GCS reps head to Churchwide Assembly

Please remember in prayer the voting members of the Grand Canyon Synod as they gather in Milwaukee: Veronica Alvarez, Roger Bailey, Pastor David Brandfass, Paul Gryniewicz, Bishop Deborah Hutterer, Norman Johnson, Erin LaHaye, Pastor Chon Pugh, Maria Valenzuela, Renee Waterstradt, and Deacon Janice Zimbelman.

Pray for save travel, and may the Holy Spirit work through them as the assembled discern the future of our church.

This year, voting members will:

  • Elect the presiding bishop and secretary. Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, elected in 2013, is seeking re-election to a six-year term. Secretary Chris Boerger, elected in 2013, is retiring after this term. The secretary is elected to a six-year term.

  • Act on “Faith, Sexism and Justice: A Lutheran Call to Action.” The proposed social statement covers a range of issues in which the ELCA is called to action, including gender-based violence, workplace discrimination, economic inequality and more.

  • Act on “A Declaration of Interreligious Commitment: A policy statement of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.” The proposed document underscores the ELCA’s long-standing commitment to interreligious relations and provides a framework for common application and theological reflection across the varied contexts of this church.

  • Vote on proposed budgets for the 2020, 2021 and 2022 fiscal years.

  • Review proposed amendments to the “Constitution, Bylaws and Continuing Resolutions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.”

  • Consider a proposal that the entrance rite for ministers of Word and Service be ordination and to no longer count deacons as laypeople for the representational principles.

  • Act on responses to memorials from synod assemblies.

Bishop Hutterer, Churchwide Assembly, ELCA, PrayersBrian FlatgardSynod CouncilComment