January 20, 2005

CHICAGO - The 5 million members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) can spend much of this year studying their "legacy in education." A 16-member Task Force on Education developed the study materials, "Our Calling in Education: A Lutheran Study," as one of the early stages in preparing a possible social statement on education for the ELCA's 2007 Churchwide Assembly.

The ELCA Division for Church in Society published the 82- page booklet with an Oct. 1 deadline for responses to the study. Based on the responses and on its own study, the division's task force will prepare a first draft of the proposed social statement for distribution throughout the ELCA at the beginning of 2006.

"This study has sought to give a comprehensive view of our calling in education. It has offered a theological basis for this calling and related it to education in Church and society," Our Calling in Education said.

The first of the materials' six parts introduced the study. "From the time of the Reformation, the Lutheran church has been a teaching and learning church. We have placed emphasis on forming and educating children and youth in the Christian faith in home and congregation, and we strive for adults to grow in their relationship with God and neighbor and to care for creation," the study said.

"We believe that the common good of society requires educated citizens, and that government has responsibility to ensure equal educational opportunity for all children and youth. We today are called to carry on this legacy with its Lutheran vision of education," it said.

Part two of the study materials is an overview of education from a faith perspective. "We believe God cares for and governs all of life, including education; we believe education is a human activity through which God blesses individuals and society," the study said.

"The Church is to educate in the faith for vocation. This means preparing individuals to view their lives in terms of God's call and to equip them to live out that calling in their places of responsibility, joining with others to educate all for the common good," it said.

The third part looked at the church's role in "equipping individual believers for their vocation."

"We are blessed with a strong legacy in education and with wonderful resources in our church. Yet we face serious challenges in our calling to educate in the faith. One such challenge is that of equipping believers for their vocation through lifelong learning," it said.

Part four considered the church's particular role in educating children and youth in the Christian faith.

"'Will our children have faith in the God of the gospel? Will our faith have children?' The answers depend finally on the Holy Spirit. We pray that it will be so, and that in educating children in the faith we may be faithful agents of the Holy Spirit's calling, gathering, enlightening and making holy," it said.

The fifth part addressed the responsibilities the church shares with governments to provide public education, "especially for children who are poor and otherwise disadvantaged."

"As part of our calling as citizens, we have responsibility to recognize the glaring inequity in access to good schooling, insist that our society face the issue, and join the public discussion to determine what policies increase equality of opportunity," the study said.

Among the factors influencing the future of public education are "our commitment to providing good education for all young people and our critical support of public schools," it said.

The study's final part dealt with the Lutheran church's work in higher education "and how we can continue to be a vibrant presence there." It said, "The Lutheran presence in North America has been marked by strong commitment to higher education." The ELCA has eight seminaries and 28 colleges and universities.

The materials looked at Lutheran involvement beyond the church's schools, in campus ministries and Lutheran students. "More Lutherans teach at public and non-Lutheran private universities and colleges than do at our Lutheran institutions. Many of them not only perform their callings with excellence but also provide models of Christian teaching and the engagement of faith and learning," it said.

"Our Calling in Education" is linked to http://www.elca.org/socialstatements/education/ through a Web Companion Guide, with information the ELCA Division for Church in Society provided about the process for developing the social statement.

ELCA News Service