Lutherans in North America Celebrate the Global Communion
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Over its 50-year history, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has evolved from a white, male, "Euro-American" organization "into a 'rainbow' communion where people of different regions -- women, men, young and old -- all have space in its life and work," LWF General Secretary Ishmael Noko told...
Southern Texas Flood Waters Devastate Lutherans
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Three major rivers in southern Texas crested earlier than expected this fall, leaving residents along the Colorado, Guadalupe and San Antonio River communities unprepared for the raging waters. Hundreds of houses and a dozen churches of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) were affected. "Our church...
ELCA Commissions 'The Promise of Lutheran Ethics'
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Ten Lutheran theologians worked together and on their own for two years to produce "The Promise of Lutheran Ethics." Augsburg Fortress, publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), released the nine-chapter volume in August. The ELCA's Church Council and Division for Church in Society...
ELCA Global Mission Board Urges Nonviolence
TECHNY, Ill. (ELCA) -- Violence has a serious impact on the lives of children around the world. So, the board of the Division for Global Mission of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) voiced its support for a "Decade of Nonviolence" when it met here Oct. 15-17. Twenty Nobel...
Women of the ELCA Names Convention Keynoters
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Three national leaders acclaimed for their work on justice issues will address thousands of women from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) July 8-11, 1999, at the Women of the ELCA Fourth Triennial Convention in St. Louis. The presenters are Myrlie Evers-Williams, widow of slain civil...
Masters Named President of Thiel College
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lance A. Masters, 51, El Cerrito, Calif., was appointed the 17th president of Thiel College, Greenville, Pa., effective Jan. 1, 1999. Thiel is one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. "In today's competitive college market I will strive to distinguish Thiel...
Lutheran Bishops in Michigan Oppose Physician-Assisted Death
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "We Lutheran Christians believe that life is a gift from God, temporarily entrusted to us as faithful guardians of a sacred trust," wrote the three bishops of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) synods in Michigan. They issued their public statement in response to Proposal B on...
Lutheran Bishops Discuss Who Can Ordain Pastors
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "People object to the church saying that you can't have a pastor without having a bishop," the Rev. Peter Rogness, bishop of the Greater Milwaukee Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, told the ELCA Conference of Bishops when it met here Oct. 1-7. The bishops...
Lutherans Need Volunteers to Help Clean up after Hurricane Georges
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "We need your help to respond to the devastation Hurricane Georges left behind in the Florida Keys and in Puerto Rico," said the Rev. Gilbert B. Furst, director for Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. After...
Hansen Retires as President of Midland Lutheran College
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Carl L. Hansen, president of Midland Lutheran College, Fremont, Neb., will retire at the end of the 1998-1999 academic year. Midland is one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Serving the longest tenure of any president in Midland's 115-year...
Lutheran Bishops Briefed in Washington
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Fifteen bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) were on Capitol Hill for briefings hosted by the Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs (LOGA) and the ELCA's Metropolitan Washington, D.C., Synod Sept. 9-11. Topics ranged from international debt to faith and government vocations. The guest list...
Roanoke College Receives a $3-Million Gift
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Roanoke College, Salem, Va., received a $3-million gift for its endowment fund last month from Francis T. West of Martinsville, Va. Roanoke is one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In recognition of the gift Roanoke's Courthouse Academic Building will now...
ELCA Helps Millions Affected by Floods in Chiapas
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Torrential rains caused heavy flooding in four of nine regions of Chiapas, Mexico, last month. "As many as 1.5 million people have lost homes, crops, land, livestock, clothes and whatever possessions they might have had," said the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, international communication director for the Division...
Lutherans Condemn Murder of Matthew Shepard
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "Our church repudiates all words and acts of hatred toward gay and lesbian persons," said the Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). "I personally deplore this act of violence." Anderson responded to reports that Matthew Shepard died Oct. 12...
Lutherans Host College Fairs
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In November colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod (LCMS) will hold "Lutheran College Nights" programs in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin. Prospective students, their families and other interested individuals are invited. Lutheran college admission...
The Promise of a New Millennium
Reflections by the Presiding Bishop and Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, As the year 2000 approaches, there is a growing sense of anticipation around the globe. Despite protests that the new millennium technically begins on December 31, 2000, it...
Lutheran Bishops Issue Letter on the Turn of the Millennium
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "The coming of the third millennium should not fill us with fear or dread at thoughts of the end," wrote the presiding bishop and 65 synodical bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in a four-page pastoral letter on the significance of the year 2000....
Thiel College Reduces Tuition By 27 Percent
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In response to public concern about rising education costs, Thiel College, Greenville, Pa., will reduce its tuition by 27 percent for new students entering the college in the fall of 1999. Thiel is one of 28 college and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. "We...
Lutherans Report Hurricane Georges Caused $2 Billion in Damages
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "It is estimated that Hurricane Georges has caused $2 billion in damages, making it the fifth most expensive natural disaster in the United States," said the Rev. Gilbert B. Furst, director for Lutheran Disaster Response. Hurricane Georges tore across Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands before making...
ELCA Presiding Bishop Says Ecumenism Is Lutheran
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "The ecumenical question is often posed as a vote for or against 'Lutheran identity.' We cite our confessional tradition as the reason for our continued separation from other Christian bodies," said the Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). "I...
