CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) elected its executive committee and several other church members to fill vacancies on ELCA boards and committees. It also ratified a slate of candidates to serve as trustees of the ELCA Mission Investment Fund.
The council met here Nov. 12-14. It functions as the ELCA's board of directors and serves as the legislative authority of the church between churchwide assemblies. Assemblies are held every other year; the next is Aug. 8-14, 2001, in Indianapolis.
The council has 37 members, including the ELCA's officers: the Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop; the Rev. Lowell G. Almen, secretary; Dr. Addie J. Butler of Philadelphia, vice president; and Richard L. McAuliffe, treasurer. The vice president chairs the council, and the council's executive committee is made up of the officers and seven council members.
Linda J. Brown, Moorhead, Minn.; Sandra G. Gustavson, Athens, Ga.; the Rev. Kirkwood J. Havel, Midland, Mich.; Steven E. Koenig, Elwood, Neb.; Dale V. Sandstrom, Bismarck, N.D.; the Rev. Larry V. Smoose, Media, Pa.; and Lily R. Wu, New York, were elected to the executive committee. Brown, Havel, Sandstrom, Smoose and Wu were re-elected to that committee.
The Church Council elected other church members to fill vacancies on ELCA boards and committees:
Priscila Curet, New Creation Lutheran Church, Philadelphia, will serve four years and the Rev. Minh-Hanh Nguyen, Redeemer Lutheran Church, Seal Beach, Calif., will serve two years on the board of the ELCA Division for Congregational Ministries.
Kimberly K. Folkers, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Waverly, Iowa, will serve two years as a trustee of Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis, publishing house of the ELCA.
The Rev. John K. Stendahl, Lutheran Church of the Newtons, Newton Centre, Mass., and Jennifer Nagel, Our Savior Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minn., will serve six years on the advisory committee of the ELCA Department for Ecumenical Affairs.
Barbara L. Bauer, Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, Boise, Idaho; the Rev. Kenneth C. Feinour Jr., St. John Lutheran Church, Melrose Park, Pa., and the Rev. P. Gerald Leaf, Bethany Lutheran Church, Lindsborg, Kan., were re-elected to six-year terms on the board of the ELCA Foundation.
Harolyn C. Light, Atonement Lutheran Church, Atlanta; W. Jeanne Rapp, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Pontiac, Ill.; and Georganne Robertson, Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, Olympia, Wash., will serve six years on the ELCA Committee of Hearing Officers.
The elections of Gail Nelson Claytor, Our Saviour Lutheran Church, Arlington Heights, Ill.; Barry R. Herr, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Lancaster, Pa.; the Rev. Craig J. Lewis, Central Lutheran Church, Minneapolis; Emma Graeber Porter, New Hope Lutheran Church (Queens), New York; and Willis 'Bill' O. Serr II, Epiphany Lutheran Church, Dayton, Ohio, as trustees of the ELCA Mission Investment Fund were ratified. All will serve six years on that board, except for Serr who will fill a two-year vacancy.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 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
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
