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...
ELCA's Christmas TV Special is Rebroadcast
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "This Holy Night," a Christmas television special produced by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), will be rebroadcast this year on selected national and satellite networks, as well as local television stations and cable systems. Networks and cable systems that will carry the worship service are...
Lutheran, Former Congressman, Paul Simon Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Paul M. Simon, former Democratic member of Congress from Illinois, died Dec. 9 after undergoing heart surgery in Springfield, Ill. He was 75. The son of a Lutheran missionary to China and a member of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), Simon had several ties to the Evangelical...
ELCA Presiding Bishop, Religious Leaders Join in Mideast Peace Initiative
WASHINGTON, D.C. (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), joined 31 prominent Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious leaders Dec. 2 to announce a new collaborative effort to mobilize broad public support for active U.S. leadership in pursuing peace for Israelis,...
