ELCA Rural and Small Town Congregations Show Vitality
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in small town and rural areas are learning from each other what makes ministry vital and effective. More than 120 lay leaders and clergy met here Sept. 24-26 for a consultation on "Evangelism Strategies and Leadership Practices that...
ELCA Bishop Discusses Episcopal Church Agreement with Some Minnesota Leader
ROCHESTER, MINN. (ELCA) -- The process leading to and the adoption of a Lutheran proposal for full-communion with The Episcopal Church was a "calculated risk," said the Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Anderson, who is leader of the 5.2 million-member ELCA,...
Leader of ELCA Higher Education and Schools to Retire
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. W. Robert Sorensen, executive director of the Division for Higher Education and Schools of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), announced his retirement at the division's board meeting here Sept. 24-26. Sorensen will retire at the end of the 1999-2000 academic year. "It has...
ELCA Hosts Convocations on Urban Ministry in U.S. Cities
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is hosting urban convocations to introduce the church's 10-year emphasis, "In the City for Good," and its theme of transforming lives, congregations and communities in U.S. cities. One event was held Sept. 11 at the Lutheran School of Theology at...
ELCA Supports Relief Work for People in East Timor
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Churches in West Timor have started relief work for some of the displaced people in Kupang and Atambua, cities on the border of East Timor. The escalation of violence and terror after the Aug. 30 independence referendum in East Timor has forced people to flee their homes....
ELCA Presiding Bishop Pledges Care for Seminarians in CCM Aftermath
ST. PAUL, MINN. (ELCA) - The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), pledged to do "all I can" to help seminarians who may have concerns about their roles in the church following the 1999 Churchwide Assembly's approval of an historic full communion...
Lutherans Engage in Relief Work after Hurricane Floyd
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Hurricane Floyd produced an extraordinary disaster, killing at least 54 people from the Bahamas north to the New England area, causing destruction in eight states, including an enormous impact in North Carolina, according to the Rev. Gilbert B. Furst, director for Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of...
Mega-Consultation Brings ELCA Leaders Together October 2-3
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Some 500 clergy and lay leaders from throughout the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will meet here Oct. 2-3 = in=20 a "Mega-Consultation," a time for fellowship, mutual learning and mission support planning for 2001. The leaders come from the 65 synods of the 5.2 million-member...
Agencies Moving into New Lutheran Center in Baltimore
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Two international Lutheran ministries, Lutheran World Relief (LWR) and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), have moved their international headquarters to a new six-story facility in downtown Baltimore, near the redeveloped Inner Harbor. The facility is called "The Lutheran Center." In addition to LIRS and LWR, the...
ELCA Archives and Records Center Dedicated
ELK GROVE VILLAGE, ILL. (ELCA) -- About 75 people attended a dedication ceremony Sept. 17 for the new 16,000 sq. ft. Archives and Records Center of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Earlier this year the archives moved here from its former location in the Village of Rosemont. Rosemont...
Registration for ELCA Youth Gathering 2000 Opens October 18
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Registration for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Youth Gathering 2000 opens Oct. 18. The senior high school gathering, "Dancing at the Cross Roads," will take place next summer in St. Louis at the America's Center and TWA Dome. Young people and adult counselors can register...
ELCA's Video "These Things Matter" Receives Award
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "These Things Matter," a video resource of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), received an "Award of Distinction" from The Videographer, a trade journal for video production professionals. "These Things Matter" is a video exploration of sacramental practices in congregations of the ELCA. The 60-minute video...
Lutherans Rebuild Houses in Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutherans continue to make houses livable again in Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma, after 38 tornadoes struck the states eight months ago. The tornadoes destroyed 427 homes, severely damaged 900 others, and killed seven people. Since Jan. 21 hundreds of volunteers have worked with Lutheran Disaster Response, a...
ELCA, United Church of Canada Produce Documentary
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- To examine the changing faith of "Generation X" and the "Millennium Generation," producers for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the United Church of Canada, on behalf of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. (NCC), created "Playing in the Light:...
ELCA Supports Relief Work in Liberia and Eritrea
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has pledged $50,000 to support the work of Lutheran World Federation's Department for World Service in war-torn Liberia. Members of the ELCA have also contributed $100,000 toward relief work in Eritrea. Between 1989 and 1996, Liberia was ravaged by civil...
ELCA Helps Mid-Atlantic Farmers Endure Drought
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A severe drought has singed farmland in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and states in the New England area this summer. These areas may be declared disaster sites, said the Rev. Gilbert B. Furst, director of Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry...
Lutheran Pastor to Head Jewish-Christian Institute
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Peter A. Pettit, a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), became director of the Institute for Jewish-Christian Understanding at Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pa., on Aug. 1. Muhlenberg is a college of the ELCA. "The institute is unique in the world of North...
ELCA Colleges and Universities Rank among America's Best (Corrected Text)
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) rank among the best in the United States, according to U.S. News and World Report's 2000 edition of "America's Best Colleges," issued Aug. 30. When compared with other public and private institutions, 17 of the ELCA's...
Luther Institute Honors Lutheran Music and Musicians
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Luther Institute has named five men and a choir to receive its 1999 Wittenberg Awards on Oct. 23. The focus of the 1999 Wittenberg Awards is "to recognize a few individuals and organizations who have made and are making major contributions to Lutheran Church music." This...
ELCA Issues Materials to Facilitate Deliberation on Homosexuality
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "Talking Together as Christians about Homosexuality" is a guide for congregations to gather information and to conduct organized discussions about what has been a difficult topic for the church. The Division for Church in Society of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) developed the materials and...
