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By the staff of The Lutheran, ELCA News Service and Religion News Service Council hears of prizewinner, social statements explanation
on’t ever underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit to bring forth fruit from our labors,” Pre- siding Bishop Mark S. Hanson told the ELCA Church Council at its Nov. 11-13 meeting in Chicago.
Hanson told how years ago the
ELCA gave an international leader- ship scholarship to a young Lutheran from Liberia who wanted to study peacemaking. Leymah Gbowee went on to win the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for her work in helping end Liberia’s long-running civil war. Hanson also said ELCA mem- bers “don’t just say to the baptized, ‘You’re out there. Figure it out.’ ” No, they “go together” with social state- ments that “inform our public witness [and don’t] bind your conscience [but] help us to live as responsible people of faith in a complex world,” he said. After significant discussion, the
council asked its executive commit- tee to appoint a task force to focus on how the ELCA’s social statements are developed and adopted. The 2011 Churchwide Assembly requested the review process in light of work done by the LIFT (Living Into the Future Together) task force. The “Addressing Social Concerns Review Task Force” was asked to report to the council’s November 2012 meeting, with pos- sible recommendations for the 2013 assembly.
Explaining why a review is impor- tant, New England Synod Bishop Margaret Payne said, “In my work as a bishop, I have to turn myself inside out to even get a congregation to look at a social statement. [But] we do this really well. What are the ways [to] make [social statements] even more effective as a witness?”
Council members also tapped a
six-person advisory committee to continue the work of LIFT. The com- mittee will report to the council’s
8 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
April and November 2012 meetings. The LIFT report, whose imple- menting resolutions and constitu- tional amendments were approved by the 2011 assembly, won’t “sit on the shelf,” said council member Deborah L. Chenoweth of Hood River, Ore. Council members and synod bishops will continue to implement several components, including the call for missional planning by all ELCA con- gregations, she added.
Positive income report “We continue to rejoice that Luther- ans are generous and give where the need is greatest,” ELCA Treasurer Linda Norman told the council. She said churchwide income at the end of October was $47.2 million, about $3 million above budget. If the fis- cal year (ending Jan. 31) ends well, the ELCA hopes to be able to restore some grants, she added.
The improvement comes after declining mission support drove restructuring and spending cuts at the churchwide level. Norman said that decline is leveling off, although mission support is still an area of concern.
The council approved an initial 2012 current fund spending authori- zation of $64.1 million (a $2.4 mil- lion increase from the 2012 budget approved by the 2011 assembly) and an initial 2012 World Hunger spend- ing authorization of $18.5 million.
NALC not covered As of Jan. 1, Portico Benefit Services (formerly ELCA Board of Pensions; page 10) no longer provides benefits for the North American Lutheran Church. President and CEO Jeffrey Thiemann said Portico had agreed to sponsor employees of the ELCA offshoot as sole provider. The NALC voided that agreement by contracting
with a second provider, he said, add- ing, “It affects 158 active plan mem- bers and family dependents [but not those] who have already retired.” In a separate action, the council
considered the Southeastern Min- nesota Synod’s request for rostered leaders who have left the ELCA to be removed from ELCA benefits cover- age. In response, Portico was asked to bring a report “on the impact of participation levels” to the council’s November 2012 meeting. The council also:
• Heard a report from ELCA Secre- tary David Swartling that included the ELCA’s current number of congrega- tions (9,995) and baptized member- ship (4.2 million). • Thanked bishops and synods for their work as they “strive to be faith- ful to shared commitments within the ELCA,” and affirmed with apprecia- tion an increased percentage of shared mission support from the Western North Dakota, Metropolitan New York and Caribbean synods. • Added two youth and one young adult as advisers to the council from spring 2012 to August 2013, when LIFT recommendations of full vot- ing positions for youth members take effect. M
Quote
I need the ministers to come outside the door of the church where there is warmth and bring that warmth out into the streets. I cannot achieve the goal without the partnership of people of faith. … I want the spirit of what you are doing to be part of building the city that we call home.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, speaking at a Chicago event sponsored by the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. He was quoted in the Chicago Tribune.
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