April 18, 2007

CHICAGO – In 1987 the constituting convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) adopted the goal "that within 10 years of its establishment its membership shall include at least 10 percent people of color and/or primarily language other than English." The ELCA Church Council received a report on the church's continuing work to achieve that goal and commended the report "for study, reflection and response."

The Church Council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as the legislative authority of the church between churchwide assemblies. The council met here April 14-16. Assemblies are held every other year; the next is here Aug. 6-11.

In 1987 the ELCA began with about 2 percent of its members identified as "African American, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian or Hispanic." In 1997 about 2.13 percent of the ELCA's members were "African American, Black, American Indian and Alaska Native, Arab and Middle Eastern, Asian and Latino people," the report said.

The "Multicultural Ministry Strategy Report" of ELCA Multicultural Ministries noted that as of December 2005 slightly more than 3 percent of the ELCA's members were people of color or whose primary language is other than English, while that can describe about 33 percent of the U.S. population.

The Rev. Sherman G. Hicks, executive director, ELCA Multicultural Ministries, reviewed that history in his report to the council. "It's important that we not lose sight of the 10 percent goal but that we look at some of the other things that are happening beside membership," he said.

All program units of the ELCA have been involved in work around five multicultural ministry strategies, Hicks said, pointing out that a recent restructuring of the churchwide organization made Multicultural Ministry one of the program units.

The report outlined progress on the African Descent Ministry Strategy, the American Indian and Alaska Native Strategic Plan, the Arab and Middle Eastern Ministry Strategy, the Asian and Pacific Islander Ministry Strategy and the Latino Ministry Strategy.

"Several units have called or hired staff in areas that relate directly to issues that are identified in the strategies," the report said. "This is a very hopeful sign as each of the program units takes on a more direct responsibility for the implementation of the strategies."

Despite the goals, strategies and efforts of the church, "the ELCA has made very modest progress in becoming a more multicultural church," the report said. "Without a significant change in the commitment and practices of all the expressions of the ELCA, this church will continue to go without the gifts of people of color or whose primary language is other than English," it said.

Changes in the churchwide organization "show a renewed desire for results and give hope that in the future more significant accomplishments toward becoming a more inclusive church can be reported," the report concluded.

The Church Council agreed to transmit the report to the ELCA's 2007 Churchwide Assembly, and it thanked ELCA Multicultural Ministries and an interunit staff team on ethnic ministry strategies.

Information about Multicultural Ministries is at http://www.ELCA.org/multicultural/ on the ELCA Web site.

ELCA News Service