ELCA Churchwide Assembly begins Aug. 17, 2009

Starting today, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) begins its biannual churchwide gathering. All of its plenary sessions will be broadcast live over the internet. You can watch them by going here. You can also watch missed sessions at a later time. The Churchwide Assembly is the highest legislative authority in the ELCA.

While all of the attention seems to be focused on the sexuality statement and the following resolutions regarding non-celibate gay and lesbian clergy in committed relationships, there are other important issues to be decided.

• Full Communion with the United Methodist Church will be voted on-- full communion is the highest level ecumenical agreement denominations can share. Full Communion means that our fundamental beliefs are in alignment with each other. In addition, clergy become fully interchangeable. If a Lutheran pastor were not available, a congregation could call a pastor from the United Methodist Church to serve.
  

• The Lutheran Malaria Initiative -- from the ELCA website: "In 2007 the United Nations Foundation (UNF) approached Lutheran World Relief (LWR), Baltimore, and asked it to mobilize Lutheran constituents in the United States against malaria. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, provided substantial funds to UNF for this purpose, and UNF plans to provide a grant to assist in fundraising for the initiative. The ELCA and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod have been working with UNF and LWR to develop the initiative."

• HIV and AIDS funding strategy--the ELCA Church Council adopted strategy for the ELCA regarding HIV and AIDS. The Church Council is asking the Assembly to appropriate $10million over three years for the funding of this strategy, and in addition to endorse the strategy.

• Possible social statement on justice for women-- if approved, this would start the process for writing a social statement about justice for women. The social statement would be voted on at the 2015 Churchwide Assembly.

Pray, please, for the voting members and all involved. Pray that God's will is done. Pray that debate and deliberation is sincere, that all the difficult issues are discussed and that people's ears are open to hearing. Pray that the actions taken are a testimony to God's Kingdom breaking in around us, and that God is glorified.