In this letter, former Bishop Lowell G. Almen encourage pastors, deacons, and congregations to remember with gratitude the 35th birthday of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) on April 30, 2022.
In the span of church history, 35 years is a very short period. Yet, for the ELCA, in terms of substantially lived history, the past three and a half decades have been highly significant.
On Thursday, April 30, 1987, in Columbus, Ohio, representatives of the predecessor American Lutheran Church, Lutheran Church in America, and Association of Evangelical Lutheran Church approved the ELCA constitution, bylaws, and continuing resolutions, thereby giving birth to “the new church.”
Historically, the age of church bodies has been counted from the date of their constituting. That practice stretches back to the first organized synod in North America in 1748 and was followed for all subsequent Lutheran church bodies.
Perhaps most people have forgotten the high level of expectations that accompanied the constituting of the ELCA. The thrill of greater Lutheran unity captured many delighted hearts. The ELCA represented at the time the fulfillment of the prayers and efforts of many years for moving toward greater Lutheran unity in North America.
The births of The American Lutheran Church in April 1960 and the Lutheran Church in America in July 1962 were significant milestones along the way, but those churches clearly were seen by many as interim steps toward greater unity. Later, the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches was created in December 1976, in a separation from The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod.
The life span of The ALC of 1960 was 27 years, of the LCA 25 years, and of the AELC just over a decade. The ELCA at 35 has lived through significant developments in its lived history throughout the past three and a half decades.
Public relations people with no knowledge of church history may date the beginning of the ELCA to January 1, 1988. That is inconsistent with the historical practice for Lutheran and other church bodies in this country. The January 1, 1988, date only marks the exact time that the predecessor church corporations were dissolved into the ELCA, specifically at 12:01 a.m. Central Standard Time on January 1, 1988, with the ELCA as the surviving corporation. Much already was under way in the ELCA in the months prior to that date.
Two recent periods in the history of American Christianity have seen highly significant changes. That has been true for Lutheran too. One period covered the 15 years between the end of World War II in 1945 and 1960: Massive growth in membership, especially with children, huge building programs of churches and parish education facilities, movement toward greater Lutheran unity with the mergers of 1960 and 1962, greater ecumenical awareness with the formation of councils of churches, expansion of church colleges and universities as well as social ministry programs, and the move from “mission fields” abroad to the formation of what then were known as younger churches.
The next period of massive change and dislocation took place between 2005 and 2020: Significant decreases in worship participation, sharp declines in membership in U.S. churches, signs of growing secularism in society, enormous loss of trust in clergy and church structures, inclination toward schismatic behaviors by some clergy and congregations, and the tendency especially in certain “evangelical” circles to ignore compassion for the needy, as Jesus taught, and instead to give allegiance to political leaders who urge division and hate, with some even viewing the teachings of Jesus as “socialistic.”
Meanwhile, some churches, including the ELCA, have sought to become more inclusive and welcoming of all people. Substantial efforts of dialogue and mutual conversation have taken place not only between and among Christian churches but also in relation to Jewish and Islamic traditions. Full communion agreements for the ELCA and certain other churches have opened numerous arenas for common mission.
This quick overview is extremely abbreviated in terms of events throughout the past 35 years. Nonetheless, this birthday of the ELCA is to be an occasion for gratitude.
—The Rev. Lowell G. Almen