ELCA Council allows synodically authorized ministers to officiate marriages
by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) voted to allow synodically authorized ministers to officiate at marriage services where such a practice is permitted by law. The council, which met April 1-2 in Chicago, said such ministers may only...
Lutherans Respond to Severe Weather in Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Severe storms and tornadoes struck 15 counties of western Tennessee April 1-2, killing at least 23 people and injuring 75 others, 17 of them critically. Storms also swept through Illinois and Missouri, adding to what has already been a disastrous spring for the middle of the country,...
ELCA Council elects clergy, lay leader to fill vacant positions
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) elected leaders to fill vacant positions on the Church Council, a churchwide committee and a program committee of the church. The council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as the...
ELCA Council Finds Synod Resolution Conflicts With Church Rules
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) decided a resolution the ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod adopted in a special assembly Oct. 29, 2005, "contains inherently conflicting statements that may be read as being in conflict with the constitution and bylaws of this...
ELCA Council receives update on 'Renewing Worship'
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service "Evangelical Lutheran Worship," a new primary worship resource for the church, will be published in paper and electronic formats in October 2006. The ELCA Church Council viewed a 13-minute DVD that introduces the new worship resource when it met April 1-2 in Chicago....
Colorado Lutherans advocate for more funding for Darfur
by Annie Lynsen, ELCA Washington Office Members of three Colorado congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) advocated for more federal funding that would support the African Union peacekeeping force in the Darfur region of western Sudan. The congregations also learned about how they can be involved with...
ELCA Communicators Honored in DeRose-Hinkhouse Awards Competition
GRAPEVINE, Texas (ELCA) -- The Religion Communicators Council (RCC) honored several Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) communicators March 30 here at its annual DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Awards program. Among top winners was Eva Yeo, Women of the ELCA, Chicago. Yeo won a "Best of Class" award for the site of...
ELCA Presiding Bishop's 2006 Easter Message
The Easter Gospel lesson from John ends with Mary Magdalene's cry of faith, "I have seen the Lord." Mary -- vigilant, faithful and weeping -- is the first to declare her faith in the risen Lord. The joyous good news comes after a vigil of darkness and despair. The 40...
Obispo Presidente Mark S. Hanson, Mensaje de Pascua del 2006
La leccion del Evangelio de Pascua de Juan acaba con la exclamacion de fe de Maria Magdalena: "He visto al Senor". Maria --llorosa, fiel y vigilante-- es la primera en declarar su fe en el Senor resucitado. La jubilosa buena nueva llega despues de una vigilia de oscuridad y desesperacion....
ELCA Council receives progress report on five ethnic ministry strategies
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service The 2005 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) commended the church's five ethnic ministry strategies and asked the ELCA Office of the Presiding Bishop to review the strategies, their implementation and any budget implications. It requested an initial report to...
Augusta Victoria Hospital Financial Situation Dire; ELCA Provides Grant
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- International Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) released an initial $100,000 grant March 31 for emergency financial support of Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) in East Jerusalem. The hospital, operated by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), is dealing with a financial crisis because a...
ELCA synod bishop met with Sen. Clinton, others on peace, poverty
by Annie Lynsen, ELCA Washington Office The Rev. Marie C. Jerge, bishop of the Upstate New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Syracuse, met with U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and several other members of the U.S. House of Representatives as part of the Washington,...
ELCA Council affirms goals of Lutheran Men in Mission
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) affirmed Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM) as the men's ministry of the ELCA and its "desire for deeper connection with this church." The council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as...
ELCA Council Sets Process to Keep Synods Informed of Assembly Proposals
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) established a systematic process April 1 that would enable the church's 65 synods to examine major action items facing churchwide assemblies. In consultation with the ELCA Office of the Secretary, the council requested that the ELCA...
ELCA Council receives a primer on social statements of the church
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) received a primer on how social statements of the ELCA are developed. Social statements are policy documents of the church that address significant social issues. The ELCA is currently developing social statements...
Carlos Peña reports on activities as ELCA vice president
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service Carlos Pena, vice president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), presented his report April 1 to the ELCA Church Council in Chicago. The council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as the legislative authority of the church between churchwide assemblies....
Two ELCA members elected to WCC Central Committee
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service Two members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) were named to the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) during the 9th Assembly of the WCC, Feb. 14-23 in Porto Alegre, Brazil -- Kathryn Lohre, research manager, Pluralism Project, Harvard...
Women of the ELCA Board Endorses HEART Legislation, Accepts MIF Challenge
ITASCA, Ill. (ELCA) -- Heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases kill more women every year than the next five causes of death combined, according to the American Heart Association. Though more women than men die of the disease, most cardiovascular studies are conducted on men. Because of such facts,...
Women of the ELCA schedules two cross-cultural immersion retreats
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service Women of the ELCA, the women's organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is planning two retreats this summer to immerse participants in two U.S. cultures as part of its "Today's Dream: Tomorrow's Reality" anti-racism education ministry. The first retreat with women...
ELCA Presiding Bishop, Other Church Leaders Call for Moral Budget in 2007
WASHINGTON, D.C. (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), along with leaders of four other Christian denominations, sent a letter March 28 to members of the U.S. House Committee on the Budget, calling for a budget in fiscal year 2007...
