Since 1988, when the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America came into existence, there has been a demonstrated commitment to embody and engage in anti-racism work at all levels of the church. In the spring of 2007, following actions taken by the ELCA Church Council, the Multicultural Ministries unit of the ELCA sponsored a conference call and has now convened a two day working group in Chicago to begin to formulate a plan for creating the European American Lutheran Association (EALA) to further the work of anti-racism work in the church. The EALA will stand alongside the American Indian and Alaska Native, African American, Black, Arab and Middle Eastern, Latino and the Asian and Pacific Islander Lutheran associations.

In calling this association into existence, the ELCA is continuing the groundwork which has been laid by the work of the five current ethnic associations, the Commission for Multicultural Ministries and the predecessor churchbodies of the ELCA. The European American Lutheran Association is tentatively scheduled to come into official existence with an organizing conference in the fall of 2008.

The European American Lutheran Association will have as a primary membership base people who self-identify as European Americans and understand themselves to have inherited a history that is full of honor and faithfulness as well as being full of access to power and privilege. The members of the EALA will be people who agree that racism is present in society and institutions. The association will seek to provide communication, networking and resources to move people and institutions toward an anti-racist identity.

For more information please contact The Rev. Sherman Hicks, ELCA Multicultural Ministries, telephone, 800-638-3522, ext. 2841or e-mail, Sherman.hicks@elca.org.