Our Understanding of God's Gift of Diversity
As a community of women created in the image of God, called to discipleship in Jesus Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America believes that the gift of diversity was given to us so that we might manifest the love of God in and for the world.

As God's people, we are rich with racial, ethnic, and cultural differences. These differences are part of the enriching variety of life. Women of the ELCA's commitment to learn how to appreciate these differences at ever-deepening levels reflects our desire to go beyond enjoying each other's foods, dress, and language to beginning to learn about the diversity nature of our thoughts, traditions, and beliefs within our different cultures.

Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America understands diversity as having primary and secondary dimensions. The primary dimensions of diversity are those unchangeable human differences that are inform or that exert an important impact on our early socialization and an ongoing impact throughout our lives. These primary dimensions of diversity are

• age
• ethnicity
• gender
• physical abilities and qualities
• race
• sexual or affectional orientation

Our primary dimensions of diversity are those things about ourselves that we have little or no power to alter.

The secondary dimensions of diversity are those differences that can change throughout our lives. These include

• income
• geographic location
• educational background
• marital status
• parental status
• religious beliefs
• work experience

As a result of our diversity, each of us has developed a collage of cultural definitions made up of thoughts, perceptions, beliefs, feelings, and experiences through which we filter and understand life. To grow and develop, we must learn to listen to people as individuals rather than as representatives of an entire culture or race. Understanding diversity is another way we are committed to discovering creative and cooperative responses within and between congregational units and synodical organizations. Women of the ELCA has committed itself to meet the challenges of diversity and to lift up the rich opportunities of a world and a church that continue to grow more diverse.

The above is a guide for the continued interpretation of cross-cultural programming of Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It provides

• an answer to the question: "What does Women of the ELCA mean by diversity?"
• an explanation of both the primary and secondary dimensions of diversity that shape our lives and the way we understand the world
• language useful for further discussion.

Copyright © 1998 Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. All rights reserved.

For further information, please contact staff working with cross-cultural programming.