Theologians Urge ELCA to Support Proposal on Homosexuality
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A growing number of theologians of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) signed a four-paragraph statement in favor of the church implementing three recommendations on homosexuality that a task force for the ELCA Studies on Sexuality developed for the 2005 Churchwide Assembly in August. There were...
Richard Hanson Elected President of ELCA's Waldorf College
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Dr. Richard A. Hanson was elected March 30 to become the 14th president of Waldorf College, Forest City, Iowa, effective June 1. Hanson is currently dean of the college and vice president for academic affairs, Augustana College, Sioux Falls, S.D. The Waldorf College board of regents named...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Links Worship, Leadership
VALPARAISO, Ind. (ELCA) -- The leader of the 5-million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) encouraged Lutherans who plan worship services to break down "walls of sin" that divide and to create "tables of reconciliation." That "principal image has shaped my understanding of leadership," the Rev. Mark S. Hanson told...
ELCA Synod Councils Offer Spectrum Of Advice On Homosexuality
[Editors: This story replaces a story that was issued Tuesday, April 5, 2005, under the same headline.] CHICAGO (ELCA) -- As of April 6 the councils of 52 of the 65 synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) offered advice on how the ELCA Church Council should deal...
Declaración Por La Muerte Del Papa Juan Pablo II
"Si nos hemos unido a Cristo en una muerte como la suya, tambien nos uniremos a el en su resurreccion." (Romanos 6:5) Despues de observar una vigilia con tantas personas de todo el mundo, la noticia de la muerte del Papa Juan Pablo II me produce una profunda tristeza. A...
Lutherans Continue Response To Red Lake Community
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response has provided $25,000 to meet the needs of people in the Red Lake community, where a student killed five other students, a teacher and school security guard, and wounded several others at Red Lake High School, Red Lake, Minn., before killing himself on March...
Statement Upon The Death Of Pope John Paul II
"For if we have been united with Christ in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his." (Romans 6:5) After keeping vigil with so many around the globe, the news of the death of Pope John Paul II brings me profound sadness....
ELCA Board Plans For Engagement In Israel, Palestine
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Global Mission acknowledged an "urgent" request from Lutheran "companions" in the Holy Land, approved a strategy for engagement in Israel and Palestine, and attended to other business when it met here March 18-20. The board...
Lutherans Extend Prayers To The Red Lake Community
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- It "was a day of shock, confusion and sadness," the Rev. Marlene Whiterabbit Helgemo, a pastor of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) serving All Nations Indian Church, Minneapolis, said about March 21, when a student killed five other students, a teacher and school security guard, and...
ELCA Boards Commend Ethnic Strategies To Church Council
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The boards of the Division for Higher Education and Schools (DHES) and Division for Outreach (DO) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) reviewed two proposed ethnic ministry strategies during their spring meetings this month. Both commended to the ELCA Church Council the strategies, which could...
Lutheran Men In Mission Plans Summer Events, Reaching Goals
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM), the men's ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), met here March 17-20 to plan for an assembly and gathering this summer, and for achieving its goal of being "financially self-sufficient by the end of 2005." Much...
Arnison Named Director For ELCA World Hunger Program
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Nancy D. Arnison, Minneapolis, will become director for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) World Hunger Program effective July 5. Arnison is completing work for a doctorate in theology from the University of Chicago Divinity School. Arnison, 49, succeeds the Rev. John Halvorson, who served as...
Lutherans Offer Counseling, Trauma Services In Red Lake
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota, St. Paul, is offering professional counseling and trauma support services in Red Lake, Minn., after a student killed five others students, a teacher and school security guard, and wounded several others at Red Lake High School before killing himself March 21. Other...
Atlanta Lutheran Theological Center Director Art Lewis To Retire
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. W. Arthur Lewis, director, Lutheran Theological Center in Atlanta (LTCA), announced plans to retire at the end of the current academic year or when a replacement is appointed. The center is a program of the eight seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)...
Lutherans Learn Prayer, Money Best For Tsunami Aid
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- According to mission personnel of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) serving in Indonesia, prayer and contributing money remain the best methods to support recovery operations following a Dec. 26 tsunami that claimed more than 200,000 lives in several coastal countries of the Indian Ocean. Rosella...
ELCA Board Of Pensions Takes On New Challenges
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Trustees of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Board of Pensions spent much of their Feb. 25-27 meeting here discussing challenges in long- and short- term strategic planning for the retirement and health-care plans of ELCA clergy, lay ministers and employees. Some of the challenges cited...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Expresses Gratitude For Rural Ministry
DUBUQUE, Iowa (ELCA) -- Saying he wanted to express "a profound word of gratitude for your ministries," the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) addressed nearly 250 people here March 13 at the opening session of the 24th annual Rural Ministry Conference. The Rev. Mark S....
ELCA Bishops Advise Approving Agreement With United Methodists
DALLAS (ELCA) -- The Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) advised its church to commit to "interim Eucharistic sharing" with the United Methodist Church, a step that may lead to a full-communion agreement between the two churches sometime in the future. The ELCA Conference of...
ELCA Boards 'Mixed' About Recommendations On Homosexuality
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The two boards of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Church in Society (DCS) and Division for Ministry (DM) met here March 10-12 in small groups and in plenary sessions, together and separately, and drafted a joint response to a report and three recommendations...
ELCA Bishops Hear Concerns, Surplus News From Presiding Bishop
DALLAS (ELCA) -- While expressing gratitude for leaders in the church who prepared the report and recommendations on homosexuality released Jan. 13, the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) raised some concerns about the recommendations in his report to the ELCA Conference of Bishops. The Rev....
