ELCA Committee Contemplates Reader Survey; New Columnist Named
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The advisory committee for The Lutheran, the magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), considered results of a reader satisfaction survey conducted by Blue Dolphin Group, Wayland, Mass. Staff and committee members agreed with some findings and questioned others. The committee met Oct. 23 at...
Lutheran, UCC Social Ministry Leaders Say 'Diversity Works'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "Diversity Works: Developing Cross-Cultural Competencies for Effective Ministry" was the theme for The Forum 2000 here Nov. 2-3. About 70 leaders of faith-based health and human services discussed the cultural diversity of the people they serve, as well as the diversity and cultural awareness necessary in their...
Lutherans Continue Recovery Efforts in North Carolina
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Recovery efforts continue in North Carolina more than one year after Hurricane Floyd struck there, according to the Rev. Gilbert B. Furst, director for Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Hurricane Floyd killed 52 people...
U.S., Others Must Help Enable Peace, Says Jerusalem Lutheran Bishop
LOS ANGELES (ELCA) -- The United States and European Union countries should act "to put pressure on Israel and take further tangible measures" to protect Palestinians and find sustainable solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said the Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (and Palestine)....
Women of the ELCA Exhibits Organizational Growth
PHILADELPHIA (ELCA) -- Adding three new units to the more than 7,800 congregational units of the Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America may not seem like much, but these three are "special units" that represent one of the new ways the organization hopes to grow. Joy Lutheran Church,...
Lutherans Participate in Relief Efforts in Southern Florida
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), is participating in relief efforts in southern Florida, after severe storms struck there Oct. 3-4. Storms produced more than 15 inches of rain in less than 15 hours,...
Lutherans Get a Sense of Sabbath November 10-12
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Donna Schaper will be the main speaker during the "Sabbath Sense 24/7 Conference," Nov. 10-12 in Dublin, Ohio, sponsored by the Coalition for Ministry in Daily Life and the Forum for Faith in the Workplace. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is represented in...
ELCA Commission Concerned about Funds for Ethnic Ministries
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Leaders of ethnic-specific ministries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are concerned about funds provided them to bring new missions into self-supporting congregations. The steering committee of the ELCA Commission for Multicultural Ministries addressed this concern and other items at its meeting here Oct. 13-14....
Lutherans Launch 'Remember the Forgotten Refugees' Campaign
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) is coordinating a national effort in November to stop "the unnecessary and prolonged imprisonment of asylum seekers and former refugees suffering unjust deportation and indefinite detention" and "'expedited removal' -- a process that strips arriving refugees of the right to a...
ELCA Board Focuses on Community Organizing and Development
ROCKFORD, Ill. (ELCA) -- Community organizing and development was the focus for a meeting here Sept. 28-30 of the board of the Division for Church in Society (DCS) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). In addition to its business sessions, the board toured downtown development programs and heard...
Cuban Churches Growing, Seek Stronger Ties with U.S. Churches
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- There has been "enormous growth" of the church in Cuba, said the president of the Cuban Council of Churches (Consejo de Iglesias de Cuba), in remarks Oct. 20 here to the Division for Global Mission board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Dr. Reinerio Arce...
Lutherans Respond to Crisis in the Middle East
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) contributed $60,000 to the church's International Disaster Response fund to support people affected by the crisis in the Middle East. "Ever since the latest outbreak of violence between Israelis and Palestinians, tensions have mounted with fingers of accusation...
Trexler Resigns as Lutheran Bishop of Florida-Bahamas Synod
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. William B. Trexler, 57, has announced his resignation as bishop of the Florida-Bahamas Synod, one of 65 synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), effective Jan. 1, 2001. He has accepted a call to serve as pastor of First Lutheran Church, Norfolk, Va....
Lutheran Bishop of Montana to Become Trinity Seminary President
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark R. Ramseth, bishop of the Montana Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has accepted his election to become the third president of Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio. His transition from bishop to president is expected in early 2001. "I am humbled...
ELCA Publishing House to Form Separate Not-For-Profit Corporation
MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- The board of trustees for Augsburg Fortress Publishers endorsed a management proposal to form a separate not-for-profit corporation that will house all of the publisher's Internet operations. Augsburg Fortress is the publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The board met here Oct. 12-14....
ELCA Board Approves New Plan for Worship Resource Needs
LAKE GENEVA, Wis. (ELCA) -- To help address the worship needs of the 5.15 million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the board of the church's Division for Congregational Ministries (DCM) approved the "Next Generation of ELCA Worship Resources," a new multi-year plan for the division's worship team and Augsburg...
ELCA Publishing House Financial Outlook Improves, Board Told
MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- The financial outlook for Augsburg Fortress, the publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is generally improved in 2000, its board of trustees was told at its Oct. 12-14 meeting here. The company expects to achieve its sales goal, its expenses are under budget...
ELCA Men's Organization Organizes "Tool Kit"
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A new "Men's Ministry Tool Kit" will be available this winter for the 10,851 congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The board of Lutheran Men in Mission discussed the components of the tool kit and other items when it met here Oct. 13-15. The...
ELCA Board Approves Outdoor and Men's Ministries Plans
LAKE GENEVA, Wis. (ELCA) -- To help guide the outdoor and men's ministries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the board for the church's Division for Congregational Ministries (DCM) endorsed multi-year "strategic" plans for Outdoor Ministries and Lutheran Men in Mission, the men's organization of the ELCA, at...
The Rev. Paul R. Nelson, ELCA Director for Worship, Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Paul R. Nelson, 49, director for worship in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died Oct. 28 at his home here following a lengthy illness. Nelson joined the ELCA churchwide organization in September 1988, when he was appointed by the ELCA Division for Ministry...
