ELCA Ministry Board Certifies Two New Lifelong Learning Partners
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Ministry certified the Lutheran House of Studies in Kansas and Missouri, and Christ Lutheran Church, Baltimore, as ELCA lifelong learning partners. The board met here March 9-11. The Lutheran House of Studies is a program...
Women of ELCA Executive Board Adopts Churchwide Mission, Goals
CHICAGO ELCA) -- The executive board of Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) adopted a mission statement and five goals that will guide the organization's work through at least 2002, when a new three-year ministry emphasis begins. The board asked for review and comment on the recommendations...
ELCA Synod Bishop Censures Kansas City Congregation
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Charles H. Maahs, bishop of the Central States Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), censured and admonished Abiding Peace Lutheran Church, Kansas City, Mo., for "willfully violating" the ELCA's constitution by calling and ordaining Donna Simon to serve as its pastor, according...
ELCA Caribbean Synod Bishop to Return to Parish Ministry
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Francisco L. Sosa, bishop of the Caribbean Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), will not seek a second term as bishop. Sosa said he wants to serve as pastor of a congregation after his term as bishop concludes. The ELCA is organized...
Goldberger Named Editor for 'Lutheran Woman Today'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Nancy J. Goldberger, Chicago, became the second editor of Lutheran Woman Today on March 5. Lutheran Woman Today is the magazine of Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the women's organization of the church. Goldberger succeeds Nancy J. Stelling, Raleigh, N.C., who retired Dec....
ELCA Board Focuses on Human Rights, International Conflict
Mundelein, Ill. (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Global Mission (DGM) is addressing human rights and asking the church to advocate for peace and justice in Africa and the Middle East. The DGM board approved that request and several others when it met here March...
ELCA Communicators Assist Again in Rebuilding Following 'Mitch'
PACORA, NICARAGUA (ELCA) -- Shovels and pickaxes became ministry tools for 16 members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) who traveled to Nicaragua on a work trip. The Lutherans were in Nicaragua Feb. 17-24 to demonstrate solidarity with those who lost homes and livelihoods in the devastation left...
ELCA Hosts U.S. Farm Summit
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Sixty-five leaders from church and farm organizations shared their thoughts and concerns about the current conditions of U.S. agriculture and their hopes for the future. They gave a representative committee the charge to draft a vision statement and to circulate it for their approval. The Evangelical Lutheran...
ELCA 2001 Calendar of Synod Assemblies
3-5 Alaska, Joy Lutheran Church (Eagle River), Anchorage, Alaska 3-5 >< Florida-Bahamas, Lake Yale, Leesburg, Fla. 4-6 < Oregon, Lloyd Center Doubletree, Portland, Ore. 5 Southeastern Pennsylvania, Franconia Mennonite Meeting House, Souderton, Pa. 10-12 < New Jersey, Hilton Hotel, New Brunswick, N.J. 10-12 Pacifica, Riverside Convention Center, Riverside, Calif. 10-12...
Most ELCA Bishops Sign Letter Calling for Campaign Finance
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and 51 ELCA synod bishops signed a March 16 letter urging Congress to pass campaign finance reform legislation. The letter was sent to members of the U.S. Senate, as Congress considers the...
ELCA Ministry Board Accepts Ordination Guidelines for Exceptions
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Ministry met here March 9-11 and approved guidelines that would help the church implement a bylaw being considered to permit ordinations "in unusual circumstances." The guidelines were approved by a 10-7 vote and recommended to...
ELCA Ministry Board Submits Report on Homosexuality
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Ministry met here March 9-11 and submitted the "Report on Conversations about Homosexuality and the Church" to the ELCA Church Council and to the 2001 Churchwide Assembly. Staff from several units of the church compiled...
ELCA Commission for Women Names Four Focus Areas
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The steering committee of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Commission for Women decided to focus its attention over the next five to 10 years on four areas -- anti-sexism, nonviolence, advocacy and leadership. The steering committee met here March 9-11 and made its decision based...
ELCA Metropolitan Chicago Synod Bishop Declines Another Term
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Kenneth R. Olsen, bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), will not seek a second term, he announced in a letter this month to leaders in the synod. Olsen, 65, will leave office when his six-year term expires...
ELCA Higher Education, Schools Board Continues Strategic Planning
KENOSHA, Wis. (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has a "precious" understanding of the connection between faith and education, said Dr. Leonard G. Schulze, executive director of the ELCA Division for Higher Education and Schools (DHES). It is the division's responsibility to lift up that understanding, he...
'FACT' Survey Results Reveal Much about U.S. Faith Communities
NEW YORK (ELCA) -- In a report from the largest survey of congregations ever conducted in the United States, researchers said the great majority of faith communities are "vital and alive." Half of the faith communities see themselves as growing in numbers, especially those "using or blending" contemporary forms of...
ELCA Outreach Board Seeks Hospitality for Gay and Lesbian People
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Outreach (DO) is asking the church for a message about homosexuality. The DO board approved that request when it met here Feb. 23-25, and it began a process to seek recognition for Lutherans Concerned/North America as an independent...
Web Resources Promote Safe Environments for Children
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A variety of resources, many offered by Lutherans, are available on the World Wide Web to promote peaceful, safe schools, said the director for schools in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). "We will continue to be in solidarity with all of you in our quest...
Humanitarian Aid Is Focus of Lutheran Peace Prize Forum
DECORAH, Iowa (ELCA) -- Humanitarianism is not a tool to end war or create peace; it is a citizen's response to a political failure, according to Dr. Morten Rostrup, a medical doctor at Ulleval University Hospital, Oslo, Norway. Rostrup spoke to more than 1,200 students attending the 2001 Peace Prize...
Lutherans Host Summit on Rural America March 26 in Chicago
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will host a summit on the state of rural United States from the perspective of leaders from three major U.S. farm organizations and others working to improve rural and farm life. The summit will be held March 26 at the...
