CHICAGO (ELCA) -- To ensure support for the 10,851 congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the board for the ELCA Division for Congregational Ministries (DCM) authorized the division's executive directors to "investigate alternative" means of "publishing, producing and distributing resources" designed to assist congregations in carrying out their ministries. The board met here Feb. 16-18.
DCM provides support for congregations in such areas as education, evangelism, lay leadership, planning, service and justice, social ministry, stewardship and worship. With other areas of the church, the division develops resources for congregational use in "partnership" with Augsburg Fortress, the publishing house of the ELCA, Minneapolis.
"The actions taken regarding the publication, production and distribution of resources were taken to ensure that DCM can effectively and efficiently carry out its mandate to equip congregations with the resources necessary to carry out local ministry," said Ronald C. Bruggeman, Omaha, Neb., DCM board chair.
In a discussion, board members expressed concern over the existing arrangement for "publishing, producing and distributing resources" for congregations, which "has become inefficient and ineffective," according to the resolution.
"The partnership [between DCM and Augsburg Fortress] is deteriorating," said Robert A. Sandoval, DCM board member, Albuquerque, N.M. "One member of the partnership is not allowing the other to fulfill its constitutional mandate. We cannot operate without a partner in ministry in the work of producing resources for ELCA congregations," he said.
"If congregations cannot get the resources they need, we must remedy that," said Karen Walhof, DCM board member, Minneapolis.
In a related action, the board moved to request that the Planning and Evaluation Committee of the ELCA Church Council "review the relationship between Augsburg Fortress Publishers and the ELCA churchwide offices, particularly evaluating the effectiveness of the current partnership with the Division for Congregational Ministries."
"We are not overthrowing Augsburg Fortress as the publishing house of the ELCA, but clearly there is a problem," Bruggeman told the board. "We are genuinely concerned" that products may not be developed, he said.
At its Oct. 20-22 meeting, the DCM board approved the "Next Generation of ELCA Worship Resources," a new multi-year plan for DCM's worship team and Augsburg Fortress. The Church Council approved the plan at its Nov. 11-13 meeting here.
The plan outlines the church's intent to assess its worship needs and contains a schedule of events, budget structure and a "partnership agreement" between DCM and Augsburg Fortress. A product of the plan may be new worship resources for the ELCA.
"The 'Next Generation of Worship Resources' is one such resource, but in and of itself did not drive our action," said Bruggeman in an interview.
Augsburg Fortress staff was not present at the DCM board meeting Feb. 16-18. The board of trustees for the publishing house will meet April 19-21 in Phoenix.
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
