ELCA delegation visits Lutheran community in Rome
by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service An 18-member delegation from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) visited the Evangelical Lutheran community in Rome, a worshiping community of about 350 members. The community is one of 14 Lutheran congregations in all of Italy, part of the 7,000-member Lutheran Church...
Lutherans Respond to the Risk of Famine in East Africa
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Drought conditions are leading to the risk of famine in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and other countries in East Africa. International Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is responding to the potential risk with funds to help provide for food, medicine, drinking water, emergency...
Vatican Radio journalist interviews two ELCA leaders in Rome
by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service A journalist with Vatican Radio, The Vatican's international radio service, interviewed the co-leaders of an 18-member delegation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) March 21 in Rome. The Rev. Lowell G. Almen, ELCA secretary, and the Rev. E. Roy Riley, bishop...
Prasanna Kumari Samuel, a leader of NCC in India and the LWF, dies
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service The Rev. Prasanna Kumari Samuel, vice president of the National Council of Churches in India, Nagpur, and head of the Department for Women's Studies, Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute, Chennai, India, died March 16 from a massive cardiac arrest at the...
ELCA Delegation Greets Pope, Presents Icon at March 22 Audience
VATICAN CITY (ELCA) -- An 18-member delegation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) greeted Pope Benedict XVI following his regular weekly audience March 22 here at St. Peter's Basilica. Five members of the ELCA Conference of Bishops presented the pope with an icon of St. Augustine and delivered...
Lutheran Students Discover 'What A Relief!' it is to Help Others
OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (ELCA) -- We're here to restore lives, said Mary Ellen Burke, sophomore, Marquette University, Milwaukee. "I can't say that I've cleaned up all of southern Mississippi, but I can say that I've touched a few lives." Burke is one of 1,100 students who participated in "What a...
Former News Director, Lutheran Church in America, R. Marshall Stross Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- R. Marshall Stross, director of news and information for the former Lutheran Church in America (LCA), died March 17 at his home in Manhasset, N.Y. He was 88. "Marshall Stross was the consummate communicator," said Kristi S. Bangert, executive director, ELCA Communication Services. "While his expertise was...
ELCA Delegation Visits Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch In Istanbul
ISTANBUL, Turkey (ELCA) -- A 17-member delegation from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) met here March 17 with His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. The Lutherans offered official greetings to the patriarch, suggesting he visit the ELCA churchwide office in Chicago, as he did with his predecessor, Patriarch...
ELCA delegation visits Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate, Istanbul
by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service A 17-member delegation from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) met March 17 with His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholow, the world leader of Orthodox Christians, and held an informal discussion with senior staff of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, Turkey. The...
Former Executive Director, Women of the ELCA, Charlotte Fiechter Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Dr. Charlotte E. Fiechter, second executive director for Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died March 10 of natural causes at her home in Mount Prospect, Ill. She was 71. "Charlotte E. Fiechter was, above all, a woman of faith who seized every opportunity,...
ELCA's St. Olaf College Names David R. Anderson President
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- On March 13 the board of regents of St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn., named Dr. David R. Anderson to become the college's 11th president. Anderson is a professor of English and the provost at Denison University, Granville, Ohio. St. Olaf is one of 28 colleges and universities...
ELCA Treasurer Tells Bishops 2005 Financial Year Positive
LAKE GENEVA, Wis. (ELCA) -- The treasurer of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) reported that the ELCA churchwide organization received $3.5 million in operating income over expenses for the fiscal year that ended Jan. 31, 2006. In addition, total contributions in 2005 to the ELCA World Hunger Appeal...
More Than 200 ELCA Members Participate in Ecumenical Advocacy Days
WASHINGTON, D.C. (ELCA) -- More than 900 U.S. church members, including more than 200 members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), took part in Ecumenical Advocacy Days here March 10-13. Under the theme "Challenging Disparity: The Promise of God - The Power of Solidarity," participants learned about issues...
ELCA New Orleans Congregations Recovering, Pastors' Well-Being a Concern
LAKE GENEVA, Wis. (ELCA) -- Nearly all of the New Orleans- area congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have begun worshipping again, and the Lutheran bishop that serves New Orleans said he's concerned about the well-being of pastors that serve these congregations. The Rev. Paul J. Blom,...
Severe weather causes death, damage to ELCA church property
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service Severe weather killed at least 10 people and injured dozens more March 12-13 according to Church World Service (CWS). Softball- sized hail and several tornadoes struck parts of northwestern Arkansas, central Illinois, central Missouri and northeastern Oklahoma, according to Heather L. Feltman, director,...
Milwaukee-area ELCA members taking part in Lent '10 to 1' campaign
by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service During Lent members of the Greater Milwaukee Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are participating in the synod's "10 to 1" campaign to call attention to world hunger and poverty. For example, members are being asked to give $10 each...
ELCA council to consider proposal on authority, interpretation of Scripture
by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is expected to consider a proposal "for a multi-year special focus among members, congregations and synods of the ELCA on the authority and interpretation of Scripture," when it meets in Chicago April...
ELCA Bishops Continue Emphasis on Addressing Poverty
LAKE GENEVA, Wis. (ELCA) -- The Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) continued discussions it began last fall on addressing poverty issues in the public square. The bishops heard from a law professor, a well-known national advocate for people living in poverty and hunger, and...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Reviews Churchwide, Global Joys, Concerns
LAKE GENEVA, Wis. (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), reviewed a variety of joys and concerns in his March 4 report here to the ELCA Conference of Bishops. He offered several...
Lutheran youth raise $598,728 in "Souper Bowl of Caring"
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service Young people across the United States raised more than $4.2 million through "Souper Bowl of Caring," a national faith-based effort aimed at raising millions of dollars for hunger-fighting organizations. That number includes $598,728 collected by Lutherans. Some congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church...
