35th Anniversary of ELCA

 Today, April 30, 2022 marks the 35th anniversary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Burton and I attended the Constituting Convention in Columbus, Ohio in 1987. I had been serving on three separate committees during the preceding 5 years of planning: "Church and Society," "Rostered Ministries" and "Theological Education" We had some challenging issues to work out as the American Lutheran Church, the Association of Evangelic Lutheran Churches and the Lutheran Church in America came together to form a new Lutheran Church.

Representative principles were endorsed to be more inclusive of people of color and to lift up decision-making of the laity.  Seminaries took on a partnership relationship rather than closing some. And we vowed to reach out to serve in the public world more fully.

The word "bishop" was adopted rather than "district president" and the number of years of the term of bishop was set at 4 years.  So many other things to decide!  The issue of types of rostered leaders was not settled.  I served on "The Task Force of the Study of Ministry" for the following 5 years to work that out.

Many more changes have continued to be made in these 35 years, but the mission remains and is intensified for the future. The issues in the country and the world are even more urgent. We need the ELCA to "share the good news. The gospel not only is a word of Grace but it's also a word of liberation," said current Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton.