ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson's 2003 Christmas Message
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also . . . went to be registered with...
'The ELCA in Chile: A New Resource For Kids' is Topic of Mosaic
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Winter 2003 issue of Mosaic Television, a quarterly video production of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), focuses on the work of the ELCA and the Lutheran Church in Chile, as seen through the eyes of 14-year-old boy. "Chile is one of the most fascinating...
ELCA Publisher's Books and Authors Honored with Theologos Awards
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Augsburg Fortress, the publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Minneapolis, announced that two of its authors were honored with 2003 "Theologos Awards" from the Association of Theological Booksellers. They are the Very Rev. N. T. Wright, whose book, "The Resurrection of the Son...
Luther Institute Honors Three with Wittenberg Awards
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Luther Institute awarded its annual Wittenberg Awards for outstanding service to church and society on Nov. 8. This year's awardees were the Rev. Dr. Jose Ramon Alcantara Mejia of Mexico City, Dr. Mark Jacobson of Arusha, Tanzania, and the Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb of Bethlehem. Alcantara,...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Condemns Bombings in Istanbul, Turkey
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Calling a series of recent bombing in Istanbul, Turkey, "vicious attacks," the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has joined with other religious leaders to condemn the recent bombings of two synagogues and British interests. In a Nov. 24 statement, the Rev. Mark...
Lutheran Services in America is Recognized, Listed or Not
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- For the past three years, Lutheran Services in America (LSA) has topped The NonProfit Times' list of the United States' 100 largest nonprofit organizations. When the publication released the "NPT 100" this Nov.1, LSA was not ranked. However, the Oct. 30 issue of The Chronicle of Philanthropy...
Lutherans Embark on Evangelism Strategy Implementation
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Seeking to support congregations and inviting people to the faith, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has started implementing its new evangelism strategy this fall. To guide its 5 million members in the process, the church has issued a new booklet and video and launched a...
Moller-Gunderson Resigns as ELCA Director for Congregational Ministries
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark R. Moller-Gunderson, executive director and coordinator for mission support, Division for Congregational Ministries (DCM) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), resigned effective Dec. 8. Moller- Gunderson has accepted a call to serve on staff at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Lake Geneva, Wis. "It...
ELCA Board of Pensions Sets Budget, Looks at Changes
MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- Trustees of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Board of Pensions approved a 2004 budget of $62.5 million, a 4.4 percent increase over the 2003 budget. Of that budget, staff has held the board's operating expenses flat at $43.3 million. The total expense budget includes $17.4...
ELCA Council Participates In 200th Anniversary Of North Carolina Synod
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (ELCA) -- More than 1,200 members of the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) participated in a celebratory worship service here Nov. 15, marking the 200th anniversary of the formation of the synod. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, preached. Hanson...
ELCA Council Discusses Ways to Reverse Mission Support Trend
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (ELCA) -- Lutherans are putting more money in the collection plates, but smaller percentages of that money are reaching the synods and churchwide organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The ELCA Church Council discussed ways of reversing that trend. The Church Council is the ELCA's...
ELCA Council Revises CSR Process, Acts on Other Matters
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) adopted a revised governance process for the church's work in corporate social responsibility (CSR). It also acted on proposals for a "Race Relations Sunday," synodical requests for a new commission, a tax exemption case involving...
ELCA Sponsors Horizon Internships for 28 Seminarians
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) helped arrange seminary internships in 28 churches and other ministry settings from Nome, Alaska, to New Amsterdam, Guyana, this academic year. The ELCA Horizon Internship Program provided the necessary funding for the internships. A master of divinity is the minimum...
ELCA Council Learns Presiding Bishop to Visit National Leaders Dec. 2
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), will be among the leaders of an ecumenical and interfaith group in meetings Dec. 2 with members of Congress in Washington, D.C. The religious leaders will voice their "desire for a...
ELCA Council Conducts Elections
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) elected members to its executive committee and other ELCA members to the ELCA churchwide nominating committee and to the board of trustees of the Mission Investment Fund of the ELCA. The Church Council is the...
Peña Chairs ELCA Church Council for First Time
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (ELCA) -- Carlos Pena, Galveston, Texas, served on the Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) from 1993 to 1999. Now, as vice president of the ELCA, he chairs the council and serves in the top elected office a lay person can hold in the...
ELCA Council Adopts Process for Design, Churchwide Organization Governance
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) adopted a three- phase process for redesign of the ELCA churchwide organization, leading to a final proposal to be presented to the council for consideration in November 2004. In a separate action, it agreed to...
ELCA Council Sets 2004 Churchwide Spending; Programs, Staff Reduced
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) adopted a 2004 current-fund spending authorization of $81.5 million, a reduction from the $84.3 million budget adopted by the 2003 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. As a result, 25 positions within the ELCA churchwide organization are directly...
Lita Brusick Johnson Appointed to New Position
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lita Brusick Johnson, director for the World Hunger and Disaster Appeal of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was appointed associate executive director for the ELCA Division for Global Mission (DGM) effective Dec. 1. As associate executive director, Johnson, 51, "will be responsible for supervising the...
ELCA Consultation Revisits Social Statement on the Environment
MUNDELEIN, Ill. (ELCA) -- Sixty-five members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) affirmed the church's 10-year-old social statement, "Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope and Justice," and began envisioning ways for the church to apply its statement to today's environmental situation. The ELCA Division for Church in Society hosted...
