ELCA Will Not Require Youth to Stay at Adam's Mark Hotel, St. Louis
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) does not intend to assign participants in this summer's Youth Gathering 2000 to the Adam's Mark Hotel in St. Louis, nor will it use any meeting facilities at the hotel, said the Rev. William H. Kees, director of the ELCA...
Celebration Honors Lutheran-Moravian History and Future
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.(ELCA) -- Two parallel histories converged here Jan. 27, when the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Moravian Church in America celebrated their new agreement, "Following Our Shepherd to Full Communion." After six years of dialogue and study, two provinces of the Moravian Church in America passed the...
ELCA Congregations Experience New Vitality and Growth
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Hundreds of congregations, with Sunday morning worship attendance averaging between 100 and 300 people, are experiencing new vitality and growth as a result of the Mid-Size Congregation Transformation Project of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). "Congregations with a worship attendance of 100 to 300 people...
Martin L. Yonts, Former ELCA Synod Bishop, Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) - The Rev. Martin L. Yonts Sr., 73, former synod bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and mission developer in the former Lutheran Church in America (LCA), died Jan. 28 in Hendersonville, N.C., after suffering an aneurysm. Yonts, a native of Thomasville, N.C., was elected...
ELCA Aids Relief Work in China, Nicaragua and Venezuela
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In response to disasters in China, Nicaragua and Venezuela, members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are sending $275,000 to the church's International Disaster Response to support recovery efforts in those countries. Coordinated through the ELCA Division for Global Mission (DGM), International Disaster Response provides...
Lutherans Huddle for 'Souper Bowl of Caring'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The St. Louis Rams of the National Football League was not the only team to claim victory on "Super Bowl Sunday," Jan. 30. Food pantries, homeless shelters and others can also claim success thanks to more than 11,000 churches in the United States, including congregations of the...
Lutherans Help Produce "How Shall They Hear"
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Religion Communicators Council (RCC) has produced a sixth edition of "How Shall They Hear: A Handbook for Religion Communicators." The soft-bound, 166-page resource is now available to all faith communities across the United States. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is one of 70 faith...
A. G. "Gib" Fjellman, Former Lutheran Bishop, Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Anel G. "Gib" Fjellman, 82, bishop of the Pacific Northwest Synod of the former Lutheran Church in America (LCA) from 1962 to 1983, died Jan. 20 at a Seattle hospital from complications of pneumonia. Prior to becoming bishop, Fjellman served six years as regional director...
ELCA Lectures Explore Classism and the Church
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The barriers between economic and social classes impede the work of the Church. That's one idea to be examined Feb. 3-May = 3=20 on the eight seminary campuses of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) during the 2000 Hein-Fry Lecture Series, "Class Matters: Mission Across Unseen...
ELCA Holds "Youth Extravaganza 2000" Feb. 4-7 in St. Louis
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) who are committed to strengthening the Christian faith lives of youth and young adults will gather for the "Youth Extravaganza 2000" Feb. 4-7 at the Marriott Pavilion Hotel in St. Louis. "The extravaganza is an annual training event...
Lutherans, Episcopalians Discuss Corporate Social Responsibility
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "This was a first-time acquaintance for all of us," said Dr. Robert C. Holland, Bethesda, Md., newly elected chair of the advisory committee for corporate social responsibility of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The Lutherans met Jan. 14-15 with = their counterparts on the social...
Celebration Jan. 27 Honors Lutheran-Moravian Full Communion
SALISBURY, N.C. (ELCA) -- Winston-Salem, N.C., a city rich in Moravian heritage, is an ideal setting for a festive celebration honoring a full communion agreement between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Moravian Church in America. Church dignitaries from across the United States and as far away...
Ruth Sovik, Lutheran and Former WCC Official, Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Ruth J. Sovik, 71, a former deputy general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died Jan. 12 in Minneapolis after a long illness. Sovik and her husband, the Rev. Arne B. Sovik, were retired and...
Peace Prize Forum Feb. 18-19 Focuses on Reconciliation and Risk
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- John Hume and David Trimble, 1998 Nobel Peace Prize laureates, will address the 12th annual Peace Prize Forum, "Striving for Peace: Risk and Reconciliation," Feb. 18-19 at St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn. St. Olaf is one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in...
Martin Luther, Protestant Reformation Top Millennium Lists
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Martin Luther's action to nail his 95 theses to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany, in 1517, which challenged some practices of the Roman Catholic Church and sparked the Protestant Reformation, was the most significant religious story of the past 1,000 years, according to results of a...
Lutheran Vespers Volunteers Exchange Ideas, Discuss Strategy
RIVER FOREST, Ill. (ELCA) -- About 30 volunteers and synod and churchwide staff met here, exchanged ideas and developed strategies to place and keep "Lutheran Vespers," the radio ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), on the air in their communities. The Jan. 7-9 Lutheran Vespers Networking Conference...
ELCA Holds Forum to Highlight Multicultural Ministry Plans
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) held a forum Jan. 6-8 to highlight the church's activities, plans and aspirations for multicultural ministry in preparation for a new millennium. About 80 lay leaders, clergy and staff of the ELCA's churchwide offices and 65 synods met here for...
ELCA Members Team up for "Souper Bowl of Caring"
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Not only will teams of the National Football League prepare for "Super Bowl Sunday," Jan. 30, 2000, but so will 5.2 million members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The difference between congregations of the ELCA and professional football teams is that Lutherans plan to...
Lutherans Aid Relief Efforts in Kentucky after Tornado Strike
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran=20 Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), is participating in recovery efforts in Owensboro, Ky., after a tornado struck there Jan. 3. Initial assessments indicate more than 110 homes were destroyed and more than 250...
ELCA's Susquehanna University President Accepts New Position
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Dr. Joel L. Cunningham, president of Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, Pa., will become vice chancellor and president for the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn., in July. Cunningham served as president of Susquehanna -- one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America...
