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ELCA Council Lifts Lutheran World Federation Action On Sudan

November 17, 2004

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) "raised up" a September 2004 resolution of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) that calls for solidarity with survivors of violence in Darfur, Sudan. It also encouraged the 5 million members of the ELCA to pray for...

ELCA Council Recommends Assembly Rules, Acts on Amendments

November 17, 2004

Friends: Please replace the story, "ELCA Church Council Commends Rules, Amends Governing Documents," issued Nov. 16, with the revised story that appears below. The revision is intended to clarify actions of the Church Council. We are sorry for any inconvenience this causes. Thank you for your consideration. John R. Brooks...

ELCA Council Adopts Report On Churchwide Governance

November 17, 2004

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) adopted a final report and recommendations regarding changes in governance of the churchwide organization as part of the church's planning initiative. It asked that the church's leadership recommend to the council's April 2005 meeting "any additional...

ELCA Council Adopts Policy On Genetically Modified Organisms

November 16, 2004

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) adopted a social policy resolution on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the food supply. The policy directs the church's advocacy on "legislative action, trade policies, patent laws, hunger relief and development measures, shareholder actions and policy...

ELCA Vice President Recounts Visit With West Bank Lutherans

November 16, 2004

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Carlos Pena, vice president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and chair of the ELCA Church Council, told the council about a one-week tour of Israel and the West Bank that he took in September. The ELCA Division for Global Mission organized the visit to...

ELCA Council Elects Board And Committee Members

November 16, 2004

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) elected Kaanaeli Mukundi of Chicago to fill a vacancy on the board of the ELCA Division for Church in Society (DCS). The Church Council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as the legislative authority...

ELCA Council Hears Presiding Bishop Ask 'What Does It Mean?'

November 15, 2004

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The death of Yasser Arafat, the recent U.S. presidential campaign and election, and multicultural challenges facing the church prompted the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to ask, "what does all this mean?" in his report Nov. 11 to the ELCA Church Council....

LWF Leaders Praise Arafat For Support Of Palestinian Christians

November 11, 2004

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Lutheran World Federation (LWF), based in Geneva, Switzerland, paid tribute to Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat as a strong supporter of the religious rights and freedoms of Palestinian Christians and "always attentive to their place and importance in the Holy Land," according to a statement issued...

ELCA Publisher Puts 2005 Hopes In New Resources, Budget Controls

November 9, 2004

MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- The board of trustees for Augsburg Fortress, the publishing ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), adopted an operating budget which projects a net income loss that could reach $2.3 million for 2005. The trustees met here Oct. 21-23. However, the trustees are hoping the...

Phyllis Anderson Elected President Of ELCA Seminary

November 8, 2004

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Phyllis B. Anderson will become the seventh president of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (PLTS), Berkeley, Calif., on Feb. 1, 2005. On Nov. 5 the PLTS board of directors unanimously elected Anderson, a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and director of the...

ELCA Presiding Bishop Offers Commitment, Prayer For Bush Leadership

November 4, 2004

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In the wake of this week's election, the presiding bishop of the 5-million member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) offered his "commitment to all who have been elected and in particular to President George W. Bush," and called on members of the ELCA to pray for...

ELCA Board Approves Education Study, GMO Resolution, Issue Papers

November 1, 2004

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Church in Society (DCS) authorized the printing and distribution of a study document on education, approved a draft policy resolution on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and commended three issue papers on corporate social responsibility. Board...

Women Of The ELCA Board Endorses 2005 Triennial Convention Plans

October 29, 2004

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The executive board of Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) endorsed plans for the organization's 6th Triennial Convention and adopted a budget for the gathering at its meeting here Oct. 14-17. The convention -- which includes worship, community service projects, opportunities for networking through...

ELCA Presiding Bishop Visits Florida-Bahamas Synod, Offers Thanks

October 29, 2004

TAMPA, Fla. (ELCA) -- Expressing thanks on behalf of "a grateful church," the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), traveled here Oct. 26 to meet with leaders of the ELCA Florida-Bahamas Synod in the wake of four hurricanes that struck this synod...

ELCA Commission For Women Calls For 'Gender Justice'

October 28, 2004

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The steering committee of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Commission for Women wants a proposed redesign of the churchwide organization to replace references to "work on behalf of women" with efforts for "gender justice," said Agnes S. McClain, committee chair. The committee drafted a rationale...

Tiede Announces Retirement As President Of Luther Seminary

October 27, 2004

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. David L. Tiede announced Oct. 25 that he plans to retire June 30, 2005, as president of Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn. Tiede will complete 18 years as president and 34 years as a professor of New Testament at the seminary. Luther is one of...

Board Forwards Proposal for New Worship Materials to ELCA Council

October 27, 2004

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of the Division for Congregational Ministries (DCM) forwarded a report -- which includes "provisions for finishing the development of a new primary book of worship" -- to the Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The council will consider the report for...

The Rev. Harold 'Hal' Rast, Former Head Of Fortress Press, Dies

October 20, 2004

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Harold W. (Hal) Rast, former head of Fortress Press and retired pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died Oct. 13, following a long battle with pancreatic cancer. A memorial service for Rast, 71, was held Oct. 18 at Grace Lutheran Church, Lancaster,...

ELCA, LCMS Leaders Discuss Church Dialogues, Key Issues

October 19, 2004

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Top leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) discussed a wide variety of topics in a meeting here Oct. 14, including the possibility that both could be part of a new round of theological dialogues with the Roman Catholic...

Christopherson To Retire As President Of ELCA's Dana College

October 19, 2004

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Dr. Myrvin F. Christopherson, president of Dana College, Blair, Neb., announced Oct. 5 he will retire next year after serving 19 years as president, according to a news release from the school. Dana is of 28 ELCA colleges and universities. Christopherson, 65, will serve in his current...

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