Lutherans Respond in Faith to Fears of Y2k Computer Problems
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Many Lutherans are wondering if the year 2000 computer problem (Y2K) is just hype or if we are in for a crisis so severe we should "head for the hills." Several members of the New Jersey Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) wanted to...
Correction: Florida-Bahamas Synod Settles Court Case
[Editors: Please substitute the following for the first three paragraphs of the story previously issued under the same headline on May 18, 1999.] CHICAGO (ELCA) The Florida-Bahamas Synod, one of 65 synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), will pay $250,000 in settlement to a Fort Lauderdale woman...
Torgerson to Become President of Luther College
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Richard L. Torgerson, 55, St. Peter, Minn., has been selected to become president of Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, on July 12. Luther is one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Torgerson succeeds Jeffrey D. Baker, who died from lung cancer...
'Bo' Sorenson, Lutheran Missionary and Executive, Dies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Morris A. "Bo" Sorenson Jr., 71, White Bear Lake, Minn., died May 24 of liver failure. He served in many key positions in the Lutheran church, including missionary to Japan and executive assistant to the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)....
Skrenes Elected Lutheran Bishop of Northern Great Lakes Synod
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Thomas A. Skrenes, 44, was elected bishop of the Northern Great Lakes Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) on May 25. He received 161 votes to 128 for the Rev. David L. Echelbarger, 46, on the fifth ballot during the synod's assembly...
Fifteen More Lutheran Bishops Support 'Called to Common Mission'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Fifteen synod bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have added their support for "Called to Common Mission" (CCM), a Lutheran proposal for a relationship of "full communion" with The Episcopal Church. The bishops serve synods from Michigan and Nebraska to Texas and the Caribbean....
ELCA Intensifies Effort to Fight Racism
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In an effort to educate its 5.2 million members to be more aware of racism and equip them to fight it, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has developed a one-and-a-half-day program to bring anti-racism training to the entire church. With only a little more than...
Viterbo College Honors ELCA Bishop with Pope John XXIII Award
CHICAGO (ELCA) - The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was one of two recipients of the 1999 Pope John XXIII Award for Distinguished Service, presented May 12 by Viterbo College, LaCrosse, Wis. The other recipient was Sister Helen Prejean, of the...
Some ELCA Health Plan Members Offered More Choice
MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- Trustees of the Board of Pensions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) approved a plan to offer a new choice of health benefits for plan members in Pennsylvania and in the Chicago metropolitan area. Considered a pilot project, the plan will introduce Blue Cross and...
Lutherans Tackle Human Rights and Welfare Reform at D.C. Briefing
WASHINGTON, D.C. (ELCA) -- "Just Politics: Briefing '99" offered about 400 participants from various denominations, including about 50 members from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), an opportunity to discuss connections between human rights, economic justice and the faith community's advocacy in public policy. The 29th Annual Interfaith Public...
Lutherans Join Environmental Justice Conference
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The church's place in the struggle for environmental justice in the United States was the topic of "Christ is in our Midst!" -- an ecumenical conference sponsored by the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. (NCC). About 30 members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church...
Lutherans Urged to "Step up to the Plate" for All Children
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Bouquets of flowers -- wilting, lifeless, dying -- that have memorialized the tragedy at Columbine High School, Littleton, Colo., have become symbols of those who have died and symbols of those children who die every day from gunshot wounds in this country. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in...
Braaten Named President for Midland Lutheran College
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Jennifer L. Braaten, 52, Boca Raton, Fla., becomes president of Midland Lutheran College, Fremont, Neb., effective August 1999. Braaten succeeds the Rev. Carl L. Hansen, 61, who plans to retire at the end of the current academic year. Midland is one of 28 colleges and universities of...
Worship Then-and-Now Is Topic at Lutheran Seminaries
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Dr. Mary Collins, OSB, and the Rev. Gordon W. Lathrop said the story of Jesus Christ has been retold around the world for thousands of years through Christian worship. They explored "the principles of the cultural adaptation of Christian liturgy" and other challenges facing modern churches in...
Florida-Bahamas Synod Settles Court Case
CHICAGO (ELCA) The Florida-Bahamas Synod, one of 65 synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), will pay $250,000 in a settlement to a Fort Lauderdale woman who was abused in counseling by a former pastor in the synod. In her suit, Kerry Fitzgerald claimed that then-Rev. Conny Sjostrom...
Four ELCA Congregations Model Community Renewal
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Four congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), noted for service and fellowship in their communities, will serve as models for an ELCA community renewal endeavor. Angelica Lutheran Church, Los Angeles, Calif.; Centro Comunitario de la Iglesia Luterana La Sagrada Familia (Community Center of Holy...
Duane Larson Named President of Wartburg Theological Seminary
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Duane H. Larson, 46, was named to become president of Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa, on July 15. Wartburg is one of eight seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The board of Wartburg Seminary announced May 4 that Larson will succeed the...
Opponents of Lutheran-Episcopal Agreement Meet, Discuss Strategy
MAHTOMEDI, Minn. (ELCA) -- Opponents of a Lutheran proposal for full communion between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The Episcopal Church reaffirmed their determination to defeat the proposal when the 1999 ELCA Churchwide Assembly meets in Denver Aug. 16- 22. About 125 people, mostly Lutherans, expressed numerous...
Fourteen New Lutheran Congregations Gain Training
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Thirty Lutherans came here from nine states for an intensive course designed for congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) that have organized or reorganized in the past six months. The ELCA Division for Outreach sponsored the conference April 26-28. Pastors and lay leaders from...
Former Synod Bishop Resigns from Clergy Roster
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Ronald Hasley, 63, the former bishop of the Northern Illinois Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), resigned as an ordained ELCA pastor May 7, following allegations that he engaged in improper sexual conduct and sexual contact with several adult women while he was bishop....
