ELCA Explores the 'Vocation of the Evangelical Leader'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A conference here Nov. 18-20 challenged the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to be an "evangelical" Lutheran church across the United States and Caribbean. About 280 ELCA members participated in the "Vocation of the Evangelical Leader" conference, representing various networks in the church. Three general themes...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson's 2005 Christmas Message
Dear friends, We wait in darkness, fearing that the light will never come. We wait in silence, fearing that there will be no good news. We wait alone, fearing the isolation and separation that darkness brings. We attempt to illumine our own path but find neither the way nor the...
Fred Rajan to Conclude Service as Leader of ELCA Multicultural Ministries
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Frederick E.N. Rajan, executive director for the ELCA Commission for Multicultural Ministries (CMM), will leave his position effective Jan. 15, 2006, following 18 years of service with the ELCA churchwide organization. Rajan, 56, withdrew his candidacy from a search process for an executive director to...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Releases Draft of Full Communion Statement with UMC
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A working draft of a possible full- communion statement of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and United Methodist Church (UMC) is now available for discussion and comment by congregations of both traditions. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, in his role as chief...
John Schreiber Elected Bishop of ELCA Southeast Michigan Synod
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Voting members attending a special synod assembly elected the Rev. John H. K. Schreiber to a six-year term as bishop of the Southeast Michigan Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Schreiber, an assistant to the bishop in the synod, was elected Nov. 19 at...
ELCA Presiding Bishop, Others Urge Congress To Adopt Darfur Legislation
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Citing a "recent upsurge in violence," the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and five other U.S. religious leaders urged members of the U.S. Congress to "co-sponsor and take all necessary action" to pass the Darfur Peace and Accountability...
ELCA Produces 'Joy To The World,' ABC Television Christmas Special
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) produced "Joy to the World," a television special that will air across the United States on many ABC-TV stations this Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. ELCA Communication Services prepared the one-hour program for the National Council of Churches USA and...
Lutheran Services in America Opens Affordable Housing Initiative
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Services in America (LSA) launched an initiative to change the face of affordable housing in the United States and Caribbean. LSA is an alliance of nearly 300 social ministry organizations, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. "Lutherans have an enormous...
ELCA Council Approves Committee on Mission Funding, Acts on Other Matters
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) approved a proposal for an ELCA "Blue Ribbon Committee for Mission Funding," which will study topics that may include mission support, stewardship education, planned giving, designated and restricted giving, and consider related memorials from the 2005...
ELCA Council Acts on Resolutions from Two Synods
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) declined a request to authorize a review of "Vision and Expectations" -- a document outlining the ELCA's vision for its ordained and professional lay ministers -- and referred for further study a resolution related to the...
Lutherans, Roman Catholics Begin Planning for 2017
VATICAN CITY (ELCA) -- Lutherans and Roman Catholics began planning for 2017 with recognition of their movement toward reconciliation during the past 500 years and with a renewed commitment to continue in that direction. 2017 will be the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, which traditionally began Oct. 31, 1517,...
ELCA Publisher Introduces 'The Christian Handbook'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Augsburg Fortress, publishing ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), recently introduced "The Christian Handbook" to the marketplace, following its highly successful introduction this year of "The Lutheran Handbook." Some 36,000 copies of The Christian Handbook were sold in advance of the book's appearance on...
ELCA Council Elects Hicks to Lead ELCA Multicultural Ministries
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) on Nov. 11 elected the Rev. Sherman G. Hicks to serve a four-year term as executive director of ELCA Multicultural Ministries effective immediately. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the church, nominated Hicks. The...
ELCA Council Hears Presiding Bishop's Hopes for Council's Work
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), spelled out his hopes for the ELCA Church Council, as the 37-member body -- with 11 new members elected by the 2005 Churchwide Assembly -- met for the first time in the...
Magnus to Lead ELCA Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) on Nov. 11 elected the Rev. Richard A. Magnus to serve a four-year term as executive director of ELCA Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission, effective immediately. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the ELCA,...
ELCA Council Elects Olson to Lead ELCA Vocation and Education
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) elected Nov. 11 the Rev. Stanley N. Olson to serve a four-year term as executive director of ELCA Vocation and Education, effective immediately. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the church, nominated Olson. The...
ELCA Council Commends 'Evangelical Lutheran Worship' to Congregations
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) commended "Evangelical Lutheran Worship" -- a new primary worship resource -- to the church's 10,657 congregations for use as an "enriching addition" to ELCA worship patterns. The Church Council is the ELCA's board of directors and...
Lutheran Leaders Focus on Joint Ministries, Theological Discussions
BALTIMORE (ELCA) -- Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) focused on joint ministries in international relief and development, welfare of refugees and human services here at their semiannual meeting. They also discussed an upcoming round of dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church....
ELCA Council Elects Daniel Lehmann Editor of 'The Lutheran'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) elected Daniel J. Lehmann Nov. 11 to a four-year term as editor of "The Lutheran," the magazine of the ELCA. Lehmann's appointment is effective Jan. 1, 2006. The Church Council is the ELCA's board of directors...
Lutherans Active In Disaster Relief In Indiana, Florida, Gulf Coast
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response is organizing spiritual care teams and volunteers to help repair and rebuild homes in Evansville and Newburgh, Ind., after a Nov. 6 tornado killed more than 22 people and destroyed property and land there. Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church...
