Former Lutheran Church Leaders Hanson, Houser, Die
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Two former Lutheran church leaders -- the Rev. Paul A. Hanson and the Rev. Donald L. Houser -- died in the past month. Both were retired pastors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Hanson, 78, was executive director of the Division for Life and Mission...
ELCA Chaplains, Counselors, Clinical Educators Minister to Victims
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- On Sept. 11, when terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center in New York and damaged the Pentagon near Washington, emergency personnel thronged to the sites from around the country. Chaplains, pastoral counselors and clinical educators of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) assisted local clergy and...
ELCA Ministry Board Approves Three Lifelong Learning Partners
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Ministry approved three new Lifelong Learning Partners when it met here Oct. 12-14. The distinction means that the church will include them among more than 35 other lifelong learning centers and seminary programs providing theological...
ELCA Public Policy Directors Discuss Health, Government, Poverty
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Directors of state public policy advocacy offices of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) held their annual meeting here Oct. 12-14 to catch up on recent developments in the church's advocacy efforts, plan, share experiences and engage in discussions on three major topics -- health care,...
ELCA Commission for Women Calls for Nonviolent Response
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The steering committee of the Commission for Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) developed a resolution here Oct. 12-14 to express its support for the church's "Decade for a Culture of Nonviolence" by calling for a response to terrorism that seeks "justice through legal,...
ELCA Bishop Urges Military Restraint, Attention on Terrorism Causes
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), asked President George W. Bush to "exercise restraint in the use of military force" in responding to the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. Anderson also urged Bush and other leaders...
ELCA Ministry Board Tackles Study, Exceptions
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of the Division for Ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) launched into topics that will occupy its agenda for the foreseeable future here Oct. 12-14. A study of homosexuality and an exception to ordination practices were two of those topics. In August...
ELCA and NCC Host Black Family Ministries Conference
ROSEMONT, Ill. (ELCA) -- Hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. (NCC) Black Family Ministry Project, "Strengthening Black Families in the New Millennium" was the theme that gathered more than 200 participants here for three days of...
ELCA Bishops Hear Financial Report, ELCA Challenges, Other Issues
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- While total revenue was up $316,000, funds received for mission support from congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) were down $713,000 for the first seven months of the current fiscal year which began Feb. 1, said Richard L. McAuliffe, ELCA treasurer, in a report...
ELCA Pastor Featured on 'Protestant Hour' Radio Series
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Duane L. Steele, Gladesboro Evangelical Lutheran Church, Hillsville, Va., is a featured speaker this fall for three installments of "The Protestant Hour," a nationally broadcast radio program which can also be heard on the Internet. Steele can be heard on the Oct. 28, Nov. 25...
ELCA Bishops Hear Proposals for Study, Voice Preferences
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Two divisions of the churchwide organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) said they will work cooperatively to carry out directives of the 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, division leaders said in a report to the ELCA Conference of Bishops Oct. 8. The assembly, which met...
Lutherans Take Part in 'Faith in the Face of Terror' Webcast
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and other faith organizations will participate in "Faith in the Face of Terror" on the Internet at www.faithandvalues.com Oct. 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Eastern Time. "Faith in the Face of Terror" will be streamed live and "on-...
Lutherans Face Challenge in Assisting Afghanistan Refugees
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and its partner humanitarian relief organizations face challenges in providing aid to thousands of residents of Afghanistan. The fear of U.S. military attacks on the country is causing people to become internally displaced or refuged near the border in neighboring...
ELCA Bishops Respond to Sept. 11 Attacks, Aftermath
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) recommitted themselves "to pray for the Church, the world and all who cry out," in a formal response to the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, and what follows. The statement was...
ELCA Bishops Hear Presiding Bishop-Elect's Support for Ecumenism
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In a report to the Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop-elect, said he is "deeply committed" to ecumenical cooperation globally. However, he left open the possibility of revisiting the church's 10-year-old ecumenical statement, noting...
Lutheran Services in America Moving Office to Baltimore
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Services in America (LSA) will move its national offices from St. Paul, Minn., to Baltimore in December. LSA is an alliance of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) and their 280 social ministry organizations, providing $6.9 billion in services for...
Degroot-Nesdahl Elected Vice Chair, ELCA Conference of Bishops
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Andrea DeGroot-Nesdahl, bishop of the South Dakota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was elected vice chair of the ELCA Conference of Bishops on Oct. 5. The Conference of Bishops, an advisory body of the ELCA's 65 synod bishops, the presiding bishop...
ELCA Multicultural Commission Promotes Peace, Reconciliation
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In response to the devastating events of Sept. 11, the Commission for Multicultural Ministries (CMM) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) developed a plan to help the church promote peace and reconciliation. CMM's steering committee approved the plan and attended to other business when it...
ELCA Presiding Bishop-Elect Hanson Installed in Chicago Ceremony
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) installed the Rev. Mark S. Hanson as its third presiding bishop Oct. 6 in a historic ceremony here at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel on the campus of the University of Chicago. About 2,000 participants included the ELCA's Church Council and 65...
Statement of ELCA Presiding Bishop on U.S. Military Action
STATEMENT OF ELCA PRESIDING BISHOP ON U.S. MILITARY ACTION The United States has begun its military response to the devastating terrorist attacks against our country that occurred Sept. 11. We have known since that day that a military response from this country was likely. The president has also stated that...
