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...
'Davey and Goliath' make a public service announcement
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service Davey Hansen and his talking dog, Goliath, have teamed up with Lutheran Disaster Response to send children an important message about disaster. In a special public service announcement produced by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Lutheran Disaster Response, Davey reassures...
Memorial held March 27 for 'Rin Tin', a life-saving military dog
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service A memorial service was held March 27 for Rin Tin, a military working dog who died of cancer March 9 at the Lackland Air Force Base, near San Antonio, Texas. The Rev. William G.L. Fisher, a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in...
New cardinal recalls ELCA 'moment'
by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service An 18-member delegation from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) met key leaders March 20-24 at the Vatican to learn about the Roman Catholic Church and to further relationships between the two churches. The delegation met with Archbishop William J. Levada, San...
Lutheran Men in Mission and 'Coming of Age'
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM), the men's ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has three emphases: the distribution of Bibles, young men's ministry and inspirational events. To jump start its emphasis on young men's ministry, the Rev. David W. Anderson, the Rev....
ELCA Bishop Speaks at Interfaith Service, Rally for Just Immigration Reform
WASHINGTON, D.C. (ELCA) -- The Rev. Paul W. Stumme-Diers, bishop, Greater Milwaukee Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), spoke here March 27 during a national, interfaith service and rally for just immigration reform. The event began a week in which the U.S. Senate will discuss proposed immigration...
ELCA Delegation Visits Cardinal Kasper, Ecumenical Leadership
VATICAN CITY (ELCA) -- Focusing on "spiritual ecumenism," Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, the Vatican, said the Roman Catholic Church is preparing a booklet on ecumenism with suggestions for how Catholic parishes can express commitment to ecumenism in their local settings....
ELCA Bishops, LIRS President, Call for Fair and Just Immigration Reform
WASHINGTON, D.C. (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Chicago, and Ralston H. Deffenbaugh, Jr., president, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), Baltimore, and 53 ELCA synod bishops, sent a statement March 27 to U.S. Senators, calling for fair and just immigration...
Foundation of the ELCA Grant Funds to Children, Elderly Ministries
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Services for the Elderly (LSE) Endowment Fund of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) awarded a total of $295,000 in 2006 to six Lutheran organizations dedicated to ministries and services for and by the elderly. The Lutheran Services for Children Endowment Fund of the ELCA...
ELCA delegation visits Lutheran community in Rome
by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service An 18-member delegation from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) visited the Evangelical Lutheran community in Rome, a worshiping community of about 350 members. The community is one of 14 Lutheran congregations in all of Italy, part of the 7,000-member Lutheran Church...
Lutherans Respond to the Risk of Famine in East Africa
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Drought conditions are leading to the risk of famine in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and other countries in East Africa. International Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is responding to the potential risk with funds to help provide for food, medicine, drinking water, emergency...
Vatican Radio journalist interviews two ELCA leaders in Rome
by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service A journalist with Vatican Radio, The Vatican's international radio service, interviewed the co-leaders of an 18-member delegation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) March 21 in Rome. The Rev. Lowell G. Almen, ELCA secretary, and the Rev. E. Roy Riley, bishop...
Prasanna Kumari Samuel, a leader of NCC in India and the LWF, dies
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service The Rev. Prasanna Kumari Samuel, vice president of the National Council of Churches in India, Nagpur, and head of the Department for Women's Studies, Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute, Chennai, India, died March 16 from a massive cardiac arrest at the...
ELCA Delegation Greets Pope, Presents Icon at March 22 Audience
VATICAN CITY (ELCA) -- An 18-member delegation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) greeted Pope Benedict XVI following his regular weekly audience March 22 here at St. Peter's Basilica. Five members of the ELCA Conference of Bishops presented the pope with an icon of St. Augustine and delivered...
