ELCA, Episcopal Church Presiding Bishops Meet With U.N., U.S. Officials
NEW YORK (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and the Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, met Sept. 15 with Mark Malloch Brown, deputy secretary general of the United Nations (U.N.), and Richard Miller,...
Lutherans focus on mental, physical disabilities in October
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service The All-Lutheran Candle Lighting for Mental Illness will be held during the month of October. On a Sunday of their choice, congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) are encouraged to light a candle and...
New Primary Worship Resource for Lutherans Available Oct. 3
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- With the involvement and support of thousands of Lutherans, a new primary book of worship -- "Evangelical Lutheran Worship" -- will be born to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC). Five years in the making, Evangelical Lutheran Worship and...
ELCA, Episcopal Presiding Bishops Urge Renewed Commitment to End Poverty
WASHINGTON, D.C. (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and the Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, released a joint pastoral letter urging Lutherans and Episcopalians to recommit themselves to ending global poverty through achievement...
Lutherans Continue Call For Comprehensive Immigration Reform
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Several religious leaders called on the U.S. Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform -- not just "enforcement only" legislation -- in a national conference call Sept. 12 with news reporters. One of the speakers was the Rev. Stephen P. Bouman, bishop of the Metropolitan New York Synod...
ELCA raised $725,000 in the 2006 Souper Bowl of Caring effort
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) raised $725,000 to support hunger-fighting organizations across the United States and Caribbean as part of "Souper Bowl of Caring" -- an effort among faith groups aimed at raising millions of dollars to fight hunger....
Lutherans Support Recovery Work Along China's Southeast Coast
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- International Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided $30,000 Sept. 5 to support recovery efforts along the southeast coast of China after Typhoon Saomai caused loss of life and destruction to homes and land in August. Tropical Storm Bilis produced extensive flooding in...
Papua New Guinea Lutheran leader says church partnerships important
by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service Global partnerships among Lutheran churches are important to smaller Lutheran churches in countries such as Papua New Guinea, said Isaac Teo, general secretary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea. Teo, who visited North America and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in...
Retired Lutherans receive new charitable giving opportunities
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service The Pension Protection Act of 2006 can provide Lutherans aged 70.5 and older an opportunity to support ministries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) with gifts up to $100,000 a year directly from an Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA). Under previous law,...
Pennsylvania Lutheran Congregations Prepare for Sept. 11 Anniversary
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran congregations near the site where United Flight 93 crashed in 2001 will be involved in special remembrances on Sept. 11, 2006, the fifth anniversary of the tragedy. United Flight 93 was hijacked by terrorists and eventually forced down by passengers and crew near Shanksville, Pa., as...
ELCA Online Farm Bill Discussion Group Announced
by Annie Lynsen, ELCA Washington Office An online discussion for Lutherans on the U.S. Farm Bill is now available on LutherLink. The U.S. Farm Bill, legislation that determines agriculture, nutrition and conservation policy, is scheduled to be reviewed by Congress in 2007. "This reauthorization only happens every five years, so...
ELCA's 'Grace Matters' Host to Preach on 'Day 1' Radio Program
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Peter W. Marty, host of "Grace Matters," the radio ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is the featured speaker Sept. 10 and 17 on "Day 1," the nationally broadcast award-winning radio program. The program also includes a brief interview with the speaker....
New book offers Lutheran commentary on Hurricane Katrina, aftermath
by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service A new book, "Voices of Faith in the Midst of the Storm," published by Future With Hope Press, Baton Rouge, La., contains a series of reflections, journals and sermons from pastors and lay leaders serving south Louisiana congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church...
Lutherans Planning to Remember Fifth Anniversary of September 11 Attacks
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutherans will mark the 5th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks through worship and special remembrances throughout the church. The attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., and the crash of a plane controlled by hijackers near Shanksville,...
ELCA Caribbean Synod Bishop Updates Medical Condition
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Margarita Martinez, bishop of the Caribbean Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said she has cancer. Martinez traveled here late last month for medical tests after she was advised by her physician in Puerto Rico to seek additional treatment. "The results of...
ELCA Presiding Bishop, Synod Bishop Comment on Sept. 11 Fifth Anniversary
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, changed the "context" of the church in the United States, and "shattered thousands of lives and galvanized millions more around the country and across the globe," said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in...
ELCA's 'Mission Support: Where Your Money Goes' Available September 1
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The September 1, 2006, issue of Mosaic Television, the video magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is "Mission Support: Where Your Money Goes," focusing on giving and how those gifts support ELCA ministries. Mosaic Television is the quarterly video program produced by ELCA Communication...
ELCA bishop plans ecumenical prayer service in response to S.D. execution
by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service The Rev. Andrea DeGroot-Nesdahl, bishop of the South Dakota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said an ecumenical prayer service will be held at 9:30 p.m. in Sioux Falls Aug. 29, 30 minutes before the start of the planned execution...
ELCA Caribbean Synod Bishop Appoints Acting Bishop
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Margarita Martinez, bishop of the Caribbean Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has appointed the Rev. Francisco L. Sosa as acting bishop of the synod. She acted as she left Puerto Rico last week to travel to a local hospital for treatment...
Lutheran Leaders Must Be Involved in Response to HIV and AIDS
TORONTO (ELCA) -- The Global Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Campaign against HIV/AIDS began its first phase in 2002 "to promote churches getting more involved with HIV and AIDS activities, especially in regions of Africa and Asia," said Dr. Sheila Shyamprasad, the HIV and AIDS consultant to the LWF Department for...
