Opportunities to Learn About the ELCA

The 2003 Churchwide Assembly will include several opportunities apart from official plenary sessions for voting members to learn more about the work of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. 

Hearings, the most important of these opportunities, are scheduled twice on the Tuesday, August 12. The purpose of the hearings is to provide additional information and to answer questions about items on the assembly agenda prior to formal discussion and debate. Voting members will be able to choose which hearing they will attend on a “first-come” basis; interested visitors also will be able to participate in the hearings as space permits. The 60-minute hearings are non-legislative in nature. Although voting members cannot offer motions or resolutions for assembly action during the hearings, hearings provide opportunities for varying viewpoints to expressed.

Unit lunches are scheduled on Wednesday, August 13. The purpose of these luncheons is to provide an opportunity for members of the assembly to review the ongoing work of the churchwide units and to ask questions of churchwide staff members. All voting members will be assigned to a unit lunch, which will be chaired by a member of the ELCA Church Council. These lunch meetings are not legislative in nature.

Finally, although there will be no “display area” as has been present at previous assemblies, churchwide staff members will be present at the hospitality area, where questions can be asked over a cup of coffee.

The Role of the Churchwide Assembly
The Work of the Churchwide Assembly
Who Attends the Churchwide Assembly?
Memorials and Resolutions
Role of the Church Council at the Churchwide Assembly
Role of the Presiding Bishop at the Churchwide Assembly
Role of the Secretary at the Churchwide Assembly
Opportunities to Learn About the ELCA
Nominations and Elections for 2003 Churchwide Assembly