wfn.org | Convention calls for addressing issue of schools with LCMS ELCA status

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@wfn.org>]

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
Board for Communication Services
1333 S. Kirkwood Road St. Louis, MO 63122-7295

61st Regular Convention St. Louis, Mo. July 14-20, 2001

July 17, 2001 #25

Contact: Bruce Kueck (314) 342-5715

Convention calls for addressing issue of schools with LCMS-ELCA status

ST. LOUIS Delegates to the 61 Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church 
Missouri Synod on Tuesday, July 17, passed a resolution that calls for a 
"pastoral strategic plan" to address matters of "noncompliance" among those 
Lutheran-school associations that have standing in more than one church body.

The measure was one of the most heavily debated actions at the convention, 
which is meeting at the America s Center here through July 20.

Most of the discussion centered on how the resolution should be applied to 
school associations that have both "Recognized Service Organization" (RSO) 
status with the Synod and "Affiliated School Status" with the Evangelical 
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

The resolution grew out of the work of a Synod task force recommending that 
school associations with both LCMS and ELCA status have until July 1, 2006, 
to drop one of those affiliations. That study came in light of growing 
differences in doctrine and practice between the two church bodies.

The resolution passed by the convention does not follow the task force 
recommendation, but calls on district presidents to form a committee to 
visit schools with RSO status and "monitor" that status according to 
criteria of the Synod Board for Congregational Services, which grants RSO 
status to schools. It calls for a written plan to resolve issues of 
noncompliance. Plans must include a specific time frame for the issue to be 
resolved. The resolution specifies that the board must approve any plan 
that would take more than three years to resolve.

The Rev. James Kerulainen, a member of the Congregational Services floor 
committee, said that of the 108 school associations that have RSO status, 
34 include congregations of other church bodies. Seven associations have 
dual status with the LCMS and the ELCA.

Another resolution approved by delegates calls on congregations and 
professional church workers to "achieve peaceful resolutions to conflicts 
[between them] and to promote a spirit of mutual love, respect, and 
understanding."

"Difficulties between professional workers and their congregations, in 
violation of their mutual vows, are becoming increasingly apparent to 
synodical and District leaders," the resolution said.

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