CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Forty Lutherans of European descent met
here Oct. 30-Nov. 1, approved a constitution and bylaws for a
new European American Lutheran Association (EALA) of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and elected
officers and a board for the new organization.
"The European American Lutheran Association is a group of
white Lutherans who seek to dismantle structures within the
ELCA that give privilege to white people and disadvantage
people of color," said Katherine B. Long, Redmond, Wash.,
EALA's newly elected president.
"We seek to reclaim for the ELCA our biblical heritage
as one family created in God's image. We will stand as partners
with our brothers and sisters of the other ethnic associations
working within the ELCA to fulfill its commitments to
anti-racist multiculturalism, and to become inclusive and
anti-racist," Long said.
In November 2006 the ELCA Church Council affirmed the
EALA's creation as the church's sixth ethnic association.
"In a sense we are trying to create a new vision," the
Rev. Sherman G. Hicks, executive director, ELCA Multicultural
Ministries, told the council. "This church has looked at
'multicultural' as basically 'ethnic-specific,' and that is
not multicultural," he said. "It is time that we start giving
the vision that is truly representative of the words and what
I believe this church has been saying it wants to be and do."
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Officers of ELCA Ethnic Associations
African American Lutheran Association in the ELCA
President: The Rev. O. Dennis Mims, Glendale, Calif.
Vice President: Janice Tibbs, St. Louis
Recording Secretary: Anoia Rhodes, Erie, Pa.
Corresponding Secretary: The Rev. Gwendolyn Snell, Cleveland
Treasurer: Jacqui El Torro, East Point, Ga.
American Indian and Alaska Native Association in the ELCA
President: Elizabeth Gaskins, Spenser, Ind.
Vice President: Larry Thiele, Sheyenne, N.D.
Secretary: Jenny Lightfoot, Burnsville, Minn.
Treasurer: Will Voss, Scottsbluff, Neb.
Association of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the ELCA
President: The Rev. Chi-Shih Chen, Lake Zurich, Ill.
Vice President: The Rev. Yutaka Kishino, Claremont, Calif.
Secretary: The Rev. Kevin Cho, Denver
Treasurer: Saitong Urramporn, Woodridge, Ill.
Association of Latino Ministries in the ELCA
President: The Rev. Nelson H. Rabell-Gonzalez, Turnersville, N.J.
Vice President: Jennifer DeLeon, Des Plaines, Ill.
Secretary: The Rev. Elena N. Perez, Bay Shore, N.Y.
Treasurer: Sandra Rivera, Madison, Wis.
Association of Lutherans of Arab and Middle Eastern Heritage
President: Fuad Nijim, Santa Clara, Calif.
Vice President: Ghassan Khoury, Hoffman Estates, Ill.
Secretary: Zeena Karakoshi, Chicago
Treasurer: Edward Allawh, Brooklyn, N.Y.
European American Lutheran Association
President: Katherine B. Long, Redmond, Wash.
Vice President: The Rev. Lyle A. Kleman, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Secretary: The Rev. Frederick Thomas-Breitfeld, Milwaukee
Treasurer: Kathy Smith, Iowa City, Iowa
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Information about the European American Lutheran
Association is at
http://archive.ELCA.org/multicultural/EAindex.html on the
ELCA Web site.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
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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
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
