ELCA Council Hears of 'Positive' ELCA-LCMS Conversation
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A Nov. 12 meeting in St. Louis of the Committee on Lutheran Cooperation (CLC), in which leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) met to discuss matters of mutual interest, had a "different tone" and was "positive" compared to other...
ELCA Council Hears Progress Report on Studies on Sexuality
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Studies on sexuality have begun in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The ELCA Church Council received a progress report from the studies' director, the Rev. James M. Childs Jr., and its advisor to the studies' task force, Judy G. Biffle, Houston. The Church Council is...
ELCA Church Council Elects Board, Committee Members
CHICAGO (ELCA) The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) elected clergy and lay individuals to fill vacancies on boards, steering and advisory committees of the church. It also acted to forward a resolution to the 2003 ELCA Churchwide Assembly to elect the Rev. David L. Miller...
Lutheran Services in America Tops List of Nonprofits Again
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- With more than $7.6 billion of income in 2001, Lutheran Services in America (LSA) topped The NonProfit Times' list of the United States' 100 largest nonprofit organizations for the third year in a row. The publication released the "NPT 100" Nov.1, with the National Council of YMCAs...
Lutherans Focus on Connection Between Poverty, Wealth
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) held a special forum to examine the connection between poverty and wealth here Nov. 7-9 at the Institute of Cultural Affairs Conference Center. Through a series of presentations the forum was meant to set direction for the ELCA's future work...
Luther Institute Honors Lutheran World Relief, Three Leaders
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Luther Institute awarded its 2002 Wittenberg Awards "for outstanding service to church and society" to Lutheran World Relief (LWR) and three individuals -- Dr. Joachim Gauck, the Rev. Arthur Simon and General John Vessey. The awards were presented Nov. 9 during a day of special programs...
Bonnie Jensen to Retire as Director of ELCA Global Mission
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Bonnie L. Jensen will retire at the end of July 2003 as executive director of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Global Mission (DGM), a position she has held since December 1995. Jensen, 64, oversees a global program in approximately 70 countries...
Lutherans Organize Relief Work after Storms, Tornadoes
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod (LCMS), is organizing recovery work after storms and tornadoes brought death and destruction Nov. 10 in several Eastern and Southern U.S. states. "At least 35 people have been killed...
ELCA Pension Board Plan Balances Clergy, Congregation Needs
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Affordability, personalized service, advocacy for members, the promotion of health and wellness, and development of financial products and services were key components of the 2003-2005 strategic plan approved by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Board of Pensions trustees at their Nov. 1-3 meeting here. John...
ELCA Supports Five International Internship Sites
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) helped arrange seminary internships in Argentina, Denmark, Ethiopia, Hong Kong and Slovakia this academic year. The ELCA Horizon International Internship Program provided the necessary funding for the internships. A master of divinity is the minimum degree required of ELCA clergy....
ELCA Church in Society Board Displays Breadth of its Work
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Church in Society (DCS) demonstrated the breadth of its work for a new executive director when it met here Oct. 24-26. Topics ranged from a possible war between the United States and Iraq to an...
Albert Stauderman, Former Editor of the Lutheran, Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Albert P. Stauderman, former editor for The Lutheran, the magazine of the former Lutheran Church in America (LCA), and pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died Nov. 3 in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., where he lived. Stauderman, 92, died following a lengthy...
ELCA Multicultural Mission Institute 'Breaking the Barriers'
ATLANTA (ELCA) -- About 320 members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) took part in the church's 13th and final Multicultural Mission Institute. Speakers, workshops, worship and music reflected on the theme "Breaking the Barriers" here Nov. 1-3. The institute was meant to equip ELCA pastors and lay...
Communication, Marketing Vital, Says ELCA Publishing Head
MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- Better communication and marketing, improved accountability and "grace" from customers are three keys to turning around the fortunes of Augsburg Fortress, the publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Those were the remarks of Beth A. Lewis, who became president and chief executive officer...
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service Cuts Jobs
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) restructured Sept. 27, eliminating 14 staff positions and freezing salaries, as part of a "renewal process" to deal with a potential financial deficit, reduced refugee arrivals and other special needs in U.S. immigrant communities. LIRS is a joint ministry of the...
Wangerin, ELCA Staff Complete Lutheran Vespers Tour
VALPARAISO, Ind. (ELCA) -- The Rev. Walt Wangerin Jr., speaker for Lutheran Vespers, the radio ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and staff completed a 65-day tour of the Upper Midwest here Oct. 21. The tour, "OutSpoken for Lutheran Vespers," included 22 rallies, visits to ELCA congregations...
Lutherans Express Concerns about Sexuality Issues
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (ELCA) -- Lutherans opposed to blessings of same- sex relationships and to ordaining gay and lesbian people in committed relationships say they don't think the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) hears their voices. They gathered here Oct. 24-26 to make their voices heard through a statement...
Lutheran Service Agency in Kansas, Oklahoma Closes its Doors
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- After 123 years of adoption, foster care, family support, counseling and disaster services, Lutheran Social Services of Kansas and Oklahoma (LSSKO) is in the process of reassigning its clients, selling off its assets and closing its doors. The social ministry organization's board decided Oct. 15 to pay...
ELCA Board Asks Council for Statement on Iraq
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board for the Division for Global Mission of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) asked the ELCA Church Council to consider adopting a public statement for the church on the tense situation between the U.S. government and the government of Iraq headed by Saddam Hussein....
Lutheran Women Pray for Peace, Engage in Moral Deliberation
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The executive board of Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) -- the women's organization of the church -- called for "earnest prayer and moral deliberation" on a possible war between the United States and Iraq. The board also attended to other business when it...
