wfn.org | ELCA Presiding Bishop Releases Churchwide Restructuring Draft

[NEWS@ELCA.ORG]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

August 26, 2004

ELCA Presiding Bishop Releases Churchwide Restructuring Draft
04-156-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), released a draft Aug. 25 of
a proposal for restructuring the ELCA churchwide organization.	The
proposal aims to align the churchwide organization with the ELCA Plan for
Mission, adopted at the 2003 Churchwide Assembly.
     In a separate release on the same day, the ELCA Church Council
executive committee announced a proposal for governance of the churchwide
organization.  Copies of both proposals are at
http://www.elca.org/planning on the ELCA Web site.
     If adopted the restructuring proposal would create five churchwide
"program units," and retain two that are separately incorporated, Augsburg
Fortress Publishers and Women of the ELCA; retain the offices of the
presiding bishop, secretary and treasurer, with some additional
responsibilities for the Office of the Presiding Bishop; retain the
services of communication, research and evaluation, human resources and
the recently created development services unit under the presiding bishop;
and retain the services of the separately incorporated Mission Investment
Fund and Board of Pensions.
     The draft restructuring proposal invited people to respond to it by
Oct. 17.  Responses can be made online at http://www.elca.org/planning or
they can be sent here to the ELCA Department for Research and Evaluation,
the draft said.
     According to the draft, Hanson intends to "bring comprehensive
proposals for both structure and governance" to the Nov. 11-14 meeting of
the ELCA Church Council.  Changes in ELCA structure and governance adopted
by the council will be transmitted for consideration by the 2005 ELCA
Churchwide Assembly.
     The proposals will not contain specific budget allocations or
personnel changes, the draft proposal said.
     Currently the churchwide organization has six divisions --
congregational ministries, ministry, outreach, higher education and
schools, church in society and global mission -- plus a separately
incorporated publisher, Augsburg Fortress; a separately incorporated
health, benefits and pension administrator, the Board of Pensions; and a
separately incorporated women's organization, Women of the ELCA. Two
commissions work to expand and enhance the roles of multicultural
ministries and women in the ELCA.  The church also has five
departments --communication, ecumenical affairs, human resources, research
and evaluation, and synodical relations -- under the Office of the
Presiding Bishop.  Churchwide officers also head the Office of the
Secretary and Office of the Treasurer.
     "I am offering this draft in the hope that this proposed
restructuring will provide us with renewed energy for doing God's work for
the sake of the world," Hanson said in a letter with the draft proposal.
He emphasized that the proposal is only a draft, and he encouraged
responses by the deadline.
     "This draft proposal is offered in hope and confidence that who we
are and what we do as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America matters,"
Hanson said. "It is offered in the belief that the Holy Spirit is at work
constantly renewing and reforming our lives and ministry.  It is offered
with gratitude for the marvelous gifts with which God blesses us, and for
God's amazing grace."
     The process leading to the draft proposal included a lengthy and
comprehensive outreach program through which the presiding bishop and
staff sought comments from a variety of ELCA constituents.  Learnings from
that process are that the current churchwide structure is perceived as an
"unnecessarily complex organization with no clear unified sense of mission
which  has programs that appear to be, at best, uncoordinated and at
worst, in conflict with each other," the draft said.  The draft proposal
also said the current organization is perceived as "unable to understand
or respond to needs in a way that is helpful or useful," and has little or
no accountability internally or externally.
     The churchwide organization staff has "worked diligently over the
past two years under very difficult circumstances," the draft noted.
Since Jan. 1, 2003, more than 50 positions -- 30 that were staffed -- have
been eliminated.
     "However, the work with and expectations of our partners in mission
have not decreased proportionately," the draft said. "In order to fulfill
our commitments and remain healthy, we must adjust to this significantly
smaller workforce."
      Existing staffing patterns will be adjusted based on unit outcomes
"yet to be determined," the draft said.
     "These outcomes will be determined over the next 12 months with the
participation of the current staff and the other mission partners of the
churchwide organization," the draft said.  "Staffing patterns may also
have to be adjusted based on continuing budget realities."

