News

ELCA and Global Refuge leaders expressed gratitude for a move by the Obama administration has begun releasing some detained mothers and children seeking asylum in the United States.

One message that was heard loud and clear among teenage-age youth of the ELCA is that "Love Does" bind. About 500 youth from across this church gathered here July 12-15 at Wayne State University for the Multicultural Youth Leadership Event (MYLE) – an event designed to empower young people of color and/or whose primary language is other than English.

The ELCA was granted a federal charter July 7 to create the ELCA Federal Credit Union. The new credit union will provide products and services to the denomination's 3.8 million members in nearly 10,000 congregations and employees of the ELCA's 65 synods and churchwide organization. The credit union joins the three existing financial services ministries of the ELCA.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton offered a pastoral letter June 30 to the 3.8 million members of the denomination in response to the recent Supreme Court ruling that same-sex couples may now exercise the right to marry.

In their commitment to help end malaria-related deaths in Africa, members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have contributed $14.5 million to the ELCA Malaria Campaign, $500,000 shy of the campaign goal of $15 million by the end of 2015. Through the campaign, ELCA members and others have joined with companion Lutheran churches and partners in 13 African countries to prevent and treat malaria and educate communities about the disease.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton will attend the June 26 funeral of the Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney, who was among the nine people killed June 17 at a historic African-American church in Charleston, S.C. Local authorities called the killings racially motivated.

In a public statement following a shooting that claimed the lives of nine people at a historic African-American church in Charleston, S.C., ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton called for a "day of repentance and mourning." Local authorities called the killing racially motivated.

For thousands of people, including a growing number of women and children migrating from Central America to the United States, their final stop before crossing the Suchiate River into southern Mexico is the Casa de Migrante (House of Migrants) in Tecún Umán, Guatemala, said Stephen Deal of the ELCA.

In affirmation of their baptismal promise to “serve others and follow the example of Jesus,” almost 30,000 youth, adult leaders and others from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will participate in the ELCA Youth Gathering July 15-19 in Detroit. Meeting under the theme “Rise Up Together,” the Gathering will offer youth an opportunity to strengthen their faith and discover their call to serve the world – at home and abroad.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton released a statement June 18 in response to a shooting where nine people were killed at a historic African American church in Charleston, S.C. Local authorities are calling the killing racially motivated.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton released a statement June 18 on behalf of this church in response to Pope Francis' encyclical on climate change and the deteriorating global environment.

In a June 11 letter to President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and other religious leaders, asked that action be taken to modernize the Columbia River Treaty – a 1964 agreement between the United States and Canada to govern together water resources to promote economic growth, wealth and happiness for citizens of the two nations.

Expanding ministries among youth and young adults is an ELCA priority. To help cultivate young leaders, embrace a culture of diversity and inclusion and build a robust network of support, a new grant process is now available to support this church's priority.

The Rev. Matthew L. Riegel, Morgantown, W.Va., was elected June 6 to a six-year term as bishop of the West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election was held during the synod assembly June 5-6 at the Days Inn and Conference Center in Sutton, W.Va.

With monsoon rains expected to significantly impact earthquake recovery operations in Nepal, the ELCA continues to work with partners there to address the immediate needs of communities rendered vulnerable to torrential rains, landslides and more.

Lutheran Disaster Response received the "Innovative Program of the Year" award for its storm-shelter pilot program at the 2015 National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster annual conference held May 11-15 in New Orleans. Lutheran Disaster Response is a ministry of the ELCA.

The Rev. Timothy M. Smith, Atlanta, was elected May 30 to a six-year term as bishop of the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election was held during the Synod Assembly May 28-30 at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro, N.C.

For the Rev. Ruben Duran, the message is quite clear – "Christ's church is not dying." That's a different message, he says, than what has been widely reported in recent years about the decline in membership among U.S. mainline denominations, such as the 3.8 million-member ELCA.

Lutherans and Catholics in the United States have been in dialogue for the past 50 years. A Service of Thanksgiving and Prayer to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the dialogue will take place May 27 in the chapel of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Center in Washington, D.C. Lutheran and Catholic leaders will then gather for this sixth meeting of Round XII of the U.S. Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue on the topic of "Faithful Teaching."

Tenacity, determination and faith – that's how the Rev. Andrea L. Walker described members and leaders of the Lutheran Church in Liberia, as well as people of the West Africa country, in response to their efforts to become Ebola-free. Walker is the ELCA's area program director for Madagascar, West and Central Africa.