Almost 1,000 youth from across Canada will converge in London, Ontario from August 19-22 to take part in the 2010 Canadian Lutheran Anglican Youth (CLAY) gathering. Youth will participate in a variety of events and acts of service, advocacy and prayer.

The gathering theme, "Hands On", will call on youth to “explore how God’s hands are on us, forming us into the people we are and the people we are becoming,” says Rev. Paul Gehrs, assistant to the bishop for justice and leadership at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) and a member of the CLAY planning committee.

The theme will also encourage youth to explore how being hands on is an invitation to be involved in God’s work of showing love for the world in word and deed. Youth will be encouraged to consider various ways they can use their hands to praise God, serve their neighbour and build community.

The gathering theme is drawn from Isaiah 64:8b, using the image of a potter working with clay to describe one’s relationship with God, “…we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hands.”

Organized by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and Anglican Church of Canada, the national gathering takes place every two years and is aimed at youth ages 14-19.

In between gatherings, youth work together on a two-year National Youth Project (NYP). The 2008-2010 NYP called on youth to engage more fully in the Stewardship of Creation through leadership in their congregations and communities. The 2010-2012 NYP calls on youth to assist with equipping developing communities with the resources they need to be sustainable.

Highlights from the gathering will be available online at: www.clay2010.ca.

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 152,500 baptized members in 607 congregations. It is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, the Canadian Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.

Material provided through ELCIC Information is intended for reproduction and redistribution by recipients in whatever manner they may find useful.

For more information, please contact:
Trina Gallop, Director of Communications
302-393 Portage Ave. Winnipeg MB R3B 3H6
204.984.9172
tgallop@elcic.ca

Subscribe or unsubscribe to ELCIC Information by emailing info@elcic.ca with a short message.

Bishop Munib A. Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) has been elected President of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) by the Eleventh Assembly here, a gathering of 418 delegates and others from the LWF member churches.

Three hundred and sixty registered delegates voted, representing 140 member churches from 79 countries. Rt Rev. Dr Younan received 300 votes affirming his election, 23 against; there were 37 abstentions. There were no other nominees.

Younan, 59, succeeds Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, who has been President of the LWF since the organization’s last Assembly in Winnipeg, Canada, in 2003.

Ordained in 1976 after study in Palestine and gaining a degree from Helsinki [Finland] University, Younan was a youth pastor and teacher in his homeland. From 1976 to 1979 he was pastor of the Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem and he has also served parishes in Beit Jala and Ramallah. He studied at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and he holds an honorary doctorate, granted by Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa.

The president-elect has headed his church body since 1998 and was the third Palestinian bishop of the church founded by Germans in the nineteenth century and previously led by clergy from Germany. A member of the LWF since 1974, the ELCJHL has about 3,000 members.

The bishop was the first to translate the Augsburg Confession, a key document of the Lutheran Church, into Arabic.

Younan is a former vice-president of the LWF, is president of the Fellowship of Middle East Evangelical Churches and serves with three Jerusalem patriarchs and nine other bishops on the International Christian Committee of Jerusalem. He is also a co-founder of the Council of Religious Institutions in the Holy Land, made up of the two chief rabbis of Israel, heads of the local churches, the Chief Judge of the Islamic Court in Palestine and other Muslim leaders.

He is the author of Witnessing for Peace, a book about the search for peace in his homeland and numerous articles on churches and the search for peace in the Holy Land.

His wife, Suad, is Director of the Helen Keller School in the Jerusalem suburb of Beit Hanina, which educates visually-impaired children. She is also the chair of the women’s committee of the ELCJHL.

The couple has three children and one grandchild.

*******

See the Assembly Web site for more information and resources including the theme video for downloading and other video reflections; news stories, features, photos and blog feeds; the handbook, Assembly Updates and Study Materials: www.lwf-assembly.org

About 1,000 people – including 418 delegates from member churches – are participating in the Assembly which takes place in the Liederhalle convention center in Stuttgart. Participants also include invited ecumenical observers, official visitors, interpreters and translators, stewards, members of the LWF staff and co-opted staff, accredited journalists and volunteers. The event is hosted by the Lutheran Church in Württemberg.

