wfn.org | Education, Research Project to Benefit Young Lutheran Leaders

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

May 8, 2001

EDUCATION, RESEARCH PROJECT TO BENEFIT YOUNG LUTHERAN LEADERS
01-114-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA)-- Lilly Endowment Inc., Indianapolis, awarded a
$750,000 grant to the Division for Ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA), to enhance lifelong learning for young lay and
ordained ministers in the church. The project to be implemented over a
five-year period, will also include a research component in which a
variety of issues related to the transition from seminary to public
ministry will be studied.
     The project, "First Call Theological Education for the
Twenty-Something Generation," is in its initial stages, said Dr.
Constance L. Seraphine, project director, ELCA Division for Ministry.
It is intended to enhance the First Call Theological Education (FCTE)
program that the church implemented in 1997, she said.
     FCTE is a three-year structured program of theological education
to assist leaders during the transition from seminary to their first
places of service as ordained or lay ministers, commonly known as a
"first call."
     In the ELCA, nearly one-fourth of pastors in their first call
leave in less than three years for another call.  "For those in their
first call, it is important to support all pastors, especially the
younger pastors," Seraphine said.
     The new Twenty-Something Generation project focuses on leaders
under 32 years of age. It will enhance the existing FCTE program by:
     + providing mentors who will support young leaders through online
technology and other communication methods;
     + encouraging participants to read and discuss specific books, and
offer online posting of book reviews;
     + working with the theological education network to produce online
courses that can be part of required continuing education; and
     + bringing FCTE synod and regional planners together at least
twice during the five-year period for support and learning.
     Focusing on younger leaders is important for the future of the
ELCA as a whole, Seraphine said.
     "There is a definite concern for sustaining the office of ministry
and attracting creative people to a call to be ordained or to other
public ministries," she said. "We believe that supporting younger
leaders in public ministry will also result in attracting other young
people to the church. They bring new life, new ideas and new energy."
     The research component will focus on what factors enhance or
impede a church leader's first call, Seraphine said.  This is especially
true for leaders called to serve in rural settings, she said.
Researchers with the ELCA Department for Research and Evaluation will
study issues such as a leader's ministry expectations, ministerial
identity, stress factors, personal and family issues, and other issues
related to congregational health and well being.
     The project will be guided by an advisory committee, and seminary
faculty and other theological education leaders will design course
material and tools for theological reflection, Seraphine said.
     Project coordinators hope the research results will help
strengthen existing theological education programs and help support new
lay and ordained ministers in their first calls, Seraphine said.  The
ELCA has eight seminaries, and they are very interested in the new
project, she said.
     The project is expected to include at least 300 church leaders,
each of whom will have committed to three years of project activities,
Seraphine said.
     "What is exciting about this is that it gives us a chance to fine
tune what is already happening in FCTE, which is quite strong in most of
our synods," she said. "We will learn more about first-call experiences
and the impact of the church's support efforts."
     Related to the Lilly-funded project is a $20,500 grant from Aid
Association for Lutherans (AAL), a fraternal benefits organization based
in Appleton, Wis.  AAL provided the grant for a meeting of leaders and
coordinators of present FCTE programs in the ELCA.  AAL and Lutheran
Brotherhood, a fraternal benefits organization based in Minneapolis,
provided start-up funding for the FCTE program, Seraphine added.
-- -- --
     Additional information on the ELCA's First Call Theological
Education program can be found at http://www.elca.org/dm/fcte/index.html
on the ELCA's Web site.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html