calendar April 12, 2010 in ELCA, News

ELCA council adopts ministry policy changes

CHICAGO (ELCA) — The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) adopted a series of historic and sweeping revisions to ministry policy documents April 10, the result of months of extensive writing, comment and review by hundreds of leaders and members following the 2009 Churchwide Assembly.
      The Church Council is the ELCA’s board of directors and serves as the interim legislative authority of the church between churchwide assemblies.  The council is meeting here April 9-12.  The next churchwide assembly is in Orlando, Fla., in August 2011.
      The changes were called for by the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, which directed that policy documents be revised to make it possible for eligible Lutherans in committed, publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous same-gender relationships to serve as ELCA clergy and professional lay leaders. The assembly directed that revised policies recognize the convictions of those who believe the ELCA should not allow such service. The assembly also adopted a social statement on human sexuality.
       The council adopted revisions to two documents that spell out the church’s behavioral expectations of ELCA professional leaders — "Vision and Expectations: Ordained Ministers in the ELCA" and "Vision and Expectations: Associates in Ministry, Deaconesses and Diaconal Ministers in the ELCA." The council also adopted revisions to a document that specifies grounds for discipline of professional leaders, "Definitions and Guidelines for Discipline," and it adopted revisions to the "ELCA Candidacy Manual," used by regional committees to help guide candidates seeking to become professional leaders in the ELCA.

The revised policies are effective immediately, said David D. Swartling, ELCA secretary.  Final revised text of each document will be posted online at http://www.ELCA.org/ministrypolicies by the end of April, he said.

• Read the full ELCA release