CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) transmitted to the 2003 ELCA Churchwide Assembly a resolution to amend a constitutional bylaw that would allow the Batak Special Interest Conference of North America to relate to the ELCA.
The Church Council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as the legislative authority of the church between churchwide assemblies. The council met here Nov. 15-17. Assemblies are held every other year; the next is Aug. 11-17, 2003, in Milwaukee.
Batak is a tribe of North Sumatra, Indonesia. Members of the tribe live on and in territory surrounding Samosir Island, located in the middle of Lake Toba. The Huria Kristen Batak Protestan (HKBP) -- Protestant Christian Batak Church of Sumatra -- joined the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in 1952 and currently has more than 2.9 million members.
The LWF, based in Geneva, Switzerland, is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. It has 136 member churches in 75 countries representing more than 61.7 million of the 65.4 million Lutherans worldwide.
In recent years Batak immigrants in the United States have sought to form congregations in California, Colorado, New York and Washington. Seeking to become congregations of the ELCA, U.S. Batak residents say they wish to maintain their heritage, culture of the HKBP and connection with other Batak churches in Indonesia. Some early generations of the U.S. residents are organizing the Batak Special Interest Conference of North America to initiate a formal relationship with the ELCA. Once organized Batak congregations in the United States would become congregations of the ELCA.
The constitutions of these congregations would include the following provision: "This congregation shall participate in the Batak Special Interest Conference of North America, in a manner to be determined from time to time by this congregation, to maintain awareness of and concern for the mission and ministry of the member churches of the Lutheran World Federation in Indonesia."
Staff of the ELCA Commission for Multicultural Ministries, Division for Global Mission and Division for Outreach have consulted with four Batak congregations to plan for mission and ministry.
The Rev. Lowell G. Almen, ELCA secretary, and the Rev. Margrethe S.C. Kleiber, program director for South Asia, Division for Global Mission, met with HKBP leaders in Sumatra, Sept. 27-Oct. 2, and attended the biennial assembly of the HKBP Great Synod. About 1,100 voting members of the Great Synod gather to consider constitutional amendments and other matters once every decade. Almen and Kleiber met with Ephorus Jubil Hutauruk, presiding bishop of the HKBP, William Simarmata, general secretary, and other members of the HKBP board.
"The Batak immigrants who have formed congregations in the United States wish to be a part of the ELCA, yet maintain cultural ties with their roots. Like immigrants before them, the possibility of a special interest conference exists," Almen said in an interview.
"Within the ELCA, a congregation may not be a part of two Lutheran church bodies simultaneously. Therefore, the Batak congregations, in joining the ELCA, can no longer be congregations of the HKPB in Sumatra. But their cultural heritage can still be affirmed by the special interest conference," said Almen.
If the secretary of the ELCA determines that U.S. Batak congregations undertake the organization of a special interest conference, the resolution to amend the constitutional bylaw will be submitted to 2003 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. If adopted the Batak Special Interest Conference of North America will relate to the ELCA through its Department for Ecumenical Affairs and under the authority of the ELCA presiding bishop.
The ELCA has four official and informal international contacts. They are the Danish Special Interest Conference, Finnish (Suomi) Special Interest Conference, German Lutheran Conference in North America and Hungarian Special Interest Conference. -- -- --
Information about the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan of Sumatra is available at http://www.elca.org/dgm/country_packet/packets/asia-oceania/indonesia/church.html
on the ELCA's Web site.
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
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Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
