Lutheran Ecumenism a Focus of Christian Unity Workshop
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (ELCA) -- Many of the speakers here May 3-6 for the 36th annual National Workshop on Christian Unity discussed various ecumenical relationships in which the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) finds itself. About 50 ELCA members were among the 400 ecumenical officers and representatives from a number...
Lutheran Ecumenical Representatives Network Seeks Recognition
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (ELCA) -- The Lutheran Ecumenical Representatives Network (LERN) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) began an identity-building transition at its annual meeting here May 3-6 during the National Workshop on Christian Unity. The Rev. Robert A. Kriesat, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Chatham, N.J., was elected to...
ELCA Confronts Humanitarian Crisis in Kosovo
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has issued an appeal for funds to help confront the increasing humanitarian crisis with the conflict in and around Kosovo. More than $380,000 has been "received from members of the ELCA for Kosovo relief, and contributions are still increasing," said...
ELCA Continues Aid to Tornado Survivors in Oklahoma and Kansas
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response continues to provide immediate emergency assistance to survivors of a destructive sequence of tornadoes that swept through Oklahoma and Kansas May 3. Lutheran Disaster Response is a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). Lutheran Social...
Wounded Student's Family Issues Statement
CHICAGO (ELCA) The family of Anne Marie Hochhalter, a student severely wounded in the shootings at Columbine High School April 20, has issued a statement to their congregation expressing appreciation for "heartwarming cards and letters" and "offers of help and acts of love and kindness." Hochhalter, 17, and her family...
Lutherans Consider Ongoing Work in Littleton, Colo.
LITTLETON, COLO. (ELCA) Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) has committed an initial $10,000 to provide trained counselors to listen to the concerns of pastors and members of Lutheran churches here in the aftermath of the Columbine High School shootings that left 15 people dead, said the Rev. Gilbert B. Furst, director....
Board of Augsburg Fortress Publishers Addresses Various Topics
CHICAGO (ELCA) The financial situation of Augsburg Fortress, Publishers (AFP) is "solid," Robert McNulty, vice president, finance, told the AFP board of trustees at its April 22-24 meeting here. Trustees reviewed the 1998 audit report, prepared by Deloitte & Touche LLP, and took action on a variety of other topics....
Lutherans Assists Tornado Survivors in Oklahoma and Kansas
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Domestic Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will provide emergency assistance to survivors of tornadoes that struck Oklahoma and Kansas May 3. Initial reports indicate that at least "45 lives were lost and more than 1,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed,"...
Jolivette Named President of Waldorf College
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Thomas L. Jolivette, 44, becomes president of Waldorf College, Forest City, Iowa, on June 14. He succeeds William E. Hamm who resigned last December. Waldorf is one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Since 1994 Jolivette has been...
ELCA Communicators Earn Religion Journalism Awards
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The communication efforts of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) were recognized by the Associated Church Press (ACP), which presented awards for editing, writing, graphics, design and electronic publishing at its convention April 18-21 in Portland, Ore. The ACP encompasses 175 religious publications. The Southern Bulletin...
Lutheran Men and Women Work 'Shoulder to Shoulder'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Church ministry is best exercised by men and women working "shoulder to shoulder," according to Douglas Haugen, director for Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM), the men's organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The board of LMM met here April 16-19 and affirmed its relationship...
ELCA Hosts 'Take the Children to Worship Weekend'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will invite their children and their neighbor's children to worship May 1-2 for "Take the Children to Worship Weekend." "The secular world had a day last week that allowed us to take our children to work. We suggest...
More Lutheran Educators Address 'Called to Common Mission'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The faculties of the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, S.C., and Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio, both seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), have added their voices to the discussion of a Lutheran proposal for full communion with The Episcopal Church. "The...
Augsburg Fortress Publishers Endorses New Business Plan
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of trustees for Augsburg Fortress Publishers (AFP), the publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), endorsed a series of strategic priorities aimed at positioning AFP as "the premier Christian communication organization" and refocusing AFP's business systems "to create a market-driven organization." The...
ELCA Men's Organization Plans for Ministry with Men in Nicaragua
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM), the men's organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is looking for ways to "link in mission and ministry" with Lutheran men in Nicaragua. The board of LMM met here April 16-19 and discussed ways to converse, exchange resources and...
New Problems for ELCA Member Wounded in Littleton Shooting
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Ann Marie Hochhalter, a 17-year-old junior at Columbine High School, Littleton, Colo., faces the possibility of paralysis in her legs, the result of a spinal cord injury from a gunshot wound to the chest she suffered in a massacre April 20 at the school. Hochhalter is a...
Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue Explores Existing Studies
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A second meeting in the tenth round of talks between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) spread out much of the available literature on the topic "The Church as Koinonia of Salvation: Its Structures and Ministries." Lutheran and...
Synod Assembly Asks ELCA to Reject 'Called to Common Mission'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Western Iowa Synod Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) adopted by a 2-1 margin a resolution that calls on the 1999 ELCA Churchwide Assembly to reject the current Lutheran proposal for full communion with The Episcopal Church. The Western Iowa Synod Assembly met...
ELCA Responds to Littleton, Colo. School Tragedy
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Pastors, disaster response experts and volunteers with Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) congregations and organizations are responding to a variety of community needs in Littleton, Colo., following the worst school-shooting incident in American history. Pastors in Littleton area ELCA congregations reported they've heard from people throughout...
Ethiopian Nurse Released on Bail
CHICAGO (ELCA) Zawditu Deressa, an Ethiopian nurse, was freed from prison on bond April 19 after spending more than a year in prison for allegedly providing medical treatment in 1996 to two patients who may have been supporters of a party opposed to the Ethiopian government. Zawditu Deressa was one...
