Funeral held Oct. 31 for Katherine Olson, graduate, ELCA's St. Olaf College
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service A funeral service was held Oct. 31 for Katherine Ann Olson, 24, who was found dead last week after responding to a baby-sitting job advertised on the Internet site craigslist.com, reported the Star Tribune, Minneapolis-St. Paul. A 19-year-old man from Savage, Minn., has...
Lutheran Congregations Along Gulf Coast Call for Volunteers
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- More than two years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita battered the U.S. Gulf Coast, the area shows a few signs of healing, but years of work remain. Congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) from Port Arthur, Texas, to...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Addresses Church on Racial Justice
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In a letter to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, said he is "deeply troubled" by the number of incidents in the past three years that involved symbols and acts of racial hatred. The presiding bishop expressed "grave...
Augsburg Fortress Board Acts on ELCA Publisher's Future
MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- The board of trustees of Augsburg Fortress, the publishing ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), looked toward the future of the ministry by adopting a 2008 budget plan that calls for investment in products and infrastructure. The board also approved a confidential strategic plan...
Winter 2007-2008 ELCA World Hunger Resource Packet is available
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service The World Hunger Resource Packet of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) for winter 2007-2008 is available. The packet contains resources to help individuals, congregations and synods of the church learn more about and participate in ending world hunger. "The packet isn't...
Lutherans Train to "Live Faithfully in a Violent World"
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Peace and justice-minded Lutherans working to end violence will gather Nov. 16-17 for "Living Faithfully in a Violent World: Congregations and Community Working Together to End Violence," a training event hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and ELCA Metropolitan Chicago Synod. "School shootings, police...
A Muslim Student's Journey from Afghanistan to an ELCA University
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In post-9/11 America, being a young man from Afghanistan isn't easy, especially in an airport. Just ask 19-year-old Mouluddin Rahimi. When Rahimi first traveled from his native country of Afghanistan in August 2006 to begin studies at Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, Pa., he had to convince authorities at...
Lutherans Continue Care for People Affected by Wildfires in California
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Five members from St. Andrew Lutheran Church, San Diego, visited Qualcomm Stadium Oct. 25 to provide emotional and spiritual care for people seeking shelter from the wildfires in Southern California. Members of the church also sent supplies to help meet the basic needs of people taking refuge...
Lutheran Disaster Response Director Feltman Resigns, Accepts New Role
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Heather L. Feltman will resign Nov. 15 as director of Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) to become president/CEO of Lutheran Social Services of New England (LSS), Wellesley, Mass., starting Jan. 7, 2008. LDR is a collaborative ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran...
'See Van Go' supports physical and financial health of church
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service T. Van Matthews, a franchise owner and senior financial adviser, Ameriprise Financial, Greenville, S.C., took the long way of getting to his final meeting as a trustee of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Board of Pensions. Van and Melinda Matthews, Simpsonville, S.C.,...
Lutherans Provide Emotional Care in Response to California Wildfires
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) is pulling together a team of pastors to provide emotional and spiritual care for people in Southern California, as wildfires continue to spread there since Oct. 21, reported Tempie Beaman, LDR coordinator, Los Angeles. LDR is a collaborative ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran...
Three Artists' Works Chosen in ELCA Design Contest
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Office of the Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has chosen the works of three Lutheran artists in a design competition to recognize the 20th anniversary of the ELCA. Replicas of the art pieces will be presented as gifts to global and...
ELCA Bishops Hear Presiding Bishop's Concerns about Ecumenism
CHICAGO (ELCA) - In remarks to the Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, said he is "most concerned" about the church's strategic direction to build global, ecumenical and interfaith relationships because of what he termed the "unsettled,...
ELCA Bishops Hear Concluding Report from ELCA Secretary Almen
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In his final report to the Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Rev. Lowell G. Almen, ELCA secretary, shared some reflections about the strengths of the ELCA and specific concerns for its future. Almen also commented on how he has changed...
Lutherans Support Recovery Efforts in Bangladesh
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), through its International Disaster Response, provided $75,000 to support recovery efforts in Bangladesh, where heavy rains produced floods in 39 districts. The onset of flooding by Himalayan-fed rivers affected an estimated 9 million people according to the government...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Writes in Support of Children's Health Care Program
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In a written message to members of the U.S. House of Representatives on Oct. 16, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), expressed his support for the reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). "Our Christian faith...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Responds to Letter from Muslim Leaders
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and president of the Lutheran World Federation, Geneva, responded today to an Oct. 11 letter sent to him and several global Christian leaders by 138 Muslim leaders from throughout the world. The 29-page...
Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality Works on Draft of Social Statement
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Task Force for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Studies on Sexuality surveyed biblical, ethical and theological material that may be included in a draft of a social statement on human sexuality, and offered further instructions for its writing team when it met here Oct....
Donald McCoid to Head ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), announced Oct. 6 that the Rev. Donald J. McCoid, former bishop of the ELCA Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod, Pittsburgh, will lead the church's Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations section for four years, effective Nov....
ELCA Presiding Bishop Supports Arab-Israeli-Palestinian Peace Conference
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said he supports an international conference aimed at taking steps toward resolving conflict peacefully between Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East, and this week joined in a call for specific steps...
