Ruth Sovik, Lutheran and Former WCC Official, Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Ruth J. Sovik, 71, a former deputy general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died Jan. 12 in Minneapolis after a long illness. Sovik and her husband, the Rev. Arne B. Sovik, were retired and...
Peace Prize Forum Feb. 18-19 Focuses on Reconciliation and Risk
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- John Hume and David Trimble, 1998 Nobel Peace Prize laureates, will address the 12th annual Peace Prize Forum, "Striving for Peace: Risk and Reconciliation," Feb. 18-19 at St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn. St. Olaf is one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in...
Martin Luther, Protestant Reformation Top Millennium Lists
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Martin Luther's action to nail his 95 theses to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany, in 1517, which challenged some practices of the Roman Catholic Church and sparked the Protestant Reformation, was the most significant religious story of the past 1,000 years, according to results of a...
Lutheran Vespers Volunteers Exchange Ideas, Discuss Strategy
RIVER FOREST, Ill. (ELCA) -- About 30 volunteers and synod and churchwide staff met here, exchanged ideas and developed strategies to place and keep "Lutheran Vespers," the radio ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), on the air in their communities. The Jan. 7-9 Lutheran Vespers Networking Conference...
ELCA Holds Forum to Highlight Multicultural Ministry Plans
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) held a forum Jan. 6-8 to highlight the church's activities, plans and aspirations for multicultural ministry in preparation for a new millennium. About 80 lay leaders, clergy and staff of the ELCA's churchwide offices and 65 synods met here for...
ELCA Members Team up for "Souper Bowl of Caring"
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Not only will teams of the National Football League prepare for "Super Bowl Sunday," Jan. 30, 2000, but so will 5.2 million members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The difference between congregations of the ELCA and professional football teams is that Lutherans plan to...
Lutherans Aid Relief Efforts in Kentucky after Tornado Strike
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran=20 Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), is participating in recovery efforts in Owensboro, Ky., after a tornado struck there Jan. 3. Initial assessments indicate more than 110 homes were destroyed and more than 250...
ELCA's Susquehanna University President Accepts New Position
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Dr. Joel L. Cunningham, president of Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, Pa., will become vice chancellor and president for the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn., in July. Cunningham served as president of Susquehanna -- one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America...
Lutherans Receive Grants for Leadership Development
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Team leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) initiative to "develop leaders for the next century" have awarded $74,172 in grants to 17 congregations, synods, organizations and projects of the ELCA. A goal of the initiative is to develop leaders that will "minister to an...
Seven Lutheran Bishops to Retire in 2000
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Seven of the 65 synod bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have announced plans to retire in 2000. Synod assemblies elect or re-elect bishops to six-year terms. Bishops serve as synods' chief pastors, exercising administrative oversight of the synods' work; they are also members...
TV Documentary Featuring Lutherans Wins Bronze Award
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "Playing in the Light: Our Changing Faith," a television documentary featuring members of "the post-modern generations" discussing their faith, won a Bronze Award in the category for Television and Cable Production Awards, Religious Programs, at the "Worldfest-Flagstaff" film festival Nov. 5-14, 1999. In the documentary, nine young...
Carlson, Nottbohm, Former Lutheran Officials, Die
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Martin E. Carlson, Roseville, Minn., a former executive director of the Office for Administration and Finance in the Lutheran Church in America (LCA), died Dec. 31, 1999. Carlson, 89, died of pneumonia following surgery. On Dec. 23, 1999, the Rev. Hebert E. Nottbohm, Minneapolis, died...
Joint Declaration Signing Most Significant ELCA News Event of '99
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The historic signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification in Augsburg, Germany, by representatives of the Vatican and Lutheran World Federation was the most significant news event involving the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in 1999, said the staff of ELCA News and...
Lutheran Students Celebrate, Reflect, Dream and Act in Chicago
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Under the theme, "WHY2K? It's About Time to Celebrate, Reflect, Dream and Act," Lutheran students from across the country met here Dec. 29-Jan. 2 for the 30th national gathering of the Lutheran Student Movement-USA (LSM-USA). More than 350 students and Lutheran campus ministry staff met to "reflect...
Dairy Farmers May Lose Farm but Not Faith
DAIRY FARMERS MAY LOSE FARM BUT NOT FAITH: ELCA ADDRESSES RURAL CRISIS by: Melissa O. Ramirez They are a husband-and-wife team with a handful of dairy cows in western Wisconsin. While their marriage is a 45-year romance, Larry and Rachel Ecklor's dairy farm has been everything but an affair to...
Grants Available to Lutherans for Refugee and Immigrant Services
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), in partnership with Wheat Ridge Ministries, is offering financial assistance to Lutheran congregations to encourage development of support services for immigrants and refugees. Competitive grants are available through the LIRS Bernthal Fund for Congregational Involvement, said William C. Tremitiere, director, LIRS...
Augsburg Fortress Names Director for Canadian Operation
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Augsburg Fortress Publishers, the Minneapolis-based publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), announced Larry Willard will become executive director for Augsburg Fortress Publishers, Canada, effective Jan. 3, 2000. Willard joins Augsburg Fortress following a career as vice president for institutional advancement, operations and marketing...
ELCA Disaster Response Sends $50,000 for Venezuela Relief
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will make $50,000 available for flood relief efforts in Venezuela, the ELCA Division for Global Mission announced Dec. 22. The ELCA will send $25,000 to Lutheran World Relief (LWR), an overseas Lutheran development and relief ministry of the ELCA and=20...
Wangerin's Latest Book Wins National Award (corrected title)
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Walter M. Wangerin, Jr., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) pastor, university professor, author and speaker has been named winner of the Theologos Award for the Best Children's Book of 1999. Wangerin was recognized for his book, "Water, Come Down," published this year by Augsburg...
New Y2K Resources Available; ELCA Churchwide Offices Closed Jan. 3
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- New resources are available on the World Wide Web site of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to help members respond in faith to Y2K concerns and the start of the new century in 2001. The updates are on the "AD2K" Project Web site at www.elca.org/dcs/ad2k....
