1989 Churchwide Assembly Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Reports and Records Volume 3: Assembly Minutes August 23-30, 1989 Rosemont, Illinois Published by the Office of the Secretary Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 8765 West Higgins Road Chicago, IL 60631 Lowell G. Almen Secretary Copyright 1989 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Contents Introduction Minutes Plenary Session One .................................................... 561 Plenary Session Two .................................................... 605 Plenary Session Three .................................................. 631 Plenary Session Four .................................................... 659 Plenary Session Five .................................................... 695 Plenary Session Six ................................................. 703 Plenary Session Seven ................................................. 739 Plenary Session Eight ................................................... 749 Plenary Session Nine ................................................... 817 Plenary Session Ten .................................................... 837 Plenary Session Eleven ................................................. 867 Plenary Session Twelve ................................................. 923 Plenary Session Thirteen ................................................ 961 Exhibits Exhibit A: Members of the Churchwide Assembly ................... ... 1023 Voting Members .................................................. 1023 Advisory Members ................................................ 1045 Other Members ................................................... 1048 Resource Members ................................................ 1049 Exhibit B: Greetings .................................................... 1051 The Middle East Council of Churches, Beirut, Lebanon ............. 1051 Religion in American Life, New York, New York ................... 1053 Sinodo Luterano Salvadorefio, San Salvador, El Salvador ............ 1054 The White House, Washington, D.C. .................... ........... 1055 The Vice President, Washington, D.C. .............................. 1056 Office of the Governor of the State of Illinois ................... .... 1057 Office of the Mayor of the City of Chicago, Illinois .................. 1058 Exhibit C: Amendments to the Pension and Other Benefits Program ..... 1059 Exhibit D: ELCA Governing Documents ................... ............. 1253 Restated Articles of Incorporation ................... ............... 1261 Churchwide Constitution, Bylaws, and Continuing Resolutions ..... 1265 Constitution for Synods ................... ........................ 1389 Model Constitution for Congregations ................... ........... 1413 Index ................................................................. 1433 Introduction Welcome to this walk through a one-week corridor of history. This corridor is a specific one. We find within it the events and decisions of the first biennial Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You have before you the historical record-that is, the official minutes-of the assembly that was held August 23-30, 1989, at the O’Hare Exposition Center near the ELCA’s churchwide office in Chicago. Work of Assembly According to the Constitution, Bylaws, and Continuing Resolutions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Churchwide Assembly is "the highest legislative au- thority of the churchwide organization." It deals with matters that "are necessary in the pursuit of the purposes and functions of this church” (ELCA 13.11.). Responsibilities of the Churchwide Assembly include: review of the work of the churchwide officers and churchwide units and action on business proposed by them; consideration of proposals from synodical assemblies; establishment of churchwide policy; adoption of a budget; election of officers, Church Council and board members, and other persons; amendment of the constitution and bylaws; and fulfillment of other functions as required (ELCA 13.21.). Words of Gratitude Special gratitude is due those who kept notes and prepared the preliminary minutes of the plenary sessions. Three teams of two persons each carried out that task: Ms. Lorraine "Lorrie" G. Bergquist of Moorhead, Minn., and Ms. Nancy L. Vaughn of Chicago; Ms. Anne Deering and the Rev. Gilbert B. Furst, both of Wescosville, Penn.; and Ms. Irmgard “Emmy” Haas and the Rev. George E. Handley, both of Philadelphia. I am deeply grateful to each of them. The monumental challenge of editing and preparing the minutes for publication was accomplished by the Rev. William L. Smith and Ms. Charlotte A. Berryhill of the secretary's staff. I express my personal gratitude to them for their conscientious service. Includes Documents Approved We have sought to make the minutes complete and conveniently usable. Therefore, approved documents have been included in the text of the minutes at the point of adoption, instead of their being published as exhibits. The content of the minutes, as a result, records the sequence of actions at the assembly. Synod Names Several synods during the ELCA’S first biennium had expressed the desire to change their names. Any changes in the names of synods, however, requires the approval of the Churchwide Assembly. In these minutes, prior to the action of the assembly in approving changes in names, the minutes use the original synod names. After the amendment of the bylaws to change the names of 17 synods, the new names are used in the minutes. This is true, with the exception of the names of synods listed on the memorials. Because the synodical assemblies approved the memorials in 1988 and 1989 prior to the official change in the names of some synods, the synod names in place at the time of synodical action on the memorials are used throughout the minutes. Action Numbers The numbers attached to each action of the Churchwide Assembly are preceded by “CA,” to define where the decision was made, namely, the Churchwide Assembly. This code, “CA," is followed by the year of the assembly, 1989, identified as "CA89." Then follows the notation on the day of the assembly and the number of the action in the assembly. Thus, CA89.2.10 signifies that the tenth action of the 1989 Churchwide Assembly occurred on the second day of the meeting. A similar but slightly different pattern was followed for resolutions and decisions of the ELCA’S constituting convention, held April 30-May 3, 1987. In references in these minutes to the constituting convention, references are preceded by "ELCA," followed by the year, 1987, then the day of the convention on which the action was taken, and finally the number of the action. Thus, ELCA87.2.41 indicates the forty- first action of the 1987 constituting convention took place on the second day of that convention. Reference to actions of various ELCA governing bodies also are noted by a code; for example, CC88.4.5 refers to a proposal approved by the Church Council (CC) at the council’s April (fourth month) meeting in 1988 (88), which represented the fifth action (5) of the council in the calendar year Citations of Constitutions and Bylaws Care should be taken to distinguish between action numbers and citations of sections of the Constitutions, Bylaws, and Continuing Resolutions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. These are codified as ELCA 9.53. (churchwide constitution), ELCA 10.23.10. (churchwide bylaw), S6.02. (Constitution for Synods), and C9.09. (Model Constitution for Congregations). With Many Voices, One Song As the theme of this assembly suggested, we who are part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America sing and speak with many voices-all five million of us gathered in 11,000 congregations. Our many voices, however, are joined in one song of praise to our crucified and risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The REV. LOWELL G. ALMEN, Secretary Festival of Pentecost June 3, 1990 First Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Minutes August 23-30, 1989 Rosemont, Illinois Plenary Session One Wednesday, August 23, 1989 7:30 P.M. - 9:30 P.M. The first Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America began with the Service of Holy Communion at 3:00 P.M. in Hall D of the O’HARE Exposition Center in Rosemont, Illinois. The service was followed by a banquet in the Rosemont Holiday Inn during which the presidents/bishops of the three predecessor church bodies of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America were honored. The first plenary session was preceded at 7:40 P.M. by a hymn festival, "Come, Holy Spirit," in Hall D of the O’Hare Exposition Center The Rev. Herbert W. Chilstrom, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, declared the assembly to be in session at 8:05 P.M., Central Daylight Time. He expressed appreciation to the Rev. Emilio Castro, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, for his sermon at the opening service and to Paul Manz of Chicago, Illinois, who served as organist for the service and hymn festival. Report of the Credentials Committee: Determination of Quorum Reference: 1989 Reports and Records, Volume 2, pages 227-249; Minutes Exhibit A, pages 1023-1049; continued on page 575 below. Bylaw provision 13.41.11. in the Constitution, Bylaws, and Continuing Resolutions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America provides a formula for determining the number of voting members of each Churchwide Assembly. The Church Council and the secretary of the church determined