Foundation of the ELCA, Development Services Leadership Transitioning
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of the trustees of the Foundation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) elected Cynthia J. Halverson as president-elect of the Foundation at a special meeting Sept. 14. In addition the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, appointed Halverson concurrently to the role...
Lutherans Reflect on the Vocation of a Leader
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Bringing forth and supporting faithful, wise and courageous leaders is one of the strategic directions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Staff of the ELCA churchwide organization, professors and administrative staff of ELCA seminaries, college and universities, bishops and others gathered here Sept. 22-23 in...
Lutherans Support Recovery Efforts in Guatemala, India
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- International Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided funds Sept. 25 to support recovery operations in Guatemala and India, where severe weather destroyed crops and property in both countries. In Guatemala tropical storms and strong rain have destroyed crops, producing a food shortage,...
Testing a Retreat Model for Lutheran Men's Ministries
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service The board of Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM), the men's ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is getting together Oct. 13-14 for a retreat and business meeting in Buena Vista, Colo. Heber Rast, LMM president, Cameron, S.C., said Lyman Coleman, founder...
ELCA Publisher releases 'The Lutheran Handbook on Marriage'
by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service Augsburg Fortress, the publishing ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Minneapolis, released "The Lutheran Handbook on Marriage," a humorous and serious look at marriage. The book is part of a series of popular books that began with the publisher's 2005...
ELCA Task Force on Human Sexuality Works to Finalize a Third Study
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The task force coordinating studies in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) concerning human sexuality met here Sept. 15-17 to work on finalizing the text of "Free in Christ to Serve the Neighbor: Lutherans Talk about Human Sexuality" -- a study guide designed to engage the...
Lutheran Bishop of Jerusalem Visits Damaged Churches in Nablus
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), went Sept. 17 to Nablus, West Bank, from Jerusalem with the heads of three other Christian churches there. Fire and bullets scarred four church buildings in Nablus from Sept....
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...
