0813 - 2005 ELCA Churchwide Assembly

Saturday, August 13
Strategy for Engagement in Israel and Palestine

Read Churchwide Strategy for Engagement in Israel and Palestine (as amended by Churchwide Assembly).

Today the ELCA Churchwide Assembly will consider a recommendation relative to the ELCA Strategy for Engagement in Israel and Palestine.

Bethlehem Communion Ware
At the Assembly, each synod will receive a set of hand-crafted communion ware from Bethlehem. This communion ware will travel from congregation to congregation and then to the 2006 Synod Assemblies. A resource packet accompanies the sets. The goal of the Communion Ware Journey is to give all ELCA congregations the opportunity to:

use these vessels in Holy Communion as a reminder of and a witness to our partnership in mission with our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land;
learn about and pray for Palestinian Christians and their Muslim and Jewish neighbors; and
learn how to advocate for peace with justice in Israel and Palestine.

With a sense of urgency, the strategy, adopted by the Church Council in April 2005, calls on ELCA members, synods, and its related agencies and institutions to engage in awareness-building, accompaniment, and advocacy activities.

This strategy responds to a call from our companion church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), with the campaign Peace Not Walls – Stand for Justice in the Holy Land. It also reaffirms ELCA policy statements regarding the need for security, peace, and justice in the Holy Land.

The recommendation before the Assembly calls for

Prayers for peace with justice
Deepened relationships with our global and ecumenical partners
Awareness building and advocacy, and
Financial stewardship and generosity in support of a just peace and the ministries of our companions

The recommendation also encourages ELCA congregations to participate in the Communion Ware Journey (see sidebar), thereby expressing in worship, prayer, giving, and advocacy this church’s solidarity with the [ELCJHL]”

More on this
Bishop Munib Younan Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land

Saturday's Worship
Presiding Minister - Pr. Khader N. El-Yateem
Preacher - Pr. Angela K. Zimmann
Listen to the sermon
Sermon Text

Saturday's Bible Study
The Rev. Peter Marty
"Living in God’s Amazing Grace"
Bible Study Text

Saturday's Video Clips
Plenary Clip
ELCA World Hunger Appeal
Part One Part Two Part Three

Plenary Clip
Bible Study: “Living in God’s Amazing Grace”

Plenary Clip
Bishop Munib Younan, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land

Saturday's Audio News Releases
An assembly rejected an action to let Lutheran congregations decide if their pastors may bless same-sex relationships.
MP3 | RealPlayer Stream

The Lutheran assembly rejected an action to reserve a blessing for the marriage of a man and a woman.
MP3 | RealPlayer Stream

Openly gay and lesbian Lutherans are not allowed to be ministers in their church.
MP3 | RealPlayer Stream

An assembly rejected a proposal to grant individual exceptions allowing gay and lesbian Lutherans be ministers.
MP3 | RealPlayer Stream

A Lutheran assembly was disrupted by visitors.
MP3 | RealPlayer Stream