ELCA's 'Davey' Documentary to Begin Airing in September
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- On Sept. 14 the ABC television network will begin airing "Oh Davey ... History of the 'Davey and Goliath' Television Series," a documentary featuring Davey and Goliath, a value-based children's program that aired on commercial television networks from 1960 through the mid-1980s. ABC-TV affiliates will show the...
'Understanding Islam' Theme of Summer 2003 MOSAIC
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The summer 2003 issue of MOSAIC, the video magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) focuses on Islam, its history and its relationship with the ELCA. The 30-minute program includes information on the Prophet Mohammed, the rise of Islam and the five pillars of Islam....
ELCA Seeks Government Funding for Service Providers
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In a letter to members of Congress, Kay A. Bengston, assistant director for domestic policy, Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs (LOGA), Washington, D.C., asked for the restoration of the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) to its peak level of $2.8 billion. LOGA is the federal public policy...
Ubuntu, Theme of the ELCA Youth Gathering, Changes Lives
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Ubuntu, a sub-Saharan African word meaning humanity, was introduced to more than 40,000 youth ages 14-17 at the Youth Gathering of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) three years ago in St. Louis. Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a keynote speaker at the event, spoke then about...
ELCA Pastor Naw-Karl Mua Detained in Laos
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Naw-Karl Mua, Light of Life Lutheran Church, St. Paul, Minn., a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has been detained by the government of Laos since June 3. Mua is reported to have accompanied two European journalists into the Xieng Khouang province...
Peters to Serve as Interim President at Lutheran Seminary
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Ted F. Peters was appointed interim president of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (PLTS) June 7. Peters, appointed by the executive committee of the PLTS board of directors, will serve a term of at least one year. He fills the office left vacant after the unexpected...
Prayer, Work Needed for Middle East Peace, Says Presiding Bishop
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- On the heels of his first trip to the Middle East, the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) said he hopes the violence that left at least 27 people dead in Jerusalem and Gaza June 11 will not derail commitments to peace in...
Bishop Opens 'Another Look' at ELCA Statement on Environment
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Now is a good time to take another look at "Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope and Justice," the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) social statement on the environment, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the ELCA, wrote in an open letter to commemorate the...
Dunkin Re-elected ELCA W.Va.-Western Maryland Synod Bishop
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Ralph W. Dunkin, 52, was re-elected to a six-year term as bishop of the West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), at the synod assembly at Potomoc State College, Keyser, W.Va. Dunkin has served as bishop of the synod since...
Lutheran Leader H. W. Pfennig, Jr., Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) H. W. Pfennig, Jr., 72, who was influential in the merger that created the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died May 18 of a heart condition. Pfennig was a retired chemical firm executive and an active member of the ELCA. He served on the board of regents...
Bolick Re-elected Bishop of ELCA North Carolina Synod
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Leonard H. Bolick was re-elected to a six-year term as bishop of the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) at the synod's assembly June 5-7 at Lenoir-Rhyne College, Hickory, N. C. Lenoir-Rhyne is one of 28 colleges and universities of...
ELCA Theologians of Color Focus on Leadership Recruitment
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) who teach theology in seminaries and who are people of color reflected on the church's process of recruiting individuals for leadership positions in the ELCA when they met May 8-10 in Las Vegas. More than 25 ELCA teaching...
ELCA Churchwide Assembly to Meet in Milwaukee Aug. 11-17
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Voting members of the 2003 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Churchwide Assembly will act on several proposals -- including an evangelism vision for the church, and a social statement on health and health care -- and elect a vice president and an editor for The Lutheran,...
ELCA Synods to Host Post LWF Assembly Visits
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- As an extension of the Lutheran World Federation's (LWF) Tenth Assembly July 21-31 in Winnipeg, Canada, the LWF in conjunction with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), will provide post-assembly visitation programs in the United States and the Carribean. There are 25 separate sites that will...
Lutherans Continue Recovery Efforts from Spring Storms
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod (LCMS), continues to organize relief efforts after 412 tornadoes and more than 2,000 storms struck the Midwest this spring. The tornadoes and storms "brought havoc and devastation to...
Thousands of Lutheran Youth Will "Do Life" this Summer
CHICAGO (ELCA) --The Youth Gathering of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will bring together about 40,000 high-school-age and adult Lutherans in two back-to-back events this year: July 16-20 and July 23-27. The gathering, "Do Life! Ubuntu," will take place at the Georgia Dome and Georgia World Congress Center...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Meets with Abbas, Arafat
RAMALLAH, West Bank (ELCA) -- The Palestinian people have a chance for peace -- perhaps the last chance -- in the new "road map" proposed by the United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations, said the prime minister of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in an extraordinary May...
ELCA Middle East Delegation Meets Jerusalem Church Leaders
JERUSALEM (ELCA) -- Saying the leaders of Christian churches here are "a sign of hope for Christians throughout the whole world," the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), paid tribute to each for working together to bring peace to the Middle East....
Lutheran Ecumenical Representatives Meet in Savannah
SAVANNAH, Ga. (ELCA) -- Members of the Lutheran Ecumenical Representatives Network (LERN) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) held their annual meeting here May 12-15, during the National Workshop on Christian Unity. A leading topic of the meeting was how agreements the ELCA has reached with other church...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Focuses on Peace, Hope for Middle East
JERUSALEM (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), thanked members of the Lutheran church here for their faithfulness to God and for their efforts to promote a lasting and just peace for all people in the Middle East. The Lutherans'...
