Minneapolis (Oct. 9, 2025) — The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) met at the Hilton Minneapolis, Oct. 2-3. The council welcomed 19 new members who had been elected by the 2025 Churchwide Assembly. The meeting was held in advance of the Oct. 4 installation of Yehiel Curry as presiding bishop of the ELCA at Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis.
The council — which serves as the ELCA churchwide organization’s board of directors and interim legislative authority between meetings of a churchwide assembly — took the following actions on three memorials referred to the council at the adjournment of the 2025 Churchwide Assembly:
• Authorized the development of a social policy resolution that applies the ELCA social statement Abortion to the challenging personal struggles and pastoral issues that have emerged since 1991, when the statement was adopted by the churchwide assembly. The council declined, at this time, a request to update or revise the 1991 statement or to create a new social statement on abortion.
• Directed Theological Discernment staff in the ELCA churchwide organization to review a request for a new social message on rural, remote communities and sovereign tribal nations, and to bring a recommendation to the ELCA Church Council, no later than its spring 2026 meeting, on what means should be authorized to address the questions involved.
• Reaffirmed this church’s commitment to justice for Palestinians and Israelis and asked the Service and Justice unit, in consultation with the Office of the Presiding Bishop, to implement recommendations in a new memorial for continuing accompaniment, awareness and advocacy efforts. The council requested that Service and Justice provide a report on these efforts for the spring 2026 meeting.
The council received updates from its Executive Committee regarding:
• Appointment of members to the Task Force on Interdependence and Purpose, established to assess the adequacy and clarity of the several purpose statements in the ELCA Constitutions, Bylaws, and Continuing Resolutions and make recommendations for modification among other topics.
• A timeline of the “immediate action on dismantling racism” acted on during the spring 2025 meeting to develop mutual accountability measures and compliance incentives across all expressions of the ELCA.
• Deferred consideration of changing the church’s name, in light of the newly appointed Task Force on Interdependence and Purpose.
The council also received reports and approved items related to churchwide assembly and synod actions, whose subjects included: reconsideration of the ELCA’s social message on end-of-life decisions, remembrance of Indian boarding schools, advocacy for missing and murdered Indigenous women, restoration of funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development, public discourse about Palestine-Israel, and follow-up on the ELCA’s Middle East strategy.
In other action, the council:
• Conferred the honorary title of “presiding bishop emerita” to the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton.
• Appointed the Rev. Wyvetta Bullock as interim executive for administration. The executive for administration serves coterminously with the presiding bishop. Bullock’s current term ended on Sept. 30, but Bishop Curry recommended the interim appointment until a new person is identified for this position.
• Approved an issue paper on artificial intelligence.
• Ratified appointments to the Church Council standing committees for the 2025-2028 triennium.
• Elected at-large members to the Executive Committee.
• Acknowledged the commitment of the council to have greater interaction with synod councils and synod assemblies in their respective areas.
• Received a debrief on the 2025 Churchwide Assembly and a preliminary report on the assembly voting member evaluation.
The Church Council received/engaged in the following:
• Reports from church leaders, committees, the Conference of Bishops and churchwide units and teams.
• An update from the ELCA Vision team.
• Education on gender and racial justice.
• Greetings from ecumenical and international partners.
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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 2.7 million members in more than 8,400 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
