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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America resulted from a union of three North American Lutheran church bodies: The American Lutheran Church, the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches and the Lutheran Church in America.

The three churches agreed to unite in 1982. They formed a 70-member Commission for a New Lutheran Church, which planned the merger. The plan was approved by church conventions in 1986, and the ELCA constituting convention was held April 30-May 3, 1987, with the church actually beginning operations on January 1, 1988.

The ELCA meets in assembly every two years; at its 2001 Churchwide Assembly it elected its third bishop, The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, who was re-elected at the 2007 Churchwide Assembly held August 6-12 in Chicago.

MEMBERS:

* Baptized Members: 4,850,776
* Communing and Contributing Members: 2,256,700
* Congregations: 10,549
* Synods: 65 in nine geographic regions
* Members of Color
African-American/Black: 54,354
American Indian/Alaska Native: 7,095
Arab/Middle Eastern: 1,779
Asian/Pacific Islander: 21,950
Latino/Hispanic: 39,157
Multiethnic: 12,261
Other: 11,096

LEADERS:

* Clergy: 17,694 (3,140 female; 570 people of color)
* Associates in Ministry: 1,082 (867 female; 215 male; 18 people of color)
* Diaconal Ministers: 105
* Deaconesses: 62
* Missionaries: approx. 270 adult missionaries serving in over 48 countries, of which 79 are self-funded volunteers
* Campus Pastors and Ministries: 185 campus ministry sites supported by synod and/or churchwide funds
* Federal Chaplains: Approximately 706
(383 Retired Military, 96 Armed Forces Active Duty, 183 Reservists,
37 Veterans Affairs, 7 Federal Bureau of Prisons)
* Chaplaincy, Pastoral Counseling and Clinical Education: Approximately 965 ecclesiastically endorsed ordained and lay rostered people serve in the areas such as general health care, correctional, substance abuse, long term care chaplaincy and clinical education ministry.

For more info visit http://www.elca.org