Eighteen Lutherans in the 110th Congress
WASHINGTON (ELCA) -- When the 110th Congress of the United States is sworn in Jan. 3, it will include 18 Lutherans -- 11 Democrats and 7 Republicans, according to the ELCA Washington Office, the federal public policy advocacy office of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Three Lutherans will...
Paul Formo, president of ELCA's Bethany College, resigns
by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service* Paul K. Formo, president of Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kan., submitted his resignation to the chair of college's board of directors, the college announced in a Dec. 6 news release. Formo, who became Bethany's president in 2001, said he is leaving to explore new...
ELCA Congregations Win Accessibility Awards
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Christ Lutheran Church, Aptos, Calif., and Saron Lutheran Church, Ashland, Wis., are the winners of the 2006 Disability Ministries Accessibility Awards. The award is given annually to congregations of the ELCA that display commitment to providing care and concern among people who are living with disabilities. This...
ELCA Board of Pensions launches new Web site design
by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service* The Board of Pensions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Minneapolis, launched its "next generation" Web site Dec. 4, enhancing members' and sponsoring organizations' access to ELCA benefits resources online. Through a new design and technology, the site offers members and...
Lutheran Students to Celebrate Faith, Change, New Year in New Orleans
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- More than 250 college-aged students from Lutheran churches and campus ministry sites will be in New Orleans with 350 other young adult Christians to celebrate, see, serve and reflect. The annual gathering of the Lutheran Student Movement-USA (LSM-USA) will be held Dec. 28-Jan. 1 in conjunction with...
ELCA's 'Holy Communion' Now Available Through Mosaic Television
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Dec. 1, 2006, issue of Mosaic Television, the video magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is "Holy Communion," focusing on the biblical foundations for Holy Communion, and the Reformation history that defines modern Christian understandings of the sacrament. Mosaic Television is the quarterly...
Elizabeth Eaton Elected Bishop of ELCA Northeastern Ohio Synod
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Voting members attending a special synod assembly Dec. 2 elected the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, Messiah Lutheran Church, Ashtabula, Ohio, to a six-year term as bishop of the Northeastern Ohio Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Eaton was elected on the fifth ballot for...
ELCA Presiding Bishop's 2006 Christmas Message
"The Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory..." (John 1:14). We live in a visited world. On that holy night twenty centuries ago, God visited the world in the miracle of Bethlehem. Held in Mary's arms that night was the revelation of steadfast, unbounded...
ELCA Fund for Leaders in Mission Awards 37 Scholarships
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Twenty-three first-year students at the eight seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) began the 2006-2007 academic term with full-tuition scholarships, and another 14 students had partial-tuition scholarships through the ELCA Fund for Leaders in Mission. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Comments on World AIDS Day, December 1
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), issued a public statement addressing this week's observance of World AIDS Day. The theme of Hanson's statement is "Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise." "On December 1, World AIDS Day, the Evangelical Lutheran...
ELCA Candidate for Ordination Living with Faith and HIV
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Preparing for ordained ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is filled with uncertainties -- uncertainties about seminary classes, God's direction, church structures, congregational acceptance and more. A 40-something, African American, single mother of three can expect to encounter even more uncertainties in a 4.85...
Lutheran Disaster Response gives thanks for an inspired response
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service Lutheran Disaster Response is celebrating Thanksgiving with ads in newspapers across the United States. "We give thanks for your inspired response to the devastating hurricanes of 2005. We give thanks for your continued support of those still in need, in the months and years...
ELCA Provides Funds to Address Four Emergency Situations Overseas
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- International Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided a total of $250,000 Nov. 21 in response to an emergency appeal for funds issued by Action by Churches Together (ACT). The ELCA is a member of ACT -- a global alliance of Protestant and...
'Winter 2006-2007 ELCA World Hunger Resource Packet' available
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service The World Hunger Resource Packet of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) for winter 2006-2007 is now available. The packet contains resources to help individuals, congregations and synods of the church learn more about and participate in ending world hunger. "Each of...
ELCA Conference Explores Christian Responses to Walls, Barriers
WITTENBERG, Germany (ELCA) -- Fifty church and civic leaders from Germany, Mexico, Palestinian territory in Israel and the United States gathered Nov. 8-14 here and in Berlin for a conference exploring Christian responses to walls. More than a dozen presenters shared their perspectives on walls or barriers in their contexts...
St. Olaf College tops list of institutions with students abroad
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn., retained its position as the top baccalaureate institution in the United States by number of students who studied abroad in the 2004-2005 academic year. The Institute of International Education, with funding from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of...
Steven Titus, president of Midland Lutheran College, resigns
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service Dr. Steven E. Titus will resign as president of Midland Lutheran College, Fremont, Neb., at the end of the 2006-2007 academic year. Titus, 42, became president of the college in 2002. Midland is one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran...
Valparaiso University breaks ground for $74 million Union building
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Ind., has begun construction of a new Union building on the site of the former Moellering Library. The university's Web site includes a Union project Web page with a webcam of the construction site, video of the news conference announcing the...
Lutheran Pastor, Advisor, Historian, Educator, Richard Solberg, Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Richard W. Solberg, an advisor, educator and retired pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died Nov. 15 of a cerebral hemorrhage in Grass Valley, Calif. He was 89. "He was the most remarkable man I have ever known -- incredibly accomplished, well-known...
ELCA Council Prepares for 60th Anniversary of Lutheran World Federation
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) called on the church's 65 synods, 10,549 congregations and 4.85 million members to support the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and join in preparations to celebrate the LWF's 60th anniversary in 2007. The Church Council is the ELCA's...
