Recommendations re Resolutions at Churchwide Assembly

Check out the link to today's ELCA press release at http://www.elca.org/news/Releases.asp?a=3644
It looks like the Memorials Committee is recommending that all the synod memorials having to do with homosexual conduct will be sent to groups outside the assembly for consideration and/or action. What do you think this means? Is it a positive development? A sign that we're getting tired of the issue? A sign that we seek to avoid controversy? A sign that we are ready to move on to other issues?

ELCA Membership Drops 1.6 Percent to 4.8 Million in 2006

Today's ELCA press release of the same title as above, which you can link to at http://www.elca.org/news/Releases.asp?a=3641 focuses on membership statistics. I generally measure the size of congregation by how many people actually show up at the regular weekly worship services. I wonder of those statistics are available? When do you think these statistics will translate into actual evangelism? Discussions in our conference, and what I hear at synod gatherings indicate a shift toward a belief that no one, or almost no one, will be lost. Do we think evangelism just doesn't matter, ultimately? Why do you think we consistently present evangelism as among the most important tasks of the Church but spent our time and energy on social engineering (see the rest of the ELCA's press releases over the past several years), ecumenical agreements that have little to do with a grace-given relationship with Jesus Christ, settled issues like homosexual conduct, and a headlong rush to be included in the ecumenical landscape among "Liberal Protestants"?

Christianity Rebounds in A Secular Europe

Check out this article at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118434936941966055.html?mod=home_we_banner_left in today's Wall Street Journal about the signs of hope for the renewal of Christianity in Europe. The major examples in this article come from Lutheran Sweden.
Is the decline of European Christianity at least partly explained in the "take it or leave it" option provided it by a state church dominated religious environment? Is the vitality of American Christianity at least partly explained by a "take it or go to some other church, or start your own church" religious environment?
What does this say about contemporary ecumenism? Should we be concerned with visible unity, or celebrate our diversity in the Kingdom of God?