Churchwide Assembly

We conclude our series of weekly reflections on the 2022 Churchwide Assembly with thoughts from Synod Council Member Roger Bailey with the Colorado River Conference.

“I found this year’s CWA an eye-opening experience as I saw firsthand the diversity of the ELCA.”

We continue our series of weekly reflections on the 2022 Churchwide Assembly with thoughts from Rev. David Brandfass, with Christ Lutheran in Sedona.

“When I left the 2019 assembly I felt as though we faced great challenges as a church, and I wasn’t sure we were up to it. Three years later, on my way home from Columbus, it is obvious we face even greater challenges, but now, through the witness of this assembly, I feel we are ready, led by the Spirit and filled with grace, to meet the challenges faced by Jesus’ church in this twenty-first century.”

We continue our series of weekly reflections on the 2022 Churchwide Assembly with thoughts from Rev. Charles Newman, with Crossroads in San Tan Valley.

“Reflecting on the assembly, I personally discovered a newfound hope for our church. By further understanding, accepting, and navigating through our unique gifts and diversity, I am excited to experience our capabilities as one unified body of Christ and paving the way for achieving our goal to welcome one-million new, young, and diverse people into the ELCA.”

We continue our series of weekly reflections on the 2022 Churchwide Assembly with thoughts from Laura Hollengreen of Lutheran Church of the Foothills in Tucson.

“The Churchwide Assembly was an astoundingly complex logistical and legislative endeavor with 900+ voting members in attendance. All in all, I was quite impressed by how smoothly things went, which made it easy to focus on the issues at hand and on meeting and getting to know new people.”

We continue our series of weekly reflections on the 2022 Churchwide Assembly with thoughts from Pastor Matthew Metevelis of Living Hope Lutheran in Las Vegas.

“​The ELCA stands right now between a storied past and an uncertain future. Voting members at the ELCA’s 2022 Churchwide Assembly gathered at a crossroads. We worshipped in the very room where our predecessor bodies merged in 1987.”

We continue our series of weekly reflections on the 2022 Churchwide Assembly with thoughts from Synod Vice President Barbara Carl.

“At Churchwide Assembly, I gained a deeper appreciation that we of this church, the ELCA, are deeply connected. We are truly church together.”

We continue our series of weekly reflections on the 2022 Churchwide Assembly with thoughts from Pastor Chris Stoxen of Holy Trinity Lutheran in Chandler.

“While I could talk about a variety of things that touched me about Churchwide Assembly, including Worship, Ecumenical Partner Presentations, the offering of an Apology to a community that we hurt, I think the most influential experiences I had were with the community of believers and the relationships that were built.”

We start a series of weekly reflections on the 2022 Churchwide Assembly with a “live update” from Glenn Austad, created by the creative team at Lord of Life Lutheran in Sun City West.

Each week we will share a 2022 CWA reflection on how we are church together by our synod voting members. View all our 2022 CWA posts here.

Sometime in July/August of 2025, the ELCA Churchwide Assembly will be held in Phoenix. Part of the proceedings will be a presentation from the recently established Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church, which will reconsider the denomination’s organizational structure and its statements of purpose.

The 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly met Aug. 8-12, 2022, under the theme "Embody the Word." The assembly worshiped together in services of eucharist and lament, experienced a liturgy rooted in Indigenous traditions, and heard a public apology in a nonlegislative session to Iglesia Luterana Santa María Peregrina for harm experienced from actions taken by the Sierra Pacific Synod and this church. In this post, read the key actions taken by the assembly.

Interfaith Greetings at the 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

Greetings from Bishop Suzanne Darcy Dillahunt, of the Southern Ohio Synod, host of the 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

We share a Theological Presentation with Rev. Anthony Bateza to the 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

We share an update from Lutheran Disaster Response to the 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

We share an update from ELCA World Hunger to the 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

We share a greeting from ELCA Mission Investment Fund to the 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

We share a greeting from 1517 Media to the 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

We share a greeting from WELCA to the 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

We share a greeting from ELCA Foundation to the 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

We share a greeting from Portico to the 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

We share a greeting from Rev. S. Ibrahim Azar, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) to the 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

We share a greeting from Lutheran World Federation General Secretary Rev. Anne Burghart to the 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

We share a greeting from Lutheran World Federation President Archbishop Dr. Panti Filibus Musa to the 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

​The 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly concluded Aug. 12 at the Greater Columbus (Ohio) Convention Center. Day four included a service of Holy Communion and the seventh plenary session.

On Wed. Aug. 10, 2022, the ELCA Churchwide Assembly received a presentation on the “Declaration of the ELCA to American Indian and Alaska Native People” adopted by the ELCA Church Council last September.

In this video/photo montage, we welcome Vice President-elect Imran Siddiqui at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

Bishop Patricia Davenport’s sermon, Friday, 8/12/2022, at the 2022 Churchwide Assembly.

Holy Communion, Friday, 8/12/2022, at the 2022 Churchwide Assembly.

Plenary Session 7, Friday, 8/12/2022, at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

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