CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) accepted a proposal for two additional registration categories for the 2003 Churchwide Assembly. The new categories, proposed by the ELCA Office of the Secretary, are congregation observers and seminary faculty representatives.
The Church Council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as the legislative authority of the church between its churchwide assemblies. The council met here April 5-7. Assemblies are held every other year; the next is Aug. 11-17, 2003, in Milwaukee.
Under the plan, each ELCA congregation may send one observer to the churchwide assembly. Observers must register with the ELCA Secretary before May 31 in the year of the assembly. Congregation observers will receive assembly materials, but will have neither voice nor vote, said the Rev. Lowell G. Almen, ELCA secretary.
Registration, transportation, housing and other costs will be the responsibility of the observer or the congregation, Almen said.
The plan also allows for one seminary faculty representative to be appointed to attend the assembly by the presidents of each of the ELCA's eight seminaries. Faculty representatives will not vote, but will have voice if the assembly rules allow, Almen said. Travel, food and housing costs will be borne by the assembly, he said.
The ELCA Conference of Bishops and ELCA seminary presidents affirmed the proposal, Almen said. The ELCA Conference of Bishops is an advisory body consisting of the church's 65 synod bishops, ELCA presiding bishop and ELCA secretary.
"The purpose is to have more people who are knowledgeable about the church, and to allow individuals to see what the assembly is all about," Almen told the council. He said the idea is a "pilot project" for the 2003 Churchwide Assembly.
"The message from this is that we are trying to open up this church as much as we can," said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop.
The Rev. April Ulring Larson, bishop of the ELCA LaCrosse (Wis.) Area Synod, said she hoped most of the observers would be pastors because of their significant connection to the church.
At future assemblies, it may be possible to accommodate additional new categories of observers, Hanson said.
In a separate action, the council designated the Marriott World Center in Orlando, Fla., as the site of the 2005 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, subject to satisfactory completion of negotiations.
Sites in Pittsburgh and Tampa were also considered before the council designated the Orlando site for 2005, based on costs, housing availability, transportation and other considerations.
The 2005 assembly will be held Aug. 8-14. The Marriott World Center was the site of the 1991 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.
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
