7/13/2016 2:50:00 PM

CHICAGO – Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will gather Aug. 8-13 in assembly at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. Meeting under the theme “Freed and Renewed in Christ: 500 Years of God’s Grace in Action,” the assembly’s business will include preparations for observing the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017.

The assembly – the highest legislative body of the ELCA – will be comprised of 980 voting members serving on behalf of the 3.7 million members of the ELCA. The ELCA’s 65 synods elect voting members to serve at churchwide assemblies.

“Churchwide assemblies are a combination of legislative sessions, worship, Bible study, theological reflection and fellowship,” said the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, ELCA presiding bishop. “We deliberate and discuss and vote. Some would say that it is a messy way to do the work of the church, but [it] is a wonderfully open process.”

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