The Assembly is the highest decision making body of the LWF, held approximately every six years. The last Assembly was held in Winnipeg, Canada in July 2003 on the theme "For the healing of the world".

The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF now has 145 member churches in 79 countries around the world, representing more than 70 million Christians. LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of ecumenical and interfaith relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication and the various aspects of mission and development. Its secretariat is based in Geneva, Switzerland.

—————————————————————–
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 152,500 baptized members in 607 congregations. It is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, the Canadian Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.

Material provided through ELCIC Information is intended for reproduction and redistribution by recipients in whatever manner they may find useful.

For more information, please contact:
Trina Gallop, Director of Communications
302-393 Portage Ave. Winnipeg MB R3B 3H6
204.984.9172
tgallop@elcic.ca

Subscribe or unsubscribe to ELCIC Information by emailing info@elcic.ca with a short message.

In what Bishop Mark S. Hanson, President of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), described as possibly “the most significant legacy this Assembly will leave,” the Eleventh Assembly of the LWF took the historic step of asking the Mennonites for forgiveness for past persecutions. Delegates unanimously approved a statement calling Lutherans to express their regret and sorrow for past wrongdoings towards Anabaptists and asking for forgiveness.

Hanson described the act of repentance and reconciliation as “communion building and communion defining. “We will not just look back; we will also look towards together to God’s promised future.”

Through the adoption of the statement titled, “Action on the Legacy of Lutheran Persecution of Anabaptists”, Lutherans repented for violent persecution of Anabaptists and for the ways in which Lutheran reformers supported persecutions with theological arguments. The statement asks for forgiveness “from God and from our Mennonite sisters and brothers” for past wrongdoings and the ways in which Lutherans subsequently forgot or ignored this persecution and have continued to describe Anabaptists in misleading and damaging ways.

The statement was based on work done by the Lutheran-Mennonite International Study Commission, 2005-2009, who produced the report, “Healing of Memories: Reconciling in Christ,” which was approved by the LWF Council in 2009.

Several delegates spoke in favour of adopting the statement. Archbishop Nemuel Babba of The Lutheran Church of Christ of Nigeria told delegates he felt like crying as the full statement was read to the Assembly. “’Forgiveness’ is a difficult word for everyone to pronounce,” he said. “[But] today has marked a milestone for two groups coming together because of the word ‘forgiveness’.”

In introducing the vote, Hanson called on Assembly delegates and others present in the plenary hall to indicate their endorsement of the statement by kneeling or standing in silence. In a watershed moment in the life of the LWF and Lutheran-Mennonite relations, the LWF President announced the statement unanimously endorsed “in a spirit of great humility.”

Mennonite World Conference Responds to Lutheran Repentance

“Today, in this place, we together – Lutherans and Anabaptist Mennonites – are fulfilling the rule of Christ,” said Rev. Dr Danisa Ndlovu, President of the Mennonite World Conference, in an emotion-filled address to the Assembly.

He confessed that Mennonites were painfully aware of their own inadequacy. “We cannot bring ourselves to this table with heads held high. We can only come bowed down in great humility and in the fear of the Lord. We cannot come to this point and fail to see our own sinfulness. We cannot come to this point without recognizing our own need for God’s grace and forgiveness.”

In a symbolic act of reconciliation and servanthood, Ndlovu presented Hanson with a wooden foot-washing tub, saying that it represented the Mennonites’ commitment to a future “when the distinguishing mark of Lutheran and Anabaptist-Mennonite relationships is boundless love and unfailing service.” Ndlovu described how, in some Anabaptist and Mennonite churches, the practice of foot-washing has long been maintained. “It is in our vulnerability to one another that God’s miraculous, transforming and reconciling presence is made visible in the world.”

Accepting the gift, Hanson said, “In this and so many other ways, we will continue to follow [the Mennonite] example, and in this most significant day in our life there may be no more public example of reconciliation.”

