A Call for a Social Statement on Education
Action taken by the Churchwide Assembly for a Proposed Social Statement on Education, April 2002

To refer Motion O to the Division for Church in Society, requesting the division to bring a report and recommendation regarding this resolution to the April 2002 meeting of the Church Council, thereby allowing time for the proposed study to be considered within the sequence of staffing and budget considerations.

Motion O refers to a resolution brought by a churchwide assembly voting member that called for the development of "a social statement on education which addresses the numerous accomplishments and concerns of education in the United States and its territories and that the social statement be presented to the Churchwide Assembly no later than 2005."

The proposed action before the Church Council affirms the intent of Motion O to develop a social statement on education. It further sets out the time line for developing and acting upon a proposed social statement that takes into consideration a variety of issues, including staffing, budget, and timing concerns. During plenary discussion at the seventh Churchwide Assembly, it was noted that the development of a social statement usually is a four-year process, requiring at least one full-time staff person and a budget of at least $100,000. The four-year time span will provide time for the social statement to be developed according to prescribed procedures as outlined in "Policies and Procedures of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for Addressing Social Concerns" (pp. 14–15). The project can be carried out through present staff of the Department for Stud ies in the D ivision for Church in Society and within the division’s normal budgetary allowance. Since the social statement on health and health care is to considered at the 2003 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, the development of a social statement on education will not significantly overlap with that social statement project.

If the Church Council approves this motion, the department for studies in the Division for Church in Society will convene a small consultation in the summer of 2002 to assist with identification of the principal concerns and scope of the proposed social statement. More detailed plans and parameters regularly will be reported to the division’s board and the Church Council.

At its February 2002 meeting, the board of the Division for Church in Society approved the following action:

To welcome the 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly action related to the development of a social statement on education;

To direct the Division for Church in Society (DCS) Department for Studies to begin the process for developing a social statement on education in 2003 with the intention that a proposed social statement be presented to the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in 2007;

To request the DCS Department for Studies to bring a report to the board’s next meeting outlining the plans and the parameters for the social statement; and

To communicate this motion along with the background report to the Church Council as the Division for Church in Society’s response to Assembly Action CA01.06.40.

Church Council Action:
Ms. Young reviewed the background information.

Brian D. Rude said the action seemed a bit vague, and asked for more clarification. Chair Butler invited Pr. L. James Wylie, interim executive director of the Division for Church in Society, to respond.

Pr. Wylie said he would defer to Leonard G. Schulze, executive director of the Division for Higher Education and Schools. Mr. Schulze said that the presenting question was regarding school vouchers, but the discussion about the Church’s theology of education is quite lively throughout this church, and it is welcomed to expand this topic to all the church’s ministry in education. Ms. Young said that the committee understood that development of a social statement indicates that it is not a particularly urgent matter, and that if this is adopted today, the next step will be to define the scope of the study.

The recommended action was adopted without further discussion.

VOTED
CC02.04.08  To request that the Division for Church in Society undertake the development of a social statement on education for possible presentation to and adoption by the 2007 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.