News

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A festival worship service at Chicago's Rockefeller Chapel on Oct. 4 will formally declare that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is entering into "full communion" with three U.S. churches of the Reformed tradition, if the relationship is ratified by presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)....

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and a seminary of The Episcopal Church have ratified an agreement that outlines "13 avenues of cooperation." Trustees of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP) approved the agreement last fall, and trustees of General Theological Seminary,...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The state public policy advocacy efforts of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in Maryland are being carried out from a very ecumenical office. Four Christian denominations -- Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist and Presbyterian -- are coordinating their work out of the state's first Ecumenical Advocacy Center...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "The people of the United States and, indeed the world, need your strong, active leadership now to restore our government's full participation and leading role in the United Nations," officials of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) wrote Jan. 16 to President Bill Clinton. "The U.S....

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and other members of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) sent a letter Jan. 15 to President Bill Clinton, praising him for meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. "As the principal sponsor of the (Arab-Israeli)...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Lutheran Disaster Response has arranged for 40 generators to be shipped from Fargo, N.D., to aid people in upstate New York in the wake of winter and ice storms that have caused damage in the Watertown, Redwood and Mooers communities. Lutheran Disaster Response is a cooperative...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In March and April, Lutheran colleges and universities will host seven college nights across Texas, Minnesota and North Dakota. Prospective students and their families, as well as other interested people are invited to attend. Lutheran college admission representatives will be present to discuss educational programs, college costs,...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Action by Churches Together (ACT) has undertaken continued work in the west African nation of Sierra Leone and issued an appeal for more than $2 million to support this work. Following the signing of the Abidjan Peace Accord in November 1996 many displaced people in Sierra Leone...

(CHICAGO) ELCA -- "On the Sunday when many are tuned to the big football game and celebrating with football parties, we ask that congregations raise awareness and funds for the forgotten hungry," said Dr. Patricia J. Larsen, Tacoma, Wash. Hundreds of congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Four staff members of agencies related to Action by Churches Together (ACT) were kidnaped in the fall of 1997 while working on relief programs in Chechnya. Hungarian Interchurch Aid and Orthodox Christian Charities are working closely together to ensure their safe release. ACT has issued an appeal...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A committee responsible for education regarding Lutheran-Episcopal relations has been appointed in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The group met Jan. 13-14. The ELCA's 1997 Churchwide Assembly mandated "education opportunities" in the church, stating that the ELCA recognizes the need to understand its own doctrine, creeds...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- More and more Americans are expecting the church to provide the moral answers to their social problems, while the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) must do more to help its members make their own ethical decisions. About 30 Lutherans tackled those among several tough issues they...

JERUSALEM (ELCA) --The Rev. H. George Anderson, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), together with Lutheran and ecumenical leaders, took part in the consecration Jan. 5 of the Rev. Munib A. Younan as Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and Palestine (ELCJ). The service...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The outdoor ministry team of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is exploring "ways to design camp systems that offer a caring and compassionate response to people," said Mark D. Burkhardt, ELCA director for outdoor ministries, in an interview. "Lutheran camps will work to develop a...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Fifty-four of the 86 women of color serving as pastors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) or studying in ELCA seminaries spent "a very powerful weekend" envisioning a church and a society "that is no longer racist, sexist, classist or even ageist" and visualizing their...

WASHINGTON, D.C. (ELCA) -- Under the theme "Free for All: A Capitol Celebration of Democracy and Grace," Lutheran students from across the country met Dec. 31- Jan. 5 in Washington, D.C. for the 75th anniversary gathering of the Lutheran Student Movement-USA. Joel Christenson, 20, Virginia Miliary Institute, Lexington, was elected...

MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- Trustees of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Board of Pensions unanimously recommended that interest crediting rates for retirees be increased in 1998. This means that both the bond fund and balanced fund reserves that provide income for retirees will be credited at a higher rate of...

ELCA CONGREGATIONS FEATURED FOR CHRISTMAS TV "Welcome in the Child," a special Christmas Eve worship program, has been produced by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for the National Council of Churches of Christ. The program, offered by ABC-TV to local affiliate stations on Dec. 24, features Antioch Lutheran, Christ...

FOUR ELCA MEMBERS HONORED Four members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America were honored for their contributions to church and society by The Luther Institute. The four honorees were the Rev. Dr. Yoshiro Ishida, president of the newly-established Kyushu Lutheran College, Kumamoto, Japan; the Rev. Dr. Conrad Bergendoff, a...

H. GEORGE ANDERSON'S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE "Peace on earth" must become more than the song of angels. It must become the everyday motto of human beings who make decisions and choose leaders. The Christmas story tells of one who came so that all of us might live in peace. Yet Jesus...