Remembering, Forgiveness and Envisioning the Future Together

In a solemn and powerful service of repentance, the LWF Eleventh Assembly, along with members of the Mennonite community, came together to reflect on the painful past that has caused divisions between Lutherans and Mennonites for hundreds of years. The order of service called worshippers to “remember how Anabaptist Christians knew suffering and persecution, and how some of the most honoured Reformation leaders defended this persecution in the name of faithfulness.”

The service, which followed the unanimous approval by the Eleventh Assembly of the statement, “Action on the Legacy of Lutheran Persecution of Anabaptists,” included testimonies by Mennonites about the persecution and its legacies, including the impact on small communities, and the ways in which Lutheran leaders – sometimes against their own best insights – gave theological support to civil authorities who persecuted Anabaptists.

Also providing a testimony was Rev. Dr Larry Miller, General Secretary of the Mennonite World Conference and Co-Secretary of the Lutheran-Mennonite International Study Commission. He spoke of the power and burdens of the martyrs’ stories within the Mennonite context as they continue to live in contemporary communities. “From the beginning of the movement, Anabaptists interpreted their persecution as a confirmation of faithful Christian discipleship,” said Miller. “Over the centuries and around the world, stories of faithful suffering became a vital shaper of Anabaptist-Mennonite identity.”

Miller confessed that Anabaptist-Mennonite communities are also “in need of healing and forgiveness. In this action between us there is, for Anabaptist-Mennonites also, the promise of release and renewal.”

Following prayers of confession, led by Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, LWF General Secretary, the service moved into “envisioning the future together” and sowing the seeds of reconciliation and peace. Testimonies were shared on the witness of the promise of cooperation between Lutherans and Mennonites in Columbia, witness to Lutheran interpretation of the Augsburg Confession, which makes explicit the changed relations with Anabaptist Christians, and witness to the promise of new collaborations in Canada.

In their testimonies, Rev. Susan C. Johnson, National Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada, and Janet Plenert, Executive Secretary, Witness, Mennonite Church Canada and Vice-President of the Mennonite World Conference, spoke of how Canadian churches have worked together for years through ecumenical forums in the areas of advocacy, peace, and relief and development.

“Now we feel a call to deepen this relationship,” said Johnson, who described how the two churches have begun to develop a joint congregational resource that will assist in learning more about the shared history between the churches and help to forge new ways of collaboration.

See the Assembly Web site for more information and resources including the theme video for downloading and other video reflections; news stories, features, photos and blog feeds; the handbook, Assembly Updates and Study Materials: www.lwf-assembly.org

About 1,000 people – including 418 delegates from member churches – are participating in the Assembly which takes place in the Liederhalle convention center in Stuttgart. Participants also include invited ecumenical observers, official visitors, interpreters and translators, stewards, members of the LWF staff and co-opted staff, accredited journalists and volunteers. The event is hosted by the Lutheran Church in Württemberg.

The Assembly is the highest decision making body of the LWF, held approximately every six years. The last Assembly was held in Winnipeg, Canada in July 2003 on the theme "For the healing of the world".

* * *

The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF now has 145 member churches in 79 countries around the world, representing more than 70 million Christians. LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of ecumenical and interfaith relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication and the various aspects of mission and development. Its secretariat is based in Geneva, Switzerland.

—————————————————————–
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 152,500 baptized members in 607 congregations. It is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, the Canadian Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.

Material provided through ELCIC Information is intended for reproduction and redistribution by recipients in whatever manner they may find useful.

For more information, please contact:
Trina Gallop, Director of Communications
302-393 Portage Ave. Winnipeg MB R3B 3H6
204.984.9172
tgallop@elcic.ca

Subscribe or unsubscribe to ELCIC Information by emailing info@elcic.ca with a short message.

“Hunger is not God’s fault; it’s our fault,” said The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) President Bishop Mark S. Hanson at the opening press conference of the federation’s Eleventh Assembly. Introducing the Assembly’s theme, “Give Us Today Our Daily Bread,” the president said, “If people lack what they need for daily life, it is because we have failed to ensure that the good things of God’s creation are justly and equitably distributed to all.”

