ELCA Supports Recovery Efforts in Tabasco, Mexico
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided $50,000 to support recovery efforts in Tabasco, Mexico. A week's worth of heavy rain, two cold fronts and the effects of Tropical Storm Noel produced flood conditions there, affecting more than a million people. The flooding began...
ELCA Documentary on Uganda, Forgiveness to Air on NBC Television
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- NBC affiliate television stations will begin broadcasting "Uganda: Ready to Forgive" on Dec. 2. The 60-minute documentary about the faith and spirit of the Acholi people of Northern Uganda is a production of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Through 20 years of war, death, rape,...
ELCA Sends Initial Grant to Assist Bangladesh Cyclone Recovery
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Cyclone Sidr left more than 3,000 people dead and millions homeless after it struck the coast of Bangladesh in Southern Asia on Nov. 15. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), through its International Disaster Response, is sending an initial $50,000 to assist disaster response organizations that...
ELCA Board of Pensions Trustees Discuss Health-Care Changes
MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- Trustees of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Board of Pensions discussed preparations for a new strategic plan for 2009-2011 at their meeting here Nov. 2-4. 2008 is the final year of the Board's current strategic plan. The trustees also approved a 2008 corporate plan and...
ELCA Responds to Disasters on Three Continents
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), through its International Disaster Response, provided $173,500 to support recovery efforts in Indonesia, Nicaragua and Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe Seen as the "breadbasket" of Southern Africa for years, Zimbabwe's economy is facing hyperinflation, said Dr. Belletech Deressa, director for international...
Lutheran Bishop in Holy Land Meets Former President Carter
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), met in person with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter in Atlanta Nov. 12 to discuss the situation in the Middle East between Israelis and Palestinians. Younan was also invited...
ELCA Church Council Elects Leaders, Acts on Variety of Proposals
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) elected four churchwide leaders, heard a report from the ELCA presiding bishop, acted on proposals regarding social policy on sponsorship of legal gaming by American Indian tribes, a proposed "Lutheran Malaria Initiative," and received an implementation...
Bouman to Lead ELCA Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Stephen P. Bouman, bishop of the Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was elected Nov. 11 by the ELCA Church Council to a four-year appointment as executive director of ELCA Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission (EOCM) beginning Jan. 1,...
ELCA Council Elects Wyvetta Bullock ELCA Executive for Administration
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America elected the Rev. M. Wyvetta Bullock to a six-year term as executive for administration, ELCA Office of the Presiding Bishop. Bullock, who had been serving as executive for leadership development in the presiding bishop's office, will assume...
ELCA Bishops Join Global Refuge in Supporting Trafficking Victims Protection Act
WASHINGTON (ELCA) -- Ten synod bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) signed a letter Nov. 6 with Global Refuge urging the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary to quickly pass the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2007 (TVPRA),...
The Rev. C. Thomas Spitz Jr., Lutheran Ecumenist, Communicator, Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. C. Thomas Spitz Jr., a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and former general secretary of the Lutheran Council in the U.S.A. (LCUSA), died Nov. 2 in Manhasset, Long Island, N.Y. He was 86. A funeral is planned for Nov. 10 at...
Lutheran Holy Land Bishop, Other Faith Leaders Make Peace Commitments
WASHINGTON (ELCA) -- The Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land, a group of senior Israeli and Palestinian religious leaders from Christian, Jewish and Muslim faith organizations, announced Nov. 7 new efforts toward limiting violence, protecting holy sites and opening dialogue for peace in the Holy Land. The Rev....
ELCA Joins Other Faith Groups Supporting Senate Farm Bill Amendments
WASHINGTON (ELCA) -- As debate began Nov. 6 on the 2007 U.S. Farm Bill in the U.S. Senate, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) joined several U.S. faith groups and faith leaders from Burkina Faso, Senegal and Mali here in a Nov. 6 news conference, urging the Senate to...
FEATURE: Lutherans Bring Back the 'Revival'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Over the summer a white, circus-sized tent appeared on the grounds of St. Timothy Lutheran Church, Troy, N.Y., garnering looks of interest from all who passed by, according to Marilyn Dyer. Although known throughout the community for its "innovative approach to ministry," St. Timothy reached a high...
ELCA Task Force on Genetics Considers Scientific, Theological Input
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Task Force on Genetics received scientific and theological input to advance its discussions on genetics when it met here Oct. 19-21. The task force is charged with developing a social statement on genetics for the church. "Members of the task...
Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue Begins Work on Round XI Report
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Participants in the U.S. Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue in Round XI began the writing process for their report when they met Oct. 10-14 at St. Paul's College, Washington, D.C. The meeting was the fifth of Round XI, in which the participants are discussing "The Hope of Eternal Life."...
Committee on Lutheran Cooperation Focuses on Cooperative Ministries
BALTIMORE (ELCA) -- Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) discussed their denominations' cooperative ministries when they met Oct. 24 here at the Lutheran Center. The ministries address domestic disaster response, immigration matters, social services, and international development and relief. The Lutheran...
Lutherans Proceed with Next Steps in Southern California Wildfires
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Providing emotional and spiritual care and identifying the needs of communities are some of the continued next steps for Lutherans in response to the wildfires in Southern California, reported the Rev. Kevin A. Massey, assistant director, Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR). Since Oct. 21, wildfires have spread over...
ELCA Fund for Leaders Awards 32 Scholarships, Announces Gift Challenge
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Thirty-two first-year students attending the eight seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) received full- or partial-tuition scholarships for the 2007-2008 academic year through the ELCA Fund for Leaders in Mission. The Fund honored three people who have provided substantial financial gifts and donated time...
ELCA New Jersey Bishop Addresses Impact of Immigration Raids on Children
WASHINGTON (ELCA) -- The Rev. E. Roy Riley, bishop, New Jersey Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ELCA), Hamilton Square, spoke Oct. 31 at a news conference here on the impact of workplace immigration raids on pastors, churches, social service agencies and the children of immigrants. The news...
