News

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Lee M. Miller, bishop of the Upstate New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), will retire as bishop effective Aug. 31, 2002, the end of his present six-year term. Miller, 62, made the announcement to congregations of the synod in a...

BALTIMORE (ELCA) -- The 10th round of talks in the United States between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) reviewed rough drafts of sections that would eventually become a statement on "The Church as Koinonia of Salvation: Its Structures and Ministries."...

JERUSALEM (ELCA) -- An Israeli judge overseeing a controversial tax case involving Augusta Victoria Hospital, the State of Israel and the Jerusalem tax auditor has told the parties to try to settle the case out of court. Augusta Victoria Hospital, operated by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), is facing the...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod, is participating in relief efforts after tornadoes killed 12 people and destroyed homes in the Delta area of Mississippi, Nov. 24-25. "There are at least 12 confirmed deaths," said...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Grace and Holy Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Kansas City, Mo., will be the setting for a special Christmas Eve service to be broadcast on the CBS Television Network. The service will welcome guests and members of the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America from...

WASHINGTON, D.C. (ELCA) -- In an effort to withstand AIDS worldwide, particularly in Africa, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) affirmed a new relationship with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) at a news conference Nov. 30, the eve of World AIDS Day. The conference was held here...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Saying he is "very sorry" for the killing of Israeli and Palestinian civilians, the Lutheran bishop in Jerusalem said he is deeply concerned about where current hostilities in the Middle East will lead. "Where will this take us?" asked the Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), appointed the Rev. L. James Wylie as interim executive director of the ELCA Division for Church in Society (DCS). Wylie, presently on leave from call, began his new responsibilities with the churchwide...

DENVER (ELCA) -- When the Rev. Mary Ann Moller-Gunderson arrived at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Lake Geneva, Wis., six years ago, there were no children in church and the average age of its 62 members was 72. Today more than 100 children attend Sunday school, she said at the 2001 Great...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Web site -- www.elca.org -- has been cited as "perhaps the most thorough Protestant site on the Web" in the December 2001 issue of Yahoo! Internet Life magazine. Featured in the magazine's guide to "Religion on the Net," the ELCA's...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Kathy J. Magnus, associate director for international personnel, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Global Mission, has been appointed regional officer for the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in North America, effective Jan. 1. LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition....

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A memorial service was held Nov. 24 for Ottilie Lundgren, 94, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Oxford, Conn., who died of inhalation anthrax on Nov. 21. The service was held at Immanuel, a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). An ecumenical Service of Evening Prayer was...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Dr. Theodore L. Fredrickson, 56, Minneapolis, will become the 14th president of Capital University, Columbus, Ohio, on April 1, 2002. Capital is one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Fredrickson succeeds Daniel A. Felicetti, who announced last spring his intention...

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...

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....

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...

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....

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...

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...

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...