ELCA OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
A cross from the ruins of Peace Lutheran Church, Joplin, Mo., destroyed by a tornado this spring, takes center stage at the Churchwide Assembly.
Report of the secretary
Resources strong in spite of congregational withdrawals
D
espite the loss of several hundred churches, remaining ELCA con- gregations control assets worth more than $22 billion and that figure grew in 2010, ELCA Secretary David D. Swartling told the Churchwide Assembly.
“Undeniably, the ELCA has been
affected by congregations leaving, but we continue to have enormous capacity for ministry,” he said. “Based upon [annual] congregational reports,
45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% rural
small town, 10,000 or less
small city, 10,001 to 50,000
medium city,
50,000 to 250,000 and suburbs
large city, 250,000 or more
suburb of large city within 10 miles
suburb of large city outside of 10 miles
19.9% 15.1% 13.4%13.1% 9.2% 9.1% 5.5% 8.2% 5.3% 5.0% 2.7% 29.3% 24.3% 39.8%
Staying Leaving
as analyzed by Research and Evalua- tion: approximately 95 percent of our congregations; 94 percent of baptized membership; 94 percent of total con- gregational giving and congregational assets remain,” he said. “We can do things together in min- istry—do different things and things better—than we can do separately. Because of who we are as the ELCA, we have the potential for evangelical synergy.”
Swartling also noted that congre- gations received $2 billion in contri- butions for mission and ministry in 2010, plus had more than $2.1 billion in endowment funds, memorials and cash.
Congregational withdrawals have taken a toll, he said. As of June 17, 2011: • 832 congregations had taken a first vote to leave (51 of those have taken multiple first votes). • 621 congregations have passed first votes. • 517 congregations have passed sec- ond votes.
Eight synods had lost 10 per- cent or more of their congrega- tions, while some had lost one or no congregations.
Most of the withdrawals resulted from passage in 2009 of a statement on human sexuality and the related opening of ELCA rostered positions to
gays and lesbians in committed rela- tionships. The ELCA now has roughly 10,000 congregations.
Swartling noted that 54 percent of departing congregations were from communities of 10,000 people or fewer. “Given the small size of these communities, profound questions exist about the long-term viability of many of these congregations and their capac- ity to be effective in ministry and to develop the kind of interrelationships that they had in the ELCA,” he said. Conversely, 25 percent of large congregations in urban and large suburban centers have left the ELCA, Swartling said. About 61 percent of congrega- tions that have disaffiliated report- edly joined Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ; 31 percent or about 160 congregations have joined the North American Lutheran Church; and the rest represent fewer than 2 percent each. Some of those church bodies allow multiple memberships, he said.
“Monitoring these data has some- times been upsetting, particularly when I hear from bishops and synod leaders about their experiences on the ground. But this work has not shaken my faith,” he said. “[The ELCA] is the church that it’s always been, but at the same time it is being made anew. It is a 21st-century reformation church.”
26 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
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