ELCA Outreach Board Discusses Evangelism in 'A New Century'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Outreach (DO) received a report on evangelism and decided to voice its concerns about the report before taking action. The board met here Feb. 23-25. "The most significant highlight of the meeting was the wrestling...
ELCA Leaders Discuss Support for New Ethnic-Specific Missions
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The steering committee of the Commission for Multicultural Ministries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) discussed the church's support for new domestic missions and the time taken to transform them into self-supporting congregations when it met here Feb. 23-24. The committee also asked church leaders...
ELCA Outreach Board Re-Elects Magnus Executive Director
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Outreach (DO) elected the Rev. Richard A. Magnus to a second four-year term as the division's executive director, effective July 1. The board met here Feb. 23-25. "Dick Magnus has provided insightful and wise leadership...
Lutherans Assess Damage after Earthquake in Pacific Northwest
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Staff of Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, is assessing damage left behind by an earthquake which struck 10 miles northeast of Olympia, Wash., and 35 miles southwest of Seattle, Feb. 28. "The earthquake was...
Rev. Walter J. Kirkegaard Named ELCA Montana Synod Interim Bishop
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Walter J. Kirkegaard, Great Falls, Mont., was named interim bishop of the Montana Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), effective March 15. He was selected by the Montana Synod Council at its meeting Feb. 16 in Great Falls. Kirkegaard succeeds the Rev....
ELCA Board Examines Worship Attendance, Ministry Strategies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has taken a significant step in learning more about faith practices and increasing worship attendance. The board for the ELCA Division for Congregational Ministries met here Feb. 16-18, considered churchwide strategies and examined survey results on worship attendance and faith...
ELCA Publishing House Leader Expresses Concern for Board's Action
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The president and chief executive officer of Augsburg Fortress, publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said he is "deeply concerned" by actions the board for the ELCA Division for Congregational Ministries (DCM) took when it met here last month. The Rev. Marvin L....
Bitner Elected Chair of ELCA Division for Church in Society
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Denver W. Bitner, Zion Lutheran Church, Rockford, Ill., will chair the board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Church in Society (DCS) for two years, beginning in August. The board elected Bitner when it met here Feb. 22-24. Bitner will succeed...
ELCA Board Asks for Possible Publishing Alternatives
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- To ensure support for the 10,851 congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the board for the ELCA Division for Congregational Ministries (DCM) authorized the division's executive directors to "investigate alternative" means of "publishing, producing and distributing resources" designed to assist congregations in carrying out...
ELCA Safe-Haven Resource Now Available in Spanish
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- About 350 Spanish-speaking congregations and social ministry organizations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will receive the Spanish text version of "Safe Haven for Children: Hope for Congregations and Communities" this year. "Safe Haven for Children: Hope for Congregations and Communities" is a resource designed...
ELCA Advisory Committee Examines Fair and 'Predatory Lending'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) advisory committee on corporate social responsibility discussed fair lending and "predatory lending" when it met here Feb. 2. Members heard presentations on various lending practices of U.S. financial institutions and how to identify abuses. John E. Lind, executive director, California/Nevada...
2001 Rural Ministry Conference Highlights Art, Faith March 11-13
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Art, faith and life in rural America will be the focus for Lutherans attending the 2001 Rural Ministry Conference March 11-13 at the Holiday Inn and Five Flags Center, Dubuque, Iowa. Under the theme "Patchwork of Faith and Rural Culture," participants will engage in Bible study, receive...
ELCA Web Site Doubles in Size, Accesses, Advisory Committee Told
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Web site of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) grew significantly in the past year, nearly doubling the number of its pages as well as nearly doubling accesses by viewers, the ELCA Department for Communication advisory committee was told here Jan 26. From 1999...
Lutherans Continue Support for Earthquake Survivors in India
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) continue to support survivors in western India, after an earthquake and its aftershocks killed thousands there Jan. 26. The church's International Disaster Response initially provided $20,000 for emergency assistance. It contributed an additional $50,000 on Feb. 6. The...
Lutherans Continue Aid for Earthquake Survivors in El Salvador
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) continue to support relief efforts in El Salvador, after an earthquake and its aftershocks struck the Central American country Jan. 13. The church's International Disaster Response initially provided $50,000 for emergency assistance in El Salvador and parts of...
ELCA Calendar for March 2001
ELCA CALENDAR FOR MARCH 2001 1-6 Conference of Bishops, Westin Riverwalk, San Antonio, Texas 2-4 Division for Congregational Ministries, Living Faithfully in a Violent World, YMCA of the Rockies, Estes Park, Colo. 9-10 Peace Prize Forum, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa 9-11 Division for Ministry, Board, Lutheran Center, Chicago 9-11 Division...
Lutherans Continue Recovery Efforts Across the United States
CHICAGO (ELCA) Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), continues to "bring help and hope" to survivors of disasters across the United States. "This past year, our country experienced 'no-name storms,' quickly out of the news but leaving...
Lutherans Help Make Winning Touchdown for "Souper Bowl"
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- As the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League claimed victory on "Super Bowl Sunday" Jan. 28, thousands of Lutherans also made the "winning touchdown" in a challenge of a different kind. Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) participated in "Souper Bowl of Caring,"...
World Council Asks Member Churches to Study Intervention
POTSDAM, Germany (ELCA) -- The World Council of Churches (WCC) asked its 342 member churches, including the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), to study the ethical implications of international intervention into situations where armed conflict threatens civilians. The WCC central committee met Jan. 29-Feb. 6 near Berlin and forwarded...
Lutherans Plan to Visit Vieques March 22-25
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), will head a delegation of church leaders and staff to Puerto Rico, in response to an invitation of ELCA members there concerned about the live ammunition and bombing practices of the U.S....
