ELCA News Service

A service for journalists and members of the news media

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Declaring that "God's mission is serious work that calls for serious commitment," the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) spelled out priorities for the ELCA churchwide organization in an open letter to members released Nov. 19.  The Rev. Mark S. Hanson also invited them to join him in an online "town hall forum" Dec. 6 at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time (4:30 p.m. CST).
     Hanson also recorded a video, posted with the open letter at http://www.ELCA.org/faithfulmission on the Web.
     The presiding bishop quoted Romans 5: 1-2a in his open letter: "Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand."
     Hanson wrote: "We stand ...(more)

ELCA Council Approves Charter, Hears Secretary's Report, Elects Leaders
Nov 19, 2009; 09-263-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) approved a charter for a comprehensive study of the ELCA and its future mission.  A task force will conduct the study with the goal of bringing a report with recommendations to the 2011 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Orlando.
      The council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as the legislative authority of the church between churchwide assemblies. It met here Nov. 13-15.
      The project, "Living into the Future Together: Renewing the Ecology of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America," will be guided by an Ecology of the ELCA Task Force.  Some members of a design group began work on the project in June 2009, prepared the charter and will remain with the task force. Additional members will be appointed by the council's Executive Committee.
     ...(more)

U.S. Hunger Report Contains Troubling Information, Say ELCA Hunger Leaders
Nov 18, 2009; 09-261-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- As people throughout the United States prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a report this week that shows a significant increase in hunger in U.S. households.  That's not surprising, said Nancy D. Arnison, director of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) World Hunger Program. But the extent of the increase is surprising, particularly the statistics for children, said Arnison.
     USDA's Economic Research Service released its annual report Nov. 16 on Household Food Security.  It said that in 2008, 17 million U.S. households -- about 49 million people -- "were food insecure and families had difficulty putting enough food on the table at times during the year," according to a USDA news release.  USDA said the number of affected households increased by 4 million over the previous year.  The USDA release said that's the ...(more)