Lutherans Celebrate God Gathering the World's 'Fragments'
BALTIMORE (ELCA) -- Almost 1,100 Lutherans gathered Aug. 25- 28 at the Baltimore Convention Center for a Global Mission Event (GME) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The theme "Gathered by God's grace for the sake of the world" inspired plenary sessions, "Global University" sessions, worship, prayer, song,...
Lutheran Leaders Discuss Hospital Case with Israeli President
JERUSALEM (ELCA)-- Leaders of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), including the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), discussed prospects for Middle East peace and expressed specific financial concerns about the future of Augusta Victoria Hospital in a 35-minute meeting with Israeli President Moshe Katsav. The Rev....
Lutheran Disaster Response Leader Meets with President Bush
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- At the invitation of U.S. President George W. Bush, Heather L. Feltman, director for Lutheran Disaster Response, attended a special meeting with religious leaders from across the country at the White House Sept. 6 to discuss Hurricane Katrina relief and recovery operations. Lutheran Disaster Response is a...
ELCA Presiding Bishop, LWF Leaders Meet With Palestinian President Abbas
GAZA CITY -- Three top leaders of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) met here Sept. 3 with Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, to discuss Middle East peace, prospects for Lutheran schools, services offered by Augusta Victoria Hospital and interfaith relations. The LWF is a global communion of 138...
Lutherans Deploy Volunteers for Hurricane Debris Removal
CHICAGO (ELCA) - Lutheran Disaster Response has gained access to areas of Alabama and Mississippi devastated by Hurricane Katrina, and it is ready to deploy volunteers for debris removal within a week, according to Heather L. Feltman, director for Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in...
Lutheran Disaster Response Leader Visits Astrodome, Houston
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In a Sept. 2 visit to the Astrodome in Houston, Heather L. Feltman, director for Lutheran Disaster Response, said thousands of people there are "suffering and hurting. Many have not had food or water for days." The Astrodome is shelter for more than 11,000 people who escaped...
Letter From Presiding Bishop Hanson On Hurricane Katrina
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) issued the following letter on Sept. 2, 2005: Letter from Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson on the Devastation of Hurricane Katrina I write to you from Bethlehem where I am meeting with leaders of the Lutheran...
Lutherans, Episcopalians Aid Survivors of Hurricane Katrina
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutherans and Episcopalians together will take on the task of providing food for tens of thousands of people who have escaped Hurricane Katrina, according to Heather L. Feltman, director for Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri...
ELCA Presiding Bishop and LWF President Addresses LWF Council
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (ELCA) -- Participants in the Aug. 31- Sept. 6 Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Council meeting "have come to Bethlehem to listen, to witness, to challenge and to pray for a lasting and just peace," said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, LWF president and presiding bishop of the...
ELCA Presiding Bishop and LWF President: 'We Shall Speak the Truth'
JERUSALEM (ELCA) -- In a wide-ranging news conference here Aug. 30, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson said the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) will "speak the truth" on several significant social concerns during its regular meeting Aug. 31-Sept. 6 in Bethlehem. He spelled out several specific concerns for this region for...
Lutheran Theologian, Author, Seminary Dean, Gerhard Krodel Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Gerhard A. Krodel, a German born theologian and educator who taught at three of the eight seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died Aug. 28, 2005, at his home in Gettysburg, Pa., following a long illness. He was 79. "Gerhard Krodel had...
Lutherans Focus on Search and Rescue after Hurricane Katrina
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The major need now is the search and rescue for survivors of Hurricane Katrina, according to Heather L. Feltman, director for Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. "Keeping people alive is the primary task this...
ELCA Presiding Bishop and LWF President: 'Stand With The Ignored'
AMMAN, Jordan (ELCA) -- Christians cannot ignore hardships faced by refugees -- including Palestinians -- or by children who are suffering from hunger in places such as Niger or Darfur, said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson in a sermon here Aug. 28. Rather, Christians must stand with such people, often...
Retired President of ELCA's Augsburg College, Oscar Anderson, Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Oscar A. Anderson, retired president of Augsburg College, Minneapolis, and pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died Aug. 25 in Robbinsdale, Minn., from injuries suffered in a recent fall. He was 89 and resided in New Hope, Minn. Augsburg College was founded...
Lutherans Ready for Clean-Up Following Hurricane Katrina
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Hurricane Katrina appears to be one of the largest hurricanes to ever impact the United States, according to Heather L. Feltman, director for Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Lutheran Disaster Response is "standing ready"...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Comments on Middle East Matters in LWF Role
AMMAN, Jordan (ELCA) -- Following an Aug. 27 visit to one of Jordan's holiest sites, Mt. Nebo, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson said people of faith who visit the site on religious pilgrimages can not only reflect on the past but who also look ahead to the future and "envision...
Lutherans Train To Start New Congregations
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- More than 200 pastors and lay leaders whose vocation is to provide visions for starting new congregations in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) gathered here Aug. 19-23 for the annual ELCA Mission Developers' Training Conference. "A mission developer is a leader who has the call...
Lutheran Leader In Parish Education, Services, Kent Gilbert Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. W. Kent Gilbert III, a former leader in Lutheran parish services and retired pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died Aug. 23 at his apartment in Lewisburg, Pa. He was 86. A memorial service will be held Aug. 28 at St. Luke...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Writes Jewish, Muslim Leaders About Assembly Action
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), wrote to leaders of several U.S. Jewish and Muslim organizations Aug. 15 to communicate the actions of the 2005 ELCA Churchwide Assembly related to the Middle East. The churchwide assembly met Aug....
2005 ELCA Churchwide Assembly Addresses Variety of Topics
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Ninth Biennial Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) addressed a variety of topics, including new worship resources, Interim Eucharistic Sharing with the United Methodist Church, ethnic ministry strategies, churchwide structure and governance, sexuality proposals and a Middle East strategy. The assembly was...
