CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Denver W. Bitner, Zion Lutheran Church, Rockford, Ill., will chair the board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Church in Society (DCS) for two years, beginning in August. The board elected Bitner when it met here Feb. 22-24.
Bitner will succeed the Rev. James M. Childs Jr., director of academic development and professor of theology and ethics, Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio. Childs will continue as board chair through the ELCA Churchwide Assembly, which meets Aug. 8-14 in Indianapolis.
The board elected the Rev. Carol A. Jensen, St. John Lutheran Church, Seattle, to become its vice chair.
The Rev. Charles S. Miller is the division's executive director.
The Division for Church in Society helps the ELCA understand and respond sensitively and effectively to the needs of human beings, society and the environment. It studies social issues and prepares social statements for the ELCA's consideration and action. It coordinates the ELCA World Hunger Program and ELCA Domestic Disaster Response.
DCS helps ELCA congregations with programs that assist poor persons gain economic independence. The division is responsible for domestic refugee concerns and relates to Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service and other international agencies.
The division is responsible for the ELCA's ministry of service through some 260 affiliated social ministry organizations. It grants and maintains church affiliation with these organizations and develops a comprehensive delivery system among social ministry organizations, congregations and community organizations.
DCS carries out the ELCA's advocacy with national and international governmental bodies and with institutions in the private sector and coordinates its advocacy with state governments. -- -- --
The ELCA Division for Church in Society maintains a site at http://www.elca.org/DCS/ on the Web.
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
