Lutherans Raise $20 Million for Hurricane Disaster Response
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutherans from across the United States and around the world have raised about $20 million to support Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita relief efforts in the U.S. Gulf Coast. Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have given $11.45 million as of Oct. 6, and...
ELCA Bishops Hear Presiding Bishop's Thanks, View of Assembly Actions
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In a wide-ranging report to the Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, spoke of the church's response to Gulf Coast hurricane disasters, outcomes from the churchwide assembly and his recent trip to Jordan, Israel...
Lutheran Pastor, Mentor, Educator Richard Wallace is Mourned
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., celebrated the life of the Rev. Richard M. Wallace Jr. with a memorial service Sept. 29. Wallace, a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and associate professor of pastoral care and counseling at the seminary, died Aug. 30 of...
Lutherans Mark Wheat Ridge Centennial with Symposium Oct. 13-15
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Wheat Ridge Ministries, an independent Lutheran charitable organization based in Itasca, Ill., is celebrating "seeding new ministries of health and hope in the name of the healing Christ for 100 years." A key event in that celebration will be "Living Well: A National Symposium on Health and...
ELCA Bishops Told Finances 'Favorable,' Disaster Gifts Top $11 Million
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Overall financial results for the churchwide organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) were generally favorable compared with projections for the first seven months of the 2005 fiscal year, said Christina Jackson-Skelton, ELCA treasurer. In addition gifts to ELCA Domestic Disaster Response for relief and...
Lutherans Set Example for Gift Giving with a Purpose
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have set a creative example for gift giving with a purpose. Through "ELCA Good Gifts," Lutherans can honor a family or friend's anniversary, birthday or other special occasion with a gift that also supports the vital and varied...
The Rev. Eric Shafer to Conclude Service as ELCA Communication Director
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Office of the Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) announced Sept. 22 that the Rev. Eric C. Shafer will leave his role as director of the ELCA Department for Communication. Shafer will conclude his service in the churchwide office the week following...
Lutheran Pastors, Congregations Benefit From Renewal Program
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- She may look like just another tourist, or it may seem like a family on vacation, but there's something more meaningful and more spiritual going on here. A congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and its pastor are participating in the National Clergy Renewal...
ELCA Pastor Speaker on 'Day 1' Radio Program Oct. 2
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Ann M. Svennungsen, president, The Fund for Theological Education, Atlanta, and a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is the featured speaker on the Oct. 2 broadcast of "Day 1," heard on radio stations throughout the United States and on the Internet....
Fall 2005 Lutheran College Fairs Start Oct. 2
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A series of free Lutheran college fairs are scheduled Oct. 2-Nov. 13 throughout the United States. Prospective students and their parents interested in learning more about Lutheran colleges and universities -- most of which are affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) or Lutheran Church-Missouri...
Lutherans in the Gulf Coast Area Demonstrate Resiliency
BATON ROUGE, La. (ELCA) -- On a calm sunny September afternoon, massive piles of wreckage line the ocean coast of Biloxi, Miss. Wood planks and other debris can be seen floating in the ocean almost one month after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. "I was overwhelmed with the magnitude...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Marks 10th Anniversary of Peace Statement
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) adopted the social statement, "For Peace in God's World," Aug. 20, 1995, at its Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis. Commemorating the 10th anniversary of that decision, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the ELCA, issued a letter Sept. 21....
Lutheran World Relief Working to Reverse Food Deficits in Niger
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Kathryn Wolford, president, Lutheran World Relief (LWR), visited West Africa in early September to see firsthand the effects of chronic food deficits in Niger, to offer additional assistance to partner agencies there and to return with information for U.S. Lutherans. LWR is the overseas relief and development...
ELCA Representatives Part of Sept. 18-23 Middle East Journey
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Two representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are part of a group of 17 Christian and Jewish leaders who will visit Israel and Palestine this week with the purpose of engaging in a "transforming dialogue" about Israeli-Palestinian relations. The trip, organized through the National Council...
ELCA Seminary President Reisz Plans to Retire in 2006
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. H. Frederick Reisz announced Aug. 28 his plans to retire Aug. 1, 2006, after 14 years as president of Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (LTSS), Columbia, S.C. LTSS is one of eight Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) seminaries. "It has been a great privilege to...
Lutherans' Gifts Exceed $6.1 Million for Hurricane Katrina Relief, Recovery
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Financial gifts to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) through Sept. 15 totaled more than $6.1 million to support disaster relief and recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Many of the church's 4.9 million members and others contributed the funds by mail, by phone...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Joins Call for Halt in Federal Budget Process
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Calling the federal budget "a concrete expression of our shared moral values and priorities," the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), joined with four other U.S. religious leaders and called on the U.S. Congress to stop the federal budget...
Lutherans Remember, Care For Disaster Survivors
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- This past Sunday Lutherans prayed and remembered the loss of life from the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and from Hurricane Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast Aug. 28-29. Lutherans across the United States and Caribbean continue to offer their time, prayers and resources to meet the...
ELCA Observes 'A Day for Darfur' to Stop the Genocide
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) was one of more than a dozen human-rights and faith-based organizations that hosted a rally and vigil to mark the one-year anniversary of the Bush Administration's declaration of genocide in the Darfur region of western Sudan in Africa. "A Day...
Lutherans Raise $1.5 Million for Hurricane Response
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has raised $1.5 million as of Sept. 8 to support Hurricane Katrina relief and recovery efforts. The funds were not only contributed by the 4.9 million members of the ELCA but from Lutherans around the world, who have shared prayers...
