ELCA Council Receives Update on Insurance Alternatives for Congregations
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) received an update from a task force exploring the possibility of creating a "captive insurance" or risk-sharing program to offer property and casualty insurance coverage to congregations and synods of the ELCA. The Church Council is...
ELCA Council Elects Rebecca Larson, Learns About Other Leadership Roles
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) elected the Rev. Rebecca S. Larson to serve another four-year term as executive director of ELCA Church in Society, and it received information about two other significant leadership positions at the ELCA churchwide offfice. The Church...
ELCA Council Approves Mission Development Fund, Spending Authorizations
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) approved the establishment of the "Mission Development Fund," a new temporarily restricted fund in the ELCA Foundation, and it approved initial 2007 fiscal spending authorizations for the churchwide organization and ELCA World Hunger. The Church Council...
ELCA Council Hears Presiding Bishop's Call To 'Moral Deliberation'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In the wake of the mid-term congressional elections, the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) said he hopes ELCA congregations can become places of "moral deliberation" before the country turns its attention to what may be a contentious political environment leading up to...
ELCA Council Affirms New Association, Antiracism, Multicultural Goals
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) affirmed the creation of a European American Association in the ELCA to join the church's five ethnic associations. The council also received a report from the ELCA coordinator for antiracism education and training, and it set...
ELCA Council Honors Former LWR President Kathryn Wolford
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) expressed "its deep appreciation to Kathryn Wolford for her service and leadership as president of Lutheran World Relief (LWR)." Wolford resigned as LWR president Oct. 31 to become president of The McKnight Foundation, Minneapolis, starting Dec....
ABC-TV, Hallmark Broadcast ELCA Television Specials in December
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "Introducing Jesus of Nazareth" will air as a one-hour special on stations affiliated with the ABC television network. Managers of each station will determine the day and time of broadcast in a 60-day period beginning Dec. 3. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) produced the program...
ELCA Synod Bishop to Preach Nov. 26 on 'Day 1'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Ronald B. Warren, bishop of the Southeastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), will preach Nov. 26 on "Day 1," a nationally broadcast radio program. "The Servant King with Scars" is the title of the sermon. Warren is to speak on what...
Lutherans Bring 'Hope for the Prairie' in the 21st Century
ABERDEEN, S.D. (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a rural, small-town denomination, according to the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the ELCA. Delivering a keynote address at "Hope for the Prairie: Vital Congregations for the 21st Century" conference here Nov. 5-6, Hanson said 48...
ELCA Presiding Bishop, LWF President Visits Romanian Government Officials
BUCHAREST, Romania (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), met Oct. 30 with top officials of the Romanian government here. Accompanied by two bishops of Romanian Lutheran churches, the church leaders may have...
Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue Addresses Life Beyond Death
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The U.S. Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue in Round XI met Oct. 12-15 in Baltimore for its third session to discuss "The Hope for Eternal Life." The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) selected the topic at the end of Round...
ELCA Presiding Bishop, LWF President Preaches in Historic 'Black Church'
BRASOV, Transylvania (ELCA) -- Preaching in a historic Lutheran church here on Reformation Day, Oct. 31, was a "great privilege" and "very moving" experience, said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), as he...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Urges Minimum Wage Increase
WASHINGTON, D.C. (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), joined 10 other Christian leaders in the United States in an appeal to Congress to increase the federal minimum wage as "a matter of economic and racial justice." In an October...
Pacific Lutheran University staff increases recycling can by can
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service As environmental sustainability gains momentum as both the next big trend in higher education and a practical reality with which administrators must contend, Pacific Lutheran University (PLU), Tacoma, Wash., is doing its part to reduce its environmental footprint, according to Amy Cockerham, director...
'Freedom' is Heart of Reformation Says ELCA Presiding Bishop, LWF President
PILIS, Hungary (ELCA) -- Preaching to more than 200 people in a Lutheran congregation here Oct. 29, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson reminded members and visitors that freedom is a gift from God given through Jesus Christ, and that the gospel message is that Christians cannot achieve freedom on their...
Hungarian Church, State Relations Subject of Lutheran Leader's Discussions
BUDAPEST, Hungary (ELCA) -- Cooperation between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary (ELCH) and the national government was a theme of a series of meetings Oct. 27 involving local church leaders and the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Lutheran World...
Texas Lutheran University receives pledge for $1 million in stock value
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service Texas Lutheran University (TLU), Seguin, Texas, received a pledge of $1 million in stock value from Lee D. Mueller Jr. and Barbara Frenzel Mueller, LaGrange, Texas. TLU is one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Visits Hungary in LWF President Role
BUDAPEST, Hungary (ELCA) -- In his first official visit to a European church since he became president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the Rev. Mark S. Hanson paid tribute to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary (ELCH), pointing out the contributions of the LWF Assembly held here in 1984....
ELCA, LCMS Reps Share Similar Emphases, Discuss '78 Report
ST. LOUIS (ELCA) -- Stepped-up outreach efforts, new hymnals and task forces on funding -- programs and priorities of the two largest U.S. Lutheran church bodies -- were similar topics that leaders of those churches discussed when they met here Oct. 3. Representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America...
ELCA task force reviews responses on draft of social statement on education
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service The Task Force on Education of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) met Oct. 22-23 in Chicago to review responses concerning "Our Calling in Education: A First Draft of a Social Statement." Issued by ELCA Church in Society, the 63-page document was...
