CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) elected three clergy and one lay person to fill vacancies on boards and advisory committees of the ELCA. Members of a new Episcopal-Lutheran coordinating committee were announced to the council.
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.
The council elects clergy and lay individuals to fill unexpired terms on boards, steering committees of commissions and certain advisory committees of the ELCA.
The council elected:
+ the Rev. Roberto Navarro, Park Place Lutheran Church, Houston, to the ELCA Division for Church in Society board;
+ the Rev. Barbara Berry-Bailey, Trinity Lutheran Church, Philadelphia, to The Lutheran advisory committee. The Lutheran is the magazine of the ELCA;
+ the Rev. Marlene Whiterabbit Helgemo, All Nations Indian Church, Minneapolis, to the ELCA Foundation board of advisors;
+ Martha E. Gonzalez, Principe de Paz, Miami, to the ELCA Division for Outreach board.
Lutheran members of the Episcopal-Lutheran coordinating committee were announced to the council by the Rev. Daniel F. Martensen, director, ELCA Department for Ecumenical Affairs.
The 1999 ELCA Churchwide Assembly adopted "Call to Common Mission" (CCM), an agreement for full communion between the ELCA and The Episcopal Church. The General Assembly of the Episcopal Church approved CCM this year. The agreement will allow both churches to cooperate in a variety of ministries, and it allows for sharing of clergy. It is not a merger of the churches.
Lutheran members of the coordinating committee were appointed by the Rev. H. George Anderson, ELCA presiding bishop. They are:
+ the Rev. Duane H. Larson, president, Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa, Lutheran co-chair;
+ Terry L. Bowes, First Lutheran Church, Longmont, Colo.;
+ the Rev. Nancy M. Curtis, Tabor Lutheran Church, Kane, Pa.;
+ the Rev. Andrea DeGroot-Nesdahl, bishop of the ELCA South Dakota Synod;
+ the Rev. Gregory J. Villalon, director for ethnic leadership development, ELCA Division for Ministry, Chicago;
+ the Rev. Norman W. Wahl, Bethel Lutheran Church, Rochester, Minn.;
+ the Rev. Ronald B. Warren, bishop of the ELCA Southeastern Synod, Atlanta.
Staff assistance for the committee will be provided by Martensen and the Rev. Randall R. Lee, executive assistant to the ELCA secretary and associate for bilateral dialogues. The Episcopal Church is expected to announce their appointees soon.
The task of the coordinating committee will be to study the mission opportunities created by CCM and to assign to various task forces to issues that present themselves as being in need of conversation, said Lee. Its mandate will be discussed and approved at the committee's first meeting Jan. 8-9, 2001, in Washington, D.C.
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
