ELCA Assembly Honors Lowell Almen With Servus Dei Medal

CHICAGO (ELCA) - The Rev. Lowell G. Almen, secretary,
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was honored with
the Servus Dei Medal during the 2007 Churchwide Assembly. The
Servus Dei (Servant of God) Medal is given to honor retiring
officers of the ELCA. Tributes were showered upon Almen, who
inaugurated the position of secretary when the ELCA was formed in
1987 and will retire from that position later this year.
The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of
the ELCA, is meeting here Aug. 6-11 at Navy Pier's Festival Hall.
About 2,000 people are participating, including 1,069 ELCA voting
members. The theme for the biennial assembly is "Living in God's
Amazing Grace: Thanks be to God!"
Surrounded by family, Almen heard from distinguished guests
praising his ministry and character. "No matter whether we were
sitting on opposite sides of the table as members of our
respective church bodies, or on the same side of the table as
fellow Lutherans in ecumenical dialogue, the Lowell Almen I have
learned to know and respect as a friend has always been the same
man: well prepared and informed, always dignified as a Christian
gentleman, respectful and gracious, a quiet leader with a wry
sense of humor who has made an art of modeling churchmanship,"
said the Rev. Samuel H. Nafzger, executive director, Commission
on Theology and Church Relationships, the Lutheran Church--Missouri
Synod.
Speakers in person and on screen touted Almen's
accomplishments with military chaplaincy, global and ecumenical
relationships and constitutional interpretation, all aspects of
the varied tasks of the secretary. Many noted the quality and
significance of Almen's institutional memory, developed since the
birth of the ELCA.
"Instead of making membership in a predecessor church body
a banner to be carried into the new church, you, Lowell, made it
the rationale for learning about the new partners. And not just
learning about those partners, but making the history for the
other predecessor church bodies your own so that you could love
it with the present generation and teach it to the next
generation. Thank you, Lowell, for building bridges," said the
Rev. E. Roy Riley, Jr., bishop, ELCA New Jersey Synod, and chair
of the ELCA Conference of Bishops.
Acknowledging applause from the assembly with his
characteristic slight grin, Almen thanked family and colleagues,
then turned the attention back to the church he serves. "I hope
all of you, both pastors and laity, will go back to your
congregations and tell the story of what we do together, because
the danger, I think, in any church body, is that we are inclined
to focus on one issue or another or to focus only on the given
moment and not have that broader perspective. [Keep] in mind the
fact that we can do so much more together in the name of Jesus
than we can do alone," said Almen.
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Information about the 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly can be
found at http://www.ELCA.org/assembly/ on the Web.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
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