[Pictured: MNYS 2022 Churchwide Assembly Delegation]
CHURCHWIDE ASSEMBLY 2022 | HIGHLIGHTS
This year's triennial gathering of the 2022 Churchwide Assembly hosted more than 900 voting members serving on behalf of the 3.3 million members of the ELCA, representing each of our 65 synods. Representatives – lay and clergy alike – met under the theme “Embody the Word,” participating in worship and plenary discussions to do the work and fulfill God's plan for this Church. With so much to cover we've linked some of the highlights of the week below:
- DAY ONE: Opening; Plenary Sessions I & II
- Recognition of the 35th Anniversary of the ELCA
- Apology to Iglesia Luterana Santa María Peregrina, Stockton, Calif.
- Approval (705-9) en bloc to archive nine social policy resolutions in accordance with the “Policies and Procedures of the ELCA for Addressing Social Concerns,” which directs a review of social policy resolutions that are older than 25 years
- Adoption (726-44) en bloc 19 memorials that covered topics such as gun violence, parental and family medical leave, and communion practices
- DAY TWO: Plenary Sessions III & IV
- Assembly was invited by the American Indian and Alaska Native Lutheran Association to wear red to raise awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls
- Presentation from the American Indian and Alaska Native Lutheran Association on the “Declaration of the ELCA to American Indian and Alaska Native People”
- Holy Communion centered Native voices as the assembly marked the Repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery
- Continuation of the vice-president election; 3-rounds of election took place, final ballot took place on Day Three
- Reports from the presiding bishop, interim vice president, and secretary
- DAY THREE: Plenary Sessions V & VI
- Imran Siddiqui, member of St. John's Lutheran, Atlanta, and current vice president of the Southeastern Synod, was elected vice president on the fifth ballot, against Roberto Lara Aranda, member of Saint Peter's Church, Manhattan, and assistant to the bishop for communication & development in the Metro NY Synod
- Assembly was invited to wear black as part of the “Thursdays in Black” campaign toward a world without rape or violence led by the World Council of Churches
- DAY FOUR: Closing; Plenary Sessions VII
- Installation of the Vice-President
- Action on the remaining memorials, removed for separate consideration
CHURCHWIDE ASSEMBLY 2022 | VICE-PRESIDENT ELECTIONS
The Office of the Bishop would like to congratulate MNYS's own Roberto Lara, Assistant to the Bishop for Communication and Development, who was the runner-up in the election for Vice-President of the ELCA at last week's Churchwide Assembly; conceding to Imran Siddiqui, current Vice-President of the Southeastern Synod. Congratulations to Imran on his election, may God's grace guide him through this exciting new chapter in the Church; and well done again Roberto for representing Metro New York at such a high level.
"As a queer Latino immigrant with an uncertain relationship to the Church; Lutheranism embraced me and taught me that I could have a healthy and loving relationship with God, but more importantly, God wanted to have a healthy and loving relationship with me."
— Roberto Lara, MNYS Assistant to the Bishop for Communication and Development
[*Watch Roberto Lara's full speech, HERE; or read it, HERE]