Petition To Oppose Merger

Resolutions to Maintain the ELCIC as an Independent Church

 

Motions:

 

1.  That total annual authorized expenditures of the ELCIC for meetings, conventions or other gatherings of ELCIC employees or ELCIC Synod employees with members of the Anglican Church of Canada be restricted to $ 10,000.

 

2.  That the first sentence of Article XII, Section 1 of the ELCIC Constitution, “There shall be a National Council comprised of the officers of this church, who shall serve as the officers of the council; and additional members from the synods allocated on the basis of proportional representation according to baptized membership; and other representatives from full communion agreements.” be replaced with,  “There shall be a National Council comprised of the officers of this church, who shall serve as the officers of the council; and additional members from the synods allocated on the basis of proportional representation according to baptized membership.”

 

3.    That last sentence of Part VIII, Section 2 of the Administrative Bylaws of the ELCIC, “There shall be one additional member appointed by the Council of General Synod (COGS) of the Anglican Church of Canada for a term to be determined by COGS.” be removed in its entirety.

 

4.  That NCC cease and desist from scheduling any future ELCIC conventions in conjunction with the ACOC.

 

 

Rationale:

 

Financial Resource Crisis at ELCIC Head Office

 

The ELCIC is currently an independent organization. composed of over 620 Lutheran congregations across Canada.  Historically, the ELCIC has attempted to represent Lutheran theology in Canada.  Only congregations that accept Lutheran theology and the ELCIC organization structure are permitted to be members of the ELCIC. 

 

Many in the ELCIC hierarchy, including National Church Council (“NCC”) believe that the ELCIC head office cannot continue in its present form and structure, due to a lack of resources provided by synods and congregations.  In addition, the bulk of the financial assets that were entrusted to the ELCIC at the 1986 merger have decreased significantly in both nominal and real terms.  The level of support for the ELCIC head office by synods on an inflation adjusted basis has decreased by approximately 73% since 1986.

 

In her letter to congregations of April 8, 2008 (http://elcic.ca/From-the-Bishop/documents/April2008.pdf), Bishop Susan Johnson recognizes these challenges by stating:

 

“It’s a realization that we no longer have the resources to be able to do everything by ourselves, it’s a challenge to encourage us not to do things on our own, and it’s a change in mindset where we want to always ask the question, “Do we need to do this on our own?” If the answer is no, then the next question is... “who is the best partner or partners to work with in this area.”

 

and

.  

“Some of the areas we think we need to look at include the size of NCC, the size and focus of convention, the number and sizes of committees, maybe even the number of synods.”

 

One solution to the ELCIC hierarchy restricted resource problem is for the ELCIC to merge or be taken over by the Anglican Church of Canada (“ACOC”).  This solution ignores the many serious theological and organizational differences between the two churches and would likely not result in reduced costs of the church hierarchy.

 

Comparison of Two Churches

 

 The following summary outlines some basic fundamental differences between the two organizations, the ACOC Diocese is equivalent to the ELCIC Synod:

 

 

 

                                                       ELCIC                                     ACOC

 

Membership                            175,000                                   800,000 +

 

Congregation Property            Owned & Controlled              Owned & Controlled

Ownership                               by the Congregation               by the Diocese

 

Entity that Controls Church   Congregation                          Bishops

Resources

 

# of Head Office Staff                       16                                            68

 

Fundamental Building                        620 Congregations                  29 Dioceses                            

Block of Organization

 

Call of Pastor                          Individual Congregation         Diocese Bishop

 

Employer of Pastor                 Individual Congregation         Diocese Bishop

 

Hire Pastor/Priest                    Individual Congregation         Diocese Bishop

 

Bishop Term                            Four Year – Elected                Lifetime to age 70

                                                By Conventions

 

Source of Funding                  Voluntary – Determined         Mandatory - Varies by

For Church Hierarchy             By Each Congregation            Diocese, 15% - 25%

By Congregation                                                                     Apportionment (Tax)

                                                                                                on Congregation’s

                                                                                                Gross Revenue

 

Source of Funding of              Voluntary – Determined         Mandatory Assessment -

Church Head Office by          by Synod                                 Normally 27% apportionment

Synod/Diocese                                                                        (tax) depending on financial

                                                                                                situation of diocese

                                                                                   

Title of Clergy                         Pastor                                      Priest

 

Description of Employment    Called                                      Licensed by the Bishop

of Pastor/Priest

 

Responsibility to Pay              Congregation                          Normally Congregation

Pastor/Priest

 

Theological Documents          Bible and Book of                  Bible and Church of

                                                Concord                                  England Documents

 

Confirmation                           By Congregation                     By Bishop

           

Obedience of Clergy to          No                                           Yes

Bishop Required in

Ordination Service

 

Special Ordination for                        No                                           Yes

Bishops

 

