AALA Assembly Looks at Restructuring

PHILADELPHIA (ELCA) -- With more than 50,000 African American, African and Caribbean people in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), only 119 people, 44 of whom were youth, attended the African American Lutheran Association (AALA) eighth biennial assembly here June 21-24, at the Wyndham Franklin Hotel.
"We are not really sure why our numbers were so low at the assembly," said Dr. Addie J. Butler, ELCA Vice President.
"We did not have the attendance we would have hoped for, but those who came participated fully and seemed committed," said Annette Sample, newly elected AALA president.
The low registration caused additional financial issues for the organization when the number of people anticipated to attend did not show. "We came in with an idea that maybe after the assembly we would make connections with other members of the African community and find out why some of the people we thought would be here were not here," said Butler.
"It is evident that the organization is not fully representative of people from across the board. I think that prompts a need to do something different, and I think we are attempting to do that with a call for reorganization," said the Rev. Eric Campbell, director, African American Ministries, ELCA Commission for Multicultural Ministries (CMM).
"I do not want to undermine the importance of having 100 or 200 folks out of 50,000 because at least that's a representation, in a microcosmic way, of some of the views and feelings that are expressed across the board. It is not the number of people who came that would signal whether [the assembly] was effective or ineffective. What really matters is the discussion that occurred with the number of people who were there. It is not the numbers, it is the quality of people who were there," said Campbell.
A call for reorganization of the association was passed which states: "Whereas, AALA has experienced a major disruption within its leadership in recent years, and participation and interest in AALA among Black members of the ELCA is uncertain; Whereas, the current structure of AALA raises questions of its effectiveness for its future impact within the ELCA; Therefore, be it resolved that AALA in assembly authorize a task force of at least nine persons to examine and review the current structure and make recommendations for the future of the organization to the AALA governing board by the Spring 2002 meeting."
"I think it is obvious that if we were really effective with our structure there would have been many more members at the assembly and within chapters," said Butler. "We are working on changing the structure and looking for what works," she said.
"I think the call for reorganization is long overdue," said Campbell. "The resolution is a right resolution, because we have been holding our own for 10 years and it is time for the organization to look introspectively and really look at how we can make this association more relevant and more important and more responsive to the needs of 50,000 people and not just a selected few within the Black community," he said.
In addition to the organizational structure resolution, four other resolutions were passed, one for support of the "Stand With Africa" campaign, a three-year campaign of the ELCA World Hunger Program, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod World Relief and Lutheran World Relief, to support communities and churches in Africa dealing with HIV/AIDS, hunger and peace issues, was passed.
"I think it is important that we do stand with Africa, particularly in light of the high HIV/AIDS rates. However, at the same time my word of caution is that we not forget the struggle of Black people here in this country. AIDS is also quite pervasive here in the United States. It is a critical issue for us to find some common ground to work together, to struggle together, to fight together," said Campbell.
Another resolution called for a name change for the organization. "People are sensitive because the name does not reflect all persons of African descent," said Butler. This resolution was adopted because the name, "African American Lutheran Association" excludes African and Caribbean people who have recently immigrated to the United States.
"In light of the increasing numbers of immigrants that have come into this country and indeed into the ELCA, and in light of the struggle for African immigrants and decedents of Africa throughout the diaspora seeking identity within this country, it is not right for us to impose African American on Africans, it is not right for us to impose African American on Caribbean people. They have a right to retain their own sense of identity and who they are," said Campbell. "The name change is really important to send a clear signal throughout the church and the Black community that we stand together as Black people in this church," he said.
The resolution suggested that the name be changed to either "All African Lutheran Association," or "Association of African Lutherans in Action." Both names would enable to organization to keep the current acronym "AALA."
In other business, officers were elected to serve four-year terms with the organization. Elected were Annette Sample, Philadelphia, president; John Henderson, Baltimore, vice president; the Rev. Linda Boston, San Jose, Calif., corresponding secretary; and Cyndi Campbell- Jones, Detroit, Mich., recording secretary.
A series of workshops were offered during the assembly: African American Lutheran History; Caribbean Issues; Internalized Oppression; and Global Issues (Africans in the Diaspora). Bible study was offered each morning by local pastors, and a youth program kept the attention of the younger people through storytelling, song, worship and other activities, including a dance party at the conclusion of the assembly.
The 2003 AALA assembly will be held in New York. Plans to make that assembly more productive are already under way. "We are planning to conduct a survey of the ELCA African American, African and Caribbean membership. We are also planning to survey ELCA Black rostered leadership and clergy. The emphasis will be on how we connect with the churchwide structure and ask what happened," said Butler.
"The survey will ask questions such as, 'Have you ever attended an AALA assembly?' 'What did you like or not like about the assembly?' I am working with a sociologist from a college to help construct the survey. When it is completed, it will be reviewed by the chapter, the national board and of course the ELCA Department for Research and Evaluation. We want it as comprehensive as possible for the good of Lutheran persons of African decent," she said.
In addition to the survey, Campbell feels it is his office's responsibility to help the organization. "My office has to step up to the plate. In terms of policy, the ethnic specific-directors are prohibited from taking an active role in providing leadership to the associations. Directors do not have any staff responsibility or accountability, which I think is unfortunate because the organization needs those kinds of resources to get back on its feet," said Campbell. AALA and the other ethnic-specific organizations of the ELCA are run by volunteers.
"I am going to have to step up to the plate and try to figure out ways to write proposals that will raise some money to bring the whole Black community together to discuss issues pertaining to the organization," he said.
Sample is ready to take the challenge of the organization on head- first. She said it will have to be a collaborative effort from her and the entire AALA governing board to make the organization work.
"We have our work set aside for us. The governing board will face some challenges. We have realized that we need a new direction if we are to continue to exist," said Sample. We will d