ELCA Task Force Sets Timeline for Work, Addresses Child Abuse
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Studies on Sexuality Task Force of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) identified a preliminary work plan to lay the groundwork for constructing a report with recommendations on the church and homosexuality when it met here Nov. 7-8. The task force also set up a...
ELCA Outdoor Ministries Professionals Reflect on Stewardship, Restructure
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran camp, retreat and other outdoor ministry professionals from across the country took time to reflect on stewardship and their God-given resources of gospel, people, land and finance. About 145 outdoor ministry professionals gathered for "Stewardship R&R: Responsibility and Responsively," a conference the Evangelical Lutheran Church in...
Betty Lee Nyhus, Former Women of the ELCA Director, Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Betty Lee Nyhus, 72, former executive director of Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died Nov. 4 at her home in Edina, Minn. A memorial service took place Nov. 8 at St. Stephen Lutheran Church, Bloomington, Minn., where Nyhus and her husband, Leroy, were...
Budget Projections Positive for Women of the ELCA
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The executive board of Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) learned that the organization's financial outlook is positive when it met Oct. 23- 26 in San Antonio, Texas. Income is up 6 percent compared to this time last year, said Carmen Richards, Hope, N.D.,...
ELCA School Administrator Named 'National Distinguished Principal'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Jane H. Knox, principal of Faith Lutheran School, Raleigh, N.C., has been named a National Distinguished Principal for 2003 by the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and the U.S. Department of Education. The Division for Higher Education and Schools of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in...
Wildfires Destroy Homes of Lutherans in Southern California
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- About 25 families of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Pacifica Synod, based in Yorba Linda, Calif., have lost their homes to the wildfires in Southern California. The homes have suffered varying degrees of damage, the Rev. Murray D. Finck, bishop of the ELCA Pacifica Synod,...
ELCA Publishing Board Adopts Strategic Plan, Hears Finances Improved
MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- The board of trustees of Augsburg Fortress, the publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), adopted a strategic plan aimed at making the company fiscally sound and recognized as a significant ministry within the church. The board also learned that the company's financial outlook...
ELCA Church in Society Board Lays Groundwork for Future Work
LISLE, Ill. (ELCA) -- In the midst of several transitions, the board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Church in Society (DCS) laid the groundwork for years of future work, according to the Rev. James B. Martin- Schramm, associate professor of religion, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa....
Lutherans Manage Fire Relief Efforts in Southern California
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), is managing relief efforts in response to wildfire in southern California. "We are just beginning to know the needs of the disaster," said the Rev. Gilbert B. Furst,...
ELCA Publisher Launches 2004 VBS with Davey and Goliath Theme
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Augsburg Fortress, the publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Minneapolis, announced the release of its 2004 Vacation Bible School (VBS) curriculum, featuring characters from "Davey and Goliath," the classic stop-motion animation television series for children. Davey and Goliath, which aired on commercial television...
The Rev. Paul M. Orso, Former Lutheran Bishop and LSS Leader, Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Paul M. Orso, bishop of the Maryland Synod of the former Lutheran Church in America (LCA) and former executive director of Lutheran Social Services (LSS), Washington, D.C., died Oct. 22 at his home in Gwynn Oak, Md. Orso, 84, had Parkinson's disease. A memorial service...
ELCA Restructure Proposal Withdrawn During Churchwide Meetings Oct. 17-19
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), withdrew a proposal made public Sept. 15 to restructure the ELCA's churchwide organization in 2004. Hanson and the Rev. Charles S. Miller, ELCA executive for administration and executive assistant to the presiding...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Withdraws Restructure Plan, Prepares for Cuts
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Because of "broad, often intense critique," the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), changed course Oct. 18 and withdrew a proposed restructuring plan for the ELCA churchwide organization. Now leaders of the churchwide organization, including the ELCA Church Council,...
Lutherans Continue Clean Up After Hurricane Isabel
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran congregations across the eastern United States continue to distribute emergency supplies, prepare food and offer shelter to survivors of Hurricane Isabel, which struck the eastern coast last month. "Relief efforts in response to the widespread damage caused by Hurricane Isabel continue full force," said the Rev....
Lutheran Men in Mission Optimistic about Future
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM), the men's ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), expressed optimism after meeting here and in Rosemont, Ill., Oct. 10-12 in conjunction with a Young Men's Summit. "Our ministry continues to grow," said LMM President Heber Rast,...
ELCA Ministry Board Voices Empathy, Concern with Restructuring
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of the Division for Ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) responded to a proposal to restructure the ELCA's churchwide organization with some understanding and with some concern. Board members also participated in the ELCA studies on sexuality during their meeting here Oct....
Lutheran Young Adults Experience Accompaniment Overseas
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- At age 22, Andrea Metcalfe, Augustana Lutheran Church, West St. Paul, Minn., discovered what it means to "slow down in life." It took an experience in the United Kingdom last year to learn that "sitting down and having tea" with an older adult is just as important...
ELCA Bishops Offer Suggestions on Churchwide Restructuring Proposal
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) held a wide-ranging discussion on a proposal for the future design of the churchwide organization, which was announced by the Office of the Presiding Bishop Sept. 15. The bishops commented on specifics of the proposal,...
ELCA Bishops Address Advertising, Discuss Lay Presidency Issues
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) adopted a policy to permit, under certain circumstances, advertising for pastoral vacancies by congregations in The Lutheran, the magazine of the ELCA. The ELCA is organized into 65 synods, each headed by a bishop. The...
ELCA Bishops Hear Upcoming Plans for ELCA Studies on Sexuality
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Leaders working with the Studies on Sexuality of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) said they are interested in responses to a new set of study materials which were sent to professional church leaders in September. Also, the task force working with the study is planning...