Hanson brought the theme of hunger close to home when he said that even among Assembly delegates there were some who know what it means to not have enough food. “So we are not talking about this subject in the abstract … but in the context of our lived experiences.” Hunger, though, does not refer only to the absence of food. “There are also those who hunger for peace in the midst of warfare,” he said. “There are those who hunger for human rights. They are marginalised because of HIV/AIDS, or because they are first-nation people, or because of their gender or generation.”

In Nicaragua the theme of hunger is fundamental, said Dr Victoria Cortez Rodríguez, Bishop of The Nicaraguan Lutheran Church of Faith and Hope. “We have people in our country who live each day and go to bed hungry.” Reinforcing the theme introduced by the LWF president, Bishop Cortez Rodríguez said that “poverty did not come from God … God created enough for everyone.” The people of God are responsible to care for each other and to treat every person with dignity “because every person was created by God.”

“Like Daylight and Dark”

Over the past 58 years the LWF has changed in ways that cannot be measured, said LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko. In 1952 the Second LWF Assembly was held in Hannover, Germany. Contrasting that Assembly with this one, he said, “There was hardly a Roman Catholic at that Assembly; nobody represented the Reformed Churches and there were no Mennonites.” He also pointed out that at the last Assembly held in Germany, women had virtually no voice, indigenous people “were not part of the imagination of our people at that time” and Africans came not as voting members but only as official visitors.

Noko further pointed out how the character and ecumenical nature of the LWF has changed over those 58 years, noting in particular the inclusion of Reformed Churches in the federation’s membership. The difference between the LWF of 1952 and the LWF of 2010 is “like daylight and dark,” the general secretary said. “The meeting here is a landmark in many ways.”

The issue of same-sex partnerships is unlikely to be a major point of discussion at this Assembly. The general secretary said that, as a result of a decision of the 2007 LWF Council meeting in Lund, Sweden, member churches are discussing issues relating to marriage, family and sexuality. “What might appear to be tension between some churches is simply the expression of diverse views on these issues.”

The general secretary said that the LWF has given itself ample time – from 2007 to 2012 – to converse and reflect on these matters. He promised that his report would update the Assembly on progress.

* * * * * *

See the Assembly Web site for more information and resources including the theme video for downloading and other video reflections; news stories, features, photos and blog feeds; the handbook, Assembly Updates and Study Materials: www.lwf-assembly.org

The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is meeting for its Eleventh Assembly, July 20-27, 2010, in Stuttgart, Germany. Assemblies take place every seven years. The last assembly in 2003 was held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and was hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 152,500 baptized members in 607 congregations. It is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, the Canadian Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.

Material provided through ELCIC Information is intended for reproduction and redistribution by recipients in whatever manner they may find useful.

For more information, please contact:
Trina Gallop, Director of Communications
302-393 Portage Ave. Winnipeg MB R3B 3H6
204.984.9172
tgallop@elcic.ca

Subscribe or unsubscribe to ELCIC Information by emailing info@elcic.ca with a short message.

“God’s mission has never been about numbers. It has instead always been about the wonderful story of liberation, transformation and the promise of new life,” said Rev. Dr Martin Junge, general secretary of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in a presentation to the 2019 National Convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) on Friday, July 12, 2019, meeting in Regina.

Junge reminded the convention of the four foundational pillars on which the LWF is grounded. These were developed by first Executive Committee of the LWF when they came together in 1947, right after Second World War.

He then explained how service, mission, theology and unity are the foundational pillars still shaping us today.

The first one related to the suffering of people because of war. Today, the LWF serves more than 2.3 million refugees worldwide. It is one of the largest faith-based implementing partners of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

The second calling of our communion relates to cooperation among churches in mission. “One of the crossroads at which we stand as a global communion of churches today is to go beyond this one-directional perspective,” he said.

Things have changed: our largest member church today is in Ethiopia. The second largest is Tanzania. Churches struggling with their viability and sustainability can be found today both in the South and in the North.

“Our communion needs to grow into a new reality, in which each church will always and at all times understand itself as one being at both the giving and the receiving end, learning from each other, adding value to each other.”

