7/18/2022 10:45:00 AM
CHICAGO — Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will gather for the 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly Aug. 8-12 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio. Meeting under the theme "Embody the Word," the assembly will participate in plenary discussions to make decisions about the work of this church. They will also spend time in worship and Bible study.
The triennial gathering — the highest legislative body of the denomination — will be composed of more than 900 voting members serving on behalf of the 3.3 million members of the ELCA. The ELCA's 65 synods elect voting members to serve at churchwide assemblies.
ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton will open the assembly on Tuesday, Aug. 9, with a land acknowledgment noting that the gathering is taking place on the original and ancestral homelands of the Shawnee, Miami and Kaskaskia peoples.
The assembly will then commemorate the 35th anniversary of the ELCA, which was formed when the ELCA constitution was adopted during the opening session of the Constituting Convention in Columbus on April 30, 1987. The church was formed from a merger of the American Lutheran Church, the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, and the Lutheran Church in America.
The day will include a nonlegislative session to offer a public apology to Iglesia Luterana Santa María Peregrina and a public commitment to anti-racism. This is in response to recent events in this church that have caused harm to people, communities and the whole body of Christ.
In other key assembly action, voting members will:
Voting members will also receive:
The ELCA has established the following COVID-19 health and safety protocols for all assembly participants:
Live video of the assembly will be accessible at elca.org/CWA-2022.
Reporters interested in speaking to the elected vice president should contact Candice Hill Buchbinder at Candice.Buchbinder@elca.org or 708-220-6119.
To register as press or access other news and media information, contact Candice Hill Buchbinder at Candice.Buchbinder@elca.org.
About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with nearly 3.3 million members in more than 8,900 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
773-380-2877
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org