ELCA Prepares to Form Rural Ministry Alliance

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The rural ministry advisory committee of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Outreach met here Aug. 23-25 and drew up preliminary plans for an alliance of the church's rural ministry interests. The ELCA Rural Ministry Alliance, to be organized next year, grew from several directives the ELCA Churchwide Assembly gave last year to support small town and rural ministry.
"The ELCA rural alliance is a new way of reaching out from a particular context," coordinating the various rural ministry programs of the church, said Sandra A. LaBlanc, director for rural ministry resources and networking, ELCA Division for Outreach, Des Moines, Iowa.
"The National Catholic Rural Life Conference (NCRLC) was one model of an alliance that was suggested we look at," said LaBlanc, an ELCA associate in ministry and a member of the NCRLC board of directors. The NCRLC is an independent but authorized agent of the Catholic Church, affiliated with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, she said.
LaBlanc said the NCRLC deals exclusively with rural ministry issues, drawing together the efforts of Catholic dioceses, state conference offices, Catholic Charities units, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, and just about any college, institution or order in the Catholic Church with an interest in rural ministry.
A convening meeting of the ELCA Rural Ministry Alliance will be Feb. 19-21 here at the Lutheran Center, LaBlanc said. The agenda and list of invited guests will be developed in the coming months, she said.
"The structure of the alliance will be secondary to its mission," said the Rev. Russell O. Siler, director, Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs, Washington, D.C. Bring together those interested and working in rural ministry, he said, "then we will determine the structure that will help us maximize all these marvelous resources and people."
The alliance grows out of actions taken by the 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, said Siler, chair of the advisory committee. "The church looked at its rural ministry and said 'so much done, so much more to do' and determined that we really needed to commit more of our energy and resources toward that end," he said.
The assembly expressed concern about situations in U.S. farm and rural communities and repeated calls for prayer and advocacy for those caught in the "family-farm crisis" along with study of the challenges they face. It commended the church's rural ministry efforts, asked LaBlanc to continue identifying resources and building ecumenical links, and proposed adding more staff to the task.
"Rather than saying we'll add another person or another two people, we will try to bring together resources from all over the church covering the breadth and depth and scope of the church's ministry now," said Siler. He said the rural ministry alliance will include churchwide agencies, grassroots organizations and those part of or closely related to the ELCA who are interested in "ministering with and to folks living in rural and small town America."
The Rev. Charles S. Miller, ELCA executive for administration and executive assistant to the presiding bishop, led the advisory committee in a full day of discussions exploring possibilities of a rural alliance.
"All areas of this church's ministry are encouraged to engage in strategic thinking and planning," said Miller, who is overseeing a churchwide process of strategic planning. A plan for the church is expected to be presented for consideration by the ELCA Church Council in spring 2003.
"A challenge we all face in the church is connecting our vision for mission and ministry with our human and financial resources. This is true for the very important arena of rural ministry," Miller said after the meeting.
"Thanks to the rural ministry advisory committee for their willingness to step out and contemplate new strategic ways of assisting the ELCA in its vast and diverse rural ministries.
"The vision under development by the committee comes at an critical time. It reminds us of the integral nature of rural ministry to ELCA mission as the churchwide planning process begins to identify priorities for the future, and it offers, as well, a pilot in organizing for mission," said Miller.
LaBlanc said results of the February meeting could serve as a progress report to the next ELCA Churchwide Assembly in August 2003.
Helen R. Harms, an ELCA associate in ministry, Wheeling, W.Va., reported to the advisory committee on a study of "multiple-point parishes" the ELCA is conducting. Multiple-point parishes are settings where two or more congregations combine their assets to support their ministries -- usually in rural areas.
Some preliminary findings stressed the need for strong relationships and communication within an effective multiple-point parish, said Harms. While each congregation retains its own history, identity and traditions, she said, together they are committed to a clear, common purpose.
Harms leads the church's Small Town and Rural (STaR) team. She is the Division for Outreach mission director for western Maryland, western Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
The STaR team and ELCA Department for Research and Evaluation plan to present a final report to the Division for Outreach board, when it meets here Sept. 27-29, said Harms. -- -- --
The ELCA Division for Outreach maintains rural ministry information at http://www.elca.org/do/ruralministry.html on the Web.
The ELCA's strategic planning process, "Faithful Yet Changing: ELCA Planning for Mission," is featured at http://www.elca.org/planning/ on the Web.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html