ELCA Mission Investment Fund Announces New Rates, Loan Option
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Mission Investment Fund (MIF) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) announced new interest rates for loans to ELCA congregations and related ministries, and a new 10-year loan option with a fixed interest rate. The MIF's primary mission is to provide loans to mission congregations...
ELCA and Scholastic Initiate Agreement
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Scholastic have entered into a new agreement this summer in an effort to bring "Davey and Goliath" to a new generation of children. Scholastic is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books. Davey and Goliath is a...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Expresses Appreciation For LCMS Action
ST. LOUIS (ELCA) – The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said he is "profoundly grateful" for the decision of the 62nd Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church -- Missouri Synod to continue discussions with the ELCA. In a brief address here...
Lutherans Gather To Celebrate, Discuss Multicultural Ministries
ORLANDO, Fla. (ELCA) – More than 600 members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) celebrated their diversity "in praise, song and dance," and held a series of conversations on the future of multicultural ministries in the church at the 2004 ELCA Multicultural Gathering July 9-11 at the Sheraton...
ELCA STaR Ministry Alliance Forms At First Annual Meeting
NEWBERRY, S.C. (ELCA) -- The first annual meeting of the Small Town and Rural (STaR) Ministry Alliance of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) brought together some 100 people from throughout the ELCA. A key component was the formation of several "affinity groups," which will carry on the church's...
Lutherans Continue Disaster Relief Across Country
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, continues to organize recovery work this summer in California, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Texas, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia, after storms struck parts of these areas. "As we move through the early...
Lutherans Invite People To Prayer On The Internet
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A new interactive online resource -- "A Call to Prayer" at http://www.elca.org/prayer -- invites the 5 million members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and others to pray using Scripture, music and art. Launched this month, the site also features a "praying church network." "There...
Early ELCA Synod Assemblies Address Sexuality, Other Issues
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Several synod assemblies of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) meeting this spring addressed a series of concerns related to the current ELCA Studies on Sexuality. Most assemblies that adopted memorials addressed to the churchwide assembly or resolutions on the issues stated their opposition to or...
Nebraska ELCA Congregation Recipient Of Accessibility Award
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Sheridan Lutheran Church, Lincoln, Neb., is the recipient of the 2004 Accessibility Award given annually to a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) that demonstrates care and concern for people who are physically and mentally disabled. The award is given to one congregation with...
Lutherans Work To Make Ending World Hunger A Priority
WASHINGTON, D.C. (ELCA) -- More than 140 leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) who are actively committed to making the eradication of hunger a major priority in the United States and around the world met June 19-22 for the 2004 ELCA World Hunger Synod Leadership Gathering at...
Sue Rothmeyer Named To ELCA Leadership Post With DHES
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), announced the appointment of Sue E. Rothmeyer as interim executive director of the ELCA Division for Higher Education and Schools (DHES), effective July 19. Rothmeyer, 44, is currently director for campus ministry...
Wollersheim Re-Elected ELCA Northern Illinois Synod Bishop
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Gary M. Wollersheim was elected to a second six-year term as bishop of the Northern Illinois Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) at the synod assembly June 18-19 at Augustana College, Rock Island, Ill. Augustana is one of 28 ELCA colleges and...
Peter Marty To Become Host For Lutheran Vespers In 2005
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Peter W. Marty, senior pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Davenport, Iowa, will assume the role of host of Lutheran Vespers, the radio ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), in 2005, said the Rev. Eric C. Shafer, director of the ELCA Department...
ELCA Hosts Multicultural Gathering July 9-11 In Orlando
CHICAGO (ELCA) – The Commission for Multicultural Ministries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will host "Lift Every Voice: A Multicultural Gathering" July 9-11 at the Sheraton World Resort, Orlando, Fla. Participants at the gathering will observe the different ways congregations of the ELCA worship within a multicultural...
Lutherans Respond To Humanitarian Crisis In Sudan
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have sent $75,000 to support humanitarian efforts in Sudan, where fighting and militia attacks have led to a massive displacement of people in various regions of the African country. The situation in Sudan is being described as one...
Walt Wangerin To Leave Lutheran Vespers As Speaker In 2005
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Walt Wangerin Jr., speaker for Lutheran Vespers (LV), the radio ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), will leave the program in early 2005, said the Rev. Eric C. Shafer, director of the ELCA Department for Communication. Wangerin's final program as Lutheran Vespers...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Joins Call To G-8 For Debt Cancellation
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Saying that debt has become "a new form of slavery for the most impoverished nations of the world," more than 250 U.S. and international religious leaders called on the leaders of the G-8 countries to cancel debts carried by the world's most indebted poor countries fully. The...
Lutherans Continue Cleanup In Nebraska
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), continues to organize recovery work in Nebraska after a series of tornadoes and hail storms struck the state May 22-23. Dana College, Blair, Neb., sustained more than $1...
Lutherans Support Relief Efforts On Hispaniola
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have sent $25,000 to support recovery efforts on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, after floods and landslides struck Haiti and the Dominican Republic there May 24. "As many as 2,000 people are feared dead and thousands of homes...
Feltman Named Director For Lutheran Disaster Response
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Heather L. Feltman has been named director of Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), and director for ELCA Domestic Disaster Response, effective July 1. "Our ELCA Domestic Disaster ministry is an intricate piece for...
