Independent Lutheran Journals Debate Full Communion Proposal
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Several independent journals addressing the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) presented various positions on a proposal which outlines a relationship of "full communion" between the ELCA and The Episcopal Church. The Lutheran Commentator opposed the proposal; two publications of the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau (ALPB), Delhi,...
Horizon Internships Give Seminarians Learning Experiences
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- More than 35 students at seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will spend their third year of seminary education on internships in rural, urban and multicultural settings with the help of the Horizon Internship program, said the Rev. Gregory J. Villalon, director for ethnic...
ELCA Black Rostered Leaders Engage the Future
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Two hundred and fifty African American and Black leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) met here June 21-23 for the first Black Rostered Leadership Summit. Under the theme "Remembering the Past ... Engaging the Future," the goal of the gathering was to strengthen the...
Lutheran African Americans Focus On Criminal Justice
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- African American members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are concerned about the disproportionate number of Black men and women incarcerated in the United States. During its seventh biennial convention here June 23-26, members of the African American Lutheran Association (AALA) voted to communicate to...
ELCA Receives Funds to Deepen Worship Life and Teach the Faith
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In an effort to deepen worship life and teach the faith, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) received $250,000 from the Lutheran Brotherhood Foundation, Minneapolis, to support and expand the work of the church's initiatives. "Deepen Our Worship Life" and "Teach the Faith" are two of...
Lutherans Join "Journey Against Hate"
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) were among those on the July 22-24 "Journey Against Hate" to combat the rise of hate groups in America. A group of religious and civic leaders traveled through Illinois and Indiana, following the path Benjamin Nathaniel Smith took...
ELCA Leaders Issue "Perspective" on CCM (Corrected Text)
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A vote on a proposed Lutheran-Episcopal full communion agreement is "an enormously momentous decision," said five leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), who this month sent informational statements and endorsements of the proposal to voting members of the 1999 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. The assembly...
1999 ELCA Assembly to Convene in Denver Aug. 16-22
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Voting members to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Churchwide Assembly Aug. 16-22 in Denver are expected to act on proposed full communion agreements with two Protestant churches, consider a proposed social statement on economic life and elect a new editor for The Lutheran, the magazine...
Lutheran Congregations Link to ELCA Home Page
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- More than 1,540 congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have web sites linked to the ELCA home page, said Sonia Gestes, Internet technician, ELCA Department for Information Technology. The ELCA web site on the Internet was launched in May 1995, and almost immediately congregations...
4,000 Lutheran Youth Form Huge Work Party
SEATTLE (ELCA) -- Four thousand visitors came to the Western States Youth Gathering of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) here and participated in a huge work party throughout the Puget Sound area of Washington state -- from Bellingham to Seattle, Tacoma and Aberdeen. The ELCA's Western States Youth...
Wartburg Seminary Faculty Supports Full Communion Proposal
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The faculty of Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa, added its support for a proposal the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is considering that outlines a relationship of "full communion" with The Episcopal Church. Wartburg is one of eight seminaries of the ELCA. "Called to Common Mission:...
Arab and Middle Eastern Lutherans Meet in Assembly
BROOKLYN, NY (ELCA) -- The Association of Lutherans of Arab and Middle Eastern Heritage (ALAMEH) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) met in assembly here July 9-11. ALAMEH was created for the "mission and ministry of witness and service with and among persons of = Arab and Middle...
Bishop of Jordan Addresses U.S. Arab and Middle Eastern Lutherans
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (ELCA) -- The Christian Bible says "the Holy Spirit was poured out upon all nations in Jerusalem. Everyone here goes back to that first church," the Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (ELCJ), told the Association of Lutherans of = Arab and...
Miller Nominated Editor of 'The Lutheran'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. David L. Miller has been nominated to a four-year term as the next editor of The Lutheran, magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The magazine's advisory committee, acting as a search committee, initiated Miller's nomination on July 13. The committee interviewed several...
Membership Remained Stable for ELCA Congregations in 1998
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- With a total of 5,178,225 baptized members in 10,862 congregations, the membership of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) remained stable, decreasing in 1998 about one-tenth of a percent. That figure represented a decline of 6,830 baptized members from 5,185,055 in 1997, according to the Rev....
Lutherans Continue Disaster Relief Operations in Four States
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In 90 minutes three inches of rain fell July 9 in Las Vegas, an area that typically receives four inches of rain a year, said Johanna Olson, assistant for Domestic Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR), a ministry of...
Felicetti Named President for Capital University
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Dr. Daniel A. Felicetti, 57, Indianapolis, has been named 13th president of Capital University, Columbus, Ohio. Capital is one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Since 1989 Felicetti has been president of Marian College, Indianapolis, a Franciscan Roman Catholic liberal arts...
ELCA Campaigns to 'Turn Around Congregations'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In an effort to revitalize and renew congregations, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Outreach (DO) and Division for Congregational Ministries (DCM) are implementing "Turn Around Congregations," a pilot program beginning in five of the ELCA's 65 synods. "Congregations that are willing and wanting...
Income for ELCA Congregations Exceeded $2 Billion in 1998
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Income for the 10,862 congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in 1998 exceeded $2 billion for the second year in a row. The 1998 total of $2,120,307,630 was up $113,354,246 or 5.64 percent from 1997, the Rev. Lowell G. Almen, ELCA secretary, reported in...
Lutherans Lead Rally for Fair Farm Prices
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America were among more than 850 participants and leaders of a July 9 rally at the Sweetgrass entry point on the U.S.-Canadian border to protest subsidized Canadian commodity prices and domination by large agribusiness corporations. The Rev. Mark R. Ramseth,...
