ELCA Assembly Seeks to Expand "Welcome" for Returning Military Veterans
CHICAGO (ELCA)-- Churches and other agencies of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America should provide a "welcoming and supporting environment for returning military veterans," and the bishops of the church were asked to work with military chaplains on additional ways to provide "healing ministries to military veterans and their families."...
ELCA Assembly Affirms 'Book of Faith' Bible-Study Initiative
CHICAGO (ELCA) - The 2007 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) today adopted "Book of Faith: Lutherans Read the Bible," a sweeping five-year initiative to boost study of the Bible throughout the 4.8-million member church body. That initiative grew out of a 2005 proposal made by...
ELCA Assembly Receives First Ballot Results for Presiding Bishop
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), led the first ballot for presiding bishop of the ELCA with 765 out of 1,022 votes cast here at the 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. Hanson fell two votes short of being re-elected...
ELCA Assembly Re-Elects Mark Hanson Presiding Bishop
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, 60, was re- elected to serve another six-year term as presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) at the 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly here. Hanson was re-elected Aug. 7 on the second ballot with 888 votes of the 1,029...
ELCA Assembly Calls for Social Statement on Criminal Justice by 2013
CHICAGO (ELCA)-- The 4.8 million member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will develop a social statement -- the church's most authoritative teaching document -- on criminal justice issues to be prevented to the denomination for adoption in 2013. By a vote of 957 to 68, the voting members of...
ELCA Assembly Greeted By Host Bishop
CHICAGO (ELCA)-- Recalling the monikers and voting practices that have been applied to this city over the years, the bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod, the host of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Churchwide Assembly, welcomed those attending in brief remarks at the end of the assembly's Aug....
ELCA Presiding Bishop Highlights Churchwide Assembly Topics
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- According to the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), biblical literacy, education and human sexuality will be among some of the significant decision items to face the 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. At a news conference here Aug. 6, Hanson...
ELCA Assembly Opens with Worship
CHICAGO (ELCA) - The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, welcomed the participants of the 2007 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Aug. 6 with a sermon at the opening worship. Hanson's message was focused on the difference between a "sent" and "settled" church. The...
ELCA Assembly Adopts Rules of Organization and Procedure
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The "Rules of Organization and Procedure" for the 2007 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) were adopted in the assembly's first business session Aug. 6 with one rule change. The standing rules describe the composition, functions and responsibilities of the churchwide assembly as...
Lutheran Music Association moves to Valparaiso
by Lauren A. Lamb, ELCA News Service* The Association of Lutheran Church Musicians (ALCM), a professional organization dedicated to strengthening the ministry of music in the Lutheran church, will move its headquarters to Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Ind., in August. Valparaiso University is an independent Lutheran institution. David Eicher, interim executive...
Thrivent Financial Employee Dies in Minneapolis Bridge Collapse
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Sherry Engebretsen, 60, Shoreview, Minn., died in the Aug. 1 collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge across the Mississippi River near the center of Minneapolis. She was the head of distribution strategies for Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Minneapolis. Engebretsen was a member of Incarnation Lutheran Church, Shoreview,...
ELCA Pastor to Preach on 'Day 1'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Michael W. Foss, Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Atlanta, will preach Aug. 12 and 19 on "Day 1," a nationally broadcast radio program. Foss' first sermon, "Wishful Thinking, Optimism and Hope," is based on Hebrews 11 and will address the differences between wishful thinking, optimism...
Lutherans Support People in Africa, Asia and Middle East
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are working to help meet the basic needs of people affected by unrest, war and natural disasters overseas. Through ELCA International Disaster Response, Lutherans provided a total of $270,000 to support the needs of people in Africa, Asia...
Lutheran Bishops Offer Hope After Minneapolis Bridge Collapse
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The bridge of Interstate 35W collapsed Aug. 1, where it crossed the Mississippi River near the center of Minneapolis. The Associated Press reported Aug. 2 the catastrophe killed four people, injured another 79 and left as many as 30 missing. Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in...
Lutheran Uses Athletic, Musical Abilities to Raise Money for Ending Hunger
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- On June 24, Kris Litman swam 2.4 miles, rode his bicycle 112 miles and ran 26.2 miles, consecutively, with a distinct mission in mind -- "to raise money for the World Hunger Appeal" of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said Litman, 27. With the help...
ELCA Churchwide Assembly to Worship, Hear Bible Studies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Under the theme "Living in God's Amazing Grace: Thanks be to God!" the voting members and guests of the 2007 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Churchwide Assembly will have the opportunity to participate in daily worship and Bible study. The assembly is Aug. 6-11 here at...
Remains of Lutheran camp worker found
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service On the evening of July 23, 2006, the family of Jon Francis, youth ministry director, Ascension Lutheran Church, Ogden, Utah, decided to call off the search for Francis, who went missing July 15, 2006, after reaching the peak of Grand Mogul in Idaho's Sawtooth...
ELCA, Other Faith Groups Urge Farm Bill Reform to Help Farmers in Need
WASHINGTON (ELCA) -- As the 2007 Farm Bill headed to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on July 26, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) joined with other faith groups in backing amendments to the House Agriculture Committee's bill that would help farmers in need both in...
John Sladek resigns as president of ELCA's California Lutheran University
by Lauren A. Lamb, ELCA News Service* Dr. John R. Sladek resigned as president of California Lutheran University (CLU), Thousand Oaks, Calif., effective July 23. CLU -- with about 3,200 students -- is one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Sladek, who has served...
Income for ELCA Congregations Almost $2.75 Billion in 2006
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Income for the 10,470 congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in 2006 exceeded $2.7 billion, according to statistics compiled by the ELCA Office of the Secretary. Total receipts amounted to $2,748,068,336 -- up 2.65 percent or $71 million from the previous year. The 2006...
