Lutheran Men In Mission Approves Its Three-Year Plan
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (ELCA) -- About 125 men came here July 21-22 from across the United States and Caribbean for the Seventh Triennial Assembly of Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM), the men's ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Delegates approved a three-year plan that will culminate in...
ELCA, LCMS Agree To Work Together On Disaster Response
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) signed a "Statement of Collaboration" that makes official the working relationship of both churches in ministering to people in emergency and disaster situations. In the context of each denomination's call to minister to...
Lutherans Continue Response After Hurricane Dennis
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod, continues to identify families in need of assistance following Hurricane Dennis. "Hurricane Dennis sloshed inland up the Mississippi Valley July 10, dumping large quantities of rain over parts of Alabama,...
ELCA Rural Life Gathering Receives Inspiration, Builds Network
LINDSBORG, Kan. (ELCA) -- More than 200 people interested in rural ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) met here at Bethany College for worship, to learn from each other, to build a variety of ministry networks and to hear keynote speakers deliver messages of encouragement for their...
ELCA Reports 4.9 Million Members In 2004
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) reported a baptized membership of 4,930,429 in 10,585 congregations in 2004. That figure represents a decrease of about one percent or a reduction of 54,496 baptized members from 2003, according to the Rev. Lowell G. Almen, ELCA secretary. In the...
Income for ELCA Congregations Tops $2.6 Billion in 2004
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Income for the 10,585 congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) exceeded $2.6 billion in 2004, according to statistics compiled by the ELCA Office of the Secretary. Total receipts amounted to $2,600,358,990 -- up 1.79 percent or almost $46 million from the previous year. The...
Thousands Of Lutherans Celebrated Global Mission In Fargo
FARGO, N.D. (ELCA) -- To learn more about what's happening in the world and how Lutherans are active in it, members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) gathered at the ELCA Global Mission Event (GME) July 14-17 here at North Dakota State University and the FargoDome. More than...
ELCA Presiding Bishop's Book Sequel Calls For Courageous Faith
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In his new book, "Faithful and Courageous: Christians in Unsettling Times," the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), calls for Lutherans and other Christians to be strong and courageous in their faith and witness to God. Augsburg Fortress, the...
Lutheran Men In Mission Runs 'The Race That Counts'
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (ELCA) -- About 600 men came here from across the United States and Caribbean to build relationships among themselves and with Jesus Christ. Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM), the men's ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), hosted an inspirational gathering July 22-24. "Run the...
ELCA Synod Leaders Gather To Help End World Hunger
FARGO, N.D. (ELCA) -- Leaders from 55 of the 65 synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) met for the ELCA World Hunger Synod Leadership Gathering July 13-17 here at North Dakota State University. About 150 participants from all over the nation discussed world hunger and the ELCA's...
Higher Numbers Of New ELCA Missionaries In 2005
CHICAGO (ELCA) - At least 135 new mission personnel with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are being deployed through August 2005, the highest number of new missionaries in recent years. From September to December, additional new mission personnel will be deployed, said Sonya Lindquist, associate director for international...
ELCA Churchwide Assembly To Consider 196 Memorials From Synods
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The 1,018 voting members attending the 2005 Churchwide Assembly in Orlando, Fla., next month will be asked to respond to 196 memorials summarized in a 112-page report. Memorials are requests from the church's synods asking for action by the Churchwide Assembly on specific issues. There are 65...
Kansas ELCA Congregation Wins Accessibility Award
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- First Lutheran Church, Topeka, Kan., is the winner of the 2005 Disability Ministries Accessibility Award given annually to a congregation by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) that displays commitment to providing care and concern to people who are physically and mentally disabled. Kristine Luber, director...
Lutheran Disaster Coordinators Assess Hurricane Damage In Florida
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Early reports from Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) coordinators in northwest Florida and coastal Alabama indicate that most residents and their property got through Hurricane Dennis "fairly unscathed with some minor damage," said Heather L. Feltman, director, Lutheran Disaster Response and ELCA Domestic Disaster Response. The storm damage...
Women of the ELCA Told That God Loves Boldly
SAN ANTONIO (ELCA) -- Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) closed its Sixth Triennial Gathering with worship on July 10. The Rev. Melanie A. McRae, ELCA pastor, spiritual director and chaplain, Methodist Hospital and Park Nicollet Health, Saint Louis Park, Minn., told worshippers about God's extravagant love....
Women Of The ELCA Makes It Possible For Others To Act Boldly
SAN ANTONIO (ELCA) -- It's one thing to act boldly; it's another thing to make it possible for others to act boldly. Morning time set aside for inspiration July 9 surfaced thoughts of empowerment at an international gathering of Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Women of...
Women Of The ELCA Celebrates 35th Anniversary Of Women's Ordination
SAN ANTONIO (ELCA) -- Nearly 2,000 Lutheran women and men attended the "Great Banquet" July 9, a first-time event in which they heard inspirational speakers and music, and observed the 35th anniversary of the ordination of the first Lutheran woman pastor in North America, the Rev. Elizabeth Platz. Platz is...
Women Of The ELCA Dared To 'Dream Big'
SAN ANTONIO (ELCA) -- The Right Rev. Vashti Murphy McKenzie inspired and dared Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to “dream big and act boldly.” McKenzie, bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church and president of the A.M.E. Council of Bishops, preached at the organization's “Thankoffering...
Women Of The ELCA Reach Out In San Antonio
SAN ANTONIO (ELCA) - - Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) took part in 15 different servant events throughout the San Antonio area. The projects took place July 7-9. Women of the ELCA's Sixth Triennial Gathering is meeting here July 5-10 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention...
Women Of The ELCA Learn And Relax At The 'Dwelling Place'
SAN ANTONIO (ELCA) -- As the San Antonio Police respond to domestic violence calls, they will now be equipped with soft, fuzzy bears to give children involved in the call. On July 8 Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) gave the police about 1,400 bears, each individually...
