ELCA Transformation Ministry Conference to be held March 9-12
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service Pastors and lay leaders from across the country will learn how to change or renew their congregations and ministries at the 2006 Transformational Ministry Conference hosted March 9-12 in Chicago by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. A map and formula to make...
March issue of Café considers adding something for Lent
March issue of Cafe considers adding something for Lent by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service "What are you giving up for Lent?" is the question that launches the Rev. Laura E. Gentry's exploration of Lent for Cafe, the electronic magazine of Women of the ELCA. Gentry is the pastor for...
Beth Lewis Reappointed President and CEO of ELCA Publisher
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of trustees of Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis, the publishing ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), reappointed Beth A. Lewis to a second four-year term as the company's president and chief executive officer effective Sept. 1. The board acted in consultation with the Rev....
ELCA Blue Ribbon Committee on Mission Funding Appointed, Starts Work
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) appointed a 10-member Blue Ribbon Committee for Mission Funding. The committee is expected to study topics such as mission support, stewardship education, planned giving, and designated and restricted giving, all aimed at strengthening the future financial...
ELCA's J.S. Bach production to air March 5 on Hallmark Channel
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service Hallmark Channel will air a 60-minute version of the award- winning television special, "Glory to God Alone: The Life of J.S. Bach," on Sunday, March 5, at 7:00 a.m. EST/PST (6:00 a.m. CST). Viewers in the Mountain Time zone should check local listings. The...
Lutheran heroine, Sophie Scholl, subject of Academy Award nominee
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service "Sophie Scholl -- The Final Days" has been nominated for an Academy Award for best foreign-language film. Oscar winners will be named March 5. The film is based on the true story of a woman who was executed in 1943 Germany for distributing anti-Nazi...
ELCA's Mosaic Television is 'Introducing Jesus of Nazareth'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The sights and sounds of Jesus' life are the subject of a video presentation released March 1 by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). "Introducing Jesus of Nazareth" -- the spring 2006 release of Mosaic Television -- was recorded in Israel and the West Bank, and...
Lutherans Respond to Food and Water Crisis in Kenya
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Up to 3.5 million people in Kenya are in danger of dying if food and water are not delivered soon, according to Action by Churches Together (ACT). Drought conditions severely cut food and water supplies there. In response to an ACT appeal for funds, International Disaster Response...
First draft of ELCA social statement on education now available
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service "Our Calling in Education: A First Draft of a Social Statement" is now available to the 4.9 million members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Issued by ELCA Church in Society, the 63-page document is available as a free download (PDF...
ELCA Distributes $800,000 for Tsunami Relief in India, Indonesia
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- International Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) distributed $800,000 this week to sustain its disaster response ministry in India and Indonesia following the Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami, which killed more than a quarter of a million people in East Africa and South Asia....
ELCA Board of Pension presents 'Here I Step' walking campaign
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service The ELCA Board of Pensions encourages seminarians and other church leaders to participate in the "Here I Step" walking program during the 2006 Lenten season. By walking two miles a day during the 40 days of Lent participants will journey the 80 miles from...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Calls for Careful Response to Hamas' Victory
WASHINGTON, D.C. (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), joined 35 Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders in a nationwide appeal, urging President George W. Bush to make Israeli-Palestinian peace an urgent priority for U.S. policy in the coming months. In...
ELCA Publishing Ministry Exceeds 2005 Sales Goal by $2 Million
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Augsburg Fortress, the Minneapolis-based publishing ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), achieved a $1 million increase in product sales from 2004 to 2005, and exceeded its 2005 sales goal by more than $2 million. This was the first time in 10 years the publisher...
Stewart Herman Jr., Former Seminary President, LWF Leader, Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Stewart W. Herman Jr., president of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) from 1964 until 1971, died Feb. 16 in Greenport, N.Y., following a long illness. Herman, 96, a retired pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and author, was well-known...
Lutheran World Federation Welcomes Common Christian Assembly
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Leaders of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) welcomed an invitation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) to consider entering into plans with other Christian world communions for a common assembly in the next decade. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, LWF president and presiding bishop of the...
2006 Rural Ministry Conference to be held March 5-7 in Iowa
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service The 25th Annual Rural Ministry Conference will be held March 5-7 at Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa. Under the theme "Living with Hope in an Age of Fear," participants from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and other denominations will consider questions...
Rev. Donald Hallberg receives outstanding executive award
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service The Rev. Donald M. Hallberg, president for the Foundation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and executive director for ELCA Development Services, is the 2006 recipient of the Association of Lutheran Development Executives (ALDE) Outstanding Executive Award. Hallberg received the award...
About 40,000 teenage and adult Lutherans will gather this summer
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service As many as 40,000 high-school-age and adult Lutherans from around the world are expected to attend the 2006 Youth Gathering of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) July 5-9 and July 12-16 in San Antonio, Texas. Under the theme "Cruzando: Journey with...
ELCA continues to raise millions of dollars for Katrina relief
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service To date the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has collected about $24 million to support Hurricane Katrina relief operations. With more than $3 billion raised nationwide thus far, the ELCA is listed as one of the larger organizations garnering more than $10...
Lutheran World Federation claims 66.2 million members
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service The 140 member churches, 10 congregations and one recognized council of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) report a total 66,214,048 members in 78 countries in 2005. That's an increase of 280,000 or 0.43 percent from 2004. LWF churches had 65.93 million members in 2004...
