Former President Carter to Address St. Olaf Nobel Forum
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- When St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn., hosts the 16th annual Nobel Peace Prize Forum Feb. 20-21, hundreds of people will gather to discuss how they can contribute to worldwide peace. Among those who will address them is former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, winner of the 2002 Nobel...
Istanbul Trip Reaffirms Orthodox Commitments, Says ELCA Bishop
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) said a recent trip to Istanbul, Turkey, to meet with world leaders of the Orthodox Church, reaffirmed the commitment of the Orthodox to "Christian community and peace in the world" and their commitment to caring for...
Lutherans Among Most Valuable Players on Super Bowl Sunday
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The New England Patriots' Tom Brady, named "Most Valuable Player" at the NFL 2004 Super Bowl, was not the only award-winning performer on Feb. 2. Thousands of faith groups, including the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), also marched to victory that day. Members of the ELCA...
ELCA Seminary Lecture Series to Examine 'Evangelism Today'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Proclaiming the gospel is one reason many Lutherans give for having a Lutheran Church, but they have a harder time describing how that happens outside a Sunday morning sermon. The eight seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will host the 2004 Hein-Fry Lecture Series,...
ELCA Task Force to Lead Study of 'Many Facets of Education'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A 16-member task force of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Church in Society (DCS) got a glimpse of the enormity of its work to help develop a social statement on education for the church, when it met here Jan. 30-Feb. 1. The second...
ELCA, LWF Leaders Visit Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch in Istanbul
ISTANBUL, Turkey (ELCA) -- The presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) praised His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Batholomew for his great concern for care of the environment, and said that people of faith appreciate the patriarch's leadership often carried out "in the face of adversity." The...
ELCA, Orthodox Leaders Discuss Wide Range of Issues
ISTANBUL, Turkey (ELCA) -- Relationships domestically and internationally between Lutherans and Orthodox Christians were described as "very good" by Lutheran and Orthodox Christian leaders who met here Jan. 27. The Lutheran delegation included leaders of the Chicago-based Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), based...
ELCA Youth Ministry Workers Gather for Extravaganza 2004
NEW ORLEANS (ELCA) - Youth workers of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) gathered here for the eighth annual "Extravaganza" Jan. 22-25. The conference, which drew about 550 participants, provided training and continuing education for youth ministry professionals from ELCA congregations and ministries. Extravaganza 2004 was sponsored by the...
ELCA Board of Pensions, Mayo Clinic Offer Health Risk Assessment
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Board of Pensions, Minneapolis, and Division for Ministry are teaming up with Mayo Clinic Health Management Resources, Rochester, Minn., to offer ELCA leaders, employees and family members use of the Mayo Clinic Health Risk Assessment at http://www.elcaforwellness.org/ on the Web...
Lutheran Disaster Response Continues in 10 U.S. States
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The director of Lutheran Disaster Response called 2003 "a year of superlatives" when describing the nature of disasters as "worst, largest, most intensive, highest and most widespread." Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), responded...
ELCA Celebrates 5th Anniversary of 'A Formula of Agreement'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is marking the fifth anniversary of "A Formula of Agreement" with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Reformed Church in America and United Church of Christ. The "full communion" agreement is not a plan to merge but allows the churches to share...
Capps to Encourage Colleagues to Visit Mideast with ELCA Bishops
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- U.S. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif. 23rd), who accompanied two bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) on a fact-finding trip to the Middle East, said she will encourage her colleagues in Congress to accompany other ELCA bishops on future educational trips to the region. Capps...
Lutheran Ethicists Discuss Contributions to Bioethics Debate
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Several Lutherans are involved in ethical debates surrounding biological sciences and biotechnology, expressing a wide range of views. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) gathered 50 Lutheran ethicists and other interested participants here from North America and Europe Jan. 7- 9, prior to the annual meeting...
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service Welcomes Real Reform
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The head of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) welcomed the spirit of immigration reform President George Bush unveiled Jan. 7 in a proposed "Temporary Worker Program," but he awaits permanent results. LIRS is a joint ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Lutheran Church-Missouri...
New Agreement Increases Visibility for ELCA's 'Davey and Goliath'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In an effort to produce more visibility for "Davey and Goliath" and help secure its return to television, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and DandG Licensing, LLC have entered into a new agreement effective Jan. 12. Davey and Goliath is a classic stop-motion animated television...
California Congresswoman, Two ELCA Bishops Travel to Middle East
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- U.S. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif. 23rd) will travel to the Middle East with two synod bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Jan. 9-16. They will meet with government and religious leaders, peace activists, relief and development experts, human rights workers and others, said the...
'Day 1' Radio Program Features Atlanta ELCA Pastor
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Robert F. Sims, senior pastor of Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Atlanta, is the featured speaker Jan. 18 and Feb. 22 on "Day 1," the award-winning radio program. Day 1 is broadcast on more than 150 stations nationwide, on the American Forces Network to U.S....
ELCA Panel Offers Advice to Lutherans and Mel Gibson
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Consultative Panel on Lutheran-Jewish Relations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) offered advice to Lutherans, civic organizations, Mel Gibson and "people of good will everywhere" in anticipation of "The Passion of the Christ" -- a film to be released Feb. 25, Ash Wednesday, the...
War Responses, Relationships, ELCA Assembly Top 2003 News Stories
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Top Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) news stories of 2003 included the church's response to the war in Iraq, the election of the ELCA presiding bishop as president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), and a series of extraordinary meetings between ELCA leaders and international church...
Lutherans Add to Relief Efforts Following Earthquake in Iran
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) began sending donations immediately to the ELCA International Disaster Response fund upon hearing of a Dec. 26 earthquake in southeast Iran. The Iranian government reported that searchers have retrieved more than 25,000 bodies since the magnitude 6.6 earthquake...
