History of
the Women of the ELCA

The Beginning...

Where can one start...well, the beginning of course! The Lutheran church used to be three separate Lutheran entities (the ALC, the LCA and AELC) who in 1987 decided to unite and fortify into one large church, now named Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Think of each congregation in the new ELCA whose backbone were (and continue to be:) the womens groups.  Women of the church gathered together in homes, restaurants and their churches to study the Bible, exchange stories of faith journey failures and strengthen each other with hope to try again. Life is hard and it is so much easier when we have our sisters of faith with whom to laugh, cry, and make the struggles of others our own.

So it was with the womens groups in each of the three original entities. There were the ALCW (American Lutheran Church Women), the LCW (Lutheran Church Women), and the WAM (Women in Action for Mission.) 

The groups united and fortified themselves into one in 1987. Sure, the ELCA and WELCA are young, but the saints of the church who kept the congregations running go back to Martin Luther.  This makes us an enduring faithful generation who humbly lowers their head in respect then lifts up their eyes to see a bright future! 

The Women of the ELCA belongs to women and no money from the ELCA budget is given to W/ELCA.  All monetary support comes from the W/ELCA groups and You.  Thanks go to all the saints who gave before us and to You for your support in ensuring the Women of the ELCA can continue to do its ministry right now. May it grow for our children to redeem the blessings and continue the ministry for their children.

The W/ELCA website has their page where you can get the official scoop on what W/ELCA is about: www.womenoftheelca.org/history.
 

The Mission...

To mobilize women to act boldly on their faith in Jesus Christ.

The Purpose...

As a community of women created in the image of God, called to discipleship in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, We commit ourselves to grow in faith, affirm our gifts, support one another in callings, engage in ministry and action, and promote healing and wholeness in the church, the society, and the world.

The Symbol...

Picture
The W/ELCA logo,a cross,
in which water
and a white lily resides,
is a reminder. 
It is a reminder of the growth, beauty, and vitality that rises out of that life-giving baptismal water.It is also a reminder of the mission of the church to "Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Matthew 28:19

While Women of the ELCA is a conglomeration of womens groups, it is ultimately working in harmony with all people of similar goals, ages and orientation to share God's grace and joy.  

Remember the Purpose statement:
  • We are created in the image of God
  • We are called to discipleship in Jesus Christ
  • We are empowered by the Holy Spirit
  • We commit ourselves to evolve in our faith journeys
  • We affirm the gifts we've been bestowed by sharing them
  • We support each each other in our different callings
  • We engage in action to minister to those who do not know of God's invigorating forgiveness (ever wonder why we smile so much?)
  • We make the struggles of others our own to promote healing and wholeness in all the church, society and the world!
For mobile users: If the above information looks a little off kilter, your eyes are right. It's one of the adventures in site building when the changes apply to both the desktop version and the mobile version. The web support team knows about it and hope to fix that in the future. :)