Bishops May Set Policy          No, highest decision-              Yes, for example Bishop of

and Practice Contrary             making is ELCIC                    Montreal plans to introduce

to National Convention          National Convention               Same-Sex Blessings in his

Decisions                                                                                 Diocese in 2009, in violation

of the 2007 ACOC Convention

 

Local Option Available           No, ELCIC National             Yes, by diocese, see above

                                                policies are binding on

synods and congregations

 

Convention Composition        One Group of Both                 Three Distinct Houses –

                                                Clergy and Laity                     Bishops, Clergy and Laity

 

Official Theological                No                                           Yes, ACOC is a member of

Connection to Other                                                               the Worldwide Anglican

Non-Canadian Churches                                                         Communion

 

Congregation Free to              Yes, all property is                  No, all property is owned

Leave the Organization           owned and controlled             and controlled by the Diocese,

by each congregation              individual members may leave without any claim on

                                                congregational assets or other

                                                church assets

 

Legal Liability Exposure         Divided into 620                     Divided into 29 Dioceses

                                                Congregations,                        and National Office

                                                5 Synods and

                                                National Office

 

National Convention               Elected by Congregation        Elected by Dioceses

Delegates Clergy & Lay

 

Race Based Requirements      No                                           Yes – Indigenous persons

For Some Standing                                                                 (ACOC Constitution

Committee Members                                                               VII.39.c) iv)

 

Name of Head of Church       National Bishop                      Primate

 

Some Members of Standing   No - Committee                      Yes –  Primate appoints

Committees Appointed by      members are elected                some members of 4 of 5

National Bishop/Primate         at conventions                         Standing Committees e.g. 6

of 21 members for Partners in Mission and Ecojustice Committee

(ACOC Constitution

 VII. 39.c.) iii))

 

Administration of National     NCC                                        Primate

Church Between

Conventions

 

Qualification Required           Any pastor on                         Restricted to the Bishop of

For National Bishop/Primate  ELCIC clergy roster               one of the 29 Dioceses

                                                                                                (ACOC Canon III, II, 10)

 

Restriction on Nomination      No restrictions, all                   All nominations must be

Of Candidates for                   ELCIC clergy are                    submitted by 29 Bishops.

Bishop/Primate                        eligible                                     Clergy and Laity can only

vote on candidates nominated by the 29 Diocese Bishops

(ACOC Canon III, II, 13)

 

Cancellation of Pastor/            Congregation                          Revocation of the license is

Priest’s Employment                                                               at the sole discretion of the

                                                                                                Diocese Bishop                                                                                                                       (ACOC Canon XVII 11. a.)

& j.)

 

Reporting Requirement           National Convention               None

of Bishop/Primate

 

Responsibility for                    NCC                                        Primate

Administration of

Head Office Activities

 

# of times “congregation”       39                                            1

or “parish” is mentioned

in the constitution of

each church

 

 

Control of Congregational and National Church Property                                 

 

Although the two churches may share some common theological concepts, the two organizations function under completely different organizational structures.  The ACOC concentrates virtually all the power and control of resources of the entire ACOC in the hands of the Primate and Diocese Bishops.  The ELCIC places control of church assets in the hands of individual congregations.  ELCIC National and synod resources are controlled by conventions, not individual bishops.

 

The imperial structure of the ACOC property ownership is consistent with its history as an outgrowth of the the Church of England.  Since Henry VIII broke with the Catholic Church in 1536 and created the Church of England, significant assets were controlled by the Church of England.  The ACOC structure is based on the Church of England structure which assumes control of both congregational property and other assets used to fund church operations.  This structure may have been appropriate in 1536 in an organization with large economic assets, but it is not appropriate, in 2008 for the ELCIC National office that is suffering from a lack of financial resources.

 

Although some may view the transfer of ELCIC congregation assets to the ELCIC synod or national office as the solution to the ELCIC resource deficiency, this course of action, is not logical given the history, theology and existing structure of the ELCIC.  Merger with the ACOC would likely require congregations to transfer all congregational assets to the church hierarchy, it is highly doubtful that the ACOC would follow the ELCIC policy and transfer hundreds of millions of dollars of ACOC assets from the church hierarchy to individual congregations.

 

 

Pastor/Priest Employment 

 

Lutheran theology recognizes the office of pastor that exists when a group of people gather in a congregation and extend a call to serve the congregation to an individual qualified for the task. 

 

Anglican theology requires that all priests, in their ordination vow must make a canonical vow of obedience to the bishop of he diocese.  The bishop, at his discretion determines the employment terms, duration, etc. of a priest serving a parish.

 

It is hard to believe that in a ELCIC/ACOC merged church that the ACOC Bishops would willingly relinquish control and administration of all clergy in their territory to congregations.  It is likely ELCIC pastors would simply become ACOC priests, by swearing an oath of obedience to the bishop.  Administration of clergy would in all probability remain under the authority and control of the territory bishop.

