Title: ELCA Council Commends Report on Justice for Women ELCA NEWS SERVICE
April 23, 2007
ELCA Council Commends Report on Justice for Women 07-070-MRC
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) recommended that the 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly commend the content of a report on justice for women for study, reflection and response throughout the church.
The Church Council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as the legislative authority of the church between churchwide assemblies. The council met here April 14-16. Assemblies are held every other year; the next is here Aug. 6-11.
The ELCA's "Plan for Mission" places the responsibility and accountability for gender justice throughout the whole churchwide organization, and "we are together working hard to accomplish living out this important commitment," Mary Streufert, director for justice for women, ELCA Church in Society, reported to the council.
Streufert said a great deal of her time is spent meeting with leaders at the churchwide organization. "Together we are engaged in a constant and evolving conversation about how gender justice relates to and permeates all of the work we do," she said.
Streufert also serves as chair of the ELCA Alliance for Justice for Women, which exists to "fuse the work of justice for women into the respective work of each unit and section of the churchwide organization."
Citing examples of ways in which the churchwide organization is already working on justice for women, Streufert said ELCA "Global Mission has made a commitment to women's rights that cuts across all programs, by which 50 percent of international scholarships are given to women. In (ELCA) Vocation and Education, a new position of consultant for misconduct prevention has responsibility for clergy misconduct prevention."
"As called for by the 2005 Churchwide Assembly, the 2007 Churchwide Assembly will be receiving a report which details the extensive work that is being done throughout the churchwide organization to achieve this church's commitment to gender justice," said Streufert.
ELCA Church in Society "is mandated to work to enable this church to realize full participation for women, to create equal opportunities for women of all cultures, to foster partnerships between men and women, to assist this church to address sexism, and to advocate justice for women in this church and society," Streufert told the council.
A possible key priority for the justice for women program is to call for an ELCA social statement on gender justice, Streufert said. "This reflects the profound recognition that the primary response of this church to gender justice is a theological one," she said.
Adopted by ELCA churchwide assemblies, social statements are social policy documents that address significant social issues.
"This church must be able to name sexism as a sin. In other words, gender justice is a church issue, not a women's issue. Therefore, important questions for this church to contemplate are how do our church beliefs and practices serve either as a hindrance or as a benefit to justice for women in church and society, and how do our social policies and practices function either as a hindrance or as a benefit to justice for women in church and society," said Streufert.
In concluding her report, Streufert shared objectives of an ELCA "invitation to action for justice for women." The invitation includes a working definition of justice for women, objectives -- which are to educate, advocate and lead -- and a plan for how the objectives are to be addressed. Such plans will be particular to each body of people who engage in gender justice, she said.
"The justice for women program of ELCA Church in Society challenges and works with the ELCA in all of its expressions to eradicate sexism in this church and to promote gender justice in society at large," she said, adding that "every member of the ELCA is called to address the scandalous realities of sexism and other forms of oppression."
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news