ELCA, Episcopal Church to Inaugurate Full Communion Jan. 6
CHICAGO (ELCA/ENS) -- The Episcopal Church, USA (ECUSA) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will inaugurate their new full communion relationship Jan. 6, 2001, in a service of Holy Eucharist at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. The celebration will be led jointly by the presiding bishops of...
Church Leaders Head to Middle East to Bolster Peace Efforts
CHURCH LEADERS HEAD TO MIDDLE EAST TO BOLSTER PEACE EFFORTS 00-295-JS* NEW YORK -- A high-level delegation of American church leaders is headed for the Middle East Dec. 7-12 to express solidarity with Christian churches there and to lend their voices to a growing chorus calling for renewed efforts to...
ELCA Identity Project Scheduled for National Cable Television
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) launched 30-second television spots on national cable network television beginning Nov. 27, to run through Dec. 14. The television spots are part of the ELCA's Identity Project, a multimedia effort aimed at raising awareness about the Lutheran church. The spots...
Mosaic Wins Award; Winter 2000 Issue to Feature Great Lakes Theme
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Concordia Historical Institute, the Department of Archives and History of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, presented an award Nov. 9 to MOSAIC, the video magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), for a recent segment featuring Lutheran missionaries in Madagascar. The story, "A Century in Madagascar,"...
ELCA's St. Olaf College Leads Nation in International Studies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn., leads the nation's colleges and universities in the percentage of students who engage in international or off-campus domestic studies, according to a news release issued by the Institute of International Education on Nov. 13. St. Olaf is one of 28 colleges and...
Lutheran Killed in Middle East Violence
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A German medical doctor -- a member of Beit Jala Lutheran Church of the Reformation -- was killed Nov. 15, following an attack on Beit Jala, a small town in the West Bank near Bethlehem. The Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in...
ELCA Florida-Bahamas Synod Council Names Rave Interim Bishop
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. James A. Rave, Ormond Beach, Fla., has been appointed interim bishop of the Florida-Bahamas Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), effective Jan. 1. Rave, 65, is the former bishop of the ELCA's Northwestern Ohio Synod, where he served from 1987 to 1998,...
Lutherans Help Provide Emergency Assistance in Bangladesh
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) contributed $60,000 to the church's International Disaster Response fund to provide emergency assistance to people in Bangladesh, after months of high-speed winds and flood waters caused destruction in the northwestern, western and southern parts of the country. More...
Mitchell Named Interim President for Bethany College
CHICAGO (ELCA) Dr. Mike L. Mitchell, vice president and academic dean, Bethany College, Lindsburg, Kan., will serve as interim president of the college beginning Jan. 1, 2001. Bethany College is one of 28 colleges and universities affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The Rev. Christopher M. Thomforde,...
Lutheran Outdoor Ministry Organizations Build Quality Programs
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran outdoor ministry organizations across the United States are working to improve the quality of their programs with a $775,000 grant from Solutions 2000, a program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL), a fraternal benefits...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Calls for Prayer Vigil for Middle East
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) proposed that the church engage in a continuous prayer vigil for all people suffering from the continuing violence in the Middle East. The Rev. H. George Anderson said the prayer vigil would begin with the first...
ELCA Council 'Applauds' Rural Ministry
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) received and "applauded" a report on the church's rural ministry and acted to encourage members of the ELCA to strengthen their commitment to the ministry. The Church Council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves...
ELCA Council Authorizes Church's Spending (And Other Items)
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) approved a spending authorization of $83,490,000 for the ELCA in 2001. The council approved the 2001 ELCA World Hunger spending authorization of $14,500,000, and it acted on other items. The Church Council is the ELCA's board...
ELCA Thanks, Pushes Congress for Food Stamp Legislation
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In October, Congress passed two provisions of the Hunger Relief Act, letting states set their own limits on vehicles owned by food-stamp recipients and raising a limit on the cost of shelter for food-stamp recipients. The Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs (LOGA), Washington, D.C., applauded that action...
Lutheran-Jewish Panel Welcomes 'Dabru Emet'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In September, a group of Jewish scholars issued "Dabru Emet: A Jewish Statement on Christians and Christianity" in a full-page ad in the New York Times and the Baltimore Sun. A panel on Lutheran-Jewish relations has said the statement "moves Jewish-Christian dialogue to new levels, as together...
ELCA Council Proposes Amendments on Clergy Call Termination
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) proposed constitutional amendments that would make it possible, under certain circumstances, for a congregation to terminate its pastor by a simple majority vote. The proposals will be transmitted to the 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly for its...
ELCA Council Elects Board Members; CCM Committee Announced
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) elected three clergy and one lay person to fill vacancies on boards and advisory committees of the ELCA. Members of a new Episcopal-Lutheran coordinating committee were announced to the council. The Church Council is the ELCA's...
ELCA Council Asks for Report, Suggests Bylaw on CCM Exceptions
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) asked the ELCA Office of the Bishop to consult with other bishops and ecumenical partners about a possible constitutional bylaw that would allow for exceptions to ordination procedures -- procedures required by a full communion agreement...
ELCA Council Hears Presiding Bishop's Vision for Church in 20 Years
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has outlined a vision for the ELCA in 20 years. Anderson shared six characteristics for the future church in his report to the ELCA Church Council Nov. 11. The Church Council is...
ELCA Council Approves Plan to Develop Worship Resources
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- To help address the worship needs of the 5.15 million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the ELCA Church Council approved the "Next Generation of ELCA Worship Resources," a new multi-year plan for the church's worship team and Augsburg Fortress Publishers. It also approved the establishment of...
