Geneva Lutheran: Affiliation Task Force Report

Affiliation Task Force Report
Posted by: Anthony Riani
Posted: 4-10-2010

With deep gratitude, the council would like to thank the following members for investing so much time and energy into this effort to gather information:

Dan Bushroe
Cathy Bushroe
Mike Cranmer
Pamela Kohn Andrews
Chris Meade
Lolita Moser
Cathy Mozden
Jamieson Olsen
Todd Steenson

An explanation of research provide the Affiliation Task Force:

On Thursday, October 1, 2009, our Task Force was asked to gather information regarding the following three possibilities for Geneva Lutheran Church's (GLC) affiliation:

1. Remain part of the ELCA

2. Join another Lutheran synod/body

3. Become an independent Lutheran congregation.

With respect to the first option, our task force investigated the implications of continuing our affiliation with the ELCA.

For the second option, we investigated 31 different Lutheran synods/bodies. This research determined that only two would be viable options for GLC: The Association of Free Lutheran Congregations (AFLC) and Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC).

It is important to note that during our investigation multiple synods were ruled out given they do not ordain women. While we also found that the AFLC does not allow women to serve as pastors, we concluded that since all of the information had already been gathered for AFLC, we would retain them as a "test synod" for council review. In the event that council determines there is interest in learning more about other synods previously ruled out for not ordaining women, our task force will require additional time to gather and prepare those materials.

With respect to the third option, our committee determined that becoming a so-called independent Lutheran congregation would not be a viable option. We could find only four Lutheran congregations nationwide that were functioning independently. In each case, the congregations had been previously affiliated with a larger Lutheran body (ELCA, LCMS, WELS), and had been removed for either disciplinary reasons or disagreements with the synod body. That said, each of these churches expressed a desire to be affiliated with a larger Lutheran body. While they enjoyed the autonomy of decision making, they hungered for the support and fellowship of a larger body. Because it was difficult to find even these congregations, and because each church appeared to actually desire some type of affiliation, we concluded that it was not a viable option for GLC to function as an independent Lutheran congregation.

In addition to the 3 primary options we were asked to research, we also investigated the Lutheran CORE (Coalition for Renewal) organization to determine if this was an entity that GLC could affiliate with. CORE is currently in the process of determining what its function will be moving forward. Initially, CORE was working to be an agent for reform within the ELCA. However, following the August, 2009 synod assembly vote, CORE determined that it will no longer work in this capacity.

While CORE will likely become a free-standing synod at some point in the future, final information about how this will be structured will not be available until approximately June, 2010. Currently, congregations can join CORE as a means of expressing support for their doctrinal positions, but this affiliation is not considered joining a synod. In the interim, CORE has produced a valuable resource for congregations entitled "What to do now?" which offers suggestions for addressing legal/constitutional matters and provides a checklist for congregations discerning options vis a vis the ELCA.

The following was gathered by the Affiliation Task Force and submitted to the council:

Overview Chart
Detailed comparison chart

Entire Packet (Print-ready PDF)