ELCA Board of Pensions, Mayo Clinic Offer Health Risk Assessment
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Board of Pensions, Minneapolis, and Division for Ministry are teaming up with Mayo Clinic Health Management Resources, Rochester, Minn., to offer ELCA leaders, employees and family members use of the Mayo Clinic Health Risk Assessment at http://www.elcaforwellness.org/ on the Web...
Lutheran Disaster Response Continues in 10 U.S. States
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The director of Lutheran Disaster Response called 2003 "a year of superlatives" when describing the nature of disasters as "worst, largest, most intensive, highest and most widespread." Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), responded...
ELCA Celebrates 5th Anniversary of 'A Formula of Agreement'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is marking the fifth anniversary of "A Formula of Agreement" with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Reformed Church in America and United Church of Christ. The "full communion" agreement is not a plan to merge but allows the churches to share...
Capps to Encourage Colleagues to Visit Mideast with ELCA Bishops
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- U.S. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif. 23rd), who accompanied two bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) on a fact-finding trip to the Middle East, said she will encourage her colleagues in Congress to accompany other ELCA bishops on future educational trips to the region. Capps...
Lutheran Ethicists Discuss Contributions to Bioethics Debate
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Several Lutherans are involved in ethical debates surrounding biological sciences and biotechnology, expressing a wide range of views. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) gathered 50 Lutheran ethicists and other interested participants here from North America and Europe Jan. 7- 9, prior to the annual meeting...
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service Welcomes Real Reform
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The head of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) welcomed the spirit of immigration reform President George Bush unveiled Jan. 7 in a proposed "Temporary Worker Program," but he awaits permanent results. LIRS is a joint ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Lutheran Church-Missouri...
New Agreement Increases Visibility for ELCA's 'Davey and Goliath'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In an effort to produce more visibility for "Davey and Goliath" and help secure its return to television, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and DandG Licensing, LLC have entered into a new agreement effective Jan. 12. Davey and Goliath is a classic stop-motion animated television...
California Congresswoman, Two ELCA Bishops Travel to Middle East
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- U.S. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif. 23rd) will travel to the Middle East with two synod bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Jan. 9-16. They will meet with government and religious leaders, peace activists, relief and development experts, human rights workers and others, said the...
'Day 1' Radio Program Features Atlanta ELCA Pastor
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Robert F. Sims, senior pastor of Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Atlanta, is the featured speaker Jan. 18 and Feb. 22 on "Day 1," the award-winning radio program. Day 1 is broadcast on more than 150 stations nationwide, on the American Forces Network to U.S....
ELCA Panel Offers Advice to Lutherans and Mel Gibson
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Consultative Panel on Lutheran-Jewish Relations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) offered advice to Lutherans, civic organizations, Mel Gibson and "people of good will everywhere" in anticipation of "The Passion of the Christ" -- a film to be released Feb. 25, Ash Wednesday, the...
War Responses, Relationships, ELCA Assembly Top 2003 News Stories
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Top Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) news stories of 2003 included the church's response to the war in Iraq, the election of the ELCA presiding bishop as president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), and a series of extraordinary meetings between ELCA leaders and international church...
Lutherans Add to Relief Efforts Following Earthquake in Iran
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) began sending donations immediately to the ELCA International Disaster Response fund upon hearing of a Dec. 26 earthquake in southeast Iran. The Iranian government reported that searchers have retrieved more than 25,000 bodies since the magnitude 6.6 earthquake...
The Rev. Raymond W. Wargelin, Finnish Lutheran Church Leader, Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Raymond W. Wargelin, former president of the Finnish Lutheran Church of America (Suomi Synod), died Dec. 12 in Minneapolis. He was 92. Wargelin was the last of four surviving presidents who led their Lutheran church bodies into a merger creating the Lutheran Church in America...
The Rev. Michael McDaniel, Former ELCA North Carolina Synod Bishop, Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Michael C. D. McDaniel, former Lutheran bishop of North Carolina, died Dec. 18 at Lutheran Home West, Hickory, N.C. McDaniel, 74, served as bishop of the North Carolina Synod of the former Lutheran Church in America (LCA) from 1982 to 1987. When the Evangelical Lutheran...
Former St. Olaf College President, U.S. Ambassador Sidney Rand Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Sidney A. Rand, former president of St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn., U.S. ambassador to Norway, and retired pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died Dec. 16 at a Northfield hospital. Rand, 87, served at president of St. Olaf College from 1963 to...
Stewardship Is More Than Money For Lutherans
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is offering services to help busy people evaluate their use of money, share their faith, and teach children about living and giving. Through "Salt: Seasoning Faith and Generosity," members of the church are working to lay a foundation for long-term...
ELCA's Gettysburg College Names Katherine Haley Will President
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Dr. Katherine Haley Will, president of Whittier College, Los Angeles, was named the 13th president of Gettysburg (Pa.) College in a special meeting of the college's board of trustees Dec. 5. Gettysburg College is one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America...
ELCA Mission Investment Fund Cuts Interest Rates On Some Loans
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Mission Investment Fund of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) announced Dec. 9 a reduction in interest rates for loans made to more than 50 ELCA congregations for initial church-building programs or purchases of vacant sites for future churches. The rate reduction is effective Jan....
Lutheran Students Focus On 40th Anniversary Of MLK's 'Dream' Speech
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- More than 450 college-age students will meet in Washington D.C., Dec. 31-Jan. 4, for the annual gathering of the Lutheran Student Movement (LSM-USA). They will focus their activities on the Rev. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, which marked its 40th anniversary this year. The...
Lutherans Continue Disaster Response In Southern California
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, continues to assist survivors of wildfires that struck five counties in Southern California this fall. Lutheran Disaster Response has issued about $100,000 in grants to provide people "with things they...
