by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service
Faith & Values Media, the nation's largest coalition of Abrahamic
faith groups dedicated to media production, distribution and
promotion, acquired the assets of Ecunet, a nonprofit online
network of Christian organizations. LutherLink, an online
conferencing network of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA), is part of Ecunet. Begun in 1985, Ecunet is home
to thousands of forums on subjects that support ordained, lay and
denominational staff ministries. The ELCA is part of the Faith &
Values Media member association, made up of faith groups,
organizations and individuals encompassing Jewish, Christian and
Islamic traditions in the United States.
According to a Faith & Values Media news release, "Faith & Values
Media's digital arm, Lightworks New Media, will enhance Ecunet's
functionality by providing new tools and services previously
unavailable to Ecunet members. Through FaithStreams Network,
Lightworks New Media will offer Web site publishing, podcasting,
content distribution, forum discussions and streaming video
options."
"In addition to providing a stable, feature-rich platform for the
LutherLink online community, our agreement with Lightworks New
Media also promises to involve many more of our congregation
members in LutherLink, which will enrich the conversations in
that network," said Dr. Paul Edison-Swift, Ecunet president and
director for interactive media and networks, ELCA Communication
Services. "This move will provide the more than 5,000 ELCA
members who use LutherLink for public or private group work with
the ability also easily to create groups for their local
congregation members, such as youth groups, congregation councils
or Bible study groups," he said. "LutherLink has evolved over
the past 20 years as online communication and the Internet have
evolved. This move to the FaithStreams Network is the next
logical step in this evolution. We were doing 'social
networking' on LutherLink long before the Internet. It's nice to
see the rest of society catching up."
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
