ELCA Presiding Bishop Releases Churchwide Restructuring Draft

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), released a draft Aug. 25 of a proposal for restructuring the ELCA churchwide organization. The proposal aims to align the churchwide organization with the ELCA Plan for Mission, adopted at the 2003 Churchwide Assembly.
In a separate release on the same day, the ELCA Church Council executive committee announced a proposal for governance of the churchwide organization. Copies of both proposals are at http://www.elca.org/planning on the ELCA Web site.
If adopted the restructuring proposal would create five churchwide "program units," and retain two that are separately incorporated, Augsburg Fortress Publishers and Women of the ELCA; retain the offices of the presiding bishop, secretary and treasurer, with some additional responsibilities for the Office of the Presiding Bishop; retain the services of communication, research and evaluation, human resources and the recently created development services unit under the presiding bishop; and retain the services of the separately incorporated Mission Investment Fund and Board of Pensions.
The draft restructuring proposal invited people to respond to it by Oct. 17. Responses can be made online at http://www.elca.org/planning or they can be sent here to the ELCA Department for Research and Evaluation, the draft said.
According to the draft, Hanson intends to "bring comprehensive proposals for both structure and governance" to the Nov. 11-14 meeting of the ELCA Church Council. Changes in ELCA structure and governance adopted by the council will be transmitted for consideration by the 2005 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.
The proposals will not contain specific budget allocations or personnel changes, the draft proposal said.
Currently the churchwide organization has six divisions -- congregational ministries, ministry, outreach, higher education and schools, church in society and global mission -- plus a separately incorporated publisher, Augsburg Fortress; a separately incorporated health, benefits and pension administrator, the Board of Pensions; and a separately incorporated women's organization, Women of the ELCA. Two commissions work to expand and enhance the roles of multicultural ministries and women in the ELCA. The church also has five departments --communication, ecumenical affairs, human resources, research and evaluation, and synodical relations -- under the Office of the Presiding Bishop. Churchwide officers also head the Office of the Secretary and Office of the Treasurer.
"I am offering this draft in the hope that this proposed restructuring will provide us with renewed energy for doing God's work for the sake of the world," Hanson said in a letter with the draft proposal. He emphasized that the proposal is only a draft, and he encouraged responses by the deadline.
"This draft proposal is offered in hope and confidence that who we are and what we do as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America matters," Hanson said. "It is offered in the belief that the Holy Spirit is at work constantly renewing and reforming our lives and ministry. It is offered with gratitude for the marvelous gifts with which God blesses us, and for God's amazing grace."
The process leading to the draft proposal included a lengthy and comprehensive outreach program through which the presiding bishop and staff sought comments from a variety of ELCA constituents. Learnings from that process are that the current churchwide structure is perceived as an "unnecessarily complex organization with no clear unified sense of mission which … has programs that appear to be, at best, uncoordinated and at worst, in conflict with each other," the draft said. The draft proposal also said the current organization is perceived as "unable to understand or respond to needs in a way that is helpful or useful," and has little or no accountability internally or externally.
The churchwide organization staff has "worked diligently over the past two years under very difficult circumstances," the draft noted. Since Jan. 1, 2003, more than 50 positions -- 30 that were staffed -- have been eliminated.
"However, the work with and expectations of our partners in mission have not decreased proportionately," the draft said. "In order to fulfill our commitments and remain healthy, we must adjust to this significantly smaller workforce."
Existing staffing patterns will be adjusted based on unit outcomes "yet to be determined," the draft said.
"These outcomes will be determined over the next 12 months with the participation of the current staff and the other mission partners of the churchwide organization," the draft said. "Staffing patterns may also have to be adjusted based on continuing budget realities."

Proposed Design
In the new churchwide design there are three types of units: offices, program units and service units. The program units are responsible for programs of the churchwide organization; offices relate to and are under the authority of the full-time ELCA officers; service units are responsible for providing technical and specialized expertise.
The proposed program units are:
+ Congregational Mission and Evangelical Outreach: This unit would include evangelism, Christian education, stewardship education, multilingual and culture-specific programs, Lutheran Men in Mission, outreach research and planning, new congregations, renewal of congregations, pertinent portions of the ethnic strategies, rural ministry, urban ministry and specialized outreach ministries (e.g. maritime, prisons, deaf), the draft proposal said.
+ Global Mission: This unit includes recruitment, placement and support of international personnel, accompaniment of companion churches, companion synod programs, program coordination with global partners, administration of international grants and scholarships, global mission education, advocacy, pertinent portions of ethnic strategies, outreach and cross-cultural expertise, the draft said.
+ Multicultural Ministries: The proposal said all churchwide units have responsibility for multicultural ministry; however, the unit's staff will nurture and teach an alliance of people from all units who share responsibilities for multicultural ministry in the churchwide organization. This alliance aims to build the capacity of the entire organization in this "vital area of ministry," develops intra-unit and inter-unit outcomes, and advocates throughout this church for growth in its diversity, implementation of the ethnic strategies and compliance with its representational principles, the draft proposal said.
+ Public Witness: If the design proposal is adopted, this unit will include advocacy, disability ministries, environmental concerns, studies, pertinent portions of ethnic strategies, support to social ministry organizations, domestic disaster response, social ministries for congregations, congregation-based organizing, coordination of the world hunger program, support of domestic hunger ministries, hunger education and interpretation, ministry among people in poverty and work on behalf of women.
+ Vocation and Education: This program unit would include relationships with ELCA schools, youth ministries, Youth Gathering, Lutheran Youth Organization, outdoor ministries, relationships with ELCA colleges and universities, campus ministries, young adult ministries, seminary relationships, candidacy, first-call assignments and mobility processes, multicultural leadership development and recruitment, leadership initiatives for women of color and language, pertinent portions of the ethnic strategies, training leaders for outreach, ministries in chaplaincy, prevention of clergy sexual misconduct, pastoral counseling, clinical education, lifelong learning partners and Lutheran Partners, the draft said