ELCA, EKD Leaders Sign Bilateral Agreement, Hold Discussions
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Top leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) signed an agreement here Sept. 24 that commits the churches to mutual exchange of information and provides assistance and care for English-speaking Lutheran congregations in Germany and German-speaking congregations in...
ELCA Provides $575,000 to Support Recovery Efforts Following Disaster
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), through its International Disaster Response, provided $575,000 in September in response to natural and human- caused disasters overseas. "ELCA Global Mission receives numerous requests from companions to assist with international disasters, whether they are human-caused disasters or natural...
ELCA Hosts Consultation on HIV, AIDS
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is in the process of developing a national church strategy on HIV and AIDS. The church hosted a consultation on HIV and AIDS here Sept. 7-9 that called together about 65 Lutherans from the United States and overseas to help...
Survivor of Rwandan Genocide Inspires ELCA Global Audience
COLUMBUS, OHIO (ELCA) -- Immaculee Ilibagiza, a survivor of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, told an audience of nearly 1,800 people at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Global Mission Event (GME) that "kindness should come first in our lives." Ilibagiza was a keynote speaker for the event held this...
ELCA World Hunger Leaders Meet, Discuss 'Challenge'
COLUMBUS, Ohio (ELCA) -- Lutherans striving to end hunger in the world were encouraged to take the "Food Stamp Challenge" at the 2007 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) World Hunger Synod Leadership Gathering held this summer at The Ohio State University here. The gathering brought together about 140 leaders...
Tuskegee Airman and ELCA Member Flies on Faith, Dedication
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- William "Bill" McDonald is a rare individual. He's a quiet gentleman who commands respect not because of his title or his accomplishments, but because of what he has experienced and how he treats others. "When Bill speaks, people listen," said the Rev. Leonard H. Bolick, bishop, Evangelical...
ELCA Video News: 2007 ELCA World Hunger Synod Leadership Gathering
About 140 members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America who are spreading the message that ending hunger in the world is possible gathered July 17-22 at The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. Melissa Ramirez Cooper reports. See the video report at http://www.ELCA.org/news/video.html For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773)...
ELCA Video News: 2007 ELCA Global Mission Event
"A New Heaven and a New Earth" was envisioned by 1,800 members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America during the 2007 ELCA Global Mission Event held July 19-22 at The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. Melissa Ramirez Cooper reports. See the video report at http://www.ELCA.org/news/video.html For information contact: John...
International Lutherans Counsel ELCA In Developing HIV And AIDS Strategy
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Discrimination and stigma, poverty and hunger, distribution of medicine and access to health care are critical issues to consider in addressing the HIV and AIDS pandemic, according to Lutherans from Africa, Asia, Europe, South America and the United States. In an effort to inform and advise members...
Lutherans raised $820,263 in 2007 'Souper Bowl of Caring' effort
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) raised $820,263 to support hunger-fighting organizations across the United States and Caribbean as part of the 2007 "Souper Bowl of Caring" -- an annual effort among faith groups aimed at raising millions of dollars to fight...
Two ELCA Churches Rededicated As Hurricane Recovery Continues
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Grace Lutheran Church, New Orleans, and Gethsemane Lutheran Church, Chalmette, La., celebrated the rededication of their church buildings on Sept. 2 at the close of a week of community activities marking the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated both sanctuaries. Both are congregations of the Evangelical...
Lutheran youth in conversation about human sexuality
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service "Free in Christ to Care for the Neighbor: Lutheran Youth Talk about Human Sexuality" is now available to senior-high-school-age members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Issued by the Task Force for the ELCA Studies on Sexuality, the 75-page resource is...
Registration opens for the 2008 Women of the ELCA Triennial Gathering
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the women's organization of the church, opened registration Sept. 4 for its Seventh Triennial Gathering. The gathering will be July 10-13, 2008, at the Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City. The featured speaker, Sister...
Lutheran College Students Help Clean Up Greensburg, Kan.
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- More than 60 students, faculty and staff from Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kan., began the academic year with a lesson in hands-on help. On Aug. 25 the group traveled to Greensburg, Kan., to assist with tornado recovery efforts there. Bethany is one of 28 colleges and universities of...
ELCA Supports Earthquake-Relief Efforts in Peru
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) responded to an appeal for funds from its Lutheran companion church in Peru to help 420 families affected by an Aug. 15 earthquake that struck the coast of Peru. Peruvian authorities indicated that 510 people died and about 1,600 were...
Lutherans Participate in Tornado Cleanup Efforts in Northwood, N.D.
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A church building of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and a Lutheran-affiliated health service center in Northwood, N.D., sustained major damage from a tornado that swept through the town Aug. 26. Preliminary damage assessments carried out by the American Red Cross indicated that more than...
Luther Institute honors Ambassador Knut Vollebaek of Norway
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service The Luther Insititute, Washington, D.C., will present one of its 2007 Wittenberg Awards to Knut Vollebaek, Norway's ambassador to the United States, at a ceremony Aug. 29 at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation, Washington. Vollebaek served as Norway's Minister of Foreign Affairs and...
ELCA Consults White Pastors Serving Multicultural Congregations
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Sitting upright at the first desk facing the podium, the trio resembled students -- unmarked by a collective decade of parish ministries. Mentors, each with decades of experience, leaned back from the desk near the windows, each moment learning new things from speakers and from their younger...
Faith & Values Media acquires the assets of Ecunet
by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service Faith & Values Media, the nation's largest coalition of Abrahamic faith groups dedicated to media production, distribution and promotion, acquired the assets of Ecunet, a nonprofit online network of Christian organizations. LutherLink, an online conferencing network of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA),...
Lutheran Disaster Response Responding to Upper Midwest Flooding
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) staff, in partnership with Lutheran leaders and social ministry organizations in southeastern Minnesota and in the area near La Crosse, Wis., has begun its work to assist people affected by severe flooding there. A series of severe storms that dumped more than a...
