ELCA Board Focuses on Evangelism, Planning
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In its last scheduled business session for 2002, the board of the Division for Congregational Ministries (DCM) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) emphasized evangelism and churchwide strategic planning among many of the division's ministries that serve the ELCA's 10,766 congregations across the United States...
Lutherans Provide Relief from Disasters Across Country
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR), a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod (LCMS), continues to help survivors recover from hurricanes, record-breaking rainfall, tropical storms and other disasters across the country. Response to a disaster is often carried out by a...
North American Lutherans to Host LWF Assembly Visitation Program
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- North American Lutheran Churches will be heavily involved in the 10th Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), in Winnipeg, Canada, July 21-31, 2003. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) will host the assembly. Prior to and after the assembly, the ELCIC and the Evangelical Lutheran...
ELCA Commission Celebrates Women Leaders, Calls for More
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The steering committee of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Commission for Women told the church it is time to celebrate but not to be satisfied with the number of women in leadership. The committee passed two resolutions on that issue, adopted another resolution on a...
ELCA Bishops Seek Advice on Authorized Lay Ministry
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) asked churchwide organization ministry and worship staff for a process to study and discuss issues related to authorized lay ministry and ordained ministry. The topic of authorized ministry by lay people was a significant item...
ELCA Bishops Told Expenses Exceed Income Through Mid-Year
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Expenses exceeded income by $5.3 million in current operating funds for the churchwide organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) for the first seven months of the 2002 fiscal year. Drops in bequest and trust income, investment income and unit designated gifts are the reasons...
ELCA Bishops Endorse Youth and Family Ministry Proposal
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Addressing the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Conference of Bishops meeting here Oct. 7, a steering committee for Youth and Family Ministry challenged the ELCA synod bishops to make youth and family ministry more central to the ministry and life of the ELCA. The ELCA is...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Calls for Unity, Offers 2012 Vision
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In remarks aimed at unity in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, commented on a wide variety of topics on the church's agenda, including strategic planning, strategies for outreach to people who do not attend a church and...
ELCA Seminary Presidents and Deans Engage in Briefings
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The presidents and deans of the eight Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) seminaries met together and separately here Oct. 4-6. The meetings included updates on current issues across the church, workshops and frank conversations. The Rev. Timothy F. Lull, president, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley, Calif.,...
U.S. Lutheran-United Methodist Dialogue Teams Meet in Norway
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The U.S. Lutheran-United Methodist dialogue convened Sept. 12-16 in Oslo, Norway. Participants in the talks between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the United Methodist Church (UMC) took advantage of the meeting's time and location to consider key theological issues -- "justification" and "sanctification" --...
Lutheran Ministries Benefit from LSE Endowment Fund
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Seven Lutheran ministry organizations were recently awarded a total of $240,000 from the Lutheran Services for ther Elderly (LSE) Endowment Fund of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The awards were the first distributions made from the endowment fund, which was created in 2001 from the...
Lutheran Vespers Speaker: Preserve Family History
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (ELCA) -- Tell your children and grandchildren about your childhood, and ask your own parents and grandparents about theirs, said the Rev. Walt Wangerin Jr., speaker for Lutheran Vespers, the radio ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Wangerin made the comment at a...
ELCA Outreach Board Wants Church to Focus on Evangelism
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Outreach met here Sept. 27-29, received reports on three current planning processes in the church and asked the ELCA to devote itself to telling people, especially those who don't attend church, about Jesus Christ. The...
ELCA Colleges and Universities Rank among U.S. Best
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) rank among the best in the United States, according to U.S. News and World Report's 2002 edition of the "America's Best Colleges" issued Sept. 23. Compared with other public and private institutions, nine of the 28...
ELCA Principal Named 2002 Distinguished Principal
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The principal of Laurel Hall School in North Hollywood, Calif., Kathleen Haworth, has been named National Distinguished Principal for 2002 by the National Association of Elementary Schools Principals (NAESP) and the U.S. Department of Education. She will be honored at an awards banquet Oct. 10-11 in Washington,...
Lutheran Bishops Call for Equity in Education
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Pennsylvania's Lutheran bishops issued a pastoral letter, "Seeking Justice in Public Education Funding," Sept. 18 urging the state government to correct inequities in funding for public education in Pennsylvania and calling upon Lutherans to work toward equal education resources for all children as a matter of justice....
Augsburg Fortress Leader Readies for 'Directions' Tour
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Beth A. Lewis, the newly elected president and chief executive officer of Augsburg Fortress, the publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), will begin a 19- day journey Sept. 29, in which she will travel by car to meet with ELCA leaders, members and...
Hanson Named Vice President of Lutheran World Federation
WITTENBERG, Germany (ELCA) -- The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Council named the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), as a member of the LWF Council. Hanson will complete the unexpired term of the Rev. H. George Anderson, former presiding bishop of the...
ELCA Sexuality Studies Task Force to Meet with Consultants
CHICAGO (ELCA) The task force for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Studies on Sexuality met here Sept. 13-15 and scheduled consultations with representatives of the gay and lesbian community within the ELCA and with pastors and others who want to maintain current ELCA ordination policies. The consultations are...
ELCA Presiding Bishop to Be Featured on a Live Webcast
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Rev. Mark. S. Hanson, will be featured on a live Webcast on Sunday, Oct. 6, at 4 p.m. (Eastern Time), focusing on the future of the ELCA. The Webcast will take place after the ELCA...
