The 2022 Churchwide Assembly (DWA) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) was held August 8-12 in Columbus, Ohio, under the theme “Embody the Word.” Over 800 voting members from across the U.S., including nine persons representing the Grand Canyon Synod, participated in worship and business sessions. This triennial gathering is the ELCA’s highest deliberative body, during which reports and recommendations are received from ELCA staff and church council and policy issues are decided. Here are some highlights of this meeting:
1. Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton publicly apologized to Iglesia Luterana Santa Maria Peregrina, a congregation in Stockton, California, following the abrupt removal of that congregation’s pastor by the former bishop of the Sierra Pacific Synod. Four members of the mostly Hispanic congregation explained how the removal had deeply and negatively affected them and received the apology on behalf of their community of faith. Bishop Eaton will visit the congregation this month and will continue to work with them to restore their relationship with the ELCA.
2. Imran Siddiqui was elected vice president of the ELCA, the highest lay office in the denomination. Mr. Siddiqui is a senior investigator for the U.S. Department of Labor and currently serves as vice president of the ELCA’s Southeastern Synod. He was raised as a Muslim and became a Lutheran in 2011. Mr. Siddiqui is the first Asian American to be elected to this post and will take office in November.
3. The Declaration of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to American Indians and Alaska Native People was announced; this document expresses regret for the harmful treatment of Indigenous peoples, specifically resulting from the Doctrine of Discovery (the full text may be found at elca.org.) Voting members also approved a memorial encouraging ELCA members to support “creative programs of restorative justice in partnership with Indigenous peoples,” to explore making land acknowledgments part of their public gatherings, to educate themselves about Indigenous peoples whose land they inhabit, and to deepen relationships with Indigenous
peoples.
4. A review of the ELCA social statement “Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust” was authorized. The review will center on the many changes in understanding, policy, civil law, and public acceptance of same-gender and gender-nonconforming couples that have occurred since the statement was first approved in 2009.
5. The ELCA Church Council was directed to establish a Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church to reconsider the denomination’s organizational structure and its statements of purpose. Voting members strongly expressed the opinion that much has changed since three prior Lutheran denominations joined together 35 years ago to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and that many structural updates are needed. The Commission will present its findings and recommendations at the next Churchwide Assembly, scheduled for July/August 2025 in Phoenix, in preparation for a Reconstituting Convention.
Much more information about the CWA, including all relevant documents, worship bulletins, photos and videos, and voting results, may be found by clicking this link.
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