ELCA Caucus Meeting at National Council of Churches Environmental Justice Conference, Washington, DC, May 21, 2001

Discussion of environmental staff position at ELCA

This position was vacated by Dr. Job Ebenezer earlier this year. No one in the group had the full picture of why he left, but many expressed the sense that he was frustrated at the lack of institutional support from the ELCA, including his efforts to get ELCA Headquarters building to adopt energy efficiency practices. This vacant position will be posted in June/July by the Division for Church and Society, and will be based in Chicago, with possible part-time presence in Washington. Job's former hunger responsibilities will be spun off into another position, which the group favored, as hunger and environmental responsibilities are each a full-time job.

Group agreed and will recommend that the new environmental position:

1. needs structural support from the institutional church;
2. should be predominantly an educational and liaison role, separate from public policy advocacy;
3. should be a coordinator/resources person to relate and provide Lutheran perspective and educational resources to Lutheran youth, synod offices, synod environmental committees, Lutheran colleges and campus ministries, and other organizations (e.g., National Council of Churches, environmental groups);
4. should be supported with an advisory committee of volunteers from across the country, who could provide support, advice, and a buffer for that individual.

Group agreed that Lutheran Volunteer Corps interns have done a great job on advocacy for the Lutheran Office of Governmental Affairs, but that for the sake of continuity and effectiveness, the Washington-based environmental public policy advocacy position be backfilled as a permanent position, once LOGA's intern position (currently Bill Monro) becomes vacant in August.

Jim Schwab and Ken Westlake of Metro Chicago will draft a letter to the Division for Church and Society (to Chuck Miller, with copies to Les Weber and LOGA),which will be circulated to the rest of the group via e-mail for concurrence. That letter will spell out the group's recommendations for how the position will be structured and function.

Environmental practices of ELCA

The church needs to set an example, in its offices, institutions, and congregations. The group supported ELCA offices be audited for building energy use, supply use, recycling practices, using environmental inventory already used by some at congregational level. The Minneapolis Synod has a "New Earth Partnership" that does environmental audits and implementation plans for congregations, and could serve as a model for ELCA nationally and for other synod-based efforts. Group also supported advocating that environmental stewardship be integrated in Augsburg Fortress curricula. Sue Larson will draft a letter (to be circulated to the group in draft via email) to Bishop Anderson, all of the synod bishops, and the new national director of Lutheran Social Services on the subject of ELCA walking the talk on energy efficiency. Jim Schwab will provide her with data from congregational energy improvements in selected Chicago area congregations. Bishop Anderson's recent letter in opposition to the President's proposed energy policies will be cited as an example of why ELCA practices need to align with our public positions. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's compact with the American Hospital Association on pollution prevention (especially related to mercury use) should be a model for use by Lutheran health care institutions. The group urged that a link between LENS and the main ELCA website be created, and that we use the letter to the bishops to suggest that such a link be authorized.

Mailing List/Website

Lutheran Earthkeeping Network of the Synods (LENS) was created at the 1997 NCC conference in Colorado, and has been run by volunteers. It has not received much attention lately. Prof. David Rhoads at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago is willing to have LSTC update and operate this website, as a link to http://www.webofcreation.org/ website, which LSTC already hosts for NCC. State climate change coordinators network already has a link to the web of creation site. There is space on the LENS website for synod environmental committee activities, but such content has never been posted. Attendees at today's meeting were urged to e-mail content for LENS to Mark Granfors of Chicago at mark@abfn.org.

Notes prepared by Ken Westlake, Metro Chicago Environmental Concerns Working Group, 847-394-0810 (home), kwestlake@aol.com

Addendum on May 23 meeting

In addition to the concerns expressed at the May 21 meeting, the group discussed ways in which environmental message could be conveyed to the upcoming ELCA Churchwide Assembly. Support was expressed for resolutions by the St. Paul and Minneapolis synods, and opposition to an "Anti-Roadless" resolution by the Montana synod. Also discussed was the possibility of getting the assembly to adopt exemplary "green" practices (at the convention).