August 11, 2003

MILWAUKEE - At an Aug. 11 news conference, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA Presiding Bishop, and ELCA Vice President Addie J. Butler highlighted the ELCA strategic plan, the studies on sexuality and the importance of lay leadership.

The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the ELCA, is meeting here Aug. 11-17 at the Midwest Airlines Center. There are about 2,500 people participating, including 1,031 ELCA voting members. The theme for the biennial assembly is "Making Christ Known: For the Healing of the World."

"The primary work of this assembly is to turn us to the future," said Hanson. The assembly will discuss the proposed strategic plan that has involved input from 30,000 members of the church over a two-year period, and it will also consider a proposed evangelism strategy and a social statement on health and health care, "Caring For Health: Our Shared Endeavor."

Hanson noted that this assembly is "mindful" of the steps taken by the Episcopal Church last week, which confirmed the first openly gay Episcopal bishop. Hanson affirmed that the ELCA will rely upon Lutheran resources to set policy and social statements. He stressed that even as a full communion partner with the Episcopal Church, the ELCA retains its autonomy on standards for what is required to serve as an ordained minister of the church.

The agenda set for this assembly will include a progress report from a task force overseeing the church's study on homosexuality. The study was commissioned by the 2001 Churchwide Assembly. That assembly set a timetable for addressing human sexuality, commissioning a study on the ordination of gay and lesbian people who are in committed relationships and on a liturgical rite recognizing gay and lesbian unions. That study is to be completed and presented to the 2005 assembly. By 2007, the church is charged with considering a social statement on human sexuality.

"Rather than only dwelling on the possibility that the issues before us will divide us, we need to say, 'Wait a minute. People of faith all over this land are taking sexuality back from the culture that took it from us and trivialized it,'" Hanson said. According to Hanson, the challenge before church members is to be faithful stewards of this "mysterious, wonderful, fragile gift of human sexuality" by prayerfully discussing it with one another "in the context of Scripture, in our life together, mindful of our ecumenical and global partners."

Hanson stressed that human sexuality be discussed in terms of how it affects individuals rather than as "issues" that objectify and alienate people. He also placed the debate over human sexuality in context of the recent assembly of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) that gathered in Winnipeg, Canada, at the end of July, saying that it is only one of several concerns - including HIV/AIDS, poverty and globalization - that church leaders are dealing with globally. "We don't have these conversations in isolation from ecumenical and global partners," he said.

To work for the healing of the world, said Hanson, "one of the major responsibilities of leaders today is to listen and to respond to what we hear, and then to lead."

Hanson commended the assembly's host, the ELCA Greater Milwaukee Synod, for "immersing itself" in issues of poverty, equality and racism. "Even in times of financial difficulty, we need to step forth more boldly in our support" for these ministries.

Hanson also affirmed that Lutherans are the largest providers of nonprofit social services in the United States. "We will continue to step forward in healing and social services ministry," he said.

Outgoing Vice President Butler addressed the importance of lay leadership, giving thanks to those who formed the ELCA for placing such an emphasis on lay leaders. She pointed out that by design, half of the ELCA Church Council members are lay leaders who are primarily charged with "lifting up the name of Jesus. Certainly we don't forget our calling to be part of those working with clergy people and other [leaders] for the healing of the world." The church council is the ELCA's board of directors between churchwide assemblies.

Butler's term as vice president concludes on Aug. 17. One of the major actions of this assembly will be to elect a new vice president to serve a six-year term for the ELCA.

Information about the ELCA Churchwide Assembly can be found at http://www.elca/org/assembly/03 on the Web.

ELCA News Service