News

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.

Seventy-nine young adults have accepted the call to serve with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Young Adults in Global Mission program, an international mission opportunity for 21- to 29-year-olds. In August these young adults will embark on a year of service with ELCA companion churches and organizations around the world.

In an effort to continue meeting the needs of earthquake survivors in Nepal, ELCA members have allocated $500,000 to support ELCA partners there engaged in relief and emergency assistance.

ELCA members are responding to an April 25 earthquake that shook Nepal and its capital city, Kathmandu. Sections of the city's historic center lay in rubble, as aftershocks continue to rock the city valley and neighboring countries.

In observance of World Malaria Day April 25, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) commemorates the global anti-malaria effort and reaffirms the church’s commitment in helping bring an end to malaria-related deaths in Africa. Through the ELCA Malaria Campaign, ELCA members and others have contributed $13.8 million toward the campaign’s goal of raising $15 million by the end of 2015.

In her first visit to China, the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), noted the importance of cooperation in deepening the relationship with Christians in China, and the ELCA’s methodology of “accompaniment is how we can relate.”

Lutheran Disaster Response has been awarded a $300,000 grant from the American Red Cross to assist people impacted by Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey.

The ELCA Church Council took action on proposals designed to examine and explore new opportunities to fund the mission of this church. The council also considered proposals on the formation of a single ELCA lay roster and more when it met here April 9-12, 2015. The council serves as the ELCA's board of directors.

A group of Lutheran and Catholic leaders, during a March 27 visit to the Dilley Family Detention Center in Dilley, Texas, heard the stories of women who have fled violent situations in Central America. About 400 women and children who are seeking asylum are detained at the facility.

The Rev. James Robert Crumley Jr., bishop of the former Lutheran Church in America, died April 7 of complications from a fall. He was 90. The Lutheran Church in America is a predecessor church body of the ELCA.

Citing recent events across the United States, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton noted that "we are not living in a post-racial society." In a March 25 letter and video message to the 3.8 million-member church, Eaton expressed the need for conversation – not only among Lutherans but "all Americans" – about racism in "honest and productive ways."

With the recent surge of tens of thousands of unaccompanied children arriving in the United States from Central America, ELCA leaders and members are learning more about the root causes of migration.

The ELCA's first comprehensive campaign, Always Being Made New: The Campaign for the ELCA, is celebrating the completion of its first year with nearly $45 million raised, representing 23 percent of the five-year, $198 million Jan. 31, 2019, goal. In addition, the campaign has received another $3.4 million in current gift commitments and $10.8 million in planned gifts commitments to the priorities of the campaign.

The ELCA Conference of Bishops gathered here March 5-10 to continue their conversation and consideration on this church's proposals to form one unified roster of Word and Service. The conference also considered an array of topics ranging from theological education to mission support, from immigration reform to the means of grace, from the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017 to Always Being Made New: The Campaign for the ELCA and more.