News

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided nearly $400,000 in humanitarian assistance to help support ELCA partners who serve the thousands of unaccompanied minors coming to the United States from countries in Central America. The funds were disbursed through Lutheran Disaster Response to Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service and Lutheran Social Services of the South.

Jody Horner will become the 16th president of Midland University in Fremont, Neb. The university’s board of directors announced its unanimous election of Horner Dec. 17. Midland is one of the ELCA’s 26 colleges and universities.

In her Christmas message, the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said “The hope of Christmas was fulfilled on Good Friday. The cross is part of Christmas.”

In an effort to continue this church's commitment to racial justice, some ELCA congregations participated in Solidarity Sunday Dec. 14 with prayer and engagement with other denominations using the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter.

The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, ELCA presiding bishop, and the Rev. Jessica Crist, bishop of the ELCA Montana Synod and chair of the ELCA Conference of Bishops, celebrate the appointment of the Rev. Libby Lane to serve as bishop of Stockport – the first woman bishop in the Church of England.

The White House announcement that the United States will renew diplomatic relations with Cuba, as well as take steps toward the long-standing U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, came as welcome news for some ELCA members and leaders.

The Rev. Claire Burkat, bishop of the ELCA Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, offered a pastoral message in response to the Dec. 15 shootings that left six people dead and one person severely injured. The suspected gunman was found dead Dec. 16.

John I. Williams Jr. will become the 12th president of Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pa., effective July 1, 2015. Muhlenberg is one of 26 colleges and universities of theELCA.

In a Dec. 5 video message on racial justice, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton said, “Our nation and our church have been and remain deeply besieged by racism. Following the decisions by grand juries in Ferguson and New York, it has become clear that we have different experiences of life in this country. We continue to struggle. We continue to struggle in our conversation about race in our congregations, communities and places of business, even at our kitchen table.”

The presiding bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The Episcopal Church commemorate World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, “as a time to remember those whose lives were forever changed because of HIV and AIDS.”

In response to the St. Louis County grand jury decision Nov. 24 not to indict Darren Wilson in the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., the Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, ELCA presiding bishop, offered a word of prayer and hope.

Women leaders from across the Global South discussed the role and contribution of women in church and society as part of an annual seminar supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s (ELCA) International Leaders–Women program. The seminar, which took place Oct. 26 - Nov. 1 in Wittenberg, Germany, hosted 13 women leaders from Mexico, India, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Madagascar, Palestine, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Serbia and Hungary.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Conference of Bishops released a statement Nov. 20 in support of President Obama’s announcement of immigration reform.

The ELCA Church Council approved the implementation of this church's Disability Ministries and Youth and Young Adult programs into Always Being Made New: The Campaign for the ELCA. Among its other actions, the council conferred the title of "emeritus" to the three former ELCA presiding bishops, elected a new member, considered budget matters, received updates, reports and more when it met here Nov. 7-10. The council serves as the ELCA's board of directors.

Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and others have contributed $13 million to the ELCA Malaria Campaign in their effort to raise $15 million by the end of 2015. Through the campaign, ELCA members have joined with companion Lutheran churches and partners in 13 African countries to prevent and treat malaria, educate communities about the disease and more.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton commended the Obama administration for urging the Israeli government to "reverse its recent declaration as 'state land' the estimated 988 acres in the Gush Etzion Jewish settlement bloc in the occupied West Bank."

Since they lost their daughter, Terri Ann, to suicide in 1987, Jerry and Elsie Weyrauch, members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), have been motivated to help make a difference in the lives of those who are affected by suicide. They have spent the past 27 years working to raise awareness of suicide prevention and the issues that lead to suicidal behavior.

The ELCA has awarded 20 students attending ELCA seminaries with full-tuition or mission developer scholarships for the 2014-2015 academic year through ELCA Fund for Leaders – a scholarship program that attracts men and women of promise to study at one of eight ELCA seminaries.

The ELCA Conference of Bishops gathered here Oct. 2-7 to consider an array of topics ranging from this church's commitment to starting new and renewing congregations to discerning the landscape of theological education, from funding the mission and embracing a new comprehensive campaign to the assignment of more than 100 rostered candidates. Other topics included an invitation to study The Use of the Means of Grace, a proposed new Word and Service roster, the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation and more.

Bearing witness as a church that is committed to ending violence, members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will gather Oct. 2 for a prayer revival in Chicago to address the violence happening here and in communities around theworld.