I intended to craft a collection of reflections from the 2019 Church Wide Assembly, but I have decided to compile extremely brief reflections into a single post. Why?
- The Church Wide Assembly was August 5-10, 2019.
Thus, reflections have been shared by those most impacted or vocal.
Thus, my reflections are not “timely”, “pressing”, or necessarily unique. - The Church Wide decisions, in my opinion, were not ‘out of character’.
Thus, these do not require in-depth analysis. - Due to the lack of joy writing brings me, I procrastinate and prefer to be short.
What is the Church Wide Assembly?
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is the largest Lutheran denomination and the seventh largest Christian denomination in the United States of America based upon self-identification and reported membership. It is composed of 9,000+ congregations and approximately 3.4 billion baptized members.
The ELCA is composed of three expressions in an inter-dependent relationship:
- Congregations (9,000+)
- Synods (65)
- Church Wide (National expression)
Congregations conduct business by an elected Church Council and an annual meeting.
Synods conduct business by an elected Synod Council and a Synod Assembly.
The frequency of Synod Assemblies may vary, but are often annually or biennially.
The Church Wide expression conducts business by an elected Church Wide Council, the Conference of Bishops, and a triennially held Church Wide Assembly. Therefore, the Church Wide Assembly conducts business on behalf of the ELCA as a whole. Read the rest of this entry »
