Wenzel to Retire as Director of ELCA Seminary Program in Austin
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. August E. Wenzel, a former Lutheran bishop, will retire Jan. 31 as third director of the Lutheran Seminary Program in the Southwest (LSPS), Austin, Texas. Wenzel headed the program for half of its 26-year history. Wenzel, 64, was born near Rockdale, Texas. He is a...
Lutherans Commit to Living Faithfully in a Violent World
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (ELCA) -- Lutherans can live faithfully in a violent world but not without effort, participants learned at "Living Faithfully in a Violent World: Congregations and Communities Working Together to End Violence," a conference hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) here Dec. 8-9. Spousal, sexual,...
Lutheran Students Gather for a "Faith Odyssey" in New Orleans
CHICAGO (ELCA) Under the theme "2001: A Faith Odyssey," 450 Lutheran college and university students and campus ministry staff from across the country will meet in New Orleans, Dec. 28-Jan. 1, 2001, at the Fairmont Hotel for the 31st national gathering of the Lutheran Student Movement-USA (LSM-USA). Students and campus...
Emerging Lutheran Leaders Plan, Train, Work for Social Justice
ATLANTA (ELCA) -- Back-to-back events here provided worship, workshops and conversation among people identified as "emerging leaders" of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) addressing social justice issues. About 30 attended "Strategic Planning for Transformation" Nov. 30, and a total of 60 attended "Emerging Leaders: Working for Social Justice"...
ELCA-Roman Catholic Dialogue Continues to Compare, Contrast
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Work continued in exploring the Lutheran and Roman Catholic traditions and their resources in history, scripture and theology for resolving continuing issues that stand in the way of full communion. Representatives conducting the 10th round of talks between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the...
Lutherans Organizing Congregations Attend Intensive Trainin
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Eighteen Lutherans came here from eight states for an intensive course designed for congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) that have organized in the past six months or are involved in a significant transition. The ELCA Division for Outreach sponsored the conference Nov. 16-18....
Twenty Lutherans in the 107th Congress
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- There are 20 Lutherans in the 107th Congress of the United States, according to the Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs (LOGA), Washington, D.C., the federal public policy advocacy office of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Eight of the 16 Lutherans in the U.S. House are...
North American Lutherans Discuss Mission at Historic Meeting
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (ELCA) -- Participants in a historic Lutheran World Federation (LWF) North America consultation identified trust and relationships as the fundamental issues facing churches and congregations in their mission efforts. For the first time, representatives of the North American member churches of the LWF met here Nov. 29-Dec. 3...
Lutherans, United Methodists Prepare for Dialogue
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The United Methodist Church (UMC) are preparing for a new round of talks aimed at a relationship of full communion. The Rev. Allan C. Bjornberg, bishop of the ELCA Rocky Mountain Synod, and Bishop Melvin G. Talbert, ecumenical officer...
Peace Delegation Meets with Israeli Leaders, Issues Final Statement
JERUSALEM -- On its last day in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, an ecumenical peace delegation of American church leaders met with the mayor of Jerusalem, officials at the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the top Palestinian leader in Jerusalem and issued a final statement at a press conference. The...
Ecumenical Delegation Exposed to Complexity of Mideast Issues
ECUMENICAL DELEGATION EXPOSED TO COMPLEXITY OF MIDEAST ISSUES 00-297-JS* JERUSALEM --Shaking off the vestiges of jet lag, a delegation of 26 church leaders representing 12 U.S. denominations and organizations waded into the thicket of Middle East issues December 8, talking with those who are most directly affected by the increasing...
Christians Will Not Desert Holy Land, Delegation Hears
JERUSALEM -- "The number of Christians in Palestine is dwindling so much that the situation is becoming dangerous," Armenian Patriarch Torkom II told a visiting delegation of church leaders from the United States during a conversation Dec. 9. "But we are here, and we will be here in the future,"...
Arafat Warns That the Palestinians Are Facing a Disaster
GAZA CITY -- "We are facing a disaster," a grim-faced President Yasser Arafat of the Palestine Authority (PA) told a visiting delegation from the United States during a morning conversation. "Sorry you are coming in such crucial circumstances as we face more aggression. In spite of that, we are doing...
Starvation Threatens Palestinian Villages, Vatican Official Warns
JERUSALEM -- In a conversation with a peace delegation from the United States, the Vatican's representative in Jerusalem warned that there could be starvation within a month in Palestinian villages isolated by the fresh outbreak of violence. While most attention focuses on the political struggle between Israelis and Palestinians, Father...
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...
