ELCA Outreach Board Sets the Tone for Lutheran Mission at Home
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "Three content sessions" set the tone for the next two years of work for the board of the Division for Outreach (DO) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said Dorothy Baumgartner, chief administrative officer of Trinity Lutheran College, Issaquah, Wash. Baumgartner was elected to a...
Lutherans Aid Relief Work in Central America, Congo, Middle East
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- International Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided $40,000 this month to rebuild damaged farms and crops from drought conditions in Central America, $120,000 to support relief efforts from war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and, $50,000 to assist Augusta Victoria Hospital...
ELCA Helps Refugees, Internally Displaced People in Afghanistan
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- International Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided an initial $150,000 this month to support millions of people in Afghanistan, who have fled their homes as a result of years of civil conflicts, natural disasters and poverty. The threat of retaliation for the...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Installation in Chicago and on the Web
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson will be installed as the third presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Oct. 6 here at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel on the campus of the University of Chicago. The ceremony will be "Webcast" live on the Internet. The http://www.elca.org/installation/...
ELCA Men Establish Relationship with Lutheran Church in Guyana
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of Lutheran Men in Mission, the men's organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), resolved to develop a five-point relationship with the men of the Lutheran Church in Guyana. The LMM board met here Sept. 27-30 and discussed plans for the LMM Gathering...
Lutherans and United Methodists Resume Dialogue
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and United Methodist Church (UMC) met Sept. 6-9 in Denver to begin the third in a series of dialogues between the two denominations. This dialogue is to explore the two "churches' teachings on sanctification and the Lord's Supper"...
Werger Named Interim Bishop of ELCA Saint Paul Area Synod
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- On Sept. 19 the council of the Saint Paul Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) named the Rev. Paul M. Werger to serve as the synod's interim bishop. The synod's current bishop, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, was elected in August to become...
Lutheran Societies Commit Millions in Terrorism Response
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Brotherhood added another $650,000 on Sept. 24 to an earlier commitment of $362,000 for "East Coast disaster relief assistance" in the aftermath of terrorist attacks Sept. 11 in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Another fraternal benefits society, Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL), had released $1 million...
ELCA Fund for Leaders in Mission Awards Sixteen Scholarships
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) awarded more than $163,000 in scholarships to provide full tuition for 16 women and men attending ELCA seminaries. The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the ELCA, presented the scholarships here Sept. 26 from the church's Fund for Leaders...
Lutherans Eulogize United Airlines Captain Jason Matthew Dahl
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- About 1,300 family, friends and United Airlines colleagues gathered at West Bowles Community Church, Littleton, Colo., Sept. 19 to say goodbye to United Airlines Captain Jason Matthew Dahl, who was at the controls of United Airlines Flight 93 when it was commandeered by hijackers Sept. 11. According...
Costs of New York Lutheran Disaster Response Effort High
NEW YORK (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) may need as much as $20 million over a three-year period to respond to a multitude of human needs here in the wake of the destruction of the World Trade Center, said the Rev. Gilbert B. Furst, LDR director, Chicago. Furst made...
ELCA Agreement May Lead to New 'Davey and Goliath' Episodes
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The producers of "Davey and Goliath," a popular, Christian-oriented children's television series that aired on commercial television in the 1950s through the early 1980s, may soon be making a pilot film and more episodes. New Davey and Goliath episodes could be created as a result of a...
ELCA Bishops Support Clergy, Members, in Wake of Sept. 11 Attacks
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In a Sept. 14 letter to the 17,697 pastors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the church, thanked clergy for their ministry "during this time of national anxiety and mourning" following terrorist attacks in the eastern United...
ELCA Bishop Endorses Statement for Faith Response to Terrorism
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), joined more than 100 religious leaders of major faith groups in the United States -- including Christian, Jewish and Muslim -- in releasing a comprehensive statement on terrorism that recommends a "resolute...
Rev. Jon S. Enslin Named to Interim Role as ELCA Ecumenical Leader
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Jon S. Enslin, former bishop of the South-Central Synod of Wisconsin of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has been named interim director of the ELCA Department for Ecumenical Affairs, effective Nov. 1. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop-elect, appointed Enslin for...
ELCA Deepens its Advocacy Efforts Surrounding U.S. Agriculture
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- As the United States Congress considers legislation this month that will determine the nation's agriculture policy for the next decade, the Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has written to ELCA leaders in an effort to strengthen the church's...
Lutherans Respond to Attacks with Organized Relief, Resources
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A variety of resources, intended to help members and church leaders respond to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, have been posted on the Web site of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The resources are being made available through Lutheran Disaster Response...
ELCA Takes Part in 'Responding to Tragedy' on the Internet Sept.
CHICAGO (ELCA) - The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and other faith organizations will participate in "Responding to Tragedy: A Live Video Forum for Pastoral Care Workers" on the Internet at www.faithandvalues.com Sept. 14 from 1 to 3 p.m., Eastern Time. The forum, conducted in real-time through FaithandValues.com, Lexington, Ky.,...
ELCA Leaders' Response Continues in Aftermath of Terrorist Attacks
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Pastors and members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are working with a variety of organizations in New York and Washington, D.C., to respond to enormous human needs in the aftermath of deadly terrorist attacks Sept. 11. In addition, the ELCA churchwide offices here have...
ELCA Presiding Bishop's Statement on Apparent Terrorist Attacks
ELCA PRESIDING BISHOP'S STATEMENT ON APPARENT TERRORIST ATTACKS I am shocked by today's apparent terrorist attacks upon the people in the Eastern United States. I join with all of you in mourning these enormous human tragedies. Congregations, pastors and members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are praying...