Proposed Design
     In the new churchwide design there are three types of units: offices,
program units and service units.  The program units are responsible for
programs of the churchwide organization; offices relate to and are under
the authority of the full-time ELCA officers; service units are
responsible for providing technical and specialized expertise.
     The proposed program units are:
     + Congregational Mission and Evangelical Outreach:  This unit would
include evangelism, Christian education, stewardship education,
multilingual and culture-specific programs, Lutheran Men in Mission,
outreach research and planning, new congregations, renewal of
congregations, pertinent portions of the ethnic strategies, rural
ministry, urban ministry and specialized outreach ministries (e.g.
maritime, prisons, deaf), the draft proposal said.
     + Global Mission: This unit includes recruitment, placement and
support of international personnel, accompaniment of companion churches,
companion synod programs, program coordination with global partners,
administration of international grants and scholarships, global mission
education, advocacy, pertinent portions of ethnic strategies, outreach and
cross-cultural expertise, the draft said.
     + Multicultural Ministries: The proposal said all churchwide units
have responsibility for multicultural ministry; however, the unit's staff
will nurture and teach an alliance of people from all units who share
responsibilities for multicultural ministry in the churchwide
organization. This alliance aims to build the capacity of the entire
organization in this "vital area of ministry," develops intra-unit and
inter-unit outcomes, and advocates throughout this church for growth in
its diversity, implementation of the ethnic strategies and compliance with
its representational principles, the draft proposal said.
     + Public Witness: If the design proposal is adopted, this unit will
include advocacy, disability ministries, environmental concerns, studies,
pertinent portions of ethnic strategies, support to social ministry
organizations, domestic disaster response, social ministries for
congregations, congregation-based organizing, coordination of the world
hunger program, support of domestic hunger ministries, hunger education
and interpretation, ministry among people in poverty and work on behalf of
women.
     + Vocation and Education:	This program unit would include
relationships with ELCA schools, youth ministries, Youth Gathering,
Lutheran Youth Organization, outdoor ministries, relationships with ELCA
colleges and universities, campus ministries, young adult ministries,
seminary relationships, candidacy, first-call assignments and mobility
processes, multicultural leadership development and recruitment,
leadership initiatives for women of color and language, pertinent portions
of the ethnic strategies, training leaders for outreach, ministries in
chaplaincy, prevention of clergy sexual misconduct, pastoral counseling,
clinical education, lifelong learning partners and Lutheran Partners, the
draft said.
     Augsburg Fortress Publishers and Women of the ELCA, both separately
incorporated, retain their current functions.  A communication strategy,
under formation, will propose the connection between The Lutheran, the
magazine of the ELCA, and the churchwide organization.
     The Office of the Secretary and Office of the Treasurer retain their
current functions.  However, current responsibilities assigned to the
Office of the Presiding Bishop would be retained and expanded to include
administration, governance support, strategic planning, racial justice
ministries, worship, ecumenical and inter-religious relations, synodical
relations, federal chaplaincy, communication, development services
(including the ELCA Foundation and the separately incorporated Endowment
Fund) research and evaluation and human resources.
     If adopted, the new responsibilities for the Office of the Bishop
would include racial justice ministries, including anti-racism training;
worship; and responsibility for compliance with the ELCA Plan for Mission
and policies enacted by the church council or churchwide assembly.  In
addition, responsibility for ecumenical relations is retained by the
Office and would become "ecumenical and inter-religious relations."
     The ELCA Mission Investment Fund and ELCA Board of Pensions are
separately incorporated and retained with current constitutional
responsibilities.

Goals for Restructuring
     The draft proposal outlines a series of goals for restructuring the
churchwide organization.  Goals are:
     + direct alignment with the ELCA Plan for Mission;
     + helping the ELCA become "a more diverse and more evangelistic
church" with emphasis on this church's need to make "a highly visible
commitment to multicultural ministry;" and
     + adoption of the "accompaniment" model, which emphasizes mutual
respect, mutual decision-making and mutual support as its working style;
and fostering a culture that values ongoing learning, flexibility and
collaboration; interdependence and mutual accountability; hospitality;
timely response; passion and energy for mission; effective stewardship of
resources; diversity and inclusivity; health; outcomes for and evaluation
of all work; and partnership with institutions and agencies, ecumenical
and global partners.
     Because the 2005 Churchwide Assembly will be asked to adopt
constitutional	changes related to the churchwide organization, two
possible budgets will be proposed for 2006-2007, the draft said.  One will
be based on the ELCA Plan for Mission, proposed new structural design and
proposed governance of the churchwide organization.  In the event the
proposals are not adopted, an alternative budget proposal will be based on
the current churchwide structure.

Draft Proposal Result of Detailed Process
     In November 2003, the ELCA Church Council adopted a multi-phase
process for redesign of the ELCA churchwide organization. It asked that a
final proposal be presented to the council for consideration in November
2004.  It also agreed to study the issues of governance related to the
churchwide organization, with a report and recommendations also to be
presented to the council in November 2004.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news