Campaign on track At the end of fiscal year 2015, ELCA member giving brought Always Being Made New: The Campaign for the ELCA 40.4 percent of the way toward the church’s $198 million goal. A total of $80,039,177 has been raised by ELCA members, congregations and synods for new and expanded churchwide ministries in the U.S. and overseas.
Fire destroys church A Feb. 18 fire at historic Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Duluth, Minn., destroyed most of the sanctuary of the 110-year-old building. David M. Carlson, pastor of Gloria Dei, said although members are devastated by the loss, they are determined to rebuild in the same location because of the great need in the community. “It is a loss, but we know the church is the people, and we believe in the resurrection. We know this is not the end, and the ministry continues,” Carlson said. The cause of the fire is unknown.
Bishops discuss church’s future
The ELCA Conference of Bishops discussed the denomination’s future directions and priorities in a new process known as “Called Forward Together in Christ” at its March 3-8 meeting in Itasca, Ill.
Hagstrom receives award Heidi Hagstrom, program director for the ELCA Youth Gathering from 1997 to 2015 (above with network executive director Todd Buegler), received the Tom Hunstad Award for excellence in children, youth and family ministry during the 2016 ELCA Youth Ministry Network Extravaganza in February. “The ELCA Youth Gathering looked very different in 2015 than it looked when Heidi started,” said Erik Ullestad, chair of the network’s board. “This [award] is a testament to her adaptability, her vision and her willingness to listen. Heidi did the unprecedented thing of having two consecutive Youth Gatherings in the same city— because God wasn’t finished with New Orleans, and neither was the ELCA.” Hagstrom is now vicar of Fields of Grace Lutheran Parish in southwest Minnesota.
Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton is leading the process, endorsed by the ELCA Church Council and in collaboration with the conference. The process is designed to invite the more than 3.7 million-member ELCA into discernment about the church’s future.
From this process, a statement will be prepared that articulates future directions and priorities that the council will consider this fall. The goal is to launch the statement in 2017 as part of the ELCA’s observance of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.
“We will be assessing where we are as God’s people and working to understand what God has in store for us. We are going to do a lot of listening—to God and to one another,” Eaton said.
In its conversation the Conference of Bishops explored what is distinctive about the ELCA’s identity as a Lutheran church, how the church can become inclusive and diverse in a way that is inspiring and relevant in different communities, which ministries of the church are critical in response to domestic and international events, and more.
The bishops also considered how the invitation to conversation will be rolled out across the church.
In other action, the conference met with presidents of the eight ELCA seminaries and discussed theological education, pastoral care and more.
LIVINGLUTHERAN.ORG 9
Susan Anderson
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