ELCA Churchwide Assembly to Consider 125 Memorials from Synods
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The 1,071 voting members of the 2007 Churchwide Assembly meeting here at Navy Pier next month will be asked to respond to 125 memorials summarized in a 74-page assembly report. Memorials are requests from the church's 65 synods asking for action by the assembly on specific topics....
July 23 PBS program highlights robe from Lutheran seminary collection
by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service A pastor's robe worn by Lutheran pastor and Revolutionary War figure Peter Muhlenberg will be featured on the PBS television program "History Detectives" to air July 23 at 9 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The robe is part of the historical collection at the...
Women of the ELCA Awards 41 Grants to Promote Health
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the women's organization of the ELCA, awarded $87,200 in grants to 29 domestic and 12 international programs in 2007 to promote "women's complete and total health: physical, emotional and spiritual," as stated on its Web site. Women of...
See Van Go! A bicycle odyssey for healthy leaders begins
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service A trustee of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Board of Pension and his wife are cycling from St. Charles, Mo., to Minneapolis on a route along the Mississippi River to raise awareness for physically and financially healthy church leaders. According to a...
ELCA Membership Drops 1.6 Percent to 4.8 Million in 2006
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) had 4,774,203 baptized members in 10,470 congregations at the end of 2006, according to the Rev. Lowell G. Almen, ELCA secretary. Those figures represent decreases of 76,573 baptized members and 79 congregations since 2005. The secretary's comparison of congregational statistics...
ELCA Secretary Calls for Continued LCMS, ELCA Conversations
HOUSTON (ELCA) - Noting the diverse histories of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the secretary of the ELCA called for continued conversations between leaders of the two Lutheran church bodies. Speaking to the LCMS 63rd Regular Convention on July 19, the Rev....
ELCA, Other Faith Groups Press Agriculture Committee for Farm Bill Reform
WASHINGTON (ELCA) -- The Rev. Theodore F. Schneider, bishop of the Metropolitan Washington, D.C., Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), joined other faith leaders July 17 in a news conference calling on Congress for a bill that would reduce poverty while helping farmers and rural communities in...
ELCA offers new risk management resources
by Lauren A. Lamb, ELCA News Service* The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is offering two new risk management resources -- a monthly newsletter, "Church Safety Solutions," and a "2007 Insurance Buyer's Guide." "We would very much like these resources to be publicized, used and shared," said David Ullrich,...
Thousands of ELCA Teenagers Head for New Orleans in 2009
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Under the theme "Jesus, Justice, Jazz," more than 35,000 high-school-age and adult Lutherans are expected to gather in New Orleans for the 2009 Youth Gathering of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), July 22-26, 2009. Held every three years, the event is a major ministry for...
Kathy Magnus, Lutheran World Federation Regional Officer, to Retire
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Kathy J. Magnus, Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Regional Officer for North America, announced she will retire Dec. 31, 2007. Magnus, 60, has served as the LWF Regional Officer for North America since 2002. Prior to her position with the LWF, Magnus served as the vice president of...
ELCA offers broadcast public service announcements
by Lauren A. Lamb, ELCA News Service* The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is offering five new broadcast public service announcements (PSAs), intended for a wide range of audiences. The PSAs are available in 60- second and 30-second formats. The PSAs for television include "Listen" and "Mother and Son."...
Richard Magnus, Head of ELCA Outreach, Congregational Mission, to Retire
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Richard A. Magnus, executive director of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission program unit, will retire Dec. 31, 2007. "Pastor Dick Magnus' passion for the gospel, his vision for a church growing in evangelical outreach and stewardship, his desire...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Responds to Vatican Statement on Nature of the Church
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In response to a document released by the Vatican July 10, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said the statement does not appear to change the Vatican's previously stated positions, and it will not alter the ELCA's commitment...
A Spiritual Recovery Two Years After Hurricane Katrina
NEW ORLEANS (ELCA) -- The windows tell a soulful story at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church. Two years after Hurricane Katrina, this New Orleans congregation boasts a perfectly manicured lawn, colorful flags blowing in the breeze and newly painted, air-conditioned interiors. Yet the streaked and clouded windows remind visitors that this...
ELCA Committee on Appeals Rules in Atlanta Discipline Case
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Committee on Appeals of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) ruled July 2 in favor of an appeal by the Rev. Ronald B. Warren, bishop of the ELCA Southeastern Synod, Atlanta, who sought removal of Bradley E. Schmeling, Atlanta, from the official clergy roster of...
'Chinese Lutheran Book of Worship' Now Available
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "Chinese Lutheran Book of Worship" is a new bilingual worship book for members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Developed by ELCA Chinese pastors, worship leaders and others, the worship book is designed to offer flexibility in worship planning that encourages a common yet diverse...
ELCA Names Rossing Physics Scholarship Recipients
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Three students attending colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) will receive Rossing Physics Scholarships for the 2007-08 academic year. Gifts from Dr. Thomas D. Rossing established the Rossing Fund for Physics Education Endowment in the ELCA Foundation. Rossing, a professor at Northern...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Calls for Increase in Children's Health Program
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), joined leaders of 20 other national religious organizations in a letter to leaders of the U.S. Congress June 7, urging expanded funding for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The religious...
The Rev. S. Anita Stauffer, Lutheran Author, Researcher, Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. S. Anita Stauffer, author of books and articles on worship, liturgy and church architecture, and a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died June 26 at a Chicago-area hospital from complications due to a stroke. At the time of her death, Stauffer,...
ELCA to Offer Worship Jubilee 2007 in Chicago, August 3-6
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) second Worship Jubilee is August 3-6 here at Navy Pier. The event precedes the 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. Organized by the worship staff of the ELCA, the event will draw more than 700 people involved in worship and music throughout...