 

Relation of Congregation to Synod/Diocese and National Church 

 

As a matter of standard policy, ACOC dioceses demand up to 25% of all offerings received by a congregation.  In the ELCIC, congregations independently determine the level of financial support to give synods.  This difference in policy regarding support for the regional and national expression of the church is a significant difference between the two organizations.  If a merger or takeover occurred, ELCIC congregations would likely be forced to conform to the policy of the ACOC since it had over four times the number of members as the ELCIC.

 

It is highly unlikely that in the event of a merger or takeover of the ELCIC by the ACOC, that the ACOC hierarchy would willingly give up the ability to impose a mandatory tax on congregations to fund the hierarchy’s expenses.  

 

Power of Bishops to Control Behavior of Pastors/Priests   

 

The power of the Bishops to enforce their will is another significant theological difference between the two churches.  ACOC Canon XVIII, III Ecclesiastical Offenses includes the following offences by a priest that are subject to discipline:

           

            7. iii)  disobedience to the bishop to whom such person has sworn canonical

                        obedience.

 

viii)            contemptuous or disrespectful conduct towards the bishop of the diocese in matters pertaining to the administration of the affairs of the diocese or a parish.

 

Since the ELCIC operates under the priesthood of all believers, there is no specific disciplinary provision for either “sworn canonical obedience” oaths or the imposition of discipline on a pastor that exhibits “disrespectful conduct of a bishop of the diocese in matters pertaining to the administration of the affairs of the diocese or a parish.”  If a merger or takeover were to take place, it is likely ELCIC pastors would be required to take an oath of obedience to their bishop and would be subject to the same standard of disciplinary responsibility of Anglican priests.

 

Current ELCIC/ACOC Relationship is Unequal

 

The ELCIC Constitution has been amended to include an appointee of the Council of General Synod (“COGS”) of the ACOC (ELCIC Administrative Bylaws, Part VIII, Section 2).  This means that the ACOC Church Council appoints one member of NCC.  The NCC is responsible for the operation of the ELCIC for the two years between conventions.  The NCC passes budgets, administers millions of dollars of ELCIC assets, plans conventions, supports the pension liability, makes recommendations on policy changes (e.g. for the ELCIC to accept same-sex blessings), etc.  Members of the NCC are very powerful since they are responsible for virtually every significant action of the ELCIC between conventions.

 

The ACOC reserves many of the activities of the NCC in the ACOC to the Anglican bishops.  The only body that fulfills some limited responsibilities of the NCC in the ELCIC is the COGS.  The membership of the COGS as described in the ACOC Constitution contains no provision for any member of the ELCIC to serve in either a voting or non-voting capacity (ACOC Constitution VII. 33).  The ACOC does not permit a representative of the ELCIC to participate in the critical management and policy issues of the ACOC.  This policy of the ACOC is in stark contrast to the policy of the ELCIC which permits the COGS to appoint a full-voting member to the NCC of the ELCIC.

 

The ACOC Constitution does permit the ELCIC to appoint one of the 21 members of the Partners in Mission and Ecojustice Committee (“PMEC”)(ACOC Constitution VII, 39, c), vi).  This committee is one of five standing committees of the ACOC, its responsibilities do not include the broad church policy management and administration decisions made by the NCC in the ELCIC.  The mandate of the PMEC is described fully in Appendix 13 Section 4 of the Canons of the ACOC but the first two items are:

 

a)      Engage itself and the wider church in biblical, theological and ethical reflection, listening for the Spirit and discerning God’s mission for the church and the world.

b)      Create an ethos of ecojustice and evangelism in our church life.

 

Based on the relatively restricted responsibility and authority given by the ACOC to an ELCIC representative, it appears that the ACOC does not view the inter-church relationship between the ELCIC and the ACOC in the same light as the ELCIC.  

 

The ACOC states that it has over 800,000 members compared to the less than 175,000 members claimed by the ELCIC.  Therefore, if the two churches did merge, or if the ACOC took control of the ELCIC, the resulting entity would be composed of over 80% Anglican members.  This new body would undoubtedly adopt the same polices and organizational philosophy that has ruled Anglicanism for the past 400 years. 

 

Anglican Church is in Crisis

 

The ACOC is currently engaged in rampant infighting between those that support same-sex blessings and those that do not support this initiative.  Several groups of individual Anglicans have left the ACOC to start up their own parallel organization that is administered by a Anglican Bishop from South America.  The ACOC is currently engaged in several legal disputes with former congregational members over church property.  The ELCIC is also engaged in legal actions against congregations at both the national and synod level, but not nearly to the extent of the ACOC.  Although ELCIC is not of one mind on the issue of same-sex blessings, the level of disagreement has not reached the level that exists in the ACOC.  To merge with an organization that is undergoing significant strife and turmoil is not logical.

