ELCA News Service

A service for journalists and members of the news media

     CHICAGO (ELCA) - In gratitude for the "unity in Christ" between the Catholic Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson shared with Pope Benedict XVI a sense of urgency between Lutherans and Catholics in responding to the "great needs of poverty and human care" in the world.
     Hanson led a delegation of ELCA leaders to meet with Pope Benedict and other Catholic Church leaders Feb. 14-16 at the Vatican. The ELCA and its predecessor church bodies have been in active dialogue with the Catholic Church since the 1960s.
     In his greeting to Pope Benedict, Hanson said, "As Catholics and Lutherans, we have a renewed commitment to unity in Christ.
     "We recognize that there is urgency in our joining Catholics to respond to the great needs of poverty and human care. Being stewards of creation ...(more)

ELCA and Missouri Synod leaders continue conversations together
Feb 20, 2012; 12-07-MRC

     CHICAGO (ELCA) - Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod met Feb. 8 as the Committee on Lutheran Cooperation to discuss church-to-church cooperation and to share denominational updates.
     Although leaders of both church bodies have agreed to continue communication and information sharing as the Committee on Lutheran Cooperation, leaders from the Missouri Synod said they have ended their participation in cooperative work, particularly in areas of support for chaplaincy, response to HIV and AIDS and national coordination of recovery after disaster.
     According to the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, the ELCA has been committed to being engaged in conversation with the Missouri Synod.
     "Participating in the Committee on Lutheran Cooperation has been a continued commitment of the ELCA since its ...(more)

ELCA, North American Lutheran Church leaders meet for the first time
Feb 15, 2012; 12-05-MRC

     CHICAGO (ELCA) - Representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the North American Lutheran Church met for the first time Feb. 6-7 for conversation on areas of disagreement, mutual interest and concern.
     The invitation for the meeting came from the ELCA in response to an action of the 2011 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. The assembly resolved to "strive for a mutual relationship, where possible, for both the ELCA" and the North American Lutheran Church.
     In a statement, the representatives said they spent time together in prayer and in "cordial and candid" conversations.
     "This meeting was not intended to, nor did the participants seek to, resolve issues between the two church bodies," said the statement. "Rather, the participants sought to share and clarify disagreements to improve mutual understanding." ...(more)