CHICAGO (ELCA) -- At the constituting convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) 20 years ago, the church set a goal that 10 percent of its membership be people of color and/or whose primary language is not English.  Today the church has arrived at three percent, reported the Rev. Sherman G. Hicks, executive director, ELCA Multicultural Ministries, at the 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly here Aug. 11.
     The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the ELCA, met here Aug. 6-11 at Navy Pier's Festival Hall. About 2,000 people participated, including 1,069 ELCA voting members. The theme for the biennial assembly is "Living in God's Amazing Grace: Thanks be to God!"
     About 33 percent of the U.S. population consists of people of color, making the membership of the ELCA far from the "demographic context in which it exists," Hicks told the assembly.
     Hicks provided ELCA membership and leadership figures from the multi-racial and ethnic communities and ministries of the church -- African American and Black, American Indian and Alaska Native, Arab and Middle Eastern, Asian and Pacific Islander, Latino/Hispanic, White and other.
     He also highlighted the ELCA's five ethnic-specific ministry strategies adopted by former churchwide assemblies, which are designed "to assist this church in reaching the 10 percent goal and become a more multicultural church."
     While "each of the strategies reflects its distinctive community within the ELCA and its wider context for mission and ministry, there are similarities among the strategies," said Hicks.
     Each of the strategies support leadership within the communities, the development of language-specific and/or ethnic-specific resources for congregations, strengthen the ability of congregations to engage in evangelism, stewardship and Lutheran identity, contextualize the outreach strategies of the church, heighten concern for social justice, exercise sensitivity, address racism in the church and society, pursue unity, and strengthen ecumenical connections.
     "While our church has miles to go, there is hope for the future," said Hicks.
     The ELCA Multicultural Ministries program unit has completed a strategic plan for 2007-2009.  Its goals are to increase the number of congregations in the ELCA, increase and strengthen the cohesiveness within and among ethnic-specific communities, equip congregations and other expressions of the church to become anti-racist and multicultural, and increase the number of professional and lay leaders in the church, said Hicks.
     "Moving this church forward as a multicultural church will require participation beyond the churchwide organization.  It will require the commitment and participation of synods, congregations, agencies and institutions in partnership with the churchwide organization," said Hicks.