CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) proposed constitutional amendments that would make it possible, under certain circumstances, for a congregation to terminate its pastor by a simple majority vote. The proposals will be transmitted to the 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly for its consideration.
The Church Council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as the legislative authority of the church between its churchwide assemblies. The council met here Nov. 10-13. Assemblies are held every other year; the next is Aug. 8-14, 2001, in Indianapolis.
At the 1999 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Denver, voting members considered a related constitutional amendment, which narrowly failed to achieve the two-thirds majority needed for adoption. Under that proposal, if a congregation voted by a simple majority to dismiss the pastor, the bishop may exercise his or her "sole discretion" to consent to the pastor's dismissal. The assembly's vote left the ELCA constitutional requirement for dismissal unchanged. It currently provides for a congregation to dismiss its pastor, but only with a two-thirds majority at a properly called congregational meeting.
Members of the ELCA Conference of Bishops said they needed some latitude to deal with serious conflict in some congregations. Some said they have experienced cases in which the congregation may want to terminate the pastor's call, but could only generate a majority vote rather than the required two-thirds.
The proposed amendments are for constitutions of congregations and synods. In cases of conflict involving the pastor and the congregation, the proposed amendments call for all concerned people to be heard. Following that, a synod bishop and an advisory committee, described in synod and congregational constitutions, may recommend a course of action to the congregation and pastor. If they agree, no further action is needed.
If they disagree the congregation, in consultation with the bishop, may dismiss the pastor. The proposed amendments allow for dismissal by a two-thirds vote of the congregation, when the bishop and advisory committee did not recommend termination of the pastor's call. The proposal also said a pastor may be dismissed by a simple majority vote, if the bishop and advisory committee recommended the call be terminated.
The council took other actions related to constitutional issues:
+ It proposed an amendment to allow the church's publishing house, Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis, to conduct some of its activities through a separate corporation, with the publishing house board serving as the board of any separate corporation. The council action affirmed actions of the Augsburg Fortress board of trustees. The publisher plans to house its Internet business in a separate corporation to help it remain price competitive with other companies that market products through the Internet.
+ It asked the ELCA Office of the Bishop to present a report to the April 2001 council meeting on the possibility of a consultation with large congregations of the ELCA. The request came from the ELCA Saint Paul Area Synod Council, which asked the ELCA council to consider a formal consultation with representatives of large-sized congregations. In its request, the Saint Paul Area Synod said some large congregations in the synod are "defining themselves beyond the parameters of the ELCA Model Constitution." In some cases, they want the right to ordain, and want to define roles for the synod and its bishop in the process of calling a pastor, said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, bishop of the Saint Paul Area Synod, in a comment last month to the ELCA Conference of Bishops meeting last month in Chicago.
+ The council proposed an amendment to a churchwide bylaw that would change the name of the ELCA Southern California (West) Synod to Southwest California Synod.
+ The council amended a continuing resolution that changes the wording used to identify an ethnic group. The council's amendment changes "Hispanic" to "Latino." The change was made in response to a memorial from the ELCA Caribbean Synod, and with the recommendation of an ethnic association and the steering committee of the ELCA Commission for Multicultural Ministries.
Documents from the Church Council meeting are available at http://www.elca.org/os/churchcouncil/actions.html on the ELCA Web site.
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
