Preview of the ELCA Churchwide Assembly

I was amazed but not surprised over how little information was coming from the ELCA regarding the momentous decisions that will be made by and the potentially momentous changes that will be coming from the ELCA Churchwide Assembly, which will be held July 28-August 2. My impression is that the ELCA is saying as little as possible so that there will be as little conversation as possible before the assembly, so that when the decisions are made and the actions are taken at the assembly it will be a fait accompli and nothing can be done. And the ELCA is counting on what will most likely be the case – that the people who will be voting members of the assembly will be people who will overwhelmingly vote in favor of the proposed actions and changes. The only question is whether the voting members will feel that what they will be presented with to vote on will go far enough.
The ELCA has resumed offering “Living Lutheran” magazine in print form. I recently received the Summer 2025 issue in the mail, which contains three articles regarding the Churchwide Assembly. Admittedly that is something, but I wonder how many across the ELCA will receive it and read it. In talking with people I find that the general consensus is that most people in the ELCA have absolutely no idea what is coming.
The first of these articles is entitled “A preview of actions” and can be found on page 11. There are a total of ten words concerning proposed amendments to the ELCA constitutions – fewer words than are used for the required opening land acknowledgement. Only ten words – in spite of the fact that the proposed amendments do many things including increase the mandated or desired level of participation of persons from “historically underrepresented groups” and fast track the approval process for amendments that come from the floor. I have identified and evaluated many of the proposed constitutional changes in my April 2025 letter from the director. A link to that letter can be found HERE.
The second of these articles is entitled “Revisiting ‘Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust’” and can be found on pages 16-17. The article continues what the ELCA has consistently been doing in downplaying the significance of the changes in this first phase of the reconsideration process. It calls them “text updates without changing the meaning of the social statement.” It quotes Ryan Cumming, ELCA program director for theological ethics, education, and community development, as saying, “The hope is that folks can be clear these are edits and not substantive changes right now and focus on the way in which the wording brings the 2009 social statement up to date.” Please see my article regarding the Human Sexuality Reconsiderations Task Force in the January 2025 issue of our newsletter. A link to that article can be found HERE. As I pointed out in my article, I do not see how moving from merely approving publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same sex relationships (PALMS) to a full embrace of every form of gender identity and sexual orientation can be called mere edits and not substantive changes. The article in “Living Lutheran” does have the honesty and integrity to conclude with a warning of what is to come. It discloses the fact that the next step is a process that could lead to “substantive changes” in the section of the social statement that “names the ELCA’s recognition of four conviction sets that Lutherans can faithfully hold about same-gender relationships, typically referred to as ‘bound conscience.’” That process is expected to begin this fall and conclude with action taken by the 2028 Churchwide Assembly.
The third of these articles is entitled “Called to renew” and is about the work of the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church. It can be found on pages 18-19. A link to my article in the May 2025 issue of our newsletter on the Final Report of the Commission can be found HERE. The 2022 Churchwide Assembly, which called for the formation of the Commission, had grand and glorious ideas regarding the work of the Commission, even that it might lead to a special, separate assembly that would reconstitute the ELCA. But it seems that reality prevailed (as it has a habit of doing). The Final Report of the Commission calls for many amendments and changes, but not for a totally new, reconstituted church formed at a separate reconstituting convention. In the article Carla Christopher Wilson, Commission co-chair, is quoted as saying, “The only way to rewrite and restructure the entire constitution in one go would essentially be to dissolve the churchwide organization.” Therefore the Commission has proposed a “phased approach, recommending amendments rather than dissolution” and the Church Council has responded by “forming tasks forces and committees to continue the work.” Personally I find the language in the article toned down compared with the language in Recommendation 1 in the Final Report. In that Recommendation the Commission shows that it is still thinking big time when it states that if all the constitution and bylaw amendments needed for the ELCA to become a “truly welcoming church” that realizes “authentic diversity” are not developed in time for consideration by the 2028 Churchwide Assembly, then the ELCA Church Council needs to call for a special meeting of the Churchwide Assembly to evaluate and enact the necessary constitutional revisions.
The other part of this article that caught my attention is in the next paragraph, which tells how the ELCA Church Council responded to the Commission’s recommendation which “urged immediate accountability structures and compliance incentives to center equity across the ELCA.” The Council responded by “strengthening the Strategy Toward Authentic Diversity Advisory Team and mandating DEIA standards development for congregations and synods.” Whenever the ELCA uses any form of the word “mandated,” all confessional Lutherans still in the ELCA need to get really nervous. In this sentence what is mandated? Is the development of standards mandated or are the standards that will be developed mandated? And if it is the standards that will be developed that will be mandated, what will happen to congregations that are not in full compliance?
I am glad that the ELCA at least communicated something about the upcoming Churchwide Assembly in the Summer 2025 issue of “Living Lutheran.” But I wonder how many will take the time and put forth the effort to read and understand it, and how many will remain blissfully unaware. I will be attending the Churchwide Assembly as a Visitor and look forward to telling you about it in my August letter from the director.