Minnesota Lutheran Dies, Spouse Injured in Beijing Attack
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Todd and Barbara Bachman, Farmington, Minn., members of Christiania Lutheran Church, Lakeville, Minn., a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), were attacked Aug. 9 while touring the Drum Tower in Beijing, China. Todd Bachman, 62, chief executive officer of Bachman's Floral, Home and Garden,...
Speakers, Musicians Highlight Lutheran Men's Gathering
OMAHA, Neb. (ELCA) -- The Lutheran Men's Gathering of Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM), the men's ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), featured several keynote speakers to talk about men's faiths, ministries and relationships spanning generations. About 600 men were here Aug. 1-3 for the 2008 Lutheran...
Churches 'Won't Give Up' on Travel Restriction Issue, Says Lutheran Leader
MEXICO CITY (ELCA) -- The religious community "will not give up" until travel restrictions that limit the movement of people living with HIV are lifted worldwide , said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and president of the Lutheran World Federation...
Lutheran Men in Mission Offers Variety of Workshops, Retreats
OMAHA, Neb. (ELCA) -- About 600 men attended workshops Aug. 2 during the 2008 Lutheran Men's Gathering here at the Hilton Hotel and Qwest Center. Sessions featured programs of Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM), the men's ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and other ELCA ministries. LMM...
Osborne Tells Lutheran Men in Mission that Discipline, Grace are Critical
OMAHA, Neb. (ELCA) -- Tom Osborne, athletic director, University of Nebraska, Lincoln (UNL), said spiritual discipline and experiencing God's grace are critical for men to make a difference in their own lives, in their families, in their communities and in the world. He gave the Aug. 2 keynote address here...
Lutheran Men in Mission Raises $1.5 Million for Endowment Fund
OMAHA, Neb. (ELCA) -- Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM), the men's ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), announced it had exceeded a financial goal to raise $500,000 in cash and $500,000 in deferred gifts for the LMM Endowment Fund. The announcement was made at an Aug. 1...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Washes Feet of HIV-Positive Women
MEXICO CITY (ELCA) -- Engaging in an act of "humility and repentance," the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Chicago, and president of the Lutheran World Federation, Geneva, began an Aug. 1 presentation here by washing the feet of two HIV-positive women....
Lutheran Men in Mission Helps Complete Habitat for Humanity Project
OMAHA, Neb. (ELCA) -- At the 2008 Lutheran Men's Gathering of Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM), the men's ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), an Aug. 2 ceremony marked the completion of a building project that LMM coordinated with Habitat for Humanity of Omaha and Thrivent Financial...
Norm Smith Elected President of Lutheran Men in Mission
OMAHA, Neb. (ELCA) -- Norman L. Smith, Leawood, Kan., was elected Aug. 1 to a three-year term as president of Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM), the men's ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Delegates to LMM's Eighth Assembly elected four officers and nine regional representatives to the...
ELCA Synod Bishop, New Jersey Senator Visits Immigration Detention Center
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- At the invitation of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., the Rev. E. Roy Riley, bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) New Jersey Synod, Hamilton Square, the Rev. Bruce H. Davidson, director, Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministries, ELCA New Jersey Synod, and staff of the Lutheran Immigration...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Applauds New Global Aids Bill
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), praised members of the U.S. Congress and U.S. President George W. Bush for their work to complete new global AIDS legislation. He called the legislation "an historic commitment to fighting deadly disease...
Lutheran Relief Efforts Continue in Kenya Following Election
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church (KELC), Nairobi, a companion church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has made efforts to support people affected by violence since the Dec. 27 presidential election there. George Arende, communications director, KELC, has taken part in KELC relief efforts. He...
Lutherans Reflect on God's Mission in the World
LA CROSSE, Wis. (ELCA) -- Bearing the realization that for three generations her ancestors were the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history, Katrina Browne told more than 1,500 Lutherans gathered here July 17-20 for the 2008 Global Mission Event of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) that "no one...
ELCA Teaching Theologians Consider 'New Day' in Multicultural Seminar
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- About 40 teaching theologians of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) gather July 29-Aug. 1 in Prior Lake, Minn., for a multicultural seminar, "New Day Begun: Engaging Our Wholeness." The invited guests are theologians of color or whose primary language is not English, with a representative...
An ELCA Congregation Discovers That Having a Disaster Plan Works
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- As the flood waters rose in and around the town of Mason City, Iowa, in June 2008, members of Trinity Lutheran Church there were prepared. Having developed a disaster preparedness plan a year ago, members of Trinity were able to be an active and important part of...
Lutherans Provide Assistance in Burundi, Indonesia
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- International Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided $75,000 to help meet the needs of people in Burundi, where several waves of ethnic violence and political upheavals have affected the country in central Africa. It also provided $195,757 to support college students in...
Lutheran Men in Mission to Gather in Omaha Aug. 1-3
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The 2008 Lutheran Men's Gathering of Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM), the men's ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), will bring together approximately 600 men Aug. 1-3 at the Hilton Hotel and Qwest Center, Omaha. The event theme, "Coming of Age," focuses on LMM's...
Thrivent Financial to Fund Lutheran Efforts for Midwest Flood Relief
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Minneapolis, a faith-based membership financial organization, has announced a plan to generate $1.5 million to aid flood-affected areas in Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin. Thrivent Financial hopes to collect $1 million in donations and fundraising by chapter members and will add the remaining $500,000...
ELCA Wittenberg University's alumni embark on 7,000-mile tour
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service Three members of Wittenberg University's Class of 2007 will embark on a 22-day, 17-city national tour to meet with as many of the university's 26,000 alumni as possible. Wittenberg, Springfield, Ohio, is one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church...
Northwest Synod of Wisconsin earns discount in contributions to health plan
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Northwest Synod of Wisconsin has become the first of 65 ELCA synods to earn a 2 percent discount on 2008 contributions it makes to the church's health benefits plan for its employees. The synod qualified for the...
