Ives Serves Interim Position as Top ELCA Chaplain
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Ivan G. Ives, chaplain (Col.), U.S. Army, Ret., was named interim assistant for federal chaplaincies of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Department for Synodical Relations. He will direct the ELCA Office for Federal Chaplaincies in Washington, D.C., until a successor is found for...
Synod Bishop Lifts Sanctions Imposed on Two Congregations
SAINT PAUL, Minn. (ELCA) -- The Rev. Peter Rogness, bishop of the Saint Paul (Minn.) Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), announced Jan. 15 that he had lifted sanctions imposed on two congregations in 2001. Hosanna! Lutheran Church, Lakeville, Minn., and St. Paul-Reformation Lutheran Church, St....
Lutheran Students Push for "Politics of Compassion"
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Some Lutheran college and university students expressed concern on the possibility of war between the United States and Iraq at "Celebrate IV: Weave Us Together," Albuquerque, N.M., Dec. 28-Jan.1. In a petition signed by 350 of the 1,100 students attending the event, students vowed to "advocate for...
Lutheran Men in Mission Shipping Bibles Across ELCA
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM), the men's ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), hopes to start and engage men's ministry programs in up to 975 congregations by putting the "Master Builders Bible for Men" into the hands of six men in each of those...
Lutherans Team up for "Souper Bowl of Caring"
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Before gathering with family and friends on the National Football League's (NFL) "Super Bowl Sunday" Jan. 26, members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will huddle and go on the offense to attack hunger. On the day of the Super Bowl, congregations of the ELCA...
Lutheran Lecture Series Explores the Impact of King's Dream
Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (LTSS), Columbia, S.C. + Gonzalez and Townes with the Rev. Daniel M. Bell Jr., assistant professor of theological ethics, LTSS Feb. 18 Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio. + Forbes and Paris with an Interfaith "I Have a Dream" panel Feb. 25 Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia...
ELCA Mission Investment Fund Announces New Terms, Rates
CHICAGO (ELCA) --The Mission Investment Fund (MIF) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) announced new terms for loans to ELCA mission congregations that include a zero-percent interest rate for the first two years and a 2 percent interest rate for the next five years for purchases of vacant...
Lutherans Support Typhoon Relief Efforts in Guam
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod, is helping residents of Guam recover after Typhoon Pongsona struck the island in December. Lutheran Disaster Response provided a $10,000 grant to support Church World Service typhoon recovery efforts...
Iraq, Middle East, Sexuality Studies Top 2002 ELCA Stories
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Uneasiness about the possibility of war with Iraq, a continuing crisis between Palestinians and Israelis, and studies on sexuality were among the top news stories involving the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in 2002, according to the ELCA News Service, a component of the ELCA Department...
Lutherans Provide Funds for Famine Relief in Ethiopia
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) contributed $70,000 of the church's International Disaster Response fund to support famine relief efforts in Ethiopia. "More than 6.8 million people in Ethiopia are facing severe food shortages," said the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, director for international communication,...
Clark Morphew, Journalist, Former Lutheran Pastor, Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Clark D. Morphew, nationally syndicated religion columnist, former religion writer for the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press and former Lutheran pastor, died Dec. 24 of lung cancer. Morphew, 64, died at his home in South St. Paul, Minn. His weekly religion column was syndicated and published by...
Rev. Barbara Lundblad Featured on 'Day 1' Broadcasts
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Barbara K. Lundblad, associate professor of preaching at Union Theological Seminary, New York, returns as speaker for three installments of "Day 1," formerly known as "The Protestant Hour," a nationally broadcast radio program also accessible via streaming audio on the Web. Lundblad, a pastor of...
Lutheran Pastor Completes 50-State Unicycle Trek
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A one-wheeled odyssey that began April 9 in Alaska concluded Nov. 16 in Hawaii. The Rev. Lars J. Clausen, a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), rode his unicycle on a route that took him through all 50 states of the United States and...
Twenty-three Lutherans in the 108TH Congress
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- There are 23 Lutherans -- 12 Democrats and 11 Republicans -- in the 108th Congress of the United States, according to the Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs (LOGA), Washington, D.C., the federal public policy advocacy office of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). LOGA is a...
Women of the ELCA Strengthen Families, Communities
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) awarded $164,100 in grants to projects that strengthen families and communities domestically and internationally. The Women of the ELCA Grants Program represents "one way in which the women's organization fulfills its organizational commitment to bring healing and wholeness...
ELCA Set for New 'Davey and Goliath' Television Special
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is set for the production of a new "Davey and Goliath" television special for December 2003. Davey and Goliath is a popular stop-motion animated children series created by the Lutheran church and aired on commercial television in the 1950s through...
Commission on Lutheran Cooperation Renews Discussions
ST. LOUIS (ELCA) -- Renewed theological talks and more frequent meetings of top leadership are in the offing between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). Members of the Committee on Lutheran Cooperation (CLC) agreed Nov. 12 they would pursue discussions of issues that divide...
Willmar Thorkelson, Lutheran Journalist and Author, Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Willmar L. Thorkelson, journalist, author and member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died Nov. 29 from complications of Parkinson's disease. He was 84. Thorkelson's writing career began while a student at Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn., and spanned more than 60 years. After graduating from...
Lutherans Continue Disaster Relief Work in U.S. Southeast
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod (LCMS), continues cleanup work and damage assessments in Alabama, Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee after storms and tornadoes brought death and destruction Nov. 10. "There were 72 tornadoes and more...
Lutheran Students Focus on Social Justice and Faith
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Striving to support justice and give clarity to faith, Lutheran college and university students will participate in "Celebrate IV: Weave Us Together" at the Albuquerque Convention Center, Albuquerque, N.M., Dec. 28-Jan. 1. Hosted by the Council for Ecumenical Christian Ministry (CESCM) and the National Catholic Student Coalition,...
