ELCA youth strive to raise $1 million to help end world hunger
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service High-school-age and adult Lutherans attending the 2006 Youth Gathering of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are saying "no more hungry people" and will strive to raise $1 million for the ELCA World Hunger Appeal. Under the "Hamiltons for Hunger" effort, every...
ELCA Seminary Professors, Film Reviewer Comment on 'The Da Vinci Code'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- May 19 is the long-anticipated motion picture premiere of "The Da Vinci Code," based on the popular best-selling novel by Dan Brown. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) seminary professors and a retired Lutheran communicator who have read the book and written about it say it's an...
Journalist Jim Lehrer commencement speaker at ELCA's Bethany College
by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service Noted television journalist Jim Lehrer will address graduating seniors May 21 at Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kan., one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Lehrer is a native of Wichita, Kan. Lehrer is executive editor of "The...
Clark Named Executive Director, Lutheran Theological Center in Atlanta
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Lawrence J. Clark, associate to the bishop, Metropolitan Chicago Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has accepted the position of executive director, Lutheran Theological Center in Atlanta (LTCA). Clark, 41, will begin his new call in mid-July. In his role Clark will...
ELCA's Wartburg Seminary gets grant for health program in Namibia
by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service Wheat Ridge Ministries provided a $40,000 grant to Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa, for development of health programs in Namibia. The primary goal of the "Wartburg-Namibia Religions Health Program" is to enhance the effectiveness of indigenous leaders in Namibia to address disease and...
Young adult Lutherans from overseas serve in ELCA camps this summer
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service This summer camps of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will employ 40 Lutheran young adult counselors from 19 countries around the world. Many of the counselors, ages 18-30, are university students or young pastors who will help campers learn about the...
Jaroslav Pelikan, renowned church historian, former Lutheran, dies
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service Dr. Jaroslav J. Pelikan died May 13 of lung cancer. He was 82. The Sterling Professor Emeritus of History at Yale University, New Haven, Conn., served on the Yale faculty from 1962 to 1996. He was a noted scholar on the works of Martin...
Goal of Incorporation Within Sight for Lutheran Men in Mission
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The "founding fathers" of Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM) wanted the organization to be more than the men's organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). They wanted it to be a financially independent ministry that would help men in the ELCA grow in their relationships...
ELCA Board of Pensions receives 2006 Minnesota Business Ethics Award
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service The Board of Pensions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Minneapolis, is the recipient of the 2006 Minnesota Business Ethics Award in recognition of its balance between mission orientation and business process discipline. The Board of Pensions and Premier Banks were co-recipients...
Michael Keys Elected Bishop of ELCA Alaska Synod
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Michael F. Keys, senior pastor, Central Lutheran Church, Anchorage, Alaska, was elected May 6 to a six-year term as bishop of the Alaska Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) at the synod assembly in Juneau. Keys, who turns 52 this week, will...
Lutheran Young Adults Embark in Global Service
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Starting August 2006, 39 young adults of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will embark on one-year journeys to volunteer their time, talents and skills around the world. Under the "Young Adults in Global Mission" program of the ELCA, these young adults, ages 19-30, will be...
Claire Burkat Elected Bishop of ELCA Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Claire S. Burkat, mission director for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, was elected May 6 to a six-year term as the synod's bishop at the synod assembly in Franconia, Pa. Burkat, 54,...
Lutherans in Puerto Rico Respond to the Island's Financial Crisis
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The fiscal crisis and partial shutdown of the government of Puerto Rico is "one of the worst moments of our history," according to the Rev. Margarita Martinez, bishop of the Caribbean Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). On May 1 Puerto Rico's government encountered...
LWR President Kathryn Wolford named one of Maryland's Top 100 Women
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service Kathryn F. Wolford, president, Lutheran World Relief (LWR), Baltimore, was honored May 8 as one of Maryland's Top 100 Women. The Maryland Daily Record awarded her the honor also in 2002 and 2004, placing her in its prestigious "Circle of Excellence." The Daily Record...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Urges Peace Efforts in the Middle East
WASHINGTON, D.C. (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), joined other Christian leaders in the United States in an appeal to U.S. President George W. Bush, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to take immediate actions...
Women of the ELCA observes 'Rachel's Day: Justice for Children and Youth'
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service In 2006 Rachel's Day is Sunday, May 7, in congregations across the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Women of the ELCA, the women's organization of the church, observes Rachel's Day through special liturgies and with blue ribbons -- symbols of hope -- to...
Board for ELCA publisher hears from authors of 'Chasing Down a Rumor'
by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service The authors of "Chasing Down a Rumor: The Death of Mainline Denominations" commented on their book in an April 22 presentation to the board of trustees of Augsburg Fortress, the publishing ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The Rev. Robert...
Visas denied for teenage Lutherans wanting to attend ELCA Youth Gathering
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service U.S. consulates are denying travel visas for some high-school-age Lutherans wanting to attend the 2006 Youth Gathering of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), according to Sunitha Mortha, associate director for global events, ELCA Global Mission. Taking place in two back-to-back events...
ELCA Publisher Focuses 2006 Work on Three Initiatives
MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- Augsburg Fortress, the publishing ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is focused on three key areas of work in 2006 -- successfully launching Evangelical Lutheran Worship, a series of new worship resources that includes a new worship book; successfully launching Akaloo, a new faith...
St. Olaf College students named Fulbright Scholars
by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service Four seniors at St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn., plus one alumnus, have been named Fulbright Scholars for 2006-07, according to a St. Olaf College news release. Seniors Brennan Decker, Russell Johnson, Rose Keimig and Brendan Mrosak, plus alumnus Brian Anderson, Class of 2005,...
