ELCA bishops gather for mutual sharing of ministries, worship and study

ITASCA, IL. (ELCA) - According to the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a "church that is deeply
rooted and always being made new." In his March 3 report to the ELCA
Conference of Bishops, the presiding bishop noted ways in which the 4.2
million members of this church together engage in life-changing
ministries, impacting communities both locally and internationally.
The ELCA Conference of Bishops is an advisory body of the church
that includes the ELCA's 65 synod bishops, presiding bishop and
secretary. The Rev. Jessica R. Crist, bishop of the ELCA Montana Synod,
chairs the conference, which met here March 1-6.
In his report, Hanson highlighted Santa Maria de Guadalupe Lutheran
Church in Irving, Texas, one of the fastest-growing congregations in the
ELCA, with more than 2,500 members worshiping at five services every
weekend.
Santa Maria began 10 years ago, when three ELCA families purchased
land using their personal funds. The ELCA Mission Investment Fund then
provided financing for the construction of the church building. Primarily
a Spanish-speaking congregation, members work to address immigration and
other needs in the surrounding community.
"Santa Maria would not happen without the (investments of)
individual ELCA members, without synods and the churchwide organization
combining its resources, along with the passion of a mission developer.
This is what it means to be a church together deeply rooted and always
being made new," Hanson told the conference.
Calling it a "spirit-led" coincidence, Hanson said that on the day
he visited Santa Maria, he received a letter from President Barack Obama
thanking the ELCA for its support of the Dream Act and for the work ELCA
members have been doing in resettling refugees.
Hanson also highlighted a series of meetings between ELCA and Roman
Catholic leaders at the Vatican, where long-standing relationships have
been reaffirmed, and a recent meeting held at the Lutheran Center here
with Israeli government representatives. The request for this meeting
came from Bahij Mansour, who will soon become Israeli ambassador to
Nigeria.
"We are a church that understands that unity is always within
diversity as God's gift for us. Because we are a church that takes
seriously our relatedness, we have the capacity to serve as catalyst,
convener and bridge-builder," said Hanson.
The ELCA Conference of Bishops received a report from the Rev. Linda
Norman, ELCA treasurer. She said the ELCA churchwide organization's
income exceeded expenses by $4 million in current operating funds for the
2011 fiscal year, which ended Jan. 31. This is a favorable variance of
$1.4 million from the previous fiscal year, Norman reported.
Receipts totaled $67 million for 2011, an increase of $0.2 million
or 0.3 percent, compared with $66.8 million for 2010. Expenses related to
the current operating fund amounted to $62.4 million, a decrease of $1.8
million or 2.8 percent from fiscal 2010.
Churchwide ministries had spending at 99.7 percent of the approved
spending authorization.
Norman said most of the churchwide organization's revenue comes from
congregations through synods in the form of Mission Support. Although Mission Support for the 2011 fiscal year decreased to $50.4 million (a $2.2 million or 4.2 percent reduction), Mission Support was favorable to budget by $2.4 million or 5.1 percent.
Norman said that the lower rate of decline "in the rolling 12-month
total of Mission Support experienced throughout the fiscal year was in
sharp contrast to the rate of decline in the previous two fiscal years.
This favorable trend is an indication that income is stabilizing and the
dramatic decreases in income and expenses experienced in the last
biennium have abated."
ELCA members contributed $19.1 million for ELCA World Hunger Appeal
in 2011, and $10.1 million for ELCA Disaster Response that year, the
treasurer said.
Other income received in 2011 for budgeted operations amounted to
$16.6 million, compared with $14.1 million in fiscal year 2010, Norman
reported.
Acknowledging that previous years have provided significant
financial challenges, Norman said the churchwide organization budget is
now operating positively.
The Rev. Craig Settlage, who directs ELCA Mission Support, shared
with the conference that in 2012, 20 of the ELCA's 65 synods will be
increasing their percentage of sharing Mission Support, while seven
synods are decreasing their sharing. The remaining 38 synods are
maintaining their percentage this year.
ELCA Secretary David D. Swartling reported that as of Jan. 31, 904
congregations have taken first votes to disaffiliate with the ELCA. Of
congregations taking first votes, 672 passed and 232 failed. Of those
congregations in which second disaffiliation votes have passed, 613 have
completed the termination process and are no longer on the ELCA roster of
congregations.
According to the Rev. William "Chris" Boerger, bishop of the ELCA
Northwest Washington Synod, the ELCA churchwide organization has more
than 345 new congregations in development. A significant percentage of
the ELCA's new starts are among African National, African American,
American Indian, Asian/Pacific Islander, Latino and multicultural members.
In other business, the Conference of Bishops:
+ Received a confidential review of the "Draft of a Social Statement on
Criminal Justice," which will be made public March 15. The conference
also held a closed, off-the-record session about the development and
vitality of ELCA social statements. Headed by an ELCA task force, this
church has begun reviewing how it responds to social concerns.
+ Held small-group discussions about how the Conference of Bishops can
achieve some clarity about its commitment to the nature and purpose of
synods and bishops, and implications for that in the context of the
larger "ecology" of the ELCA. Known as the Group of Nine, nine bishops
helped guide this work, stemming from a series of resolutions approved by
the 2011 ELCA Churchwide Assembly that explore options for the future of
the ELCA in light of its identity, changes in its environment and its
call to God's mission.
"The Conference of Bishops is very grateful for the good, hard and
generative work that the Group of Nine has done pushing us to look at
issues about the future of the church, and how we can best serve Jesus
Christ in the world," said Crist.
"With many synods in leadership transition in the next several
years, one of the recommendations from the Group of the Nine is to look
very intentionally about how we train, select and form leaders in this
church, and we will be continuing to look at different models that synods
have chosen to use in their particular context to raise up the leaders
that we need for the church in the future," said Crist, adding that 25
synods will hold elections for bishop in 2013.
"There has been a good spirit of cooperation in this meeting," Crist
said. "Members of the Conference of Bishops, churchwide staff and
visitors share a common vision of moving the church into the future,
taking the risks that need to be taken and seeking new ways to serve."