 in St. Louis.
The theme for the 2002-2005 triennium is "Listen, God is Calling." The executive board engages in a process of generating ideas and identifying Bible verses to support and connect end statements with the triennium's theme, Chinnia said.
"The triennial theme chosen for 2002-2005, 'Listen, God is Calling,' is all about discernment," Catherine I.H. Braasch, executive director for Women of the ELCA, told the board.
"More than ever before, preparing Women of the ELCA for the future will require discernment of where God is leading, what God is doing, and how God is providing for this ministry," Braasch said.
The theme for the current triennium, 1999-2002, "Live God's Justice," was unveiled at the Fourth Triennial Convention of Women of the ELCA in July. "Four ends to be highlighted in this triennium are anti-racism, spirituality, stewardship and worship, all viewed through the lens of God's justice," said Braasch.
In other business, the executive board for Women of the ELCA considered two resolutions referred to the board by delegates of the Fourth Triennial Convention. Delegates called for Women of the ELCA to not only support families when in crisis, but also to "support families in starting strong, getting strong and staying strong," and to demonstrate the organization's commitment to advocacy for and education about the issues of accessibility and opportunities for people living with disabilities, said Braasch.
"Resolutions related to families and disabilities specifically encourage stronger support from Women of the ELCA," Braasch said.
The executive board received a report from Women of the ELCA staff on how the organization is already addressing ministry with families. Women of the ELCA publications and other resources will explore=20 family-related themes during 1999-2002, and expand on these themes=20 in 2002-2005, Braasch said.
The executive board also resolved to provide "education, awareness, encourage advocacy concerning physical and sensory disabilities," and assure that Women of the ELCA events are increasingly accessible to people living with disabilities.
In other work, the executive board will ask presidents of the 64 synodical women's organizations of the church, including the executive director and president of Women of the ELCA, to write letters of protest about a new women's magazine being proposed by Augsburg Fortress Publishers, Minneapolis, the publishing house of the ELCA.
"Women of the ELCA has repeatedly expressed serious concerns about
the Augsburg Fortress Publishers' plan to develop a second women's magazine," Braasch said. "We've been expressing these concerns directly to the publishing house since early 1998, when we were first told of planning for the new publication."
Women of the ELCA and Lutheran Woman Today -- the publication of Women of the ELCA -- want a strategic partnership with the ELCA's publishing house, said Braasch.
"Our concerns about Augsburg Fortress' proposal for a second women's magazine go much deeper than the matter of future competition for readers. We are concerned that the new venture is already competing for the publishing house's attention to research, growth and development of Lutheran Woman Today, as well as to customer service," she said.
Lutheran Woman Today includes Bible study and articles "connecting Christian faith lives of ELCA women of many ages, many interests and in many settings," said Braasch. The magazine has a paid circulation of 180,000.
The Women of the ELCA board: + elected three non-officer board members to the executive committee of the executive board: Cynthia Cowen, Our Saviour Lutheran Church, Iron Mountain, Mich., LaVaun Danielson, Swedlanda Lutheran Church, Hector, Minn., and Donna Haack, St. John Lutheran Church, Pomeroy, Iowa; + approved a resolution encouraging celebrations in various settings during 2000 to honor the 80th anniversary of the first decision of a Lutheran church (Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands) to ordain women and the 30th anniversary of the ordination of Lutheran women in North America; + received a preliminary report on the evaluation of the 1999 Fourth Triennial Convention of Women of the ELCA. The report reflected that about 500 delegates, most likely came for inspiration and to grow in faith, as well as to fulfil their voting responsibilities. "Data representing non-voting participants is currently being analyzed and will be presented in March 2000," Braasch said.

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