ELCA Board Affirms National Strategies, Organizations

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Congregational Ministries (DCM) affirmed two national strategies for ethnic-specific ministries, responded to strategic directions and outcomes for the ELCA churchwide organization, and supported ministries seeking to become independent organizations of the church when it met here Feb. 18-19.
There is "excitement" among members of the board in affirming "The ELCA Plan of Action for Ministry in African Descent Communities" and the "Arab and Middle Eastern Ministry Strategy: Bridges across History, Lands, and Cultures," said the board's chair, the Rev. Steven T. Kruse, Scottsdale, Ariz.
The African Descent Ministry Strategy is "a living document," said the Rev. Richard J. Perry, professor of church and society and director of the urban ministry program, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. It is "intended to stir imagination and ministry initiatives beyond what is presented on its pages."
Perry, a member of the strategy's writing team, presented the plan and invited the board's comments. "Responses and questions from the board will be considered" by the developers of the strategy, Perry said.
The strategy features a theological statement, vision and sets of mission opportunities, goals and "mission actions" regarding pastoral leadership, worship, witness, discipleship, stewardship, family ministries, social justice, and unity and diversity.
Board member Dora Johnson, Washington, D.C., presented the Arab and Middle Eastern Ministry Strategy to the DCM board. Johnson said Arab and Middle Eastern members constitute less than one percent of the ELCA's total membership, which is about 5 million.
Recommendations for ministry provided in the strategy are listed in order of priority, Johnson told the board. The first is support for Arab and Middle Eastern congregations of the ELCA, she said. Other areas of priority include evangelical outreach and global, ecumenical and interfaith relationships.
The ELCA Church Council will consider placing the two ministry strategies -- developed by the ELCA Commission for Multicultural Ministries -- on the agenda of the ELCA Churchwide Assembly. The council will meet here April 8-11; the next assembly will be Aug. 8-14 in Orlando, Fla.
The DCM board devoted time to responding to the strategic directions and proposed outcomes of the ELCA churchwide organization's work in 2006-2007. Responses by the board, generated in small groups and during its committee meetings, will be forwarded to the ELCA Office of the Presiding Bishop.
The churchwide organization develops a set of outcome statements that provide specific direction for its work biennially. The church's five strategic directions are outlined in the "Plan for Mission" endorsed by the 2003 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.
This year the ELCA churchwide organization is restructuring its ministries to align itself with the Plan for Mission. The plan outlines the reorganization of the ELCA churchwide office and the church's governance and structure, which includes replacing divisions with program units and using program committees instead of boards. Proposed changes to the ELCA Constitution related to structure and governance will be considered at the 2005 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.
The DCM board also responded to the proposed continuing resolutions for two new program units -- "evangelical outreach and congregational ministries" and "vocation and education."
"We are already living into the new Plan for Mission design," the Rev. M. Wyvetta Bullock, DCM executive director, told the board. "Several ministry areas have already been transferred out of the division [and into] new units," while others -- Lutheran Men in Mission and outdoor ministries -- have moved toward becoming separately incorporated ministries, she said.
In her written report Bullock informed the board that "this is your last meeting as the board of the Division for Congregational Ministries," pending decisions to be made by the 2005 assembly surrounding governance.
"The future calls us to new and creative ventures," Bullock said. "I am confident that the work and ministry we have shared these past years has its own integrity and role in God's mission for this church and the world." Bullock thanked the board for allowing her to serve as executive director this past decade.
"I have served churchwide ministries for nearly 24 years, and I have served in [DCM] since 1987 and as executive director since 1995. As we bring the work of the Division for Congregational Ministries to a close, I am humbled to have been privileged to serve with and on your behalf," she said.
"The work of the board is quite minimal [compared] to the work of the division," according to Kruse. "The role of the board has been to provide oversight to the work of the division. Members of the board have been quite amazed with the amount of work [accomplished] by the unit, especially in the past 18 months," he said.
In other business, the DCM board authorized certain ministries of the division to become independent, nonprofit organizations, accepted an application for becoming an independent Lutheran organization, and it provided "messages of support" to ministries working to become self-sustaining. The board:
+ authorized the churchwide board of Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM) to make LMM a non-profit corporation. It requested that the ELCA general counsel help complete the incorporation process and "ensure that all the legal and ecclesiastical requirements are met." A goal of the men's ministry is to strengthen its resources so that the organization might be financially self-sufficient by the end of 2005. DCM will continue its relationship with the new men's organization, said Robert Mueller, board member, Toulon, Ill. LMM has been linked directly to DCM since 1988.
+ accepted Lutheran Association of Christian Educators' (LACE) application to become an independent association of the ELCA. Organized in 2003, the association provides support for Christian educators in the ELCA. LACE is a relatively small network that wants to grow in the ELCA, said Mueller.
+ sent a message of support to the new Lutheran Outdoor Ministries, Inc., a nonprofit organization designed to organize the outdoor ministry of the ELCA. "We want to encourage and lift up the deep, effective relationship between" DCM and Lutheran Outdoor Ministry, said board member Terri Elton, Apple Valley, Minn. The board formally authorized the ELCA Outdoor Ministry Advisory Committee, in cooperation with the Association of Lutheran Outdoor Ministry Professions, to form the nonprofit organization this past fall.
+ recognized Youth Leadership, Inc., Minneapolis, as an independent Lutheran organization. Youth Leadership serves ELCA congregations and educational institutions in providing youth ministry education and training.
The DCM board also affirmed a "Resolution for Unity in the Church" forwarded by the ELCA Council of Synod Lutheran Youth Organization Presidents (CSLYOPs). The resolution expresses CSLYOPs' commitment to "work together as one body" and "stay a united church regardless of potentially divisive conversations and actions" surrounding issues of sexuality and the church. CSLYOPs passed the resolution at its Dec. 2-5 meeting in Camp Berachah, Auburn, Wash.

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