ELCA World Hunger Program Distributes Funds to Reduce Domestic Hunger
CHICAGO (ELCA) --The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America World Hunger Program awarded $913,300 in 360 grants to churches and organizations in the United States that provide services and programs for people who are hungry or living in poverty. "We're doing a lot with a little," said Joe Young, director for...
ELCA Pastor Delivers Christian Message at Virginia Tech Convocation
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. William H. King, Lutheran campus pastor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, Va., and staff of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), delivered the Christian message April 17 at the Virginia Tech Convocation where students, faculty and others of the...
Lutherans Offer Emotional Care after Shooting at Virginia Tech
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutherans in Virginia are standing by to respond with emotional and spiritual care after a lone gunman shot and killed at least 32 people April 16 at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, Va. According to the Virginia Tech Web site, the gunman was...
Memorial April 23 for Margarita Martinez, Bishop of ELCA Caribbean Synod
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A memorial service for the Rev. Margarita Martinez, the late bishop of the Caribbean Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), will be held April 23 in Dorado, Puerto Rico. Martinez died March 11 of cancer in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. She was 59. The Rev....
Andrew Genszler Named Director of ELCA Advocacy, Washington Office
WASHINGTON (ELCA) -- Andrew D. Genszler will become director of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Advocacy Department and the ELCA Washington Office on May 1. Genszler has served as the director for domestic policy, ELCA Washington Office, since Sept. 2005. He succeeds Karen S. Vagley, who resigned effective...
ELCA Presiding Bishop's Statement on Virginia Tech Tragedy
With the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) community and the nation, we mourn, we pray, and with the Psalmist we plead: "Out of the depths, I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice!" (Psalm 130:1) As family and friends grieve the deaths and injuries of...
Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue Continues 'Hope of Eternal Life' Theme
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The U.S. Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue in Round XI met March 15-18 at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Columbia, S.C., for its fourth meeting to discuss "The Hope of Eternal Life." The Lutheran and Roman Catholic co-chairs described the meeting as constructive and precise, helpful to both Christian traditions...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Calls for Action and Advocacy on Global Warming
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In a written message for Earth Day, April 22, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), discussed the effects of global warming on people living in poverty and urged Lutherans to respond with advocacy and action. In his message...
Lutheran President Congratulates Pope on 80th Birthday
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service Pope Benedict XVI celebrates his 80th birthday on April 16, and the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, sent a letter of congratulations and best wishes. "I pray that...
Paul E. Erickson, Former Lutheran Bishop of Illinois, Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Paul E. Erickson, a synod bishop of the former Lutheran Church in America (LCA) and a retired pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died April 3 in Savoy, Ill. He was 85. A memorial service will be held April 14 at Grace...
Denvy Bowman Named President of ELCA's Capital University
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of trustees of Capital University, Columbus, Ohio, unanimously elected Dr. Denvy A. Bowman the university's 15th president on March 29. Bowman has served as interim president of Capital since June 2006 and will assume the presidency immediately. Bowman succeeds Dr. Theodore L. Fredrickson, who announced...
Online registration now open for Worship Jubilee 2007
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service Online registration is open for Worship Jubilee 2007, an event celebrating the renewal of worship in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Taking place Aug. 3-6 at Navy Pier in Chicago, Worship Jubilee will feature keynote presentations, worship, workshops and educational opportunities...
Michigan Lutherans to Dispose of Hazardous Waste on Earth Day
MARQUETTE, Mich. (ELCA) -- For the third year in a row, thousands of Lutherans will turn in hazardous waste during the annual Earth Keeper Clean Sweep on Earth Day, April 22, at collection sites across northern Michigan. This year the target is pharmaceuticals. Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in...
ELCA Synod Bishops Meet with Members of Congress on Immigration Reform
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Several synod bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) urged their members of Congress and key congressional staff March 22 to enact comprehensive immigration reform in 2007 that is "humane and for the common good." Specifically, the bishops emphasized that comprehensive immigration reform legislation must:...
LWF Council Calls for Cooperation with Palestinian Leaders, End to Blockade
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Council of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) called on the international community to cooperate with the new Palestinian government and to end an international economic blockade. The council asked LWF members to pray on Thursday of Holy Week (April 5) for Christians in the Middle East....
Lutherans Respond to Emergency Situations Overseas
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have provided $825,000 in response to emergency situations in Indonesia, Mozambique, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Zambia through the church's International Disaster Response. Coordinated by ELCA Global Mission, International Disaster Response channels its funds through international church organizations and...
ELCA's Finlandia University Names Philip Johnson President
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- On March 23 the board of trustees of Finlandia University, Hancock, Mich., named the Rev. Philip R. Johnson to become the university's 16th president effective July 1. Finlandia is one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). "By virtue of his...
Newberry College students spend spring break helping others
by Elliott Cox, Newberry College Six students along with two staff members from Newberry College, Newberry, S.C., gave up their spring breaks to assist Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit organization that provides affordable housing to families, and to work at a Lutheran camp in South Carolina. Newberry College is one...
Paul N. Hanson Named Director of ELCA Fund for Leaders in Mission
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Paul N. Hanson, senior pastor at Ascension Lutheran Church, Brookings, S.D., will become director of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Fund for Leaders in Mission April 2. Housed in ELCA Development Services, Fund for Leaders in Mission is a church initiative to build...
Sabine O'Hara resigns as president of ELCA's Roanoke College
by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service Dr. Sabine O'Hara resigned as president of Roanoke College, Salem, Va., effective June 30. Roanoke College -- with about 1,900 students -- is one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. O'Hara, who has served as Roanoke's president...
