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2009
ELCA Churchwide Assembly
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ELCA Assembly Opens with Worship
MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- With jubilant and reflective song, heads bowed in
prayer and expressions of peace and joy, more than 2,300 Lutherans
opened the 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America (ELCA) with worship Aug. 17.
The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the
ELCA, is meeting here Aug. 17-23 at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
About 2,000 people are participating, including 1,045 ELCA voting
members. The theme for the biennial assembly is "God's work. Our hands."
As assembly proceedings begin, it's important that fears are
recognized and named, said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding
bishop. Hanson served as presiding minister and preacher in worship.
"It is important to recognize what fear and anxiety can do to
us," he said. "Fear nurtures the suspicion and cynicism that lead us
to
act in ways that are downright mean-spirited and anti-neighborly. Fear
can drive us to make demands of others for our own security rather than
faith freeing us to serve others with confidence and humility."
Click here for entire article
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 ELCA Assembly Host Synods Celebrate Diversity,
Present Assembly with Gift
MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- The diversity of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America (ELCA) is well-represented by the Minneapolis Area and Saint
Paul Area Synods, said the Rev. Peter Rogness, bishop of the Saint Paul
Area synod and the Rev. Craig E. Johnson, bishop of the Minneapolis
Area Synod.
The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the
ELCA, is meeting here Aug. 17-23 at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
About 2,000 people are participating, including 1,045 ELCA voting
members. The theme for the biennial assembly is "God's work. Our hands."
"It is with great joy that I greet you from our church in the
Minneapolis and St. Paul area synods," Johnson said. "On behalf of the
167 congregations in the Minneapolis Area Synods and the 114
congregations in the St. Paul Area Synod and the 13 congregations in
our synods that are developing, I bring you a great welcome."
The two synods have worship services in Sudanese, Liberian,
Laotian, Ethiopian, Spanish, Swahili, American Sign Language, and
Chinese every Sunday, Johnson said.
"Lest we forget those with less exotic tastes, a
Norwegian-speaking congregation is a two-iron shot from this convention
center," he added.
The Minneapolis and Saint Paul Area synods have more than 375,000
baptized members; the state of Minnesota has 975,000 baptized members.
"What that means is that every person that you meet on the street is a
fellow ELCA Lutheran," Johnson said. "That is why I have to be so nice
all the time and I beg that of you (while you are here)."
Rogness described the church as an orchestra that performs in harmony.
"Harmony doesn't come easily," he said, "Sometimes its cacophony;
bad sound. The church has always played different, different notes."
The two host synods, in coordination with Tree Trust, also gave a
gift of 66 trees -- 65 in the names of the 65 ELCA synods and one in
the name of the church as a whole to continue efforts to make the 2009
Churchwide Assembly environmentally responsible, Johnson said.
Tree Trust is a non-profit organization in the Twin Cities Area
founded in 1976 to address the problems of loss of the urban tree
canopy because of Dutch Elm disease and the high unemployment and
poverty rates for youth and adults.
The trees will be planted in the fall of 2009.
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Information about the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly can be found at http://www.elca.org/assembly on the Web.
Information on Tree Trust can be found at http://www.treetrust.org on the Web.
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ELCA Assembly Defeats Super-Majority Requirement
MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- Voting members of the biennial assembly of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America turned back a motion that would
have required a two-thirds majority for changes in policies related to
the rostering of clergy, associates in ministry, diaconal ministers and
deaconesses. The vote, with 57 percent in opposition, came late in the
evening of the first day of the gathering, Aug. 17.
The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the
ELCA, is meeting here Aug. 17-23 at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
About 2,000 people are participating, including 1,045 ELCA voting
members. The theme for the biennial assembly is "God's work. Our hands."
The defeat of the requirement of a two thirds "super majority"
makes it less difficult for proponents to get approval for a proposal
to open the ministry to same-gender candidates living in committed
same-gender relationships.
In a spirited two-hour debate, voting members were divided on the
merits of requiring a two thirds majority for what has become a
contentious issue for the nation's largest Lutheran church body. The
Rev. Gregory Pile, bishop of the ELCA Allegheny Synod, said that the
gravity of the vote facing voting members required a super majority.
Said Ronald Pittman, voting member from the ELCA Oregon Synod, "We
only required a simple majority to exclude same-gender candidates from
ordination. Only a simple majority should be required to overturn that
action."
"We have no unity among us on the issue [of same-gender clergy
living in relationships]," said John Gates, voting member from the ELCA
Florida-Bahamas Synod. But Jay McDivitt, voting member from the ELCA
Rocky Mountain Synod, made reference to shifts in conviction, in both
the church and the wider culture. He said, "The issue is settled. That
may be unsettling to many of us." He urged voters not to yield to
fear. "Christ is our center, and the center will hold," he said,
speaking in favor of using a simple majority for the vote.
A vote on whether to allow people living in same-gender
relationships to be on the professional rosters in the ELCA is
scheduled for Friday, Aug. 21.
Voting members approved the rules of procedure as originally proposed by a 979 to 24 margin.
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Information about the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly can be found at http://www.elca.org/assembly.
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If you are interested in keeping up with the 2009 Churchwide Assembly here are some helpful links:
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