One Year After Tsunami, ELCA Funds Support Variety of Projects
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In the year since the tsunami disaster caused by an earthquake in the Indian Ocean, gifts to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) for this disaster exceed $11 million. Nearly half of the $11 million has been approved or proposed for a variety of recovery projects...
Luedtke to leave post as California Lutheran University president
by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service Dr. Luther S. Luedtke, president of California Lutheran University (CLU) since 1992, will leave in 2006 to be president and chief executive officer of Education Development Center (EDC), Newton, Mass. EDC is a $100 million nonprofit organization dedicated to improving education, health care...
ELCA Presiding Bishop's Statement on Remarks by the President of Iran
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and president of the Lutheran World Federation, released this statement today on recent remarks by the President of Iran: "In recent days, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, has been widely quoted as saying the Holocaust...
'Joy To The World' to air on at least 75 percent of ABC-TV affiliates
by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service "Joy to the World," a television program produced by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is expected to air on at least 75 percent of ABC-TV stations, said Ava Odom Martin, director for public media, ELCA Communication Services, and the program's producer....
ELCA Member Ronald Schulz Held Hostage in Iraq
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Ronald A. Schulz, a member of St. John Lutheran Church, Jamestown, N.D., a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was taken hostage on or about Nov. 25 in Iraq. An Iraqi insurgent group claimed Dec. 8 to have killed Schulz, but the claim could...
New Round in U.S. Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue Opens
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Focusing on the theme, "The Hope for Eternal Life," a new round of the U.S. Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue began here, 40 years after the first talks between the two religious traditions began. More than 20 Lutheran and Roman Catholic leaders and theologians participated in the first meeting...
Lutherans Seek Comprehensive Immigration Reform
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Almost everyone in the United States would agree that the country's immigration system is broken; the debate begins when they consider the many possible ways to fix it, according to Ralston H. Deffenbaugh Jr., president, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS). LIRS supports The Secure America and...
ELCA congregations worship in 37 languages
A December 2005 Report From The Evangelical Lutheran Church In America (ELCA) Research and Evaluation unit says the church's 10,585 congregations worship in 37 languages: American Sign Language (ASL), Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, Cambodian, Cantonese, Cree, Creole (French), Danish, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Hmong, Hungarian, Indonesian, Inupiat, Japanese, Korean, Latvian,...
Gifts for ELCA hurricane response reach $20 million
by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service Financial gifts in response to U.S. Gulf Coast hurricanes in 2005 have reached $20 million, said Kathyrn Sime, director, world hunger and disaster appeal, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Notable gifts of $1 million were contributed by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans through...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Thanks Members of Congress
WASHINGTON (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), sent a thank-you letter Dec. 6 to members of Congress who voted against spending cuts to human services programs such as Food Stamps and Medicaid in the budget reconciliation process. "I wish...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Wants Funding Increase to Eradicate Global Poverty
WASHINGTON (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Chicago, joined 12 other religious leaders representing Christian, Jewish and Muslim faith traditions in a meeting Dec.1 with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The faith leaders met with Rice to urge...
Lutheran World Federation Issues 'PositHIVe Church'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In advance of Lutheran World Federation (LWF) commemorations of World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, Lutheran World Information, Geneva, Switzerland, issued "PositHIVe Church," a full-color 28-page document highlighting the global Lutheran communion's concerted response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Articles were contributed from Lutheran churches around the world, including...
Hallmark Channel to Air 'Davey and Goliath's Snowboard Christmas' Dec. 18
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Hallmark Channel will broadcast "Davey and Goliath's Snowboard Christmas" Dec. 18 at 7 a.m. Eastern/Pacific. "Snowboard Christmas," a one-hour, stop-motion animation television special from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), made its broadcast debut on Hallmark in 2004. "Davey and Goliath" is a property of the...
Mensaje Navideno de 2005 del Obispo Presidente de la IELA
Estimados amigos: Esperamos en la oscuridad, con el temor de que nunca llegue la luz. Esperamos en silencio, con el temor de que no haya una buena nueva. Esperamos solos, con el temor al aislamiento y la separacion que nos trae la oscuridad. Intentamos iluminar nuestro propio camino, pero no...
ELCA Explores the 'Vocation of the Evangelical Leader'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A conference here Nov. 18-20 challenged the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to be an "evangelical" Lutheran church across the United States and Caribbean. About 280 ELCA members participated in the "Vocation of the Evangelical Leader" conference, representing various networks in the church. Three general themes...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson's 2005 Christmas Message
Dear friends, We wait in darkness, fearing that the light will never come. We wait in silence, fearing that there will be no good news. We wait alone, fearing the isolation and separation that darkness brings. We attempt to illumine our own path but find neither the way nor the...
Fred Rajan to Conclude Service as Leader of ELCA Multicultural Ministries
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Frederick E.N. Rajan, executive director for the ELCA Commission for Multicultural Ministries (CMM), will leave his position effective Jan. 15, 2006, following 18 years of service with the ELCA churchwide organization. Rajan, 56, withdrew his candidacy from a search process for an executive director to...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Releases Draft of Full Communion Statement with UMC
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A working draft of a possible full- communion statement of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and United Methodist Church (UMC) is now available for discussion and comment by congregations of both traditions. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, in his role as chief...
John Schreiber Elected Bishop of ELCA Southeast Michigan Synod
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Voting members attending a special synod assembly elected the Rev. John H. K. Schreiber to a six-year term as bishop of the Southeast Michigan Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Schreiber, an assistant to the bishop in the synod, was elected Nov. 19 at...
ELCA Presiding Bishop, Others Urge Congress To Adopt Darfur Legislation
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Citing a "recent upsurge in violence," the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and five other U.S. religious leaders urged members of the U.S. Congress to "co-sponsor and take all necessary action" to pass the Darfur Peace and Accountability...
