ELCA Board Names Task Force on Evangelism, Renews Worship

CHICAGO (ELCA) The board of the Division for Congregational Ministries (DCM) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) named a "blue ribbon" task force to develop a comprehensive strategy on evangelism and approved "Principles for Worship" for the ELCA when it met here Feb. 15-17.
The 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly adopted "Toward a Vision for Evangelism: Sharing Faith in a New Century," a plan designed to encourage the 10,816 congregations of the ELCA to examine their own ministry of hospitality, review the opportunities for sharing "God's Good News" with people in their unique setting, and develop ways to meet, engage, witness to and invite people to faith in Jesus Christ. The assembly instructed DCM, the church's Conference of Bishops and other ELCA churchwide offices to establish a task force that will develop a strategy for presentation and "possible action" at the 2003 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Milwaukee. The Conference of Bishops is an advisory body of the ELCA's 65 synod bishops, the presiding bishop and secretary.
The task force is comprised of 32 members, including 13 active parish pastors and 11 lay leaders in "growing congregations" that engage in a variety of worship styles, range in membership size and represent ethnic diversity and urban, suburban and rural settings. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, approved the members. The Rev. David Poling-Goldenne, ELCA director for witness and evangelism, announced the names of the task force members to the board. They are:
+ the Rev. Carmala K. Aderman, assistant to the bishop, ELCA Northwest Synod of Wisconsin, Rice Lake, Wis.
+ the Rev. Jon V. Anderson, Christ the King Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minn.
+ the Rev. Rodney L. Anderson, St. Andrew Lutheran Church, Eden Prairie, Minn.
+ the Rev. Richard H. Bliese, professor of mission and evangelism, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
+ the Rev. Craig S. Bollinger, Christ the King Lutheran Church, Charlotte, N.C.
+ the Rev. Martha W. Clementson, assistant to the bishop, ELCA Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod, Pittsburgh
+ the Rev. Robert T. Dealey, Our Lord Lutheran Church, Maryville, Ill.
+ Bev Dirken, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Portage, Mich.
+ the Rev. Khader N. El-Yateem, Salam Arabic Lutheran Church, Brooklyn, N.Y.
+ the Rev. Pablo B. Espinoza, Iglesia Luterana Mesias, Pasadena, Calif.
+ the Rev. Michael W. Foss, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Burnsville, Minn.
+ the Rev. Kelly A. Fryer, Cross of Glory Lutheran Church, Mokena, Ill.
+ the Rev. Allyn K. Giuffre, Faith Lutheran Church, New Florence, Pa.
+ Donald Hayes, president, Pro-Ed, Winston-Salem, N.C.
+ Lisa Hazelwood, St. Andrew Lutheran Church, Charlestown, R.I.
+ the Rev. Walther P. Kallestad, Community Church of Joy, Glendale, Ariz.
+ the Rev. Raymond LeBlanc, First Lutheran Church, Carson, Calif.
+ Jenny Lightfoot, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Burnsville, Minn.
+ the Rev. Tom B. LoVan, Morningside Lutheran Church, Sioux City, Iowa
+ the Rev. Richard G. Mahan, St. Timothy Lutheran Church, South Charleston, W.Va.
+ Margaret Messick, assistant to the bishop, ELCA Southern Ohio Synod, Zanesville
+ the Rev. Dennis O. Mims, St. James Lutheran Church, East Cleveland, Ohio
+ Larry Moeller, The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, Sacramento, Calif.
+ the Rev. Mary Ann Moller-Gunderson, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Lake Geneva, Wis.
+ Lowell Nelson, CEO, Immanuel Health Systems, Omaha, Neb.
+ the Rev. Ralph W. Quere, professor of history and theology, Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa
+ the Rev. Martin J. Russell, assistant to the bishop, ELCA Nebraska Synod, Omaha
+ Francis Ramos, San Marcos Evangelica Luterana, Guynabo, Puerto Rico
+ Rob Stuberg, Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Helena, Mont.
+ the Rev. George K. Tan, assistant to the bishop, ELCA Southern California (West) Synod, Glendale
+ Louise Ward, St. Mark Lutheran Church, Charlottesville, Va.
+ the Rev. Gary M. Wollersheim, bishop for the ELCA Northern Illinois Synod, Rockford
+ the Rev. Glenn M. Zorb, All Saints Lutheran Church, Worthington, Ohio
Wollersheim is chair of the task force. The board appointed Robert Mueller, St. Timothy Lutheran Church, Wyoming, Ill., as the DCM board liaison to the task force.
The work of the task force will involve facilitating a "renewed focus" on prayer for the witness and evangelism ministries of the ELCA; inviting members of the church to study the place of the gospel in daily lives; receiving gifts from the church's companions around the world; and an awareness of previous ELCA research on evangelism. The task force will receive input from DCM, especially the division's education and evangelism team, and from the Office of the Presiding Bishop.
The task force will be guided by a small core team, chosen from its members, and four sub-teams that will attend to the tasks of Toward A Vision for Evangelism. The "inaugural" meeting of the task force will be held April 18-20 in St. Charles, Ill.
The board forwarded a resolution to the ELCA Church Council -- the church's board of directors -- that requests an additional $200,000 to "fully fund" the work of the task force. The council will consider the resolution when it meets here April 6-8. In November 2001, the council authorized $250,000 to finance start-up costs for the development of the evangelism strategy.
Toward A Vision for Evangelism contains two parts: Part one, "A Telling Witness to God's Good News," provides a progress report of the evangelism plan adopted by the 1991 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. Part two, "Sharing Faith in a New Century," provides a description of evangelism, the global and local contexts for evangelism, and the text of a resolution adopted by the 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.
"If there has been confusion about the resolution, it has most often centered on the use of the word 'strategy,'" said Poling- Goldenne.
"Strategy has implied to some 'a done deal, an actual plan, a fleshed out vision.' The word 'strategy' caught [on] early because of the way it was proposed at the churchwide assembly. This has provided opportunity for some to criticize this resolution by asking, 'what strategy?'" he told the board.
"Our interpretive challenge and opportunity is to clarify that this resolution calls for two related but different sets of activities, each of which is stage-setting for the next decade of the life of this church. It calls for mobilizing this church to a time of prayer, study and conversation around witness and evangelism," he said, and "engaging a process that will lead toward a strategy which will be considered at the 2003 Churchwide Assembly. If approved, it will be implemented as a working plan for evangelism for the whole church."
The 2001 Assembly adopted Toward A Vision for Evangelism with 99.1 percent of the voting members' approval.
In other business, the DCM board authorized distribution of "Principles for Worship," a document that features the outcome of a series of consultations on four topics: music, preaching, language and worship space. "The Use of the Means of Grace," the church's statement on sacramental practices adopted by the 1997 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, served as a "primary foundation" for the consultations.
Principles for Worship represents the first phase of work of "Renewing Worship," a five-year plan for developing "the next generation of worship resources" for the ELCA. The document will be sent to every ELCA congregation for study in June. It will be available at http://www.renewingworship.org on the Internet beginning March 1 and through Augsburg Fortress Publishers, the publishing house of the ELCA. -- -- --
Toward a Vision for Evangelism and relate