News

WASHINGTON, D.C. (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), joined the Rev. Frank Griswold, presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church, in a letter appealing to President Bush to do everything possible to calm the crisis in Gaza. In retaliation for...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in the northeastern part of the United States are experiencing the impact of the storms and flooding in June. Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR), a ministry of the ELCA and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, is organizing initial relief and recovery...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- International Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has provided $100,000 to assist families in the Middle East who are unemployed and cannot afford medical attention. The funds were sent June 28 to Action by Churches Together (ACT), which has issued an emergency appeal...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), addressed the ELCA World Hunger Synod Leadership Gathering June 26 in Techny, Ill. More than 100 synod hunger leaders representing 47 of the ELCA's 65 synods gathered June 24-27 to discuss the...

by Katherine R. Hinck*, ELCA News Service Lutheran Men in Mission will hold its second annual gathering for young men ages 18-24, Oct. 27-29 at the YMCA of the Ozarks, Potosi, Mo. "Road Trip: Coming of Age" will offer participants hiking, bike riding, fishing, golf and other outdoor activities, as...

by Katherine R. Hinck*, ELCA News Service Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR), a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, is seeking volunteers to aid in long-term hurricane recovery in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas this summer. "Almost 10 months have passed since Hurricane Katrina,...

by Katherine R. Hinck*, ELCA News Service Two pastors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will share dialogue sermons on Day1 Radio August 6 and 13. The Rev. Debra Samuelson, Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Atlanta, and her husband, the Rev. Peter Samuelson, Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Atlanta, have...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg arrived in Tranquebar on the southeast coast of India on July 9, 1706, to bring Lutheran piety to the Tamil people. He became a part of the Tamil culture, and 300 years later the mission he founded and the people he influenced celebrate his arrival....

by Katherine R. Hinck*, ELCA News Service The Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Nevada, was elected the first female presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church on June 18 at the church's 75th General Convention in Columbus, Ohio. The Rev. Lowell Almen, secretary, Evangelical Lutheran...

by Katherine Hinck*, ELCA News Service Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will offer two "Healthy Hearts" events this fall as part of its 2005- 2008 health initiative, "Raising Up Healthy Women and Girls." The two events will take place Sept. 29-Oct. 1, Chicago, and Oct. 27-29,...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Recent improvements in gathering data about people preparing for ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) allows church leaders to examine data from two sources -- the ELCA's eight seminaries and the candidacy committees of the ELCA's 65 synods. "In the early 2000s, as we...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Dr. John Sladek of Evergreen, Colo., was named the new president and chief executive officer of California Lutheran University (CLU), Thousand Oaks, succeeding Dr. Luther S. Luedtke who had served as president of the university for nearly 14 years. CLU is one of 28 colleges and universities...

by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service Teams of leaders from each of the 65 synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are preparing to introduce "Evangelical Lutheran Worship" -- the new "cranberry red" hardcover book or pew edition that will serve as the ELCA's primary book of...

by Katherine Hinck*, ELCA News Service Augsburg Fortress, the publishing ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), released "El Catecismo Menor de Lutero/Luther's Small Catechism" on June 14. ELCA Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission develops culture-specific resources for the church. The translations of Luther's Small Catechism offer both...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) participated in the United Nations General Assembly High- level Review Meeting on HIV/AIDS May 31-June 2 at the U.N. headquarters, New York, to review the progress of objectives set out in the U.N. Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS in 2001....

by Katherine R. Hinck*, ELCA News Service The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) will inaugurate a Center of Christian-Muslim Engagement for Peace and Justice (CCME) Sept. 21. LSTC is one of eight seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). According to an LSTC news release, the...

by Katherine R. Hinck*, ELCA News Service The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) e-Advocacy Network issued an action alert from Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) May 15 regarding a resolution from U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) and U.S. Rep. McCaul (R-Texas) circulating in the U.S. House of Representatives...

by Katherine R. Hinck*, ELCA News Service Thrivent Financial for Lutherans will provide $2.6 million to fund the Community Savings Center, a collaboration with Bethel New Life and Park National Bank that brings financial education and affordable financial products together to serve Chicago's West Garfield Park neighborhood. Thrivent Financial for...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota (LSSM) will offer more than 65 camps this summer for school-aged children who were affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. Of the one million people displaced by the 2005 hurricanes, 372,000 were school-aged children in kindergarten through 12th grade, according...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "Trading Graces," the first annual online auction of Lutheran Services in America (LSA), listed more than 2,100 items on eBay for bidding from noon Feb. 26 to noon March 8 and sold 952 or about 45 percent of the items to raise $61,840 for Lutheran social ministry...