ELCA Pensions Trustees Hike Budget, Discuss Equity
MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- Trustees of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Board of Pensions approved a $54.2 million budget for 2002 -- an increase of 11.5 percent over 2001. Their Nov. 2-4 meeting here included a discussion of pension equity. The trustees expressed support for the 2003 and 2004...
Lutheran, UCC, Baptist Service Leaders Discuss Diversity
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- About 45 leaders of faith-based health and human-service organizations discussed the cultural diversity of the people they serve, as well as the diversity and cultural awareness necessary in their workplaces. "Diversity Works: Developing Cross-Cultural Competencies for Effective Ministry" was the theme for The Forum 2001 here Nov....
'Journal of Lutheran Ethics' Goes Online
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "Journal of Lutheran Ethics" debuted Sept. 20 at http://www.elca.org/jle/ on the Web site of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). After its first two months, the "online publication dedicated to promoting awareness of, study of, and conversation about Christian ethics in the Lutheran tradition" averaged more...
Lutherans Support Relief Efforts in Cuba
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- International Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided $10,000 Nov. 21 to support recovery efforts in Cuba, after Hurricane Michelle struck the island Nov. 4. Five people died, said the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, director for international communication, ELCA Division for Global Mission....
Lutheran to Head Association for Clinical Pastoral Education
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. A. Arthur Schmidt, a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), will become president of the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc. (ACPE). He will serve two years as ACPE president-elect before serving as president in 2004 and 2005. Schmidt, 62, is coordinator...
Arab, Middle Eastern Lutherans Gather to Discuss Outreach
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- About 100 Arab and Middle Eastern missionaries and ministers of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod came together to discuss outreach within the Muslim community in the United States. "Time of Crisis, Time of Opportunity" was a conference the churches hosted...
Walt Wangerin Featured in 'Journey Toward Forgiveness' on ABC-TV
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Walter M. Wangerin Jr., storyteller and a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), will be featured on "Journey Toward Forgiveness," an hour-long television documentary to air on ABC-TV stations across the country beginning Dec. 2. The documentary will highlight stories of people...
Three Lutherans Die in American Airlines Plane Crash Nov. 12
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- At least three members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) were on board American Airlines Flight 587 (Airbus A300) when it crashed Nov. 12 in the Rockaways neighborhood of Queens, N.Y., shortly after takeoff from the John F. Kennedy International Airport. All 260 people aboard...
ELCA Council Hears Financial Report; Hunger, Disaster Funds up
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Total operating revenue for the churchwide organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) was $53.3 million -- up $910,000 for the first eight months of the current fiscal year when compared to the same period one year ago, said Richard L. McAuliffe, ELCA treasurer. McAuliffe...
ELCA Council Re-Elects Thompson, Names Committee Members
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) elected Else Thompson to a second four-year term as director of the ELCA Department for Human Resources. The council also made appointments to several churchwide boards and committees. The Church Council is the ELCA's board of...
ELCA Council Affirms Plans to Address Issues of Sexuality
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) affirmed the way two divisions of the church are responding to calls from the 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly for a social statement on human sexuality and a churchwide study on homosexuality. The churchwide assembly said the...
Lutheran Outdoor Ministry Organizations Work to Diversify
CHICAGO (ELCA) Lutheran camp directors and other outdoor ministry staff from across the United States are positioning themselves to broaden and diversify programs and leadership for effective ministry. About 150 outdoor ministry professionals gathered for "Rock the Boat: Tools for a Changing World," an outdoor ministry conference the Evangelical Lutheran...
World Council of Churches Delegation Visits ELCA, Other Churches
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A seven-member delegation of international church leaders from the World Council of Churches (WCC) met with United States church leaders at the churchwide offices of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) here Nov. 9-10. The WCC delegation was sent as a "living letter" of compassion to...
ELCA Council Hears Update on Disaster Response in New York
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has received about $3 million in financial gifts from its members in response to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, said the Rev. Gilbert B. Furst, director for Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR), in a report Nov. 9 to the ELCA...
Lutherans Continue Relief Work after Tropical Storm Allison
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, provided $50,000 in November to support recovery efforts in Houston, after floods resulting from Tropical Storm Allison struck an area from Texas to Florida June 9-10. "Houston was the...
ELCA Council Adopts Message on Commercial Sexual Exploitation
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) adopted a message on commercial sexual exploitation "to raise awareness of the industry that sexually exploits vulnerable persons, principally women and girls, but also men and boys." The council called on Lutherans "to examine how this...
ELCA Council Hears New Presiding Bishop's Concerns, Reflections
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, people are experiencing a time of "searching questions" and "haunting fears," said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Hanson also said members of the ELCA have remained "rooted in our baptismal...
ELCA Supports 40 Horizon Internships for Seminarians
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) helped arrange seminary internships in 40 churches and other ministry settings from Oregon to the U.S. Virgin Islands and around the world this academic year. The ELCA Horizon Internship Program provided the necessary funding for the internships. A master of...
ELCA Council Elects Christina Jackson-Skelton as Treasurer
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) elected Christina Jackson-Skelton to a six- year term as ELCA treasurer. Jackson-Skelton, 36, will assume the role of treasurer Feb. 1, succeeding Richard L. McAuliffe, who has served as ELCA treasurer since 1992. McAuliffe announced earlier...
ELCA Council Elects Charles Miller Executive for Administration
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) elected the Rev. Charles S. Miller to a six- year term as executive for administration and executive assistant to the presiding bishop. Miller, 58, executive director of the ELCA Division for Church in Society, succeeds the...