The third calling that brought LWF member churches together at the time of its foundation was the theological work. “Churches realized how theology had been used to promote discrimination and to whitewash violence and oppression,” Junge said.

“A church on its own, is a church at risk”, he noted. “And this is particularly true as it relates to the ‘grammar’ of its witness, hence, for its theology. This is why we have been working together, to understand what informs our understanding of Scripture.”

The fourth pillar is about unity. Junge reminded the convention that, “To be Lutheran is to be ecumenical!”

He pointed out that, “We are not … where we should be, sharing the gifts of God at the table that is never ours but God’s alone. I invite you to continue supporting our joint ecumenical journey. This, too, is a way of journeying together for the sake of reconciliation.”
“The church has a past, but it doesn’t belong to the past,” he concluded. “It belongs to the present and has a future, because of God. God continues making things new, on this very day, nurturing and guiding God’s people as they live their baptismal vocation in everyday life.

“Sisters and brothers, there is no other time to be the church, than the current times. And therefore, there isn’t a better time to be the church, than this one.”

The ELCIC is a member church of the LWF, a global communion of 148 churches in 99 countries in the world and its over 75 million members.

The Saskatchewan (SK) Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) is meeting in convention July 8-11 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The 2010 SK Synod Convention commenced on Thursday afternoon. Opening Worship was held Thursday evening; ELCIC National Bishop Susan C. Johnson presided and Synod Bishop Cindy Halmarson preached.

Friday included a full agenda of business for convention delegates, including Bible study, the election of Synod Bishop, workshops, report of the National Bishop, a presentation of the Synod’s strategic plan, and an evening activity where delegates were introduced more fully to the Book of Faith initiative.

Bishop Cindy Halmarson, who has served two four-year terms as Synod Bishop, was re-elected on the third ballot. Addressing delegates following the announcement of her re-election, Bishop Halmarson reflected on the sabbatical she took earlier in the year. "The sabbatical I took was in part to reflect on the ministry I have done as Bishop," she said, "and the way I have lived out the responsibility you have given me." Bishop Halmarson noted the sabbatical provided her with a sense of renewal and affirmed for her that she felt, "called to continue in this ministry."

SK Synod Convention delegates will continue to meet for the full day on Saturday, July 10. The 2010 SK Synod Convention will conclude with Closing Worship on Sunday, July 11.

Further information about the ELCIC’s Saskatchewan Synod is available online: http://www.sasksynod.elcic.ca/

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 152,500 baptized members in 607 congregations. It is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, the Canadian Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.

Material provided through ELCIC Information is intended for reproduction and redistribution by recipients in whatever manner they may find useful.

For more information, please contact:
Trina Gallop, Director of Communications
302-393 Portage Ave. Winnipeg MB R3B 3H6
204.984.9172
tgallop@elcic.ca

Subscribe or unsubscribe to ELCIC Information by emailing info@elcic.ca with a short message.

The July/August 2010 issue of E-Communique is now available. In this issue you’ll find information on stewardship resources, the National Worship Conference, the youth gathering, the 2010 LWF Assembly, KAIROS and more!

Getting these resources delivered directly to your email inbox is easy! Just email communique@elcic.ca with the word "Subscribe" in the subject line.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada’s (ELCIC) Eastern Synod is meeting in assembly June 24-27 in Toronto, Ontario. The 2010 Eastern Synod Assembly commenced Thursday afternoon and Opening Worship Service was held in the evening.

The first ballot for the election of Synod Bishop was cast on Thursday afternoon with the results presented Friday morning as the first order of business. Bishop Michael Pryse, was declared re-elected on the first ballot after receiving over 75% of the votes. Bishop Pryse was first elected as Eastern Synod Bishop in 1998.

Further information and highlights from the Eastern Synod Assembly are available online: http://www.easternsynod.org/index.php

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 152,500 baptized members in 607 congregations. It is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, the Canadian Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.

Material provided through ELCIC Information is intended for reproduction and redistribution by recipients in whatever manner they may find useful.

