Lutherans, Presbyterians Celebrate Shared Seminary Campus
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC), a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and McCormick Theological Seminary, a seminary of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), are completing construction this month of McCormick's new offices on the LSTC campus. Ceremonies on Feb. 27 and...
Latino Lutherans Put Talents to Work for Mission and Ministry
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- According to U.S. census figures released this year, Latinos may be the fastest-growing and largest ethnic group emerging in the country. Taking that into consideration, Spanish-speaking congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are putting their "God-given talents and gifts" to work to enhance and...
Stewardship Leaders Are 'Circulatory System' of the ELCA
CHICAGO (ELCA) More than 200 stewardship staff, mission interpreters and partners coordinators volunteers who tell the stories about the work of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and others gathered for the Stewardship Leadership Conference and heard they are the "circulatory system" of the church. Staff of the ELCA...
ELCA Presiding Bishop: Commit to Prayer, Deliberation, Peace
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In a Feb. 13 e-mail message to professional leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the ELCA presiding bishop said he is greatly troubled by the situation between the governments of the United States and Iraq and the possibility of war. The Rev. Mark S....
ELCA Task Force Wants Church to Talk about Sexuality
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "The vast majority of this church has chosen not to be involved in this work," the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), told the church's Studies on Sexuality Task Force when it met here Feb. 7-9. The task force...
ELCA Ecumenical Affairs Staff Seeks Advice on Priorities
DENVER, Colo. (ELCA) -- The Department for Ecumenical Affairs of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) was advised to continue current bilateral church dialogues, build on positive signs from recent meetings with officials of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) and maintain funding for the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). The...
Lutheran Women, Youth Offer Vision for LWF Assembly
DENVER, Colo. (ELCA) -- Women and youth of the North American region of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) met here separately in consultations preparing for the July 21-31 LWF Assembly. Both groups laid out a series of social and political concerns, and strategies to address their concerns. The LWF is...
ELCA Congregations Move from 'Scarcity Thinking to Abundance'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In the context of the current economic climate in the United States, the stewardship ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is providing the 10,766 congregations of the church opportunities to move from "scarcity thinking" toward "abundance and generosity" with a new "money leadership" approach....
Church Leaders United Against War in Iraq
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Three U.S. church leaders, including a representative of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), joined 22 church leaders in Europe and the Middle East in opposing war in Iraq and calling for a peaceful resolution of conflicts. The Rev. Rebecca S. Larson, executive director for the...
ELCA Task Force Sees Health as 'Our Shared Endeavor'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Task Force on Health and Health Care of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has prepared a possible social statement on health, healing and health care that emphasizes the need for a successful health care system to be interdependent. The task force finished editing "Caring...
North Americans Choose Nominees for LWF President, Council
DENVER (ELCA) -- North American delegates to this summer's Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Assembly in Winnipeg, Manitoba, selected the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), as a nominee for LWF president. Hanson and other nominees -- to be determined at LWF pre-assembly...
Lutheran Agreements Fuel Multilateral Ecumenical Movement
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Ecumenical agreements the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) forged with the Episcopal Church and with three Reformed churches are providing some help to nine church bodies that are moving toward relationships of full communion, according to the two ELCA representatives who attended a Jan. 15-17 meeting...
"Communion" of Lutheran World Federation Assembly Key
DENVER, Colo. (ELCA) -- Some 70 people attended the North American Pre-Assembly Consultation of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) here Jan. 23-26, and heard from many speakers that the upcoming LWF Tenth Assembly is a significant event for enhancing the world "communion" of Lutheran churches. The assembly will be held...
LWF Assembly Participants to Visit U.S., Canadian Ministries
DENVER, Colo. (ELCA) -- North American Lutherans will welcome participants who attend the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Tenth Assembly this summer to 47 church ministry sites in the United States and Canada. Lutherans will host assembly participants from around the world before and after the LWF assembly in Canada and...
ELCA Reporter, Others Released from Detention in Zimbabwe
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A section editor for The Lutheran, the magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and colleagues from Europe and Africa who were detained by authorities in Zimbabwe, were released Jan. 28, said the Rev. David L. Miller, editor for The Lutheran. Kathleen Kastilahn, Chicago, who...
Lutheran Ethicists Learn about War in the Islamic Tradition
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- About 45 ethicists and pastors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) discussed war in the Islamic tradition. Staff of the ELCA Division for Church in Society hosted the annual gathering of Lutheran ethicists Jan. 8-10 at the St. Paul of the Cross Retreat Center, Pittsburgh,...
ELCA Mission Builders Plan Nine Projects in 2003
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Sixty-three Mission Builders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in American (ELCA) have signed up to work on construction projects with nine congregations in 2003. "There are several projects that could be ready to build by fall, so hopefully more Mission Builders can be involved," said Dean Hiner,...
Lutherans Should Be Healers and Peacemakers Around the World
DENVER (ELCA) -- The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) North America Pre-Assembly Consultation "is about preparing to be healers in the world," said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), one of the LWF's 136 member churches. Hanson welcomed some 70 voting delegates,...
ELCA Hosts Youth "Extravaganza" in Atlanta, Jan. 30-Feb. 2
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) who are committed to strengthening the Christian faith lives of youth and young adults will gather Jan. 30-Feb. 2 for the 2003 Youth Ministry Network Extravaganza at the Hilton Hotel, Atlanta. "For the typical youth ministry worker, the...
ELCA Peace Prize Forum Explores World Politics, Feb. 14-15
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Richard C. Holbrooke, Walter F. Mondale and Dr. Shashi Tharoor will address the 15th annual Peace Prize Forum, "Striving for Peace: A World Without Borders," Feb. 14-15 at Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn. Concordia is one of 28 college and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America...
