ELCA Lectures Explore Classism and the Church

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The barriers between economic and social classes impede the work of the Church. That's one idea to be examined Feb. 3-May = 3=20 on the eight seminary campuses of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) during the 2000 Hein-Fry Lecture Series, "Class Matters: Mission Across Unseen Divides." The series will include an interactive session May 2 on the World Wide Web.
"Americans talk about racial, gender and cultural differences. The topic of class, however, is rarely addressed," said the Rev. Jonathan P. Strandjord, director for theological education, ELCA Division for Ministry. The series is coordinated through the division.
"Class lines are very real in our society -- and in our churches -- and seem to be growing sharper and stronger. This year's Hein-Fry topic aims to bring into the open the ways class shapes and mis-shapes the church today," he said.
Dr. Karen L. Bloomquist and Dr. Tex Sample will each address these topics in four lectures and an Internet Webcast.
Bloomquist is an ELCA pastor, director for studies in the ELCA Division for Church in Society and part-time associate professor of theological ethics at Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa. She is currently on sabbatical leave and serving as study secretary for church and society issues in the Department for Theology and Studies of the Lutheran World Federation, Geneva, Switzerland.
Sample is an ordained elder of the United Methodist Church and professor of church and society at St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Mo. He authored "U.S. Lifestyles and Mainline Churches: A Key to Reaching People in the '90s" and "Blue-Collar Ministry: Facing Economic and Social Realities of Working People."
The lecturers have the task of answering some key questions about the reality of contemporary class dynamics and their relation to the life of the church, such as "How do the powerful yet often hidden realities of class shape and mis-shape the church? Does the ELCA have a class location? Are aspects of its teaching and practices 'classist?' If so, what would it mean to repent of classism?"
Sample will begin the series Feb. 3 at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Columbia, S.C.; Feb. 17 at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn.; Feb. 25 at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley, Calif.; and March 21 at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia.
Bloomquist will speak Feb. 10 at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Pa.; April 26 at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago; April 27 at Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa; and May 3 at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio.
May 2 at 8 p.m. (Eastern) "Sample and Bloomquist will converse with each other and a worldwide audience via the Internet," said Strandjord. "This interactive Webcast will allow the lecturers to answer audience questions and to think together about their views on class and its impact on the life and mission of the church."
The Hein-Fry Lecture Series predates the ELCA which was formed in 1988. The endowed theological lecture series fosters original scholarship and enriches theological dialogue throughout the church. It combines the Dr. Carl Christian Hein Memorial Seminary Lectures of the former American Lutheran Church and the Franklin Clark Fry Theological Lectures of the former Lutheran Church in America.

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The Web page at http://www.elca.org/dm/hf/heinfry.html has a link for
the "Live Webcast" and information about the lecture series.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html