For more information, please contact:
Trina Gallop, Director of Communications
302-393 Portage Ave. Winnipeg MB R3B 3H6
204.984.9172
tgallop@elcic.ca

Subscribe or unsubscribe to ELCIC Information by emailing info@elcic.ca with a short message.

The following is the text from a letter to the church from ELCIC National and Synod Bishops.

Dear Friends and Colleagues in Christ:

Last week, we were incredibly saddened to learn of the decision by the ELW national board to dissolve Evangelical Lutheran Women, Inc. and to immediately conclude their operations. This decision has come as a shock to many and left a host of unanswered questions regarding the future for women’s ministries in the ELCIC.

Since the time it was established, Evangelical Lutheran Women has played a significant role in the life of this church. They have been a valued partner, whose resources and programs have encouraged Lutheran women to grow in faith and mission. Moreover, ELW has also made a substantial contribution, each year, to the operation of the national church.

Perhaps ELW’s greatest gift, however, has been in the opportunity it provided for Lutheran women, from across Canada, to be joined together in common cause. Whether it was gathering for national, synodical, or conference ELW events, participating in ELW Bible Studies, or learning about social justice issues, ELW provided a network of relationships which knit Lutheran women together in a sense of common mission.

There is no denying that the national and synodical units of ELW have played an important role in nurturing the ministry of our church. However, ELW’s greatest strength has always been where it remains, in the women of local congregations who gather together for study, prayer, and ministries of service and hospitality.

While we join with the many women and men from across Canada who grieve the loss of ELW, it is our hope and prayer that the ministries of women in local congregations will continue as a bold and faithful witness to the faith we share!

The bishops of our church want to do all we can to support the ongoing ministry of women within our church, and we will work with the board and staff of ELW as they move through the dissolution process, and work with the continuing congregational expressions of Evangelical Lutheran Women to support them in their mission and ministry. This will be made possible, at least in part, by a fund that ELW is establishing, which will continue to encourage and facilitate the important ministry of women within our church.

Friends, these are not easy times to be “church”; these are not easy times to be about the mission and ministry of the church. Still, while we grieve the dissolution of ELW, we do not grieve as those who have no hope! In every community of the church, the work and witness of faithful women continues and evolves in response to the needs of God’s people.

Please be assured that the board, staff, and members of ELW and indeed our whole church are in our thoughts and prayers at this difficult time of transition. Where we grieve what has been, let us nonetheless pledge ourselves to a faithful contemplation of what might be and a hope filled journey into God’s future, together!

Yours in Christ,

The Rev. Susan C. Johnson
National Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

The Rev. Gerhard Preibisch
Synod Bishop
BC Synod

The Rev. Ron Mayan
Synod Bishop
ABT Synod

The Rev. Cindy Halmarson
Synod Bishop
SK Synod

The Rev. Elaine Sauer
Synod Bishop
MNO Synod

The Rev. Michael Pryse
Synod Bishop
Eastern Synod

A pdf version of the letter is available online at: https://www.elcic.ca/Documents/PastoralletterJune2010.pdf

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 152,500 baptized members in 607 congregations. It is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, the Canadian Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.

Material provided through ELCIC Information is intended for reproduction and redistribution by recipients in whatever manner they may find useful.

For more information, please contact:
Trina Gallop, Director of Communications
302-393 Portage Ave. Winnipeg MB R3B 3H6
204.984.9172
tgallop@elcic.ca

Subscribe or unsubscribe to ELCIC Information by emailing info@elcic.ca with a short message.

The following is a letter from Ruth Magnuson, Executive Director of Evangelical Lutheran Women Inc. (ELW) and Pam Radunsky, National ELW President, regarding the recent National ELW Board meeting.

Last week an ELWe-news indicated that the National ELW Board was meeting regarding the future of the organization. At a very spirit-led meeting, after prayer and discussion, the National Board determined that the most responsible path is to enter into a process of dissolution.

Evangelical Lutheran Women Inc. has been a leader in biblical reflection, learning about social justice issues and service within the ELCIC.

