January 4, 2006

CHICAGO – Catastrophic natural disasters in the United States and South Asia and much-anticipated decisions made by voting members at the 2005 Churchwide Assembly were among the top news stories in 2005 involving the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

The top stories were determined by the ELCA News Service, ELCA Communication Services. Staff include John R. Brooks, director, Melissa Ramirez Cooper, associate director, and Frank F. Imhoff, associate director.

Top stories, listed in no particular order, were:

+ Natural disasters: In the last week of 2004, a tsunami, spawned by an earthquake in the Indian Ocean, struck several south Asian countries resulting in more than 200,000 deaths. Most severely affected were people living in coastal regions of India, Indonesia, Somalia and Sri Lanka. Through ELCA International Disaster Response, members gave more than $11 million, which was used to provide immediate relief and to fund long-term rebuilding and recovery projects.

ELCA members and related organizations contributed more than $20 million for relief, rebuilding and recovery following the U.S. Gulf Coast disaster caused by Hurricane Katrina and compounded by Hurricane Rita. More than a dozen congregations in south Louisiana and on the Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast, were damaged by the storms. Lutheran Disaster Response, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, several Lutheran social ministry organizations, and pastors and members from throughout the United States and Caribbean, responded to assist people in need.

+ Homosexuality decisions: In one of the most anticipated churchwide assemblies since the ELCA was formed, voting members chose to keep the church's policies regarding homosexuality in place. The decisions at the Orlando assembly in August 2005 followed a four-year study process initiated by the 2001 Churchwide Assembly. Voting members adopted proposals to maintain church unity in the midst of disagreements, and agreed to respect the advice of the ELCA Conference of Bishops regarding same-sex blessings while welcoming and ministering to all people. Voting members rejected a proposal that would have allowed people who are gay or lesbian and in a committed relationship to be ordained if they successfully completed a process for seeking an exception to current policy that governs the church's expectations of its ordained ministers. Current policy, which was maintained by the assembly's rejection of the proposal, requires that ordained pastors refrain from homosexual sexual relationships.

In addition, the ELCA Church Council extended by two years the process by which the church will develop a draft of a social statement on human sexuality. The social statement, also requested by the 2001 assembly, is expected to be presented for consideration at the 2009 Churchwide Assembly.

+ Baptized membership falls below 5 million: In July, the Rev. Lowell G. Almen, ELCA secretary, reported ELCA membership at 4,930,429 for 2004. The figures represented about a one percent decrease in membership from the previous year. From 1990 to 2004, baptized membership declined by about 300,000 members.

+ "The Lutheran Handbook" draws attention: Strong sales of "The Lutheran Handbook: A Field Guide to Church Stuff, Everyday Stuff and the Bible," a book for young people with serious and not-so-serious information about Lutheranism and the Lutheran Church, helped the financial picture of Augsburg Fortress, the publishing ministry of the ELCA, in 2005. The volume included sections on what to bring to a church potluck, learning how to survive for one hour in an un-air-conditioned church and how to forgive someone. The book quickly sold out of its first printing and gained popularity beyond youth circles. In late October Augsburg Fortress released "The Christian Handbook," intended to appeal to the ecumenical market. Some 36,000 copies were sold in advance of its publication.

+ Presiding bishop visits Africa, Middle East, South America: In his role as president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, traveled abroad in 2005 to Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone in February, in late August and early September he visited Jordan and Israel, part of which included chairing a meeting of the LWF Council in Bethlehem and Jerusalem; and in October he visited Brazil and Chile. On each trip he visited Lutheran ministry sites, and met with church leaders, members and political leaders.

+ Churchwide Assembly approves significant programs and initiatives: Other than sexuality issues, the 2005 Churchwide Assembly adopted proposals for Renewing Worship, including a new worship book to be published in October 2006; it adopted ethnic ministry strategies specific to African Descent and Arab and Middle Eastern communities; it implemented a Middle East strategy, aimed at seeking with peace with justice for all people in that region; and it adopted proposals that will result in restructuring of the churchwide organization and some changes in how it is governed.

+ ELCA weighs in on budget reconciliation: All 65 synod bishops of the ELCA and Hanson signed a letter delivered to members of Congress. The letter urged Congress to re-think proposals that would make drastic cuts in social programs that benefit people in need. Hanson and four other U.S. church leaders addressed the issue on several different occasions. In the end, many of the proposals were approved by Congress, but not all. Said Hanson in a statement after the final vote: "Our voices of opposition were heard, and have provided a tangible sign that the Church is living out the Gospel of Jesus Christ and ‘proclaiming the greatness of the Lord' in our own day. Though some spending cuts ultimately passed in the Senate, food stamp cuts were eliminated from the final version."

+ Presiding bishop meets Pope Benedict XVI: In November Hanson traveled to Italy and met Pope Benedict XVI for the first time since the new pope was elected. Their meeting emphasized church unity. Later, staffs of the LWF and the Vatican discussed the possibility of recognizing the upcoming 500th anniversary – in 2017 – of the start of the Protestant Reformation.

+ Air Force chaplain raises concerns about U.S. Air Force Academy practices: Capt. Melinda Morton, an ELCA chaplain at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., was removed from her post as executive officer to the academy's chief chaplain, Col. Michael Whittington, for what she said was her refusal to denounce a report from the Yale Divinity School that suggested academy personnel were inappropriately proselytizing cadets. The incident prompted a federal internal investigation at the academy, and the Air Force later issued new guidelines. Morton, who appeared in news stories and on several news interview programs, later resigned her commission and left the Air Force.

+ "BTK" serial killer arrested, pleads guilty: In suburban Wichita, Kan., police arrested Dennis Rader and charged him as the "BTK" (bind, torture, kill) serial killer, who had murdered 10 people in the Wichita area over a period of 30 years. At the time of his arrest Rader was president of Christ Lutheran Church, Wichita, and was a longtime member there. The Rev. Michael G. Clark, pastor, and the congregation of Christ Lutheran Church were suddenly thrust into a media spotlight on a national stage. Rader pleaded guilty to his crimes and was sentenced to 10 consecutive life terms.

+ Notable obituaries in 2005: Jan. 6, the Rev. Raynold J. Lingwall, former longtime Iowa Synod president in the Lutheran Church in America; Jan. 20, the Rev. Morris G. Zumbrun, former bishop of the ELCA Delaware-Maryland Synod and the LCA Maryland Synod; Feb. 6, the Rev. Edgar S. Brown, longtime worship leader in the ELCA predecessor church bodies; May 19, the Rev. Carl E. Linder, who served more than 40 years as an editor for church publications including Lutheran Partners; Aug. 9, the Rev. Gerhard O. Forde, a leading Lutheran theologian and retired seminary professor; Aug. 17, the Rev. Walter R. Bouman, a prominent Lutheran theologian, lecturer and retired seminary professor; Aug. 23, the Rev. W. Kent Gilbert III, a former leader in Lutheran parish services; Aug. 25, the Rev. Oscar A. Anderson, retired president of Augsburg College, Minneapolis; Aug. 28, the Rev. Gerhard A. Krodel, theologian, dean and educator who taught at three of the eight ELCA seminaries; Aug. 30, the Rev. Richard M. Wallace Jr., associate professor of pastoral care and counseling, Luther Seminary; Sept. 3, William H. Rehnquist, chief justice of the United States; and Oct. 27, the Rev. John Adam, former bishop of the ELCA Slovak Zion Synod the LCA Slovak Zion Synod.

ELCA News Service