ELCA Presiding Bishop Addresses Lutheran World Council, Reporters
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), reflected on many of the challenges that Lutherans around the world face regarding their Christian faith and political, social, inter-religious and environmental concerns. Hanson addressed the council of the Lutheran World Federation...
ELCA Introduces Print Ads For Congregations
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Department for Communication of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has introduced a series of print ads for congregations to use in their evangelism and outreach ministries, said Kristi S. Bangert, director of internal church communication and marketing, ELCA Department for Communication. The ads are...
Lutherans Prepare For Strong Hit From Hurricane Frances
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Residents in the Bahamas and Florida were making last-minute preparations Sept. 2 for Hurricane Frances, a powerful storm packing winds of 145 miles per hour. The storm was moving through the Bahamas and is threatening the southeast coast of Florida, a state that just experienced the destructive...
ELCA Response To Hurricane Charley Widens
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR), a partnership ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), continues its response to Florida residents affected by Hurricane Charley, which struck the state in mid-August. LDR is providing emotional and spiritual care to people who need...
International Students Awarded Lutheran College Scholarships
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has awarded scholarships of $1,500 each to 16 international students attending ELCA colleges and universities. The scholarships, from the Phoebe Herman Scholarship Endowment Fund, were awarded through the ELCA Division for Higher Education and Schools (DHES). Phoebe Herman was an...
ELCA Council Committee Releases Churchwide Governance Draft
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The executive committee of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Church Council released a draft Aug. 25 of a proposal for governance of the ELCA churchwide organization. The suggestions aim to "strengthen this church for mission," according to the draft proposal. In a separate release on...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Releases Churchwide Restructuring Draft
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), released a draft Aug. 25 of a proposal for restructuring the ELCA churchwide organization. The proposal aims to align the churchwide organization with the ELCA Plan for Mission, adopted at the 2003...
'Good Grandparenting' ELCA's Mosaic Television Fall 2004 Release
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "Good Grandparenting" is Mosaic Television's Sept. 1 release, a 30-minute program that examines today's grandparenting roles in a faith context. Mosaic Television is a quarterly video program produced by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) through the church's Department for Communication. It is intended for educational...
2005 ELCA Health Care Rates To Increase 5 Percent
MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- After double-digit increases each year since 1999 for health plan contribution rates, trustees of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Board of Pensions approved an overall rate increase of approximately 5 percent for 2005. At its Aug. 4-6 meeting here, the board of trustees set 2005...
Lutheran Retreat Center In Washington To Reopen August 29
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Holden Village, Chelan, Wash., a Lutheran retreat center threatened by wildfire earlier this month, will reopen with full programming Aug. 29, according to an Aug. 23 news release posted on the center's Web site. Guests and visitors will be welcome beginning Aug. 29, the release said. "We...
Income For ELCA Congregations Grows To $2.6 Billion In 2003
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Income for the 10,657 congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in 2003 was nearly $2.6 billion, according to statistics compiled by the ELCA Office of the Secretary. Total receipts amounted to $2,554,509,414, up 2.45 percent or $61.2 million from the previous year, said the...
Peter W. Marty Commissioned As Lutheran Vespers Host
DAVENPORT, Iowa (ELCA) -- The Rev. Peter W. Marty, senior pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church, was formally commissioned in his congregation here Aug. 8 as the new host of Lutheran Vespers, the radio ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The Rev. Eric C. Shafer, director, ELCA...
Lutherans Plan Recovery Work Following Hurricane Charley
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Domestic Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the ELCA and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), are planning recovery efforts in western Florida, after Hurricane Charley caused death and destruction there Aug. 13. At least eighteen people...
ELCA Membership Slips Below 5 Million In 2003
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The baptized membership of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) slipped below 5 million in 2003, said the Rev. Lowell G. Almen, ELCA secretary. Almen announced a reduction of 53,081 baptized members -- a decrease of about 1 percent -- for a total of 4,984,925 baptized...
Lutheran Retreat Center In Washington Closed Due To Wildfire
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Holden Village, Chelan, Wash., and the Chelan County Sheriff's Office announced that as a precautionary measure the Village will be evacuated because of a nearby wildfire, known as the "Deep Harbor Fire." The Lutheran retreat center will remain closed at least until Aug. 22, according to a...
Lutherans Continue To Support Relief Efforts In Sudan
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have sent a total of $145,000 to support humanitarian efforts in Sudan, where fighting and militia attacks have led to a massive displacement of people in various regions of the African country. "The crisis in Sudan continues to...
Later ELCA Assemblies Address Hunger, Stewardship, Sexuality
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Voting members attending synod assemblies of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in late spring and early summer addressed a variety of churchwide and local concerns, speaking most frequently in resolutions related to domestic and world hunger, stewardship and funding, and the ELCA Studies on Sexuality....
ELCA Mission Investment Fund Reaches $300 Million Mark
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Mission Investment Fund (MIF) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) reached a milestone in July when it surpassed the $300 million mark in fund investments, said the Rev. Arnold O. Pierson, MIF vice president for church relations and communication. The MIF's primary mission is...
Lutheran Women Provide Grants To Support Families, Communities
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the women's organization of the church, awarded $161,350 in grants to projects that strengthen families and communities domestically and internationally this year. Women of the ELCA's grant program has awarded about $2.75 million since 1988, when the women's...
Lutherans Support Relief Efforts In Bangladesh, Nepal
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- International Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has provided funds for food, medicine, drinking water, emergency shelter and other materials for survivors of floods in Bangladesh and monsoon rains in Nepal. More heavy rain and the onrush of water from upstream sources in...
