CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is preparing to develop a social statement on health and health care in the United States. A task force has issued a study document, "Our Ministry of Healing: Health and Health Care Today," to solicit recommendations from ELCA congregations for the statement.
"The purpose of a study document is to invite conversation around a particular theme -- in this case, health and health care," said the Rev. Herbert Anderson, Seattle. Anderson chairs the 16- member task force on health and health care for the ELCA Division for Church in Society.
"The second aim, and perhaps the more self-serving one, is to give feedback to the task force as it moves forward to prepare a social statement for the ELCA," said Anderson. He urged congregations to set aside time as soon as possible "to talk about this and give us some feedback. It would be very important."
The group is to issue the first draft of the social statement in 2002. It is to have a proposed social statement ready for the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in August 2003.
"The task force is focusing on four areas. First, it will give a Lutheran vision of health and health care. Second, it is addressing the issues of access to health care and equity in care. Third, it is addressing the ministries of our Lutheran social ministry organizations in health and health care today. And finally, it is examining the role congregations play in the ministry of health and health care," says the document's preface.
The study materials are arranged in five chapters: + Why Do We Care about Health Care? + A Lutheran Vision of Health and Healing + A Lutheran Vision of Health Care + Access and Equity in Health Care + The Church's Ministries of Health and Healing
Anderson said the 68-page study document includes a leader's guide and can be presented in several combinations of study sessions. He suggested adult forums or church council meetings could be used to look at the study materials and to complete the attached response form.
The response form asks for comments by Sept. 15 to inform the task force's work on the statement's first draft. "Later responses, however, will still be useful when the task force revises that draft," it says.
The task force drafted the study materials after hosting several "listening posts" across the church in 1999 and 2000. "In these listening posts we heard the concerns, experiences, ideas and hopes of ELCA members and others for health and health care, both in the United States and the Caribbean, as well as in our Lutheran health care institutions," says the preface.
The Rev. Ronald W. Duty, assistant director for studies, ELCA Division for Church in Society, and Dr. Mary Solberg, associate professor of religion, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minn., were the document's main authors.
Augsburg Fortress, the publishing house of the ELCA, Minneapolis, is distributing the study document. -- -- --
"Our Ministry of Healing: Health and Health Care Today" is available for downloading from http://www.elca.org/dcs/ministryofhealing.html on the ELCA Web site. Response forms are provided for printing or for submitting online.
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