Pam Radunsky, National ELW president states, “ELW has offered me and countless others unique opportunities to grow as women of faith within this church. We have spent many hours as a Board prayerfully considering what God is calling us to do. Our mission and vision have been clearly before us and we have listened carefully to what ELW women and our staff have said to us. While this decision has been difficult, we believe it is responding faithfully to the realities with which ELW is faced. We step out in faith, for ‘We know that in everything God works for good with those who love God, who are called according to God’s purpose.’ Romans 8:28.”

There are several reasons for dissolution of the organization. For years we have watched the average age of key supporters go up. Five years ago a demographic survey revealed that 80% of women participating in ELW were over the age of 65 with most being over 70. Less and less of the material produced for the organization was being used.

A natural consequence is that income, primarily through Grace Gifts, was not increasing. Giving levels have remained steady with a slight decrease in giving since 1996. At the same time costs associated with running an organization have increased significantly.

Over and over, ELW board and staff have heard women say that they would continue to gather even if the organization didn’t exist. And that is what we hope will happen.

By deciding to dissolve now, ELW will be able to leave a legacy by setting up a special fund within the ELCIC. The terms of the fund have yet to be determined, however, its purpose will be to continue to support the ELCIC and women’s ministry.

"I was incredibly saddened to learn of the decision to dissolve Evangelical Lutheran Women," said ELCIC National Bishop Susan C. Johnson, "but at the same time I admire the courage of the board in facing difficult realities and making this very hard decision. The ELCIC has always valued and, indeed, treasured our partnership with Evangelical Lutheran Women. We are honoured to be the recipient of a fund that will continue to encourage and facilitate the ministry of women within our church."

The decision to dissolve is effective immediately. We know there will be many questions. A FAQ sheet will be prepared and posted on the ELW website within the next two days. However here are a few immediate answers.

There will be gradual lay off of ELW staff over the next few months beginning in July. The Fall edition of the Esprit will not be published; a decision about the 2011 Bible study has yet to be made and will be announced shortly; there will be no Fall Event materials distributed.

Grace Gifts: ELWs are asked to be as generous as they can with Grace Gifts so that ELW can meet its financial obligations as an organization. For now, continue to send these gifts to your Synodical Treasurer. A date will be given later when gifts will need to be sent directly to the ELW office.

Praise Offering: The ELCIC has budgeted for this money for 2010. We ask that Co-ELWs continue to hold their services and send money to their Synodical Treasurers. Similar to Grace Gifts, a date will be provided later when these funds should be sent directly to the ELW office.

We know that women across Canada will grieve the loss of this organization. We encourage you to gather together and celebrate the ministry it has provided to you. If you would like to connect with women across Canada there are two ways to do this.

1. Send a comment to any one of the ELW staff and a page will be started at where your thoughts, good wishes, memories will be posted. Please allow the staff a couple of days to get this activated.

2. You may go to Facebook and look up the group “hear, speak and act—Communicate” and post comments.

The following was shared by Ruth Magnuson with the board on Saturday after the decision was made, tears flowed, joys and sorrows of life and death discussed:

‘We are now at the beginning of our pilgrimage, the time for departure has come. To be a pilgrim is to be on one’s way—on one’s way towards a goal….A pilgrimage, however is not an escape from life itself, to alienate us from it. Rather, it is a pilgrimage with God in order to dare to be in life. The pilgrimage in an old tradition reminds us that life is a walking from birth to death with God—of, by and to God. Life is a process with God, with ourselves and with other people…When we now, in the hands of God, venture ourselves into new territory, let us remind each other of God’s promises on the journey of life.’ (from Sinfonia Oecumenica, Pilgrimages, pg. 345-346.)

May the peace of God be with you all.

Ruth Magnuson
Executive Director

Pam Radunsky
National ELW President

A frequently asked question (FAQ) sheet will be placed on the ELW website in the next couple of days. Feel free to check that out for answers to your questions. Many details are being figured out and some things will take some time. Please feel free to contact Pam (705. 525.0816) or Ruth if you have any other questions.

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 152,500 baptized members in 607 congregations. It is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, the Canadian Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.

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