 

Limited ELCIC Resources

 

ELCIC Bishop Susan Johnson and NCC have correctly determined that the ELCIC has suffered a decline in the availability of financial resources.  This situation does not mean that the ELCIC should expend significant resources attempting to merge or develop a closer relationship with the ACOC.  On October 31, an ELCIC news release reported that the six ELCIC bishops met with the ACOC House of Bishops for the week of October 27 to 31.  Given the cost of the ELCIC bishops salaries and travel costs, it is likely that it cost the ELCIC and synods at least $ 20,000 for this meeting.  This action by the bishops is just one small example of the financial and human resources that are expended for little if any return.  Tens of thousands of dollars are spent annually by the ELCIC for meetings, etc. with ACOC representatives that have not been justified by measureable benefits to the ELCIC.  It may be that congregations have chosen to reduce their level of giving to the synods and ELCIC since they do not agree with ELCIC policy initiatives, including the expenditure of hundreds of thousands of dollars of ELCIC resources on improving relations with the ACOC.  Any move towards a closer working relationship or merger by the ELCIC with the ACOC could result in even less support from congregations to synods and the ELCIC or the ACOC in the case of a merger. 

 

The ELCIC has scheduled a day with the ACOC for ELCIC convention participants.  If the wage and accommodation costs of the 350 ELCIC participants is added to the costs of the meeting and the organizational costs the total expense of church resources is at least

$ 100,000.  The expenditure of these funds appears to be little more than an exercise in public relations.  If ELCIC clergy or laity wish to gain a greater understanding of the ACOC, they can, on their own time and their own expense attend ACOC congregations or review the ACOC website to gain an understanding on the structure and operations of the ACOC. 

 

It is likely that any economic savings from any combined initiatives would be consumed by the additional costs of coordinating programs with another organization.  The ELCIC head office spends little of its resources on programs, much of its funds are spent on administrative costs for staff and committee meetings.  Another layer of bureaucracy with the ACOC would only add to costs of the ELCIC. It is difficult to understand how a “partnership” between the ACOC and the ELCIC could reduce staff or meeting costs if the two organizations were to remain separate entities.     

 

In a time of restricted fiscal resources, it is illogical to spend financial and human resources on meetings with ACOC, unless the ELCIC hierarchy is planning to propose merger with the ACOC in the immediate future.

 

Commitment to Partnership Between ELCIC and ACOC is Illogical

 

Aside from merger between the two church bodies or a takeover of the ELCIC by the ACOC, no areas of partnership or resource efficiency between the two churches have been identified by Bishop Johnson or the NCC.  It is doubtful that any additional efficiencies would result from spending more economic and human resources to “deepen” the full communion relationship.  If anything, the resources required to administer and manage a deepened full communion relationship would likely require significant additional costs, since the two organizations are fundamentally different in operation and structure.  Members of the ELCIC and ACOC can now legally take communion in congregations of the ELCIC and ACOC.  ELCIC pastors and ACOC priests can serve in congregations of the ELCIC and ACOC.  Bishop and the NCC have yet to reveal how closer relations between the ACOC and the ELCIC will result in savings of ELCIC human and financial resources.

 

Partnership is normally a term used to describe individuals working together for a common goal, the ACOC’s resistance to allow even one ELCIC representation on the COGS, is an indication that it is doubtful that the ACOC is desirous of a true, equal  ‘partnership” between the ELCIC and ACOC.

 

Responsibility for Those Wishing Closer Ties to ACOC

 

There are members of the ELCIC, including laity, pastors and members of the ELCIC hierarchy who have a sincere to interest in the moving closer to the ACOC.  These individuals believe that the ACOC has a superior organizational structure and that the ELCIC should move to the ACOC structure.  As a church we must recognize that these individuals may feel that they are called by God to this hierarchical structure based on entrusting the control of all church property and resources to the diocese bishops.  We should joyfully release any bishop, pastor, lay member or congregation who wishes to join the ACOC and express their Christianity in the ACOC.  Congregations of the ELCIC at the present time can freely leave the ELCIC with their property and if they wish, transfer ownership and control of all their property to the ACOC dioceses in their area.   With the approval of the relevant ACOC Bishop, ELCIC pastors can serve ACOC congregations.  If congregational members wish to be members of the ACOC they can simply transfer their membership to an ACOC congregation.

 

The fact that some members of the ELCIC hierarchy wish to merge with the ACOC is no reason for the ELCIC, as a matter of policy, to expend significant human and financial resources on building a deeper relationship with the ACOC, unless the majority of the members of the ELCIC believe this is the best course of action.  Many members of the ELCIC want to remain Lutheran and sincerely believe that the ELCIC exists to be a Lutheran church, and that the ACOC exists to be an Anglican church.