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Chicago (ELCA)-FI — The board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Ministry did not have many items on which to vote when it met here March 12-14, so its members took the opportunity to engage in detailed discussions of issues surrounding the division's current and future work, said the board's chair, the Rev. Robert J. Karli, First English Lutheran Church, Austin, Texas.
The board affirmed a vision statement for the division that it adopted provisionally in October. The division based its statement on the ELCA's strategic directions, which the church's chief legislative authority, its churchwide assembly, approved in August.
Building on its vision statement, the board organized itself into three committees, in addition to its executive committee: invitation and discernment, theological education, and servant leadership. Karli called the new committee structure "more efficient" and said the work of the division's staff was reorganized into those three areas.
Board members entered into small-group discussions at two points in their meeting — once to discuss the ELCA's process to restructure its churchwide organization and once to talk about the church's studies on human sexuality that the division is conducting with the ELCA Division for Church in Society.
On restructuring, comments from the small groups were submitted in writing to those working on possible models for a new churchwide structure, Karli said. "It's safe to say there was a strong feeling that there is a need for some restructuring," he said, adding that it is equally important to strengthen ties between the churchwide structure and the other expressions of the church.
"Overall I think these small groups said that what we do is pretty critical and foundational to the life of the ELCA and probably cannot be parceled out to other divisions," Karli said. The work of the division must be done by a single churchwide unit, he said.
Churchwide assemblies are held every other year; the next assembly will be Aug. 8-14, 2005, in Orlando, Fla. The 2001 assembly mandated a study in preparation for decisions the 2005 assembly is to make regarding the blessing of committed same-gender relationships and the ministries of people in such relationships. In addition, the study is to develop a proposed social statement on human sexuality for the assembly to consider in 2007.
Current ELCA policy expects ministers to refrain from all sexual relations outside marriage. The church has no official policy on blessing same-gender relationships. The ELCA Conference of Bishops, an advisory body of the church, stated it does not approve of such ceremonies.
The Rev. James M. Childs Jr., director for the ELCA studies on sexuality, reported to the board on the progress of the study process. A task force helped develop two study guides and is collecting responses to that material from across the church. It plans to use those responses to draft a report and recommendations to the 2005 churchwide assembly.
In small groups, Division for Ministry board members considered several questions related to the study and to circumstances surrounding the decisions the church plans to make in 2005. The questions included: "On what basis do we maintain the unity of the church? At what costs?"
"There was not an attempt to reach a consensus," Karli said. Summarizing what he had heard from board members, he said that "the unity of the church is a very important thing and yet the unity of the church is not absolutely the essential thing."
"We recognize that we may not agree on everything and that maintaining total unity may not be a possibility," Karli said. He said an overarching question was: "How do we within the ELCA manage to disagree respectfully with one another and still remain within the ELCA?"
When introducing Childs' report to the board, the Rev. Stanley N. Olson, executive director of the Division for Ministry, said a published commentary on a Texas court case concluded by calling for Childs' resignation as director of the studies.
Olson expressed his appreciation for Childs' work with the task force and across the church. "Childs has received some personal attacks and has handled them with grace," he said. The call for Childs' resignation is "a complete 'non sequitur' for me," he said.
"I want to express my absolute and complete confidence in Jim," Olson said. Speaking on behalf of the Rev. Rebecca S. Larson, executive director of the Division for Church in Society, ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson and himself, Olson said he wanted and expected Childs to continue his work as director of the studies.
Later, Karli said, "As board chair, I have complete confidence in Jim continuing in his role." He added that he was certain that Childs has the complete support of the division's board.
After the meeting adjourned, board members took part in a two-day anti-racism training session.
The division's board and staff honored the work of the Rev. Norman E. Wegmeyer, who retired Feb. 29 as director of SELECT, a continuing theological education program of the ELCA. SELECT provides videotapes and related readings to assist small group discussions for clergy and lay leaders. It is based at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio, one of the eight ELCA seminaries.
Wegmeyer started SELECT in 1984 with the purpose of supporting basic continuing education for professional leaders in the church. Initial offerings included continuing biblical, confessional and historical study, and work with preaching, worship, evangelism, stewardship and youth ministry.
"Think about where we were in the early 1980s: the church was just discovering and exploring the uses of this thing called the VCR. Norm helped us develop the creative vision of using this new technology to engage in theological education," said the Rev. Richard J. Bruesehoff, director for leadership support, ELCA Division for Ministry.
"During these past 20 years he has kept the focus of SELECT on theological education as something communities of people do together, and he has helped us sharpen the vision of using SELECT to make theological education accessible and affordable to those who are often on the edges of the church because of where they live or the ethnic community of which they are a member," Bruesehoff said.
Karli said it was important for the church to recognize Wegmeyer's ministry and how it has evolved over the past 20 years. He noted that many individuals, congregations and clergy of the ELCA know SELECT and have used the educational videotape ministry for their continuing education.