ELCA Assembly Agrees to a Social Statement on Justice for Women

MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- For the next five years Lutherans will study justice for women in church and society. By a vote of 754-176, the 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) moved to develop a social statement on the topic, slated to be considered by the 2015 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.
The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the ELCA, is meeting here Aug. 17-23 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. About 2,000 people are participating, including the 1,045 voting members. The theme for the biennial assembly is "God's work. Our hands."
The Rev. Susan Candea, ELCA Rocky Mountain Synod and a member of the ELCA Justice for Women consulting committee, urged the assembly to support the development of the social statement because it provides an opportunity for Lutherans to be evangelists.
"We've lost sight of seeing our social statements as tools of evangelism," she said. "How do we structure our society in ways that reflect the kingdom of God?"
"As an African American female clergy in this church, I embody an incredible history that says 'we have come a long way baby,'" said the Rev. Christine C. Thompson, ELCA Milwaukee Synod, who spoke in favor of the motion.
"As a female I've been told in the past that I could not speak nor lead in the church. We have come a long way. And, my brothers and sisters, we have a long way to go. There are those who would look at the melanin in my skin before they consider my skills and my spirit-gifts before calling me as a pastor in this church."
Also speaking in favor of the motion, Michael V. Johnson, ELCA Southeast Michigan Synod, said the church "ought to be in the business of justice and advocacy for all people and, in particular, for women." To develop a social statement on justice for women "will be incredibly powerful," he said, adding that listening "to women of color will add power to this. It is long, overdue."
Meredith L. Nelson, ELCA Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod, spoke against the recommendation. "I'm a veteran of the Marine Corps" and "as you may or may not know, women only make up 8 percent of persons in the Marine Corps," she said. "I'm also a percussionist, and I only make up about 20 percent of women who are percussionist. When you do the job I do, it's not based on whether you wear a skirt or pants, it's not based on the color of your skin, it's based on your skill level."
Nelson said her concern about the social statement is that "every penny that is spent working on this is money that is not being spent on campus ministry, developing new congregations, and mission and outreach. The ELCA should spend these dollars on mission and outreach, on hunger and all kinds of areas. We need to keep the main thing, (which) is to spread the Gospel of Jesus and not necessarily focus on social justice."
The Rev. Ann M. Tiemeyer, ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod, told the assembly that the reason the church needs this statement "is because we need (a) clear, theologically articulated document that can help us in discussions and teaching about justice for women." She said the statement can be a witness not only to the ELCA but to the ecumenical movement.
Social statements assist Lutherans in their moral deliberation, govern the ELCA's institutional policies and guide the church's advocacy work. At the 2009 assembly, voting members approved the ELCA's 10th social statement -- "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust."
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Information about the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly can be found at http://www.elca.org/assembly on the Web.

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