Conflict in Congregations Topic of ELCA's Spring 2004 Mosaic
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Conflict within congregations -- and how to deal with it -- is the topic of the Spring 2004 issue of Mosaic Television, said Timothy Frakes, associate director for interpretation and Mosaic producer, ELCA Department for Communication. The program is now available, he said. The video features an...
2004 Pivotal Year for ELCA Ecumenism, Interfaith Relations
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- 2004 is a pivotal year for many ecumenical and interfaith endeavors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The ELCA's 2003 Churchwide Assembly received a planning report and committed the church to work in five strategic directions, including to "deepen and extend our global, ecumenical and...
ELCA's Roanoke College Names Sabine O'Hara New President
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Dr. Sabine U. O'Hara was elected March 30 as president of Roanoke College, Salem, Va., one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). O'Hara was elected by a unanimous vote of the Roanoke College board of trustees, said Robert E. Wortmann,...
Churches Uniting in Christ Puts Forth Call to End Racism
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Church leaders, academics, seminary students and grassroots workers from across the country came together here March 29 to answer Churches Uniting in Christ's (CUIC) call to end racism. Under the theme "Eradicating Racism: Liberating Tomorrow's Children," about 85 participants gathered to discuss how churches can work for...
Lutherans Continue Disaster Relief in California
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, continues recovery efforts in southern California, after fire destroyed land and property last fall. About 750,000 acres and more than 3,600 houses were destroyed in San Bernardino, San Diego...
Leonard Schulze Re-Elected ELCA Education Division Director
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Dr. Leonard G. Schulze, executive director of the Division for Higher Education and Schools (DHES) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was re-elected March 27 by the division's board to a new four-year term effective June 16. Citing its constitutional responsibility, the board acted despite...
Lutheran Projects Win in 2004 Wilbur Awards Competition
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Lutheran or Lutheran-related projects won top awards for films and books in the 2004 Wilbur Awards competition. The awards, presented here March 27 at the Birmingham Museum of Art, recognized outstanding secular media entries that feature religious issues, themes and values. The awards are presented annually by...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Advocates for Global Poverty, AIDS Funds
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was among nine distinguished religious leaders who went to Washington, D.C., March 25 to remind the Bush Administration and other political leaders to keep financial promises to fund programs aimed at combating...
ELCA Global Mission Board Recommends International Action
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Global Mission (DGM) recommended the ELCA Church Council consider resolutions on international mission and ministry, and attended to other business when it met here March 19-21. The Church Council is the ELCA's board of directors...
Gil Furst, Lutheran Disaster Response Director, to Retire
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Gilbert B. Furst, director for Domestic Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and director for Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR), a ministry of the ELCA and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), will retire at the end of June. "This church is deeply grateful...
ELCA Presiding Bishop's 2004 Easter Message
"As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, 'Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not...
Women of the ELCA Readies Itself for New Theme
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The executive board of Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) prepared for its next triennial theme, "Act Boldly," when it met here Mar. 18-21. The board also learned about the "Women-to-Women Coffee Tour" to be led by the organization's president, participated in a process...
ELCA Women Respond to God's Call by "Saying Yes!"
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are responding to God's call by "Saying Yes!" in six retreat-style events across the country in 2004 and 2005. "Saying Yes! The Next Step" is designed to "live out" Women of the ELCA's 2002-2005 theme, "Listen, God is...
ELCA Studies on Sexuality Considers Options, Reparative Therapy
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The task force coordinating studies in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) regarding issues of human sexuality met here March 19-21 to consider the range of possible recommendations it could provide the church in 2005. It also heard a presentation on reparative therapy -- a counseling...
ELCA Board of Pensions Considers Health Plan Member Cost-Sharing
MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- A health plan that strengthens preventive benefits and emphasizes health and wellness was approved "in concept" by the trustees of the Board of Pensions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Feb. 27-29 when they met here. The trustees discussed the 2005 health plan design at...
ELCA Bishops Ask for Study on Authorized Lay Ministry
WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. (ELCA) -- The Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) asked the ELCA Division for Ministry (DM) to conduct a study of the present policies and guidelines related to authorized lay ministry in the 65 synods of the church. The Conference's liaison committee...
ELCA Bishops Learn of Communication Plans for Sexuality Studies
WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. (ELCA) -- Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Studies on Sexuality want church members and clergy "to be secure in their information level" as the study process moves toward development of recommendations for consideration by the 2005 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, said the Rev. Rebecca...
ELCA Bishops Hear 'Wellness' Update from Board of Pensions
WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. (ELCA) -- Saying this was an "exciting time" in the life of the Board of Pensions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the organization's president challenged the ELCA Conference of Bishops to "champion the cause" of health and wellness among professional leaders in the church....
Harold Lentz, Former President of ELCA's Carthage College, Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Harold H. Lentz, former president of Carthage College, Kenosha, Wis., and a retired pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died March 11 at his home in Lima, Ohio. He was 93. Carthage is one of 28 ELCA colleges and universities. Lentz, 15th...
ELCA Ministry Board Discusses Vision, Future Work
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Ministry did not have many items on which to vote when it met here March 12-14, so its members took the opportunity to engage in detailed discussions of issues surrounding the division's current and future...
