ELCA Membership Drops 1.6 Percent to 4.85 Million in 2005
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) reported a baptized membership of 4,850,776 in 10,549 congregations in 2005, according to the Rev. Lowell G. Almen, ELCA secretary. That figure represents a decrease of about 1.62 percent or a reduction of 79,653 baptized members since 2004, he said....
Income for ELCA Congregations Almost $2.7 Billion in 2005
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Income in 2005 for the 10,549 congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) approached $2.7 billion, according to statistics compiled by the ELCA Office of the Secretary. Total receipts amounted to $2,676,901,588 -- up 2.94 percent or almost $76 million from the previous year. The...
ELCA 'Global Fest' brings together church mission personnel
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service International and domestic mission personnel from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) and the Episcopal Church gathered together July 29 for "Global Fest" at the 2006 ELCA Global Mission Event. Co- sponsored by the Episcopal Church...
Nobel nominee featured at closing of ELCA Global Mission Event
by Katherine R. Hinck*, ELCA News Service Closing worship at the 2006 Global Mission Event (GME) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) featured Nobel Peace Prize nominee Wahu Kaara, a video presentation and global music. Co-sponsored by The Episcopal Church and endorsed by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in...
Former Lutheran dies in Seattle shooting
by Katherine R. Hinck*, ELCA News Service Pamela Waechter, a former Lutheran and major contributor to the Jewish community, was killed July 28 at the Jewish Federation building, Seattle. Waechter was working at the Jewish Federation building that afternoon when a man entered the building with a gun. He shot...
Lisandro Orlov, Bono Highlight ELCA Global Mission Event Session
AMHERST, Mass. (ELCA) -- The church must be the place where all people can find their home including those who are often outcast, said the Rev. Lisandro Orlov, United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina and Latin American regional coordinator, Lutheran World Federation (LWF) HIV/AIDS campaign. Orlov was a speaker to...
Lutheran, Episcopalian global workers pray for peace in the Middle East
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service Unable to return home to Lebanon from the United States since July 16, Barakat Rahme, development officer, Contact and Resource Center (CRC), Beirut, said he is "worried about everything," particularly his family members "who are displaced (from their homes) somewhere in the mountains"...
ELCA Global Mission Event offers international learning experiences
by Katherine R. Hinck*, ELCA News Service Participants of the 2006 Global Mission Event (GME) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) had the opportunity to attend more than 80 Global University workshops. Co-sponsored by the Episcopal Church and endorsed by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, the event...
Chinese Christian artist delivers message of peace to GME
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service He Qi, a renowned contemporary Chinese Christian artist, delivered a message of peace through art to about 1,300 participants of the 2006 Global Mission Event (GME) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Co-sponsored by The Episcopal Church and endorsed by the Evangelical...
Lutherans, Episcopalians prepare for global mission work
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service The 2006 Global Mission Event (GME) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America offered four all-day workshops -- known as "global tracks" -- July 28 on the topics of asset mapping, cross cultural relationships, hunger and sustainable development. The workshops, designed to equip...
Presiding Bishops Hanson, Griswold Address ELCA Global Mission Event
AMHERST, Mass. (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Chicago, invited participants at the opening celebration of the ELCA Global Mission Event (GME) here July 27 to "join in the struggle to accompany one another as we walk in the...
ELCA Northeastern Ohio Synod interim bishop to take office Aug. 1
by Katherine R. Hinck*, ELCA News Service The Northeastern Ohio Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) named the Rev. Lee M. Miller, former bishop of the ELCA Upstate New York Synod, to serve as interim bishop beginning Aug. 1. Lee Miller succeeds the Rev. Marcus J. Miller...
Family Calls Off Search for Lutheran Youth Ministry Director
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- On the evening of July 23 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 in Idaho's Sawtooth Mountains. Francis, 24, left the Luther Heights Bible Camp near Ketchum, Idaho,...
ELCA seminary acquires Luther Institute in Washington, D.C.
by Katherine R. Hinck*, ELCA News Service The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettsyburg (LTSG), Pa., acquired the Luther Institute, Washington, D.C., when the 24- member board of the Luther Institute voted June 27 to approve affiliation with LTSG, according to a July 21 seminary news release. LTSG is one of...
ELCA Youth Gathering Raises More Than $1 Million
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The 2006 Youth Gathering of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) offered about 40,000 Lutheran youth and adults the opportunity to participate in a variety of stewardship programs. The gathering took place in two back-to-back events in San Antonio, Texas. Some 15,000 young people, chaperones and...
New Jersey Bishop, Denomination Leaders Address Welfare Reform
WASHINGTON, D.C. (ELCA) -- The Rev. E. Roy Riley Jr., bishop of the New Jersey Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Hamilton Square, testified July 19 before the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee about the outcomes of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA)...
ELCA Offers Resources for Possible Flu Pandemic
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Domestic Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has prepared resources for congregations in event of a flu pandemic. Although avian flu is currently limited to fowl and is only occasionally transmitted to people in close contact with infected birds, infectious disease experts indicate...
Staff of ELCA-supported center in Lebanon lose homes
by Katherine R. Hinck*, ELCA News Service The homes of three staff members of the Contact and Resource Center (CRC), Beirut, Lebanon, were destroyed as a result of air and artillery strikes in Lebanon. CRC, an institution that provides support for people with disabilities, is financially supported by the Evangelical...
Carbon monoxide caused death of retired ELCA pastor
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service An autopsy confirmed July 17 that the Rev. Walter J. Vierling, 91, a retired pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Pearisburg, Va., died July 14 of carbon monoxide poisoning, according to The Roanoke (Va.) Times newspaper. Vierling was staying in a...
'Servant Life' Projects Highlight ELCA Youth Gathering
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (ELCA) -- Participants in the 2006 Youth Gathering of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) logged tens of thousands of hours in service to this city and other parts of Texas. A key piece of the Youth Gathering was the "Servant Life: As A